difficult woman — hates engine-idling — #flightfree since 2013 — immunosuppressed #CEV semi-shielding wears a mask indoors — sweary ebikist and shonky sewist
The wayside via Fitzrovia
Joined August 2008
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vicswift retweeted
It is incredibly frustrating when individuals who clearly lack scientific understanding speak with such unwarranted confidence, attempting to sound knowledgeable while spreading misinformation to those already struggling with the complexities of the subject
vicswift retweeted
👆This Chinese engineer covers your respiratory health — with the best-value air purifier that's detachable and portable.
This Chinese engineer covers your respiratory health — with the KN95 respirator that's supremely comfortable to wear. @zhouliang_mask
This Chinese engineer covers your respiratory health — with far-UVC. @NukitToBeSure
People really need to stop hating on the chinese.
Every time the world's giving me lemons, some chinese engineer's there to help made me lemonade.
Iran war hitting oil? China's releasing the reserves. Gas too expensive? See me in that BYD.
Open AI fucking me on tokens? Got my brother DeepSeek. Claude hitting safety guardrails? We're revisiting abliterated Qwen.
Tech people complaining about token prices, normal people complaining about gas.
The chinese got you covered with a cost-of-living intervention just when you are in a pickle.
vicswift retweeted
Ok I'm calling it.
The Ten-Year Plan is going to be AI-boosterism, data centre rollouts, defence-led re-industrialisation and lip service as to how they'll fund house-building by taxing the economic boom they think this will create.
Or, in other words, total nonsense.
EXCLUSIVE:
Britain needs to embrace artificial intelligence and invest in data centres because it will offer the country a "productivity revolution" and bolster the wages of ordinary workers, the Chancellor has said
In an interview with The Times John Healey, the chancellor, said that artificial intelligence "is coming whether we like it or not" and that Britain needs to take "maximum advantage" of the opportunities it offers
He said that artificial intelligence has the potential to draw investment to Britain on a "big scale" and argued that Britain needs to develop its own "sovereign" artificial intelligence to bolster economic growth and national security
Healey believes that the improvement in productivity the technology brings will filter through to everyone. On Wednesday he discussed the artificial intelligence "revolution" with Kevin Warsh, the chairman of the US Federal Reserve, during a visit to the UK. Andy Burnham, the prime minister, also briefly attended the meeting.
Healey said: "He [Warsh] believes we're on the edge of a productivity revolution and transformation with AI.
"We had a good discussion because he sees this as not just potentially bringing benefits to the super-rich and big tech, but already in the US, signs that it is increasing, raising the level of productivity, therefore the value and the wages of many ordinary workers. It may be that we're starting to see some of that in some of the detail of the growth figures today in Britain."
He added: "I think the signs are it's a revolution already underway. The challenge for policy makers and I think the change for investors the challenge for investors and business is how do we make the most of this for Britain, and in doing so reassure people about the steps we can help take against the risks that they quite rightly also feel and see."
Healey said that Britain can learn from the bitter debates over the "free for all" of new data centres in the US by ensuring that they have the support of communities. In the Budget he announced a new data centre “covenant”, which will require owners to invest in local communities, create jobs and protect water supplies in exchange for priority access to the national grid.
He said: “It [artificial intelligence] is coming, whether we like it or not. Many people are already using it, I want to avoid the free-for-all on AI and data centres we’ve seen in the states.
“So where NHS health data is used with AI, I want that data in Britain, not in data centres abroad. Where AI is used for our security, I want that data in Britain, for Britain, not abroad. To do that, we have to develop more data centres. I’m ready to back them if they provide the community benefits and can help build public trust.
“If we haven’t got the independence, we haven’t got some of the control and sovereignty on our AI capacity in the UK, then we will find that we can’t provide the level of confidence, the level of security that I think people are rightly wanting, and we can’t make the most of the big economic opportunities that are there.”
thetimes.com/uk/politics/art…
vicswift retweeted
The Institute for Public Policy Research (@IPPR) has recently published another report (see linked tweet for their report about presenteeism) specifically looking at sickness and its impacts from a UK perspective.
It includes the following: “Sickness has become a...
1/3
vicswift retweeted
Executive Director of the Tony Blair Institute extolling the "radicalism" of the Milburn review.
This is going to be a nightmare, isn't it?
Anyone who thought the Milburn review would shrink from radicalism has just been proved wrong.
PIP and Universal Credit replaced for young people. The money moved into job support. More for those with the most severe conditions. Short-term pain for long-term gain, and he says so.
This is what our politics needs more of. Kudos to Alan and the team for taking the fight to the young NEETs crisis, one of the defining issues of our time. Tuesday's report looks like it has the answers.
Now we need the political will to turn review into reality.
vicswift retweeted
This is called Eugenics.
EXCLUSIVE:
Young people will be moved off the main sickness and disability benefits under radical plans to overhaul the welfare state and invest billions of pounds more in employment support.
