Andrew Harrop
Director at Public First. Former Fabian Society General Secretary (2011-2024). Public policy of work, money, health & care.
https://cradle2grave.substack.com
- What is the role of Adult Social Care in building a Neighbourhood Health Service? I had the pleasure of working out the answer, working with the brilliant Sir David Pearson, and writing this statement published today by Skills for Care and partners www.linkedin.com/posts/andrew...
- Fascinating (and worrying) to see a false meme derived from overseas data & social media culture get so much traction… never mind the UK evidence
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- NEW POST When I went freelance in 2024, I didn’t think at all about insuring my new business. It turns out I was not alone. cradle2grave.substack.com/p/small-busi...
- Reposted by Andrew HarropAmazing that journalists need to have this explained.
- The Parliament Act is not ‘archaic’. The constant possibility of using it is what maintains the supremacy of the Commons, and means the Lords almost always give way. www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
- The Parliament Act is not ‘archaic’. The constant possibility of using it is what maintains the supremacy of the Commons, and means the Lords almost always give way. www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
- Let’s not go down the UBI rabbit hole again… Absolutely, tax AI disrupters’ profits, but spend it on Universal Credit (and the government’s proposed new unemployment insurance). This actually protects jobless people. Don’t waste a second more talking about UBI giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
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Post war western Europe is simply the best society that this species has ever managed to create. Never forget it. Defend it for all we're worth. - Reposted by Andrew Harrop[Not loaded yet]
- Reposted by Andrew Harrop“giving up Chagos was stupid and this proves you should therefore give up Greenland”
- Excellent review of the pressure facing Europe’s state pensions The UK is better placed than many: brely any politics about our next rise to pension age in April But we still need to debate replacing the triple lock with a system pegged to % of average earnings giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
- Reposted by Andrew Harrop🚨 10 DAYS TO GO 🚨 The countdown is on for New Year Conference 2026: Renewing Britain
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- Samuel Pepys was a Conservative MP… in the 1660s!?? www.thetimes.com/article/4597...
- Reposted by Andrew HarropThoughtful post that goes to the heart of how to move towards a national care service in the context of wide local variations in spending and need. This is not straightforward.
- NEW POST: Figures out last week tell us just how much local care expenditure in England deviates from underlying spending pressures. - On average, areas with lower needs spend ‘too much’ and areas with higher needs spend ‘too little’. 1/2 cradle2grave.substack.com/p/ending-the...
- NEW POST: Figures out last week tell us just how much local care expenditure in England deviates from underlying spending pressures. - On average, areas with lower needs spend ‘too much’ and areas with higher needs spend ‘too little’. 1/2 cradle2grave.substack.com/p/ending-the...
- - But the average is less important than the deviation. 31 councils are 'under-spending' by more than 10% Reforms to local government finance will address this gap a bit. But councils are not being set spending targets by DHSC that fully reflect differences in need.
- Reposted by Andrew HarropJeffrey Epstein & David Walliams leading all the bulletins but Kemi Badenoch knows that only men from ‘different cultures’ pose a threat to women.
- Reposted by Andrew HarropThis Bill will be transformative. But there is more that we could do to strengthen rights at work in the coming years. At @thefabians.bsky.social, we are exploring the next steps in the employment rights agenda. Get in touch with @lukeraikes.bsky.social if you want to find out more.
- Thanks FT 🤷🏼♂️
- Reposted by Andrew HarropThis afternoon there was a stabbing on the Westbourne estate in Islington.
- This is 100% wrong Limiting pension salary sacrifice for high earners in the private sector will hit men far more than women Critics may not like the reform, but it equalises the tax benefits of pension saving for men/women, rich/poor giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
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- Consternation on our family group chat at the death of Zipcar… How we’ve made life in London work without owning a car for the past 2 decades 😢 😮 www.theguardian.com/business/202...
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- This is a reasonable compromise that ends the threat of risk averse employers making fewer hires. With full rights after 6 months and a huge advance in employment protections UK labour law is joining the European mainstream on.ft.com/49JKkvw Labour retreats on ‘day one’ rights for workers
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- Today's package wasn't perfect but it was a responsible centre-left plan for tough economic times cradle2grave.substack.com/p/in-defence...
- Almost all the tax rises in this Budget are years’ away But the politics has been so mishandled, that voters and businesses will think they’re being hit now (including blaming Labour for Sunak’s threshold freezes) on.ft.com/48cCRCz
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- So very sad to hear. Rachel was one of the sharpest, funniest, most empathetic and eloquent people I’ve ever known observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
- Reposted by Andrew Harrop🔉What dangers does X pose to our democracy? And should the government stop using it? Good to hear yesterday from @sundersays.bsky.social and @petergeoghegan.bsky.social on the immense risk of X as it ignores legal obligations and its owner tries to influence UK politics. @commonswec.parliament.uk
- Reposted by Andrew HarropGood piece by David Aaronovitch on the Prescott dossier: observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
- My purist view on pension salary sacrifice is it should either be UNIVERSAL or BANNED. It is a very generous tax break that mainly benefits above average earners (employers cant use it if it will take pay below the minimum wage, so it’s a faff in low pay sectors).
