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<img width="150" height="150" src="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/stamps-tolgadenizaran-3_r6jZiPf6s-unsplash-w1080-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="postage stamps on a table" decoding="async" srcset="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/stamps-tolgadenizaran-3_r6jZiPf6s-unsplash-w1080-150x150.jpg 150w, https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/stamps-tolgadenizaran-3_r6jZiPf6s-unsplash-w1080-100x100.jpg 100w" sizes="(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" />I have picked this up as a project, certainly it takes up enough room and I haven’t looked at it for a while. I am quite looking forward to reviewing the UK and iron-curtain eastern European stamps. It was put together by my mum and her family and so it covers an extensive time period....
<img width="150" height="150" src="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/stamps-tolgadenizaran-3_r6jZiPf6s-unsplash-w1080-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="postage stamps on a table" decoding="async" srcset="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/stamps-tolgadenizaran-3_r6jZiPf6s-unsplash-w1080-150x150.jpg 150w, https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/stamps-tolgadenizaran-3_r6jZiPf6s-unsplash-w1080-100x100.jpg 100w" sizes="(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" /> I have picked this up as a project, certainly it takes up enough room and I haven’t looked at it for a while. I am quite looking forward to reviewing the UK and iron-curtain eastern European stamps. It was put together by my mum and her family and so it covers an extensive time period. It may contain some stamps from Pa-Jim’s collection too. … I got a copy of Stamp Collector, and ordered it again. I found the following sites, https://www.stamp-valuations.co.uk/, I have contacted them. Warwick and Warwick : how-to-sell-your-stamp-collection, point at https://www.thepts.net/, W&W offer valuations. And UPA stamp auctions which is what interested me last time I looked. They have a web form requesting a collection valuation. They require an accurate overview statement of the inventory supported by pictures, but not too many, this maybe ideal. Stanley Gibbons still buy them, although maybe only as an auction service.
<img width="150" height="150" src="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Andy_Burnham_NHS_Confederation_annual_conference-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="Andy Burnham on Stage speaking" decoding="async" srcset="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Andy_Burnham_NHS_Confederation_annual_conference-150x150.jpg 150w, https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Andy_Burnham_NHS_Confederation_annual_conference-100x100.jpg 100w" sizes="(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" />Andy Burnham, the likely next leader of the Labour Party made a speech on Monday 29th June, from the People’s History Museum in Salford. I have linked to the Sky News video of the speech. I have captured the transcript and post it below/overleaf. This may differ from the speech due to inaccuracies in youtube’s...
<img width="150" height="150" src="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Andy_Burnham_NHS_Confederation_annual_conference-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="Andy Burnham on Stage speaking" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Andy_Burnham_NHS_Confederation_annual_conference-150x150.jpg 150w, https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Andy_Burnham_NHS_Confederation_annual_conference-100x100.jpg 100w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" /> Andy Burnham, the likely next leader of the Labour Party made a speech on Monday 29th June, from the People’s History Museum in Salford. I have linked to the Sky News video of the speech. I have captured the transcript and post it below/overleaf. This may differ from the speech due to inaccuracies in youtube’s speech capture and my editing process as I removed the timestamps and the applause markers. Enjoy, Thanks so much everybody. Thanks very much everyone. [applause] Wow, what a welcome. Good morning everybody. Are you ready for this? I’m sounding like I used to sound when I used to DJ across this uh this great city. And I’m probably doing that because I’m missing it so much. I’m missing all of you. I am missing all of you. missing this place, the people. You were just brilliant to me in my nine years as mayor. I could not have asked for better backing. You were there at my back all the way through and I will never forget what this place did for me. It’s been such a wrench to leave that I’ve had to get special permission from what people uh in Westminster call my Manchester clothes. So, I’ve had to get special permission uh to wear them this morning. Sorry, Kem, about that. However, I have bowed to public pressure on one front. I have bought some new running shorts. It was either do that or change the decency laws. and I opted for uh I opted for the former. But I can’t tell you how glad it makes me that we meet at this big moment in one of my favorite places on earth, the People’s History Museum. It holds real significance for me, and it’s not just because one of my old coats is in a glass case upstairs. And can you believe it? Comes off second best alongside Michael Foot’s infamous donkey jacket. It’s because these galleries tell the story of our country better than anywhere else. How through time it has not been run in the interests of the many. And how ordinary people have fought to change that status quo and make it fairer. Today, we must take inspiration from that history and get ready to repeat it. The time has come to build the broadest possible coalition of people to lift Britain back up to where we all want it to be. What hope can we have that it will be different this time? That’s the question I would be asking if I was a voter. Uh right now. It’s the one I want to answer as clearly as I can today and in doing so give the new direction the country is looking for. After 10 years of political turbulence since Brexit and 20 years of falling living standards since the 2008 financial crash, Westminster hasn’t been working for people and it hasn’t been working for a very long time. In fact, it is broken. And as a result, the country isn’t where it should be. It is stuck in a rut. And clearly, we can’t go on like this. My generation of politicians, including me, must take responsibility. We haven’t been good enough. But instead of being honest about that, the parties have continued with politics as usual, finger-pointing, point scoring. Now that might matter less in a world where people’s lives are getting better, but when they are not, it is dangerous and destructive