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Jeremy Bentham's Ghost @utilitymonster2.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

No, it doesn't. Even a plurality of Green voters support retrospectively changing the ILR rules.

Jeremy Bentham's Ghost @utilitymonster2.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

This is the bare minimum that needs to be done with the Triple Lock. As they state: "It's unsustainable for pensions to forever receive ‘double dip’ treatment every time earnings and inflation spike. On this trajectory, pensions would (hypothetically) eventually consume all of GDP."

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Jeremy Bentham's Ghost @utilitymonster2.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

75-80% of pensioners own their homes outright, so don't have rent or mortgage costs, which add on average £18,000 a year to people's bills. £12,500 is perfectly sufficient for them, and a Double Lock (getting rid of the 2.5% criterion) would still be a good deal for them. Or:

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Jeremy Bentham's Ghost @utilitymonster2.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

Or we could keep the Triple Lock but change the calculations, as the Centre for British Progress suggested.

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Jeremy Bentham's Ghost @utilitymonster2.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

Climate isn't a top issue for voters (never has been, never will be, ask Biden). The parallel is correct in one respect, though: most Reform voters probably are a bit concerned about climate change, but most Labour and Lib Dem voters think immigration has been too high over the past decade.

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Jeremy Bentham's Ghost @utilitymonster2.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

Possibly, but other politicians (Farage, Polanski, Rayner) aren't in charge of the country and their favourability ratings are pretty poor too!

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Jeremy Bentham's Ghost @utilitymonster2.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

Patient satisfaction is probably the most important metric of them all. The fact is that this Labour government, led by Sir Keir Starmer, is improving the country in almost every single domain. Fastest per capita growth in 4 years, cumulative per capita growth of 3.7%, crime down, NHS improving.

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Jeremy Bentham's Ghost @utilitymonster2.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

No, this was Sunak's plan. Starmer's plan has involved public services getting substantial real terms increases in funding, which are already paying dividends in the form of shorter A&E waiting times, better ambulance response times and higher patient satisfaction.

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Jeremy Bentham's Ghost @utilitymonster2.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

Why? Angela Rayner has terrible favourability ratings and would lose a general election in a landslide. Ed Miliband will be crucified by the press and has already lost an election.

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Jeremy Bentham's Ghost @utilitymonster2.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

You are indeed confused. As Sir Chris Wormald said, it's normal practice for vetting to be carried out after the appointment but before the offer of employment. This is what happened. And Starmer simply quoted Robbins' words at PMQs. His critics are deliberately misleading the public at this point

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Jeremy Bentham's Ghost @utilitymonster2.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

I care more about outcomes than intentions. Starmer was persuadable on the issue. Farage definitely won't be. Anushka Asthana among others predicted shortly after the July election that it would be lifted in Labour's second Budget. They were kicked out for voting against the King's Speech.

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Jeremy Bentham's Ghost @utilitymonster2.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

Yes. Of course, journalists won't actually tell the public any of this in their headlines or "viral tweets".

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Jeremy Bentham's Ghost @utilitymonster2.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

The clearance did come through, and there was no reason to suspect that it had been the result of Foreign Office officials effectively overriding UKSV.

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Jeremy Bentham's Ghost @utilitymonster2.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

That offer of employment was provided to Mr Mandelson on 30 January 2025, after security clearance had been granted (by, as we now know, the Foreign Office).

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Jeremy Bentham's Ghost @utilitymonster2.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

Exactly, it would have been leaked, and it was the normal process. The appointment was subject to security clearance so Starmer can absolutely say that he wouldn't have extended an offer of employment to him had he known about the UKSV findings.

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Jeremy Bentham's Ghost @utilitymonster2.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

Indeed. According to Sir Chris Wormald, that was the normal process. The appointment was subject to security clearance so Starmer can absolutely say (whether you find it believable or not) that he wouldn't have extended an offer of employment to him had he known about the UKSV findings.

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Jeremy Bentham's Ghost @utilitymonster2.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

The job offer, of course, comes after security clearance is granted. Which is precisely what happened. Badenoch doesn't have a leg to stand on.

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Jeremy Bentham's Ghost @utilitymonster2.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

Mandelson's offer of employment was given on 30 January 2025, after he had received clearance (resulting from the Foreign Office's "override" of the process).

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Jeremy Bentham's Ghost @utilitymonster2.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

How many times does it have to be repeated that Mandelson did not get the job offer until after he received security clearance? As Sir Chris Wormald said, it was perfectly normal for the appointment to be made before vetting.

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Jeremy Bentham's Ghost @utilitymonster2.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

Mr Mandelson's offer of employment said that he had passed. You may wish to consult the Constitutional Governance and Reform Act (2010).

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Jeremy Bentham's Ghost @utilitymonster2.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

No, he didn't. He said that security vetting needed to be done before confirmation of the appointment. Which is exactly what happened. Mandelson was only given an offer of employment after the vetting process. This is the standard procedure:

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Jeremy Bentham's Ghost @utilitymonster2.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

For example, this is from Anushka Asthana, published well before the cap was lifted.