- SS exists because employer pension contributions are much more tax supported than employee contributions. Really they should be treated the same, as low earners tend to get more in employee contributions, high earners in employers’ (one of many ways pension tax relief favours the high paid)
- But while employer contributions are so advantageous, either <everyone> or <no one> should have the chance to be paid into their pension outside of pay
- Reposted by Andrew Harrop1/ The US Government has quietly removed a memorial to Black soldiers who died in World War II from the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten, South Limburg. The move follows a complaint from the right-wing Heritage Foundation to the American Battle Monuments Commission. ⬇️
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- I missed this last week. The new English index of income deprivation includes UC working households who are on low-incomes AFTER HOUSING COSTS. This is a big deal technically & means we now have a hyper local measure of LIVING STANDARDS not just incomes. www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
- Reposted by Andrew HarropPretty extraordinary story here www-bbc-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.bbc....
- The minimum wage is pegged to median earnings. It is only rising to keep up with higher pay and prices across the economy. It sounds like recruiters need to do that too, rather than blame the wage floor? on.ft.com/4hBPdIK City bosses warn on pay as minimum wage closes in on graduate salaries
- Out today - including my chapter on the case for pension tax reform
- Reposted by Andrew Harrop16% is a bit misleading. Probably something roughly like 65% of 200k+ members and 5-9% of 800k affiliated orgs/mainly unions, where people didnt choose to join. They split the turnout by category every other time
- Labour should grasp the nettle on pension tax reform - my chapter in a great new @thefabians.bsky.social report Taxing Questions fabians.org.uk/publication/...
- Wait, I know this one. Is must be by cutting a third off National Insurance when there’s a huge deficit…?
- Reading these lame defences makes me wonder why this hasn’t happened years’ ago? Very rich lawyers and accountants should be taxed as much as very rich bankers! on.ft.com/3KViuSD Lawyers and accountants warn Reeves against tax raid on partnerships
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- 12 fair and pro-growth tax rises that Rachel Reeves should consider My post for @labourlist.bsky.social 1. Freeze all income tax and national insurance thresholds until the end of the parliament (though it would be fairer to just raise income tax rates) 🧵 labourlist.org/2025/10/bude...
- 2. Eliminate very high marginal income tax rates on high earners in a fiscally neutral reform 3. Introduce a high-income ‘tax-swap’ by scrapping the 2p top rate of employee NICs & replacing it with income tax
- 4. Introduce a basic-rate ‘tax swap’ too - though risky as this would hit pensioners and the self-employed 5. Levy National Insurance on pensioners - definitely on earnings after pension age (more controversially on private pensions too)
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View full thread11. Create a lifetime cap on ISA saving of £100,000 - instead of changing annual saving limits 12. Scrap almost all VAT reliefs (over 5 years) but provide flat-rate compensation - there’s no chance of this happening but it should! Details and costings ⬇️ cradle2grave.substack.com/p/the-dirty-...
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- Excellent article by @chrisgiles.ft.com riffing off recent posts from @benbgeiger.bsky.social No need for a moral panic about the welfare system on.ft.com/4ooDEqx
- Post on DHSC's plans for the social care Fair Pay Agreement - The proposals are robust - April 2028 launch sensible - The £500m budget for the FPA is enough to start bargaining (esp as it only covers publicly-paid care) But more will be needed >2029 1/2 cradle2grave.substack.com/p/paying-for...
- But funding the FPA from April 2028 isn't consistent with the ministers' current spending plans - Only around £1.4bn new funding is planned for social care in 2028 - The FPA and regular pay rises would consume at least £900m The sector should negotiate in good faith, hoping more ££ comes later 2/2
- Keir’s goal of an end to child poverty and childhood hunger is HUGE. It requires a reordering of labour markets, housing markets, public services and social security. Now we need a plan to make it happen.
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- “Not taking a penny in benefits” Seriously? Child benefit Universal credit while working State pension based on contribution PIP with severe disability?
- A good day to join the Fabians… fabians.org.uk/membership/j...
- There is sound logic to a ‘tax switch’ from employee NICs to income tax, not least for the slice of NI that goes to the NHS. But LAB doesn’t have political headroom to raise taxes on mid income pensioners now. ➡️Reeves should do this switch only with the higher/additional rate on.ft.com/3KhcUtu
- Excellent to see proposals on workplace health published by @thefabians.bsky.social concluding a project we were setting up as I left. A serious plan for large employers to fund quality occupational health & government to help SMEs on.ft.com/3Inh1U4
- It’s hard to argue that pay is out of control when it’s only a whisker over inflation.
- Bike crashes requiring ambulance attendance were up 44% Which means cycling in London during the strike was even safer than usual… rider numbers were well over double www.thetimes.com/article/fca8...
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- As with Trump, it’s never just about ‘illegal’ immigration
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- NEW POST - National Care Service: A Quiet First Step The government has taken a big step towards creating the National Care Service without telling anyone! ...all in one paragraph of this summer's Fair Funding proposals for local government finance cradle2grave.substack.com/p/national-c...
