People on benefits didn't crash the economy. The Tories did.

It’s not “sick note culture” that stops people from working. It’s a mental health crisis and the state of the NHS, which the Tories left to crumble.

Stop punishing disabled people for your own failures, Rishi Sunak.

After all the corruption we've seen from the Tory party and everything they've done to bring our NHS to its knees, Sunak dares to suggest it's the sick who can't work who are the problem? The very people he and his party have let down so badly? The sheer nerve of it.

Really pleased with the latest episode of the The New Statesman Podcast on the mess of dentistry in Britain - featuring great reporting and analysis from my ace colleagues Harry Clarke-Ezzidio and Sarah Dawood:

podfollow.com/new-statesman/…

Less than a quarter of the public (24%) are satisfied with the NHS. In 2010, nearly three quarters (70%) said they were satisfied. Health and social care is one of the most tangible markers of the past 14 years of austerity Britain.

🌎 A new poll from LGANews shows two thirds of councils aren't confident they will meet their climate targets, with nine in 10 saying they do not think central government has an adequately financed plan to deliver net zero - The New Statesman Spotlight The New Statesman

newstatesman.com/spotlight/sust…

“We need to stop seeing #education and skills as a cost and (see them) as an investment,” says former Conservative minister Justine Greening at the start of a panel chaired by Sarah Dawood asking ‘How can Labour build a future-focused education and skills system?’
#NSPath2Power

In 2007, Gary took some routine advice from his accountant. Over a decade later a letter arrived asking for more than £300,000. This is his story: newstatesman.com/the-weekend-re…

It beggars belief that the Tory Party won’t give Hester’s money back after his disgraceful comments about Diane Abbott MP.

This isn’t about giving him £10m to spend. It’s about saying racist money has no place in our politics or our society.

Sunak just doesn’t get that.

History will damn those who justified - and actively cheered on - the massacre of Gaza.

History will be kind to those courageous politicians who stood against this bloodbath.

We've updated the The New Statesman Spotlight council bankruptcy tracker to reflect recent announcements including 19 councils given exceptional financial support, and Rachel Reeves' comments that Labour will not bail out bankrupt councils. Follow below⬇️ The New Statesman
newstatesman.com/spotlight/econ…

Aspiring journalists!
3 great opportunities at the The Guardian!

1) If you need financial help for a postgrad journalism course, u can apply to have the fees paid

Plus
2) if you have a disability,
or
3) if you're a person of colour,
you can apply for the Positive Action Scheme

UPF is leading us into a public health crisis - and at the root of this are inequality, and advertising. As greg fell FFPH says, “Advertisers spend millions of pounds influencing our choices – who’s the nanny in that context?” by Sarah Dawood The New Statesman newstatesman.com/spotlight/heal…

I looked into the household support fund and found that it's working pretty well and should be extended:

newstatesman.com/spotlight/econ…

The care sector is crumbling in this country. There are thousands of vacancies. It’s completely unreasonable to expect carers to take up jobs here without any support system. Completely delusional.

It takes doctors 40 mins to log into their computers. Patient data is chaotic and disorganised, with nearly three quarters of NHS trusts still relying on paper records. Yet the government is focusing on AI?

My thoughts in The New Statesman:
newstatesman.com/spotlight/heal…

17. Don’t view exercise as an exchange for something—you don’t work out to lose a few pounds or “earn” that burger and ice cream—with this mindset you will lose motivation and quit. Instead, view it as an investment. For every unit of energy you put in, you will receive multiple

'We are products of the environment in which we live…

'Advertisers spend millions of pounds influencing our choices – who’s the nanny in that context?' greg fell FFPH Association of Directors of Public Health (ADPH) President in The New Statesman Sarah Dawood

newstatesman.com/spotlight/heal…

So sales of private health insurance at Aviva have risen by 41% in the last year.

Exactly as the govt intended.

Welcome to your 2-tier health service.

Private for those who can afford it & an underfunded, understaffed, degraded NHS for everyone else.

theguardian.com/business/2024/…

Junk food regulation

Govts are repeatedly afraid of being accused of nanny state

“Advertisers spend millions of pounds influencing our choices – who’s the nanny in that context?”

newstatesman.com/spotlight/heal…

HT Sarah Dawood The New Statesman

Could ultra-processed food be the new smoking?

I wrote about UPF (basically all the delicious stuff, from shop-bought cake to sweets, sausages and pizza) for The New Statesman and how its major inclusion in our diets could cause the next health crisis.

newstatesman.com/spotlight/heal…