Alan Milburn, who has spent the past year conducting a review into the one million people aged 18-24 who are not in education, employment or training, said he had concluded that the system needed to be rebuilt “from scratch” to stop people being trapped on benefits “in perpetuity”
In an interview with The Times, the former health secretary acknowledged that the plans would not be “pain-free” as some people would lose out on financial support. However, he said reforming the system offered the best chance of young people finding work and building a “good life”
Under Milburn’s plans, young people would no longer be able to claim the two main sickness and disability benefits: the health element of universal credit and the personal independence payment (Pip). They would instead move on to a new “youth allowance”, paid at the same level as the standard rate of universal credit
Many of those who receive Pip, designed to cover additional costs faced by those with a disability, will move on to a new “additional cost allowance”, which will cover day-to-day costs relating to their conditions. Like Pip, it would not be means tested, or linked to whether claimants were in work. Fewer people are likely to be entitled to it
Those with the most profound disabilities who are not capable of working would be given a new benefit, paid at a higher rate
Milburn will recommend investing billions in employment support, including one-to-one personal advisers, work placements and job subsidies, resulting in young people being presented with a “menu of options” to help them find work
“I’m not saying that any of this will be easy, or that it will be pain-free, because it won’t,” Milburn said. “Candidly, it could mean that some people will get less financial support at the beginning of their benefit claim than under the current system. But actually, for young people, there’s a different debate that we’ve got to resolve, which is whether the priority is their longer-term life chances or just their immediate shorter-term finances
“I think what the current system does [is] it prioritises the latter over the former. I believe that’s the wrong choice and it needs to be the other way around
“The approach I’ve taken on this is to try to define what would give young people the best chance of building a good life, not just over a year or two, but over the course of their lifetimes.”
The changes would apply to to both existing and new claimants
In exchange for greater employment support, there would be an element of conditionality — if people did not engage with the system, they could lose some of their benefits
“A deal isn’t a deal unless there are potential consequences,” Milburn said. “Entitlements and responsibilities are two sides of the same coin.”
The plans will require “significant investment” upfront, with savings realised over a decade plus
thetimes.com/article/971613c…
vicswift retweeted
Covid in England
(in memory of @tigresseleanor)
12th November 2026 - 7 days data
New Cases ( -239 ) 1,952
- w/e 4th November 2026
New Deaths ( +19 ) 105
- w/e 30th October 2026
vicswift retweeted
Lorraine, "Is covid still around?"
- Why yes it is. We're currently in the 18th wave of covid. Currently 2 million in the UK with long covid -
Dr Amir Khan explains that it's still around, "a multi system complex virus.. Some get it mild.. Others get full body aches and pains.. Real danger is long covid."
"Its difficult to treat, lots of people watching this will be struggling with long covid"
"Ventilate, ventilate, ventilate.. A well fitted FFP2 mask can help"
"If you are unwell stay at home.. But not everyone can afford to stay at home.. Zero hour contract.. Shift work.. Self employed"
"Staying of work means losing money for rent and food"
"If you've got good sick pay stay at home, but it's not fair for everyone else - we need better support and sick pay"
My view:
Covid didn’t disappear because we stopped talking about it. And for people living with long Covid, the consequences never went away. In March 2024, the ONS estimated that two million people in England and Scotland were experiencing self-reported long Covid. That is a dated estimate, but it shows the scale of the suffering so easily overlooked.
Dr Amir Khan’s point about sick pay gets to the heart of the problem. Telling someone to stay home when they’re ill is straightforward. Making that possible when missing a shift means missing rent or struggling to buy food requires political choices.
You cannot build an effective public health response around advice people cannot afford to follow.
Nobody should have to choose between protecting other people’s health and putting food on their own table. After everything we’ve been through, why are we still accepting that choice?
vicswift retweeted
The PCR positivity map is out. National positivity has hardly shifted at 8.88% in England and 7.21% in Scotland.
However there are several hotspots where high levels are increasing yet further.
jamestindall.info/skeuomorph…
1/7
vicswift retweeted
In London the rebound to higher levels is all north of the river, with sharp increases in Hammersmith & Fulham, Camden, Hackney, the City, Haringey, Redbridge, and Barking & Dagenham.
Most other boroughs are also increasing but from lower levels.
2/7
vicswift retweeted
The simplest way to reduce sickness levels in society is for an infected person to stay home and not to infect another person. However, in our society the current prevailing culture is one of ‘pushing on through a cold’ and of presenteeism.
A report by the...
1/5
vicswift retweeted
SARS-CoV-2 Primary Care Surveillance in England
Data from the RCGP Sentinel Surveillance system of around two thousand GP Practices.
In Week 45, ending 08 November 2026, the RCGP national average COVID-19 incidence rate for England (all ages) was stable...
(RCGP data & chart)
vicswift retweeted
Camden has confirmed that it is removing all of David Walliams books from shelves of its public libraries.
They’ve been dumped in a storage unit and users will have to make a special request to borrow them.
vicswift retweeted
I may lose my mind soon - the message when we log on.