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Jeremy Bentham's Ghost @utilitymonster2.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

The Prime Minister would have been perfectly entitled to believe that the vetting process was rigorous, and it was (legally) independent of ministers, who were only informed of the final outcome (see below). He ordered a review into what had happened, and the issue was uncovered.

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Jeremy Bentham's Ghost @utilitymonster2.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

They didn't know last year that he'd failed DV. They asked whether he had, and Downing Street responded with what they knew at the time (which is that he had). MI6 and the UKSV are not even the same entity. Robbins is insisting that he had his reasons for not telling the PM.

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Jeremy Bentham's Ghost @utilitymonster2.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

The Civil Service did not "mislead" the Prime Minister. As Robbins and his allies have stated, he believed he was protecting the integrity of the vetting process by not telling Starmer. (In fact, he thinks he was unfairly sacked as a result.)

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Jeremy Bentham's Ghost @utilitymonster2.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

Nobody is claiming that Starmer is popular. They are saying that the media rarely report on the government's successes and constantly report on its failings. They are also pointing out that Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green voters still tend not to think he should resign.

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Jeremy Bentham's Ghost @utilitymonster2.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

Raising spending on public services in real terms in every year of the Parliament isn't "austerity". Jeremy Hunt was planning at least a year of austerity.

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Jeremy Bentham's Ghost @utilitymonster2.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

I'll find the exact poll for you when I'm less busy. In the meantime, YouGov's tracker shows that 56% of people think Labour is a left-wing party. A further 10% think they're centrist. Only 10% think they're right-wing. yougov.com/en-gb/tracke...

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Jeremy Bentham's Ghost @utilitymonster2.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

From YouGov: yougov.com/en-gb/tracke...

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Jeremy Bentham's Ghost @utilitymonster2.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

Let's focus on the facts here. I'm not saying he's infallible, and I think he should be replaced by Burnham before the next election. Foreign Office guidance states in writing that ministers aren't informed of anything except the final outcome. In this case, that was:

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Jeremy Bentham's Ghost @utilitymonster2.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

Yes, he clearly didn't know anything about the parties that were going on in Downing Street. In any case, he didn't actually resign over Partygate. It was Chris Pincher that got him.

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Jeremy Bentham's Ghost @utilitymonster2.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

Nope. Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green voters don't want him to resign. I hope this really pains the journalists who have been patting each other on the back for spreading this latest non-story, instead of reporting on improved NHS performance, lower small boat crossings, and falling deficits.

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Jeremy Bentham's Ghost @utilitymonster2.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

Nope. Political journalists who think that this is all a game might be mortified to hear this, but Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green voters don't want Starmer to resign. Starmer didn't deliberately mislead Parliament. If he had, he would have to resign. But he didn't.

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Jeremy Bentham's Ghost @utilitymonster2.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

And, by the way, Labour, Liberal and Green supporters (rightly) still don't want him to resign.

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Jeremy Bentham's Ghost @utilitymonster2.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green voters rightly still don't want him to resign. The lobby journalists will be furious. From today:

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Jeremy Bentham's Ghost @utilitymonster2.bsky.social · 05/07/2025

"We need to get a handle on this comrades"

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Jeremy Bentham's Ghost @utilitymonster2.bsky.social · 26/06/2025

Claims have uniquely soared in Britain for both out-of-work incapacity benefit and PIP (the latter seeing a bigger rise than the former).

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Jeremy Bentham's Ghost @utilitymonster2.bsky.social · 10/06/2025

Nuclear is as safe as wind and solar. Radioactive waste is perfectly safe when stored in an appropriate container and Finland and Sweden (whose examples we should be following, along with France and Switzerland) have pioneered the use of deep geological repositories for permanent storage.

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Jeremy Bentham's Ghost @utilitymonster2.bsky.social · 04/06/2025

They're not just forecasts. In 2024/25 (just gone) and 2025/26 (ongoing) they increased funding (in real terms) for almost every department. Some departments will see real terms cuts from 2026/27 onward, but the Tories slashed spending on public services as a whole and slashed capital investment.

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Jeremy Bentham's Ghost @utilitymonster2.bsky.social · 19/03/2025

One party cut inheritance tax, capital gains tax and the top rate of income tax when they were in office, and caused market turmoil when they tried to pass tens of billions more in tax cuts for the rich. This Labour government has taxed the wealthy and boosted funding for public services:

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Jeremy Bentham's Ghost @utilitymonster2.bsky.social · 19/03/2025

This isn’t austerity. Public spending will still be rising by an average of 1.1% per year in real terms from 2026/27 to 2028/29. It’s much more than that in 2024/25 and 2025/26:

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Jeremy Bentham's Ghost @utilitymonster2.bsky.social · 19/03/2025

This isn’t austerity. Public spending is still set to rise by an average of 1.1% per year in real terms from 2026/27 to 2028/29, according to the article. And all departments got real terms funding boosts for 2024/25 and 2025/26, with the NHS getting an extra £22.7 billion.

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Jeremy Bentham's Ghost @utilitymonster2.bsky.social · 19/03/2025

They already taxed the rich to the tune of £15 billion a year in the Budget, allowing them to provide a real terms funding boost to all public services for 2024/25 and 2025/26. NHS waiting lists have fallen for 5 months in a row.

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