Merryn Somerset Webb

The pyramid of need works for nations as well as people. You can't have want you want long term - unless you already have what you need. Time to invest in infrastructure, food and energy security and defence. bloomberg.com/news/newslette…

I very reluctantly agree with this reluctant case for ID cards. The privacy ship has long sailed. bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…

Lionel Shriver on what Britain looks like from Portugal thetimes.com/article/0bd95f…

I'd say these quotes are unbelievable, but we've been living through the looking glass so long we're starting to get used to it 🧵

Does no one check these bloody awful tweets? Even for grammar?

Wonder if can id as under 16 and get this too. Def have unhealthy doomscrolling habits.

On what other countries think of us. Not so good.

Those interested in teen mental health (and who decide on new girl guide badges). Perhaps looking inwards is a mistake. "Unexpectedly, we found that YAM (Youth Aware of Mental Health) led to increased emotional difficulties at the long term follow up." assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/680f52ef…

Because they don't know where their riders live now?

Increasing the sum of human knowledge, one tweet at a time.

Who could have guessed?

Papers today jammed with stories showing the beginning of the end of the age of entitlement. And the return of a focus on needs over wants.

Reeves going ahead with pushing pensions into IHT net. At the same time as wanting people to save more into pensions. No point in saying most people don't pay IHT... everyone is beginning to understand fiscal drag...

Listening to an A&E consultant Kate Searle in the Peggie v NHS Fife claim she knows she's female because "she was assigned female at birth" and then say "she's not an expert in it". Absolutely excruciating symptom of how gender ideology rots medical & scientific knowledge.

Writing is more than words on a page. It’s how we think, feel, and make sense of the world. As AI takes control of that process more and more, it’s important to remember the power of writing as a deeply human act.

A UK wealth tax sounds simple: "tax the super‑rich, fund public services" But it's not. Our 16,000 word deep‑dive shows revenues are fragile, it puts growth, investment and jobs at risk, and there's no revenue before 2029. Here’s the evidence:

Always a great show for wit and insight and rarely has analysis been more urgent. This will sell out before the dates so do book early!

Come and see ⁦@MerrynSW⁩ ‘s show I’m doing the Saturday edfringe.com/tickets/whats-…

If you are working you have an auto enrolment pension. So, yes, you are saving for retirement.

Costs of U.K. welfare state likely to rise 26% in the next 5 years. The economy not likely to grown by more than 8% tops. So... reform or crisis..