of what remains of public trust in politics. We cannot go through another decade like the one we have just had. We need a new determination to raise living standards of every single person in this land. And we must accept that. To do that, to fix the economy and the country, we need to change politics. And we need to do it now. So let me state my clear intention as I put myself forward. True to the motto of this city, I am going to do things differently. I am going to break with the more of the same approach that has got us here. I am going to give Britain the circuit breaker it needs by building a more collaborative politics in Westminster. by taking power out of the center and putting it in the hands of the people and places who can use it best. And in so doing, creating a new sense of agency, possibility, and hope flowing around the country. We will make politics work for you and the place where you live. I know it can be done because we have done it here. When I started as mayor in 2017, we set about building a new approach, a new politics based on the exact opposite of the Westminster approach. Place first, not party first. Problem solving, not point scoring. Long-term, not short term. A decade on, it’s incredible how much we’ve been able to achieve by working together instead of fighting against one another. The Greater Manchester Way is based on strong partnership between all sectors, public, private, community, voluntary, academic, faith, and our trade unions. We ask everyone to face the same way and then pull in that same direction together. Let me give you an example. When we realized the last Conservative government had done something significant by introducing 45 day work placements for young people linked to tea levels. We set ourselves the mission of finding one for every young person who wanted one. Over the course of last year, we rang round our businesses in the city region and with the help of hundreds of companies delivered our goal of a thousand extra work placements. That’s a thousand extra young lives changed every year. And it shows what a place can do when it works as one. For Britain to get back where it should be, those same principles need to be applied now to how we run the country. pull in the same direction. Move forward together. But let’s not kid ourselves. This is not as easy as it sounds. Westminster and Whitehall are set up for conflict and they require radical change if the country is to get back on track. I left Westminster a decade ago with the mayor of the Liverpool city region, Steve Rotherham, because we could see it simply wasn’t working for the northwest of England and the people here. and indeed other parts of Britain the same thing. The parliament I returned to on Monday is full of good people. Many of them here uh in the audience today, members of parliament who’ve joined us and they are working hard every day trying to do the right thing for the places that they represent. But it’s hard. It’s too hard for them to make change. Why? Because power is not in the hands of those places that they represent but held by an insufficiently accountable outsourced state. We are one of the most overcentralized countries in the world and worse that over centralized heart of the country is not pulling in the same way but in different directions. That is the reality of Westminster now, both within our parties and between them and between the departments of Whitehall. I’ll be honest, I was worried about what I found on my return last week. It is a more fragmented, disjointed place than the one I left and frankly unhappier. I will work hard to change that culture, leading from the front and showing how things can be different. Letting MPs be authentic representatives and not using the whip system to create fear or close down debate, involving more people in the work of the government, and drawing on the breadth and depth of talent and expertise our party has to offer. While the political direction I set is not up for negotiation, I will build an inclusive team at the very highest level so that all parts of the party and the country can see themselves reflected and represented in it. And may I say, I will not announce those decisions on appointments. Certainly not today and indeed not until the end of this process. So until then, feel free to discount the wild speculation in circulation. Message for the back of the room there. Good morning, Mr. Mason. Um, I will reach out to other political parties to find as much common ground as we can and build that more collaborative approach I spoke about a moment ago. So a greater sense of unity in parliament will then allow us to give a clearer sense of direction to Whitehall. I was struck by recent comments from ministers expressing their deep frustration at the Whitehall turf wars. Like parliament, the civil service is full of good people trying to do the right thing, but they are held back by the structure and culture in which they have to work. It is too adversarial and too much time is wasted with departmental silos battling each other and battling the treasury rather than getting things done. How can the country pull in the same direction when that is the reality at the very top? And as mayors, I’m sure I speak for the front row here. As mates, we have felt similar frustration over the years when those same departments constantly push back against our legitimate requests to improve our places by devolving a fraction of the power and resources they hold. The truth is this, the country spends too much time arguing and not enough time doing. I’m not sure this Whitehall culture could ever be justified. Wasn’t justified when I was a minister uh almost 20 years ago, but it certainly can’t be justified now. The stark imbalance in resources between national government and local government is holding back growth. If councils can’t fix potholes, what chance do they have of bringing forward major regeneration schemes to get growth going? While national government has got bigger, particularly since the pandemic, local government is threadbare and without the resources to fulfil even statutory responsibilities. This is not just bad for councils in the areas they serve. It is bad for everywhere. It is bad for London and the southeast. The whole country suffers when the regions and nations are not meeting their potential and Londoners are left with an overheated economy and an overcrowded housing market. It is actually bad for national government too because we will never get the growth up to the level Britain needs unless every single postcode in the land is set up to contribute to it. This country hasn’t thought in that way before. But with the make a field test at the heart of decision-making, it will do from now on. To make it happen, we will bring about the biggest rebalancing of power our country has seen. It is time