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Paula Portas

@pauportas.bsky.social
251 followers 625 following 3 posts

PhD. Strategy and policy design, local and regional government. Systems thinking. Governance.

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Reposted by Paula Portas
Alex Andreou @sturdyalex.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
This German comedy sketch (with English subtitles) perfectly captures so much of what is going on right now in the UK, the US, and across Europe. "Playing the 'Nazi Card' in the Third Reich", by Browser Ballett.
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Paula Portas @pauportas.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
There’s been some commentary suggesting that the recent UK PISA results are a clear policy success that ministers should be more outspoken about. @suecowley.bsky.social takes a different view, asking: at what price has this success come? A very interesting thread to put Pisa into context.
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Reposted by Paula Portas
Prof Ian Hall @ianhall.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
If you privatise the profits from fossil fuels, you can’t keep socialising the costs of the damage. Those who’ve profited should pay their fair share of the impacts. That’s why Spain’s push for an EU oil and gas tax to help fund climate adaptation is worth supporting. www.ft.com/content/86da...
ft.com
Spain pushes for EU oil and gas tax to pay for climate change response
Rising extreme weather costs fuel campaign ahead of new resilience strategy
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Ben Proctor @benproctor.co.uk · 04/09/2026
Being a councillor is still a difficult career for women – why this matters for democracy theconversation.com/being-a-coun...
theconversation.com
Being a councillor is still a difficult career for women – why this matters for democracy
The fixes could be cheap and easy, though.
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Reposted by Paula Portas
Met Office - weather and climate @metoffice.gov.uk · 11/08/2026
The impact of summer 2026 can perhaps best be seen from space Exceptional heat combined with limited rainfall has truly transformed the landscape across the UK
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Resolution Foundation @resolutionfoundation.org · 07/08/2026
Is welfare spending ''out of control''? It's estimated to be 11.1 per cent of GDP this financial year. That's just 1.1 per cent of GDP higher than in 2007-08, and total welfare spending has actually fallen by 0.9 per cent of GDP since 2012-13 ⤵️
chart showing Social security spending as a proportion of GDP, by category: GB
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Political Quarterly @politicalquarterly.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Many of the benefits of fiscal devolution that are held out in the recent spate of proposals are questionable, argues @marksandford.bsky.social There are two stronger alternative rationales for fiscal devolution. politicalquarterly.org.uk/blog/what-pe...
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Reposted by Paula Portas
Pascal @pascallth.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
The response to Ceuta of governments, politicians and officials from across Europe has been shameful Even supposed mainstream politicians whipping up hysteria, exploiting a human tragedy with nonsense claims that people could suddenly jump across the Mediterranean from a North African exclave
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Samira Shackle @samirashackle.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
I found this story genuinely shocking to report. The legislation has expanded so much that now the grounds on which citizenship can be stripped are incredibly vague and there is hardly any recourse. Anyone who the government believes MIGHT have a claim on another nationality can be denationalised.
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Albert Pinto @70sbachchan.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
NEW: @katemac.bsky.social & I: "Heat waves tend to attract less attention than the charismatic megafauna of climate disasters—floods, storms, wildfires—in part because they cause less property damage & thus less obviously financially costly" phenomenalworld.org/analysis/glo... Graphic @TheEconomist
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Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan @london.gov.uk · 02/07/2026
Disgusting. After years of broken promises, Thames Water continues to pollute our waterways with raw sewage. London deserves clean, safe rivers, not more sewage and excuses. Water companies and regulators need to get their act together.
bbc.co.uk
High levels of E. coli recorded after Thames spill in West London
Fulham Reach Boat Club recorded levels more than 60 times the threshold for suitable bathing water.
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Ann Pettifor @annpettifor.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Trump as model for Musk’s bond & stock issues…. “After narrowly escaping financial ruin in the early 1990s by delaying payments on his debts, Mr. Trump avoided a 2nd potential crisis by taking his casinos public & shifting the risk to stockholders.” annpettifor.substack.com/p/nasdaq-and...
annpettifor.substack.com
Nasdaq & Market Volatility: is this a Minsky Moment* for Ponzi Finance?