Does the person writing it not SEE THE ISSUE
vicswift retweeted
My projections for next year's Standard Universal Credit & LCWRA rates were correct:
Standard UC in 2027 will rise to £443.21 pcm
Pre-Apr 2026 LCWRA* will rise to £441.41 pcm (£884.62 with Standard UC)
New LCWRA*: frozen at £217.26 pcm = 51% less (£660.47 with UC, 25% less)
ALT https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/benefit-and-pension-rates-2027-to-2028/proposed-benefit-and-pension-rates-2027-to-2028 GOV UK Proposed benefit and pension rates 2027 to 2028 Published 11 November 2026 UC amounts - standard allowance 1. Rates 2026 to 2027 (£) 2. Rates 2027 to 2028 (£) Single under 25 1. £338.58 2. £353.87 Single 25 or over 1. £424.90 2. £443.21 Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity amount 1. £217.26 2. £217.26 Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity amount (pre-2026 claimant, severe conditions criteria claimant or claimant who is terminally ill) 1. £429.80 2. £441.41
ALT *Pre-Apr 2026 LCWRA includes those qualifying as a Severe Conditions Criteria claimant or a claimant who is terminally ill (12 months or less to live) regardless of qualification date New LCWRA excludes those newly qualifying as a Severe Conditions Criteria claimant or a claimant who is terminally ill (12 months or less to live)
UC Act calculation instructions mean the combined rates for LCWRA + Standard UC in 2027 should be:
Pre-Apr 2026 LCWRA*:
£884.61 pcm
(£441.40 LCWRA + £443.21 UC)
New LCWRA*:
£660.47 pcm (25% less)
(£217.26 LCWRA (51% less) + £443.21 UC)
No combined rate increase for New LCWRA*
ALT https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/22 Universal Credit Act 2025 Protected LCWRA amount for tax years 2026-27 to 2029-30 (2) The result to be achieved for a tax year is that for each combination of the protected LCWRA amount & an amount of the standard allowance, the sum of those amounts for the current tax year is at least (in each case) the amount given by increasing (a) the sum of those amounts for the previous tax year, by (b) the relevant CPI % for current tax year (4) In this section (a) the "relevant CPI %" for a tax year is the % by which the consumer prices index for the Sept before the start of the tax year is higher than it was for the Sept before that (or 0% if it is not higher)
ALT https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/bulletins/consumerpriceinflation/september2026 Office for National Statistics Consumer price inflation, UK: September 2026 Release date: 21 October 2026 The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose by 3.5% in the 12 months to September 2026, up from 3.1% the previous month.
ALT https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/benefit-and-pension-rates-2026-to-2027/proposed-benefit-and-pension-rates-2026-to-2027#universal-credit-uc-monthly-rates Benefit & pension rates 2026 to 2027 16 Feb 2026 1. Rates 2025/26 2. Rates 2026/27 UC Amounts - Standard allowance Single under 25 1. £316.98 2. £338.58 Single 25 or over 1. £400.14 2. £424.90 Limited Capability for Work & Work-Related Activity amount 1. £423.27 2. £217.26 Limited Capability for Work & Work-Related Activity amount (Pre-2026 claimant, severe conditions criteria claimant or claimant who is terminally ill) 1. £423.27 2. £429.80
ALT *Pre-Apr 2026 LCWRA includes those qualifying as a Severe Conditions Criteria claimant or a claimant who is terminally ill (12 months or less to live) regardless of qualification date New LCWRA excludes those newly qualifying as a Severe Conditions Criteria claimant or a claimant who is terminally ill (12 months or less to live)
vicswift retweeted
An entire BBC article about cold and flu symptoms, OTC treatments /costs and medical advice if suffering symptoms.
Yet not a single mention of COVID.
It's in high circulation.
How is such an omission even remotely conceivable if not deliberate?
bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjkg…
vicswift retweeted
Covid Deaths in the UK
(in memory of @tigresseleanor)
Week 44 = 119 Registered UK Covid Deaths
w/e 30th October 2026
England 105
Wales 1
Scotland 7
N Ireland 6
UK 119 ( +14 )
1/
vicswift retweeted
I really hope politicians take just a couple of minutes to read through the thread below…
vicswift retweeted
🚨BREAKING
The Financial Times has just revealed that Thames Water’s US hedge fund creditors are close to agreeing a ‘last and final’ deal to take over the company.
A handover to US hedge funds. A continuation of the privatised chaos. And a huge reward for the people who have run our water into the ground.
The deal would see them allowed to pollute our rivers and seas without consequence - in exchange for an upfront payoff.
This deal is absolutely outrageous, in every regard.
112 MPs have already called for special administration of Thames Water.
A cross-party group of MPs - who scrutinise the Environment Department - have said that the creditors’ proposal should be rejected and Thames Water should be brought into special administration.
And the former Environment Secretary rejected a previous version of the creditors’ deal in June. This new version is not better in any way.
@andyburnham promised to reverse Thatcher’s legacy of privatisation. He promised public control of life’s essentials.
This really is the moment of truth for Andy Burnham. If he allows the water supply of 16 million people to be sold off to US hedge funds - how can we take him seriously about any of his promises?
NO DEAL to the Thames Water creditors. Special administration now.