for Whitehall to accept that growth cannot be ordered from the top down. Instead, it can only be nurtured from the bottom up. It comes from having the power at ground level to make a real difference from a clear shared vision that everyone can understand and investors can back. It comes from running sound finances as we have done here in Greater Manchester, which in turn gives businesses the stability and the confidence to invest, increasing their productivity and adoption of new technology. It comes from placing our universities at the heart of local economies as all the mayors do and bringing the innovation-led approach through startups and scale-ups. It comes from committing to decent infrastructure in all parts of the UK and getting national investors to back the aspirations set by regions. It comes from giving people the security of a good home and good employment so that they can be as productive as possible from good mobility and an ability to afford the basics. And it comes from not leaving everything to the market but public intervention where necessary to set higher ambitions for towns as we did in Stockport and kickstart the process of change. This is Manchesterism. I think I even saw the mayor of Liverpool clapping at that. It is a vision for good growth and a rejection of the old trickle down model and like the ideas this museum celebrates which grew here and changed the country. So all parts of the UK should now be given the chance to develop their own version of the same, focusing on the things that matter most to them. Good growth in every British postcode. What a sea change that would be in the way UK government thinks about our own country. Places no longer forgotten or written off as they have been in the past, but supported to make the best of their assets. Seeing the positives in all places and there are positives in all places, in all postcodes across this United Kingdom. Let’s always remember that. Powers for our rural economies to address issues specific to them like inadequate transport. Powers for areas undergoing industrial transition like Port Tolbert, Skunthorp and Abedine. Powers for our proud coastal towns to reimagine themselves for the 21st century. And yes, more powers for London too over education and housing so that London can do more for itself and remain the world’s greatest capital city. And you heard that here from Manchester. All of it backed by the stability that comes from sound public finances as I said before and the discipline of our current fiscal rules. I hope people can begin to feel hopefully you can some of the excitement that comes with the change that I’m setting out today. It promises a new era of possibility for Britain. possibility in places that haven’t felt it for a very long time. And I know cuz I heard that from people on doorsteps in the bi-election. But let’s give them that feeling, that ability to hope, to aspire to better. The change will be the biggest change in our lifetimes to the way the country is run and it is consistent with the 2024 manifesto. We will create a more streamlined state with a clearer purpose to power up all parts of the country and put a laser-like focus on growth and regeneration. Good growth. The change will be driven through the prime minister’s office in an extended operation based here in Manchester. But here’s the important thing. It will only be based here. The job of number 10 North will be to make power flow into the Midlands, into the southwest, into the east of England, and yes, into London, as I said before, as much as into the northeast, Yorkshire and the Humber, and here in the Northwest. It will be about offering new opportunities to extend evolution in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland by taking power deeper down. The people of Dundee and Bangor feel just as distant from Hollywood and the Senate as they do from Westminster. Now get this. Number 10 North will be the nerve center of a rewired Britain. It will be the conduit through which we redistribute power and resources across the UK. It will coordinate all parts of government at national and local level to agree a long-term economic strategy and help all places set new growth ambitions. It will be given a mission to strive for equivalent living conditions in all parts of Britain, borrowing from the German basic law. It will make place based collaboration the new operating principle for UK plc, requiring all government departments and agencies to support strategic and local authorities with staffing and resources. And let me say this very directly. And let me say this very directly. The days of Whitehall fighting the devolution power into the regions and nations are over for good. I have had 10 years of fighting the whitehall machine, blocking this place’s progress, the progress of people here, and I am simply not prepared to accept the same for any area coming after Greater Manchester. The whole of Whitehall will now be required to get behind our places and work together with them to make quicker, more joined up decisions. Ours will be a 10-year mission to raise living standards across the land. To do this, Number 10 North will support the regions on three clear tasks. reform of essential utilities, re-industrialization and the regeneration of places on utilities on utilities. We will ensure all parts of the UK are able to take greater public control of essential services like water, housing, energy, and transport. Learning from the model that has transformed our bus networks here in Greater Manchester. We will set out 10-year plans to bring down the cost of these essentials to individuals, families, and businesses. On re-industrialization. We will support every region to set clear and credible industrial ambitions and provide the support to achieve them encouraging more cross UK partnership between places with complimentary industrial clusters as Cambridge and Manchester have done on life sciences. We will consolidate public and private investment at a place-based level and help all areas establish good growth funds as we have done here in Greater Manchester. We are such an inventive country and going forward we can be the world’s leading innovation nation. This is the key to higher growth and I want more world beating British manufacturers and service providers at the frontier of new technology and exporting to the world. I will back our scientists, technologists, entrepreneurs and creatives as I have done here and show how Britain will be the innovation nation of the next decade. We will get better at capturing full value from their ideas for UK plc by changing the culture in Whitehall when it comes to backing British industry. For too long, UK public procurement policy has been based on chasing cut price deals around the world rather than helping our own British based suppliers become more stable and