Dan Davies Oliver Bradley Giles Wilkes My suspicion is that low capex is a result of the NHS having a very thin management layer, in that broadly, if the NHS had more managers it would have more people going 'couldn't this job that we spend £30k a year on getting a person to do be done by a machine that costs £10k?'

Been thinking about this a lot this week; we all find our own ways to cope in the face of serial tragedies

At least in health and education the issue is not what will the unions settle for - it's what pay level is required to stem the flow of people out of the professions and stop vacancies being at all time highs.

I like freediving. I like sharks. But no f-img way I’m getting in the water with that.

The analytical capability of the average right-wing Tory backbencher is roughly equivalent to a toddler in the middle of a tantrum.

Because uni places are capped! There's easily enough demand to train loads more doctors here but Treasury don't want to pay. x.com/svaroschi/stat…

Stephen Bush is absolutely right here. And I think it particularly important that our politicians and policymakers learn how programming and algorithms work so they understand what software can and CANNOT do rather than viewing it as some mystical genie. ft.com/content/61fcbd…

Interesting via Stephen Bush "One of the most exciting developments in public policy and in private businesses is the development and deployment of algorithms and machine learning to solve complex problems." ft.com/content/61fcbd…

These numbers are so large/traumatising as to be almost unbelievable: 20% more deaths in last week of December than the 5 year average for that week - particularly huge increase in numbers of deaths at home (40% up)

There’s much to criticise about Rishi Sunak’s “maths to 18” announcement, not least that it was so thin as to be meaningless, but the response showed UK elites at worst: proudly innumerate, reflexively rude about maths: ft.com/content/61fcbd…

Pre-pandemic this number was effectively zero and had been for several decades.

Sam Freedman , Olivia Bailey MP and I are doing a joint project on the NHS over the next few months for Institute for Government and The Health Foundation. Am v interested in any analysis from those who understand our health system and at least one other (not US). Please do get in touch!

Typically insanely informative new piece from Sam Freedman on what's happening to the NHS samf.substack.com/p/is-the-nhs-i…

The public sector pay issue is not about unions or strikes it's about recruitment and retention.

everything is terrible so here's the Muppets channeling the Beastie Boys