George Ryall

"News and updates from the county of Oxfordshire" the link to Oxfordshire in this one is?

Or Buckinghamshire

One of my worries about this is the number of eyes on bucket 4 is WAY lower. Every university knows how much money flows out of UKRI in grants, but the sustenance of public sector expertise, facilities and infrastructure is relatively out of sight… and yet it is the backbone of national R&D capacity

Shabana Mahmood vows to stick with hardline migration policies after byelection defeat Home secretary will defy ‘plain wrong’ calls from unions and leftwing MPs that she is alienating Muslim voters

Hey ChatGPT, can I die from face-palming?

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

okay, here it is, the five key takeaways from this by-election:

1. Denton Kebab House
2. The Crispy Cod, Denton
3. Reddish Tandoori, Gorton
4. Cottage Chippy, Gorton
5. The Continental Takeaway, Denton

The impending by-election result nobody can predict will affirm the pre-existing views of everyone.

Looks like we're in line for a new round of Employment Rights Act alarmism.

The Times claims, from a CIPD survey, that 'more than half of businesses expected an increase in workplace conflict.'

In reality, far more employers said each measure would have no impact on conflict or would reduce it.

the loss of the World Service would be a tragedy and huge lost of soft power for Britain

"News and updates from the county of #Oxfordshire (Oxon), UK"

this guy is getting appropriately ratioed but I want to summarise the issue very succinctly, as somebody who owns a house and *has been a landlord*: everybody needs shelter. Housing is an essential service.
Like water, like electricity, like the roads. Therefore, it should not be an investment.

A woodcut of a bird beside the text "is this a productive use of your time?"

And it's about making mainstream politicians realise that the mythical "floating voter" is only to the right because the currents running through their information networks are pushing them there.

You "win" them by countering those currents. Not by diving in to that side of the water yourself.

My recipe for world peace is that all these people should get to Davos by a nice ride on a little red Rhätische Bahn train, rather than airport transfer or helicopter or whatever.

No-one has ever been in a bad mood, or felt combative after a nice ride on a little red Rhätische Bahn train.

What3words is an opaque techy non-solution that seeks to lock people into a proprietary system that replaces a better system that was working perfectly fine. They're almost the last company I'd want to see influencing how government thinks

Dumbest diplomatic crisis of your life *so far*.jpg

Hoping that I will soon have the opportunity to present my Bronze Swimming Certificate to Robert Jenrick.

Civil service trade unions call for urgent action on pensions Prospect and the other members of the National Trade Union Committee have written to the Cabinet Office to demand...

Along with other civil service unions, we have written to the Cabinet Office calling for urgent action on pension scheme administration and delays to pension payments since the transfer to Capita.

According to this FT article, Sir Paul Nurse says: “I’m afraid there’s many bad people around, but they have made scientific advances.”

The ‘but’ in this quote says it all…

So don’t blame us when we lose faith in institutions that regard integrity as irrelevant to designating scientific greatness.

There are MANY issues with Starmer’s messaging. But I always thought this govts best and easiest bet was to become THE government of the rules and fair play. Led by a former lawyer, lean into fairness, equality, law and order, justice for workers, respect for international law.

They ought to cast Celebrity Gladiators like I’m A Celebrity and get at least one person who us political weirdos have heard of. Why can’t Chris Whitty take on Gauntlet and Duel?

Another apologist for Starmer’s betrayal of workers with the U-Turn on employment rights.

@gryall.uk

I suspect we largely agree on the increased vulnerability of younger workers in the workplace.

You assume a lot about my views and things I am "ignoring" based on very little

Apologies if I was unclear. My request related to your assertion that prospect was failing to recruit younger workers. I do not believe this to be the case and I am interested in whether you have any data to back this up.

Can you provide any data for that assertion about recruiting younger members? From where I am sat, we are doing a pretty good job of it.

‘To deliver day-one rights, unions like mine chose strategy over stalemate’ – LabourList Perhaps the strangest perception of trade unions that exists in the modern media landscape is that we are people who hate to negotiate.  I have…

'Unions secured stronger rights by returning to the negotiating table — delivering real protections for workers now' says Mike Clancy of @prospectunion.bsky.social

The Weekly Howl The British government just did something I agree with, and it feels almost gross to mention it. Also: who invented the week? And some Beeching-themed maps.

"It would mean more people could benefit from those frequent Central Line services. It is exactly what I hoped this Labour government might do.

"And I almost missed it, because they instead won’t shut up about being horrible to foreigners."

Given none are in Oxfordshire, this isn't really Oxfordshire news is it?

Cartoon by Stephen Collins for The Guardian. Script as follows: [scene is Winston Churchill in a bbc studio, giving his 'finest hour' speech] 1 CHURCHILL: The whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us. 2 CHURCHILL: Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this Island or lose the war. 3 CHURCHILL: If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sun- BBC PRESENTER: Thank you prime minister 4 BBC PRESENTER: Mr hitler, your response? 5 HITLER [in the studio]: Vell zis is hysterical woke nonsense as usual from mr Churchill 6 HITLER: What we are proposing - CHURCHILL: Hang on 7 HITLER: Let me finish - what we are proposing eez a simple power-sharing arrangement - 8 CHURCHILL: What's he doing here BBC PRESENTER: It's important we hear both sides of the debate 9 CHURCHILL: This isn't a debate You don't debate fascists 10 HITLER: Oh here we go with ze Godwins law! 11 HITLER: Why must you people always compare ze things you don't like to 'fascists, Nazis, Hitler'... CHURCHILL: Because you are a fascist Nazi Hit- 12 HITLER [standing up, saluting]: RAUSS! BBC PRESENTER: *Please* Mr Churchill let him speak [ends]

Not only is the 2.5% affordability setting concerning given inflation, but fundamental reform is also needed to introduce pay progression and respond to in-demand specialist skills recruitment and retention challenges. See my @prospectunion.bsky.social comments in @civilserviceworld.bsky.social