competitive. No more. From here on, every pound raised from taxpayers will work harder for them. And that approach will apply fully to the defense investment plan. We will make sure that all eligible public contracts are subject to proper social value weighting and we will do that to make sure British-based companies are in a better position to win those contracts. This change is essential given the need to build our own resilience in places across the country in an increasingly uncertain world. We need to safeguard sovereign manufacturing and production capability across the country in critical sectors like steel, defense, energy, food and farming rather than just being prepared to let it go as we have sadly done in the past. In return, we will recycle maximum uh benefits for our communities and our residents. For instance, by requiring a much greater supply of 45day work placements and apprenticeships for young people. I take very seriously the findings of the recent report by Alan Milburn. We need a complete rethink of how we support the next generation to succeed and it has to start with the education system. The days of a school system configured entirely around the university route will be brought to an end. University is great for those who want it. But when are we going to focus on the life chances of those kids who want something different? When the country hasn’t done that for a long, long time. People have argued over many years for an education system based on par between academic and technical and that is what we will build. Giving every young person growing up here a clear path into a reindustrialized Britain Where young people need mental health support, it should be provided as part of in work support and we will answer the call from the mayors and particularly the mayor of the northeast for devolution of employment support and changing the way we support and sustain people employment working much more through our community and voluntary sector at a grassroots level working with organizations people trust to help them rather than going to places that they fear. This is the difference that the mayors uh can make and in doing that we will reduce the welfare bill in a way that is fair and lasting and helps people move forward. Another way to do that is by repairing the public housing stock. Britain has lost almost one and a half million council homes since the 1980s and around the same number of people are now on housing waiting lists and have been there for a very long time. As a result, the country is in a housing trap. We are forced to chase rents in the private rented sector through the benefit system. When governments try to control these costs by freezing local housing allowance, it makes families homeless and places unfunded pressures on councils when they have to pay for temporary accommodation. Britain’s housing crisis is having a ruinous impact on its public finances. So working with local areas, Number 10 North will oversee the biggest council house building program since the postwar period. We will use public land, vacant public land to reduce costs. Let me just take you back to when I grew up here in the 1970s. And Steve Rotherham and I have have written about about this in a certain book. But when we were growing up here, amongst the friends we had at school, there were two things that were the foundations of working class aspiration. A council home, a secure home that was the foundation for everything. And then good technical education. And those things have been taken away in the decades since. So no wonder so many young people struggle to make it work, and then don’t make it work. Don’t blame them. Blame ourselves. We haven’t been giving people this stability, this ability to get on in life. And it’s time we did and brought back working class aspiration, the chance of somebody growing up here to be everything that they can be. And that’s what we will do. And also make this a city where no one has to leave to get on in life or any of the other cities represented here today. That’s what this new era is going to be all about. a sense of hope, of possibility that things are achievable that you might not have thought were before. And having this focus on council homes again and building them in all parts of the country, it will represent a decisive shift to a more preventative, productive state, adopting a national housing first philosophy as has been pioneered so successfully in Finland. If you don’t give people a good home, what chance have they got of having a good life? What chance of making the health service sustainable if people are not living in in good accommodation or getting a good education for kids? Everything starts with a good home. And this country finally has to put that at the top of its priority list. Through this new approach, we will bring higher density residential development to our towns and number 10 North will be able to support all places to turn around those towns, their high streets and the local centers, increasing footfall on the high street and protecting more green spaces from development. ment. To reinforce that, we will reform business rates to support pubs and high street businesses, businesses that bring social benefits to communities. And let me finish by saying this. Rather than being a marker of decline, shouldn’t we make our high streets the new symbol of Britain’s renaissance? Ours is a 10-year mission to raise people’s living standards. I know people can’t wait forever for change. I heard on doorsteps in Makerfield how people need a bit extra now to help with rising costs. I will do my very best to deliver it and whilst not taking risks with the public finances will seek to give Britain some breathing space as soon as I can. People need to be able to look forward to a night out or a holiday with the kids. People need hope. This brings me back to where I started and the stories told in this building of how ordinary people right back to Peterloo 200 years ago here changed a British state not built with them in mind. Our modern challenge is exactly the same. An economy which from the mid1 1980s onwards has not been built with them in mind and instead has handed more to those who already have most and left people overpaying for the basics. If people in 1844 could form the cooperative movement in Rodale to lower the price of food, then why can’t we act now with similar courage to make life better? Imagine what things could be like if we succeed. Imagine what it would feel like to live in a country wired to work for ordinary people rather than against them. Imagine if all local areas could build homes people can afford to the point where they could guarantee one for everyone. Imagine if we could bring down the cost of energy for people and businesses and the good things that would come from that. Imagine good growth in every postcode and hope in every heart. I’ll say it again. Imagine good growth in every postcode and hope in every heart. Well, imagine no more. Let’s make it happen. Image Credit: By NHS Confederation – Andy Burnham on stage, CC BY 2.0, @ 2014