With credit markets and rating agencies fuelling the fire
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Reposted by Paula Portas
Helen Czerski @helenczerski.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Londoners, there is a webpage for you to see where your nearest "cool spaces" are when the extreme heat hits - places with water, air-conditioning & shade. Have a look and spread the word, especially to those who may need this but might not think to look for it: apps.london.gov.uk/cool-spaces/
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Paula Portas @pauportas.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
"Every respectable economist in the world agreed that cutting ourselves from the single market would make us poorer. And people voted to do it."
ft.com
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David Henig @davidheniguk.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
Outsourcing is a huge UK policy problem (and I used to work for one such) which few politicians want to tackle not least because the companies concerned have good budgets and sales-folk able to claim plausibly that their solutions offer great value for money www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Horrific, unregulated, and very profitable. The companies making cash from England’s children in care | George Monbiot
Councils are sending vulnerable kids to homes ran by money-grabbing cowboys and private-equity vultures, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
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Faine Greenwood @faineg.com · 12/04/2026
You can and should donate to PCRF if you want to help Gazans, instead of shady spam accounts on social media: www.pcrf.net
pcrf.net
PCRF
The Palestine Children's Relief Fund was established in 1992 by concerned humanitarians in the USA to bring injured and sick children for free medical care they could not get locally
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Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan @london.gov.uk · 07/04/2026
Every young Londoner deserves a safe place to learn, create, and belong. From basketball coaching to DJing classes, discover local opportunities for young people during the school holidays. www.london.gov.uk/programmes-s...
A teenage boy is talking to his trainer while leaning on the ropes of a boxing ring.
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Family Law News @familylaw.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
www.gov.uk/government/n...
gov.uk
New legislation to keep brothers and sisters connected in care
Right to maintain contact with siblings to be strengthened in law for children in care via amendment to Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
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Resolution Foundation @resolutionfoundation.org · 24/03/2026
Many young people are struggling to gain a foothold in the labour market. Among young people who are currently not in education, employment or training (NEET) 60% have never worked. Entering adulthood without work experience limits opportunities to build skills, confidence & earnings potential.
Chart showing proportion of NEETs (left) and all young people (right) who have never had a paid job by age group: UK
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Jan Rosenow @janrosenow.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
Spain's renewables build-out has structurally decoupled its electricity prices from gas markets. Gas now sets the price in only 15% of hours, compared to 90% in Italy. Countries that invested early in clean power are far less exposed to fossil fuel price shocks. Those that didn't now pay the price.
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The Transparency Project @seethrujustice.transparencyproject.org.uk · 17/03/2026
The Pathfinder Courts are renamed 'Child Focused Courts' - Children to get swifter justice as new family court approach expands nationally - GOV.UK share.google/NoGnJkHbab2B...
share.google
Children to get swifter justice as new family court approach expands nationally
The newly named Child Focused Courts will be rolled out across England and Wales, following a particularly successful pilot which saw cases in the family court resolved seven and a half months quicker...
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Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan @london.gov.uk · 05/03/2026
From the heights of Horsenden Hill all the way to the banks of the Thames 🌳 We’re planning a massive new West London Regional Park equivalent to the size of 2,500 football pitches. More space to breathe, more places to play.
aroundealing.com
New partnership joins forces for ‘transformative’ regional park - Around Ealing
Ealing Council’s plan to create a regional park has moved a step closer, thanks to a new partnership formed across west London to help the project become a reality.
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Dan Sohege @danielsohege.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
Government consultations are always likely skewed towards what the government wants, but this is particularly bad. It's clear Labour has already made its decision to demonise and dehumanise migrants. Completing the consultation at least provides evidence of that harm though and shows it is opposed.
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Peter Matejic @statspeter.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
A child poverty strategy with the 2-child limit in place would *not* be a credible child poverty strategy. *All* of the growth in child poverty since the 2011/12 low point is for children in scope of this policy.
Between 2011/12 and 2023/24, child poverty rose by 900,000 in total.  This is entirely due to increases in poverty in families with three or more children, with a small fall in poverty for smaller families over the period.
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Chaminda Jayanetti @cjayanetti.bsky.social · 07/10/2025
Some of London’s poorest areas could see their share of the children’s services funding formula halved under Labour’s plans to reform local government grants. By me, for Politics Home: www.politicshome.com/news/article...
politicshome.com
London Councils Face Losing Half Their Share Of Children's Services Funding
Some of London’s poorest areas could see their share of funding for children’s services halved under Labour’s plans to reform local government gran...
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Transparency International UK @transparencyuk.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
💸 In 2023, just 19 mega donors poured £56.5 million into Britain's political parties. That's 66% of all political donations. We're fighting back against big money - and YOUR donation goes TWICE as far via @biggive.bsky.social matched funding. DONATE TODAY ⤵️ donate.biggive.org/campaign/a05...