<img width="150" height="150" src="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/53836009867_63fd6cdffe_b-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="portrait of Keir Starmer in Downing St" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/53836009867_63fd6cdffe_b-150x150.jpg 150w, https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/53836009867_63fd6cdffe_b-100x100.jpg 100w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" />A lot is being written about why Starmer had to go, I think this sums it up. … Featured Image: from No10@flickr.com, CC 2024 BY-NC-ND
<img width="150" height="150" src="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/53836009867_63fd6cdffe_b-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="portrait of Keir Starmer in Downing St" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/53836009867_63fd6cdffe_b-150x150.jpg 150w, https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/53836009867_63fd6cdffe_b-100x100.jpg 100w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" /> A lot is being written about why Starmer had to go, I think this sums it up. … <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="750" height="302" src="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/UK-Polls-2024-2026-w750.png" alt="" class="wp-image-14355" srcset="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/UK-Polls-2024-2026-w750.png 750w, https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/UK-Polls-2024-2026-w750-300x121.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px" /> From politico.eu’s UK poll tracker 24 June 2026 Featured Image: from No10@flickr.com, CC 2024 BY-NC-ND
<img width="150" height="150" src="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/ai-stevejohnson-_0iV9LmPDn0-unsplash-h720-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="an image of a digital brain over a startrek style control panel" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/ai-stevejohnson-_0iV9LmPDn0-unsplash-h720-150x150.jpg 150w, https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/ai-stevejohnson-_0iV9LmPDn0-unsplash-h720-100x100.jpg 100w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" />Despite the many pages I have tagged AI, I need another to document my sources as I seek to understand how it works and why GPUs are required. This is by no way finished. Links I need something on neural nets and why Nvidia/GPUs are needed? This thread on linkedin announcing AMD’s desktop AI machine.
<img width="150" height="150" src="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/ai-stevejohnson-_0iV9LmPDn0-unsplash-h720-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="an image of a digital brain over a startrek style control panel" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/ai-stevejohnson-_0iV9LmPDn0-unsplash-h720-150x150.jpg 150w, https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/ai-stevejohnson-_0iV9LmPDn0-unsplash-h720-100x100.jpg 100w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" /> Despite the many pages I have tagged AI, I need another to document my sources as I seek to understand how it works and why GPUs are required. This is by no way finished. Links What is AI RAG? More on AI Perspectives Augmentation Deep Learning for Dummies I need something on neural nets and why Nvidia/GPUs are needed? This thread on linkedin announcing AMD’s desktop AI machine.
<img width="150" height="150" src="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/safeharbour-bydeepai-cc0-w1080-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="a giant casting a fire bolt at a breakwater" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/safeharbour-bydeepai-cc0-w1080-150x150.jpg 150w, https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/safeharbour-bydeepai-cc0-w1080-100x100.jpg 100w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" />The CJEU has been weakening “carrier immunity” also known as “safe harbour”, firstly in a case called X vs Russmedia but its come to light in my feeds recently, I am not sure why, important people have just noticed it. Here are some links … Links Here’s Gemini’s response to “ Show me the recent...
<img width="150" height="150" src="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/safeharbour-bydeepai-cc0-w1080-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="a giant casting a fire bolt at a breakwater" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/safeharbour-bydeepai-cc0-w1080-150x150.jpg 150w, https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/safeharbour-bydeepai-cc0-w1080-100x100.jpg 100w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" /> The CJEU has been weakening “carrier immunity” also known as “safe harbour”, firstly in a case called X vs Russmedia but its come to light in my feeds recently, I am not sure why, important people have just noticed it. Here are some links … Links Judgement of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 2 December 2025. X v Russmedia Digital SRL and Inform Media Press SRL. Request for a preliminary ruling from the Curtea de Apel Cluj. Ruling in English Dec 2025 and the multilingual Host/Landing Page The EUs top court just redrew the lines on social media platform liability under GDPR by Captain Compliance EU – Does Russmedia mean indeterminate liability for online platforms? from Linklaters CJEU’s Russmedia decision: how online marketplace platforms could be held liable under the GDPR from Bird & Bird Here’s Gemini’s response to “ Show me the recent CJEU ruling on social media liability and algorithms “ It’s called a preliminary ruling because it’s been referred by a member state court for guidance on EU law. The final judgement is issued by the member state court. Featured Image: by deepai.org
<img width="150" height="150" src="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/demo-chrisslupski-LeHpD4Jq_cU-unsplash-w1080-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="hands raised on the street in the sun" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/demo-chrisslupski-LeHpD4Jq_cU-unsplash-w1080-150x150.jpg 150w, https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/demo-chrisslupski-LeHpD4Jq_cU-unsplash-w1080-100x100.jpg 100w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" />I came across “Aspiring for Change: A Theory of Middle Class Activism” and wanted to clear the physical version out from my cupboard and so made this note. Others may find it interesting. The paper citation is below, but this is the abstract, “We propose a regime change model in which people are uncertain about...
<img width="150" height="150" src="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/demo-chrisslupski-LeHpD4Jq_cU-unsplash-w1080-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="hands raised on the street in the sun" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/demo-chrisslupski-LeHpD4Jq_cU-unsplash-w1080-150x150.jpg 150w, https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/demo-chrisslupski-LeHpD4Jq_cU-unsplash-w1080-100x100.jpg 100w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" /> I came across “Aspiring for Change: A Theory of Middle Class Activism” and wanted to clear the physical version out from my cupboard and so made this note. Others may find it interesting. The paper citation is below, but this is the abstract, “We propose a regime change model in which people are uncertain about both the quality of a specific regime and governance in general. The poor perceive the current regime as bad, rationally infer that all governments are bad, and therefore believe mass movements are futile. The middle class are more sanguine about the prospect of good government, and believe that collective action is effective because they expect many fellow citizens to share the same view. This coordination game with incomplete information does not admit monotone equilibrium but exhibits multiple interval equilibria, where middle class people are more likely to attack the regime.” I don’t fully understand the mathematical language. It might be best summarised as discontent vs hope, with the suggestion that the middle classes have more hope that others will agree and join in, (the co-ordination game). I found & made the following links, Aspiring for Change: A Theory of Middle Class Activism at repec.org and Why middle class activism surprises economists by Heng Chen at the LSE Blog A gemini summary of the original paper, https://gemini.google.com/share/96336355c0f4 A gemini summary of the LSE blog https://gemini.google.com/share/19733ecc7ad3 The blog article, is a summary article written by the authors themselves to explain their own research to a broader audience (Chen, 2017). Chen, Heng and Suen, Wing, (2017), Aspiring for Change: A Theory of Middle Class Activism, Economic Journal, 127, issue 603, p. 1318-1347, https://EconPapers.repec.org/ RePEc:wly:econjl:v:127:y:2017:i:603:p:1318-1347.
<img width="150" height="150" src="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/ilya-norwegianstar-dfl1955-150x150.png" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/ilya-norwegianstar-dfl1955-150x150.png 150w, https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/ilya-norwegianstar-dfl1955-300x298.png 300w, https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/ilya-norwegianstar-dfl1955-1024x1017.png 1024w, https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/ilya-norwegianstar-dfl1955-768x763.png 768w, https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/ilya-norwegianstar-dfl1955-100x100.png 100w, https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/ilya-norwegianstar-dfl1955.png 1080w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" />On the Norwegian Star, they had an art gallery featuring among others pictures by Ilyayev; they reminded me of Afremov’s style. Did he copy? See https://share.google/aimode/sOBHuvKuswSm4Sn4Q, seems consensus says no. Ilyayev’s inspirations predate Afremov’s work He is represented by https://www.parkwestgallery.com/artist/slava-ilyayev/ See also Collecting Afremov on this wiki. The picture is by me, taken on the...
<img width="150" height="150" src="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/ilya-norwegianstar-dfl1955-150x150.png" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/ilya-norwegianstar-dfl1955-150x150.png 150w, https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/ilya-norwegianstar-dfl1955-300x298.png 300w, https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/ilya-norwegianstar-dfl1955-1024x1017.png 1024w, https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/ilya-norwegianstar-dfl1955-768x763.png 768w, https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/ilya-norwegianstar-dfl1955-100x100.png 100w, https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/ilya-norwegianstar-dfl1955.png 1080w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" /> On the Norwegian Star, they had an art gallery featuring among others pictures by Ilyayev; they reminded me of Afremov’s style. Did he copy? See https://share.google/aimode/sOBHuvKuswSm4Sn4Q, seems consensus says no. Ilyayev’s inspirations predate Afremov’s work He is represented by https://www.parkwestgallery.com/artist/slava-ilyayev/ See also Collecting Afremov on this wiki. The picture is by me, taken on the ship. (I might make a slide show of some pictures.