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Stefan Marciniak @profmarciniak.bsky.social · 21/09/2025
Reading papers is a basic skill (and dare I say duty?) of scientists, and I include medical doctors in that group. Keeping abreast of the literature is a foundational part of our professions. There aren’t good shortcuts. In any case, reading papers regularly is fun. arstechnica.com/ai/2025/09/s...
arstechnica.com
Science journalists find ChatGPT is bad at summarizing scientific papers
LLM “tended to sacrifice accuracy for simplicity” when writing news briefs.
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Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 19/09/2025
The findings “suggest that medical AI tools powered by LLMs have a tendency to not reflect the severity of symptoms among female patients, while also displaying less ‘empathy’ towards Black and Asian ones.”
ft.com
AI medical tools downplay symptoms in women and ethnic minorities
Large language models reflect biases that can lead to inferior healthcare advice to female, Black and Asian patients
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Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan @london.gov.uk · 17/09/2025
What’s happening in Gaza is a genocide.
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Ian Cushing @iancushing.bsky.social · 20/03/2025
what does ‘misbehaviour’ sound like? in new open access work i ask this question in the context of school discipline policies, looking at how ideologies of ‘im/proper language’ and ‘im/proper behaviour’ coalesce and get co-constructed with one another. doi.org/10.1080/0962...
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Jonathan Portes @jdportes.bsky.social · 07/09/2025
"Most new migrants seem to pay as much in tax as the average worker, if not more. Yet that does not help public services if governments do not reinvest that money to accommodate the growing population." Good summary from @tomcalver.bsky.social www.thetimes.com/comment/colu...
thetimes.com
How much impact do migrants have on public services?
Britain built an immigration system it was not prepared for: no wonder the country feels full
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Liberty @libertyhq.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
BREAKING: Liberty alongside @amnestyuk.bsky.social are intervening in the judicial review of the proscription of Palestine Action www.libertyhumanrights.org.uk/issue/libert...
libertyhumanrights.org.uk
Liberty and Amnesty UK to intervene in judicial review of Palestine Action proscription - Liberty
The UK’s two largest human rights organisations will intervene in a legal hearing on the proscription of Palestine Action as a terrorist group.
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Paula Portas @pauportas.bsky.social · 06/09/2025
pchrgaza.org?p=37315 Sharing a message from the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights ⬇️
pchrgaza.org
Al-Haq, PCHR, and Al-Mezan Condemn US Sanctions and Call for Global Solidarity to End the Genocide in Gaza and the Oppression of Palestinians
Gaza/Ramallah, 5 September 2025 — While the ongoing Israeli, US – backed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza is entering its third year, the United States (US), rather than end its complicity with I...
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Patrick Dunleavy @patrickdunleavy.bsky.social · 30/08/2025
Peter Jukes “This is the enduring lesson of Weimar: extremism never triumphs on its own. It succeeds because others enable it—because of their ambition, because of their fear, or because they misjudge the dangers of small concessions”. www.foreignaffairs.com/germany/hitl...
foreignaffairs.com
Warnings From Weimar
Why bargaining with authoritarians fails.
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Brett Christophers @brettchristophers.bsky.social · 17/08/2025
Drawing on the likes of Leah Downey, Arjun Jayadev, Leon Wansleben & @geoffmann.bsky.social, I have a new piece in @nybooks.com on money, power, and central banking.
nybooks.com
Whose Fed? | Brett Christophers
For the past twenty years, central banks have rarely been out of the news. Called upon to stabilize the global financial system when it appeared at risk
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Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg @theradr.bsky.social · 08/08/2025
“Where’s the Palestinian Gandhi?” Hate that question. But here’s a mini thread on a few ppl and stories that don’t get told enough
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Patrick Dunleavy @patrickdunleavy.bsky.social · 02/08/2025
Data on every Israeli killing in Gaza shows whole families were targetted news.sky.com/story/gazas-...
news.sky.com
Gaza's deadliest days linked by a pattern of attacks on families
Using exclusive new data, social media obituaries and satellite imagery, Sky News has tracked the killing of families in Gaza over the past 21 months.