<img width="150" height="150" src="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/voting-arnaud-jaegers-IBWJsMObnnU-unsplash-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="someone voting at a ballot box" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/voting-arnaud-jaegers-IBWJsMObnnU-unsplash-150x150.jpg 150w, https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/voting-arnaud-jaegers-IBWJsMObnnU-unsplash-100x100.jpg 100w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" />I was pulled to return democraciness by some comments on the UK and the Copenhagen Criteria. I replied in this blog article, where I returned to Economist Intelligence Unit’s index and gave a nod to https://www.v-dem.net/ and Polity IV. See also https://davelevy.info/how-democratic-is-the-uk/ 2018. On quora I was pointed at some further indices that I had...
<img width="150" height="150" src="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/voting-arnaud-jaegers-IBWJsMObnnU-unsplash-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="someone voting at a ballot box" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/voting-arnaud-jaegers-IBWJsMObnnU-unsplash-150x150.jpg 150w, https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/voting-arnaud-jaegers-IBWJsMObnnU-unsplash-100x100.jpg 100w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" /> I was pulled to return democraciness by some comments on the UK and the Copenhagen Criteria. I replied in this blog article, where I returned to Economist Intelligence Unit’s index and gave a nod to https://www.v-dem.net/ and Polity IV. See also https://davelevy.info/how-democratic-is-the-uk/ 2018. On quora I was pointed at some further indices that I had not seen before. Today, I came across a reply to a quora troll. What interested me is the cataloguing of indices I’d not hear of before, including Cato Institute’s Human Freedom Index, the World Population Review, which has a map and Freedom House. The fact I have written critiques of the UK system entitles me to repeat the criticisms of the US system. See below for the thread, What are the second and third freest countries after the USA? I’m guessing Canada is one. Maybe Europe or Japan, even though they are ruled by kings? I have very bad news for you. The United States is the only country that believes its the freest country in the world, maybe because they can freely own guns or pay for their own medical care. Who really knows. Objectively, they’re not even close. The Human Freedom Index, which is compiled by the Cato Institute, a right-leaning American non-profit think tank, places the United States 15th in 2025. The World Population Review places the U.S. at 84 out of 100, tied for 54th place. Freedom House ranks it at 81 out of 100, tied for 63rd The reasons the U.S. ranks so low is: Poor access to the ballot box, including political violence and active attempts to restrict voting rights. Most recently, threats to news organizations by political entities, such as the FCC threatening the license of broadcast network ABC The world’s highest incarceration rate, and it’s not even close. That includes being one of only three nations who still implement the death penalty, and it’s the one that uses it the most often. There are also clear disparities in the application of justice across different groups Increased surveillance of citizens without judicial authorization Literally no control over the influence of money in politics. Although it didn’t come up in my scan, I would also point to very poor labor rights, including no access by unions to exclusive bargaining rights in over half the states and very little being done to counter union suppression. Cato ranks the top three as: Switzerland, thanks to full participatory democracy, excellent press freedom, and no suppression of rights due to ethnicity (in fact, it has three major ethnic groups). It does fall a little thanks to state support of religion through taxes, but it allows several religions to be so supported. Denmark, due to nearly universal franchise and voting rights and excellent worker protection. It falls a bit on its treatment of immigrants. New Zealand, again a universal franchise and a history of treating indigenous peoples as equals. It falls a little bit over the economic disadvantages faced by the native Māori. However, it should be noted seven of the top 15 are constitutional monarchies, although the UK didn’t make the list. Canada and Australia both did.
<img width="150" height="150" src="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/masstrichtconvergence-bydfl1955-viaunsplash-w1080-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="a trading screen overlayed over the quay at Maastricht" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/masstrichtconvergence-bydfl1955-viaunsplash-w1080-150x150.jpg 150w, https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/masstrichtconvergence-bydfl1955-viaunsplash-w1080-100x100.jpg 100w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" />Despite claiming to be an expert, I had not heard of the Maastricht Convergence Criteria which define a readiness to join the Euro. I asked google gemini to summarise its role. These include Price stability, Sound public finances, to ensure they are sustainable, Exchange-rate stability, to demonstrate that a Member State can manage its economy...