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Nesta @nestauk.bsky.social · 30/07/2025
How can family hubs reach those who need them most? We're working with Camden Council on a pilot offering a cash grant to low-income parents-to-be, plus personalised support. Join our online session on 9 Sept to hear what we've learned so far. 🗓️ 12:00–13:00 🔗 Register to attend: bit.ly/3U0ShmO
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Anthony Painter @anthonypainter.bsky.social · 18/07/2025
If I were interested in public service reform I would be looking at South Cambs which has made the four day week permanent for all staff following a trial where services improved or stayed the same, they saved money, and improved staff retention and well-being... www.scambs.gov.uk/news/council...
scambs.gov.uk
Council votes to permanently adopt four-day week following extensive independent analysis
South Cambridgeshire District Council has voted to become the first Council in the UK to permanently adopt a four-day week – after rigorous independent analysis showed most services got better or were...
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Nick Hedley @nickhedley.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
Behind Spain's blackout: 'Conventional generators (mostly gas-fired) failed to supply grid-balancing services they’d been paid for'. www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...
bloomberg.com
No, Renewables Didn’t Cause Spain’s Grid Blackout
Shifting to clean generation might occasionally trip, but the effects are short-lived, and easily fixed.
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New Economics Foundation @neweconomics.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
On Tuesday Parliament will vote on whether to cut health and disability benefits. This is a vital opportunity for this government to rethink these harmful cuts. Want to get your head around what the cuts would mean? Look no further 🧵 1/
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Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 18/06/2025
A comparison to show something important: - Post blackout, headlines blamed renewables (directly, suggested or framed as debate) - Post Spanish gov't report showing 9 coal/gas/nuclear plants failed to provide voltage control: framing is about management, planning rather than the generation type
headlines post blackout blaming renewables headlines post report not blaming anything except management
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M.J. Crockett @mjcrockett.bsky.social · 22/02/2025
Grateful for the chance to share my thoughts on responsible use of LLMs in psychology research @spspnews.bsky.social #spsp2025. Here's a summary of my presentation for those who missed it. Thanks to @ashwinia.bsky.social for organizing this panel! How should LLMs be used in psychology research? 🧵
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Anand Menon @anandmenon.bsky.social · 08/06/2025
‘If the problem that this country simply isn’t white enough, someone may as well just come out and say it. Because it’s clear the issue here isn’t Britishness.’ www.independent.co.uk/voices/immig...
independent.co.uk
Who cares that Britain is on course to be ‘minority white’?
As a study of migration, birth and death rates in the UK points to the white British population becoming a minority by 2063, Anand Menon says the only debate it ought to spark is not about immigration...
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Stephen Frost @sfrost.bsky.social · 23/05/2025
More of this please. Co-designing play spaces with children and young people near their homes led to “what researchers say is the highest increase in children’s physical activity ever recorded by an intervention of its kind”
theguardian.com
Bradford project produces ‘outstanding’ rise in children’s physical activity
JU:MP programme included co-design of play spaces, exercise in faith settings and interventions in schools
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Zoe Gardner @zoejardiniere.bsky.social · 20/05/2025
✊URGENT ACTION NEEDED ⌛The UN says 14 000 babies are at risk of dying from starvation 🌍Tomorrow, 21 May, take part in a global fast for Gaza 🕯️At 6 PM we will gather in Parliament Square in London for a vigil. 🚫The UK Government must sanction Israel IMMEDIATELY
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Sue Cowley @suecowley.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
I've been looking at some of the EEF trials and what worries me is that they're mostly about testing some kind of programme or intervention which means the only things that get evidenced are programmes and interventions. Essentially we could end up valuing most what is most easily measured.
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Financial Times @financialtimes.com · 07/05/2025
Opinion from the FT's Editorial Board: 'The US and European countries that tout Israel as an ally that shares their values have issued barely a word of condemnation. They should be ashamed of their silence, and stop enabling Netanyahu to act with impunity.' www.ft.com/content/f5fd...
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Caroline Dodds Pennock @carolinepennock.bsky.social · 06/05/2025
There are now over 2000 UK academic signatories to our open letter in support of trans rights & inclusion, along with hundreds of other UK educators & international supporters. It's heartening to see such support from colleagues for our trans siblings. #NotInOurName docs.google.com/document/d/1...
docs.google.com
Not In Our Name - Feminist Academics and Educators Speak Out - with signatures
To co-sign the statement, fill in this form: https://forms.gle/oDYgnobrMiScaMEt5 (Please do not ‘request share’, rather, fill in the form ^ ^.) Not In Our Name: Feminist Academics and Educators Sp...
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