<img width="150" height="150" src="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/masstrichtconvergence-bydfl1955-viaunsplash-w1080-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="a trading screen overlayed over the quay at Maastricht" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/masstrichtconvergence-bydfl1955-viaunsplash-w1080-150x150.jpg 150w, https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/masstrichtconvergence-bydfl1955-viaunsplash-w1080-100x100.jpg 100w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" /> Despite claiming to be an expert, I had not heard of the Maastricht Convergence Criteria which define a readiness to join the Euro. I asked google gemini to summarise its role. These include Price stability, Sound public finances, to ensure they are sustainable, Exchange-rate stability, to demonstrate that a Member State can manage its economy without recourse to excessive currency fluctuations, and Long-term interest rates, to assess the durability of any convergence. The EU monitors and reports on the status of the EU’s non-Euro currencies and the convergence rules. Google Gemini summarises them as divided into four main areas: [1] Price Stability (Inflation): The average inflation rate must not exceed by more than 1.5 percentage points the average of the three best-performing EU member states. Sound Public Finances (Deficit & Debt): The government deficit must not exceed 3% of GDP. The government debt must not exceed 60% of GDP. (If it exceeds this, it must be diminishing at a satisfactory pace). Exchange Rate Stability: The country must participate in the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM II) for at least two years without severe tensions or devaluing against the euro. Long-Term Interest Rates: The nominal long-term interest rate must not exceed by more than 2 percentage points that of the three best-performing EU member states in terms of price stability. Another of the criteria is that there is a robustly independent central bank. I also asked if any of the Euro nation’s central banks had full employment, growth or exchange rate targets. Google AI Gemini says/said, “Instead, they belong to the Eurosystem, and their policy is dictated entirely by the European Central Bank (ECB). The ECB has what is legally known as a hierarchical mandate, where price stability is the absolute, overriding priority: The Primary Mandate: Under Article 127(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), the primary objective is explicitly to maintain price stability. The Secondary Mandate: Only “without prejudice to the objective of price stability,” can the Eurosystem support the general economic policies of the EU (such as full employment and balanced economic growth). I asked Google to list the current ratios for me, which for some reasons misses the Netherlands and I inserted the UK. This is what it looks like. As discussed elsewhere on this wiki/blog, the likelihood of default is predicted by the CDS price.
<img width="150" height="150" src="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/raspberrypi-jainathponnala-9wnAhRYdDzc-unsplash-w1080-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="three raspberry pis" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/raspberrypi-jainathponnala-9wnAhRYdDzc-unsplash-w1080-150x150.jpg 150w, https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/raspberrypi-jainathponnala-9wnAhRYdDzc-unsplash-w1080-100x100.jpg 100w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" />The ‘pi currently runs ‘transmission’ and a web site, but I want to offer mail using Roundcube, and to run a python2 service i.e. planet venus in a docker container. Also next stop is diaspora! See I have notes on how to do it at claude.ai i.e. installing the products, building the images and linking...
<img width="150" height="150" src="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/raspberrypi-jainathponnala-9wnAhRYdDzc-unsplash-w1080-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="three raspberry pis" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/raspberrypi-jainathponnala-9wnAhRYdDzc-unsplash-w1080-150x150.jpg 150w, https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/raspberrypi-jainathponnala-9wnAhRYdDzc-unsplash-w1080-100x100.jpg 100w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" /> The ‘pi currently runs ‘transmission’ and a web site, but I want to offer mail using Roundcube, and to run a python2 service i.e. planet venus in a docker container. Also next stop is diaspora! See My notes on docker – https://davelevy.info/wiki/docker/ My notes on transmission are at my bittorrent page, check out the Ubuntu & Raspbian sections. I have notes on how to do it at claude.ai i.e. installing the products, building the images and linking them up. Also on chatgpt.
<img width="150" height="150" src="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/sorcerer-pintrest-w1080-150x150.png" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="an elven sorcerer" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/sorcerer-pintrest-w1080-150x150.png 150w, https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/sorcerer-pintrest-w1080-100x100.png 100w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" />I fancy a change. I am building a bookmark list and need a URL for meta magic and font of magic, 2014 rules. Who knows I might say more another time. … Metamagic At 3rd level, you gain the ability to twist your spells to suit your needs. You gain two of the following Metamagic...
<img width="150" height="150" src="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/sorcerer-pintrest-w1080-150x150.png" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="an elven sorcerer" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/sorcerer-pintrest-w1080-150x150.png 150w, https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/sorcerer-pintrest-w1080-100x100.png 100w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" /> I fancy a change. I am building a bookmark list and need a URL for meta magic and font of magic, 2014 rules. Who knows I might say more another time. … Metamagic At 3rd level, you gain the ability to twist your spells to suit your needs. You gain two of the following Metamagic options of your choice. You gain another one at 10th and 17th level. You do this by spending “sorcerery points”, which are gained by level, and additionally by the feat “meta magic adept” and renew on a long rest. You can use only one Metamagic option on a spell when you cast it, unless otherwise noted. Click to toggle Content Careful Spell. When you cast a spell that forces other creatures to make a saving throw, you can protect some of those creatures from the spell’s full force. To do so, you spend 1 sorcery point and choose a number of those creatures up to your Charisma modifier (minimum of one creature). A chosen creature automatically succeeds on its saving throw against the spell. Distant Spell. When you cast a spell that has a range of 5 feet or greater, you can spend 1 sorcery point to double the range of the spell. When you cast a spell that has a range of touch, you can spend 1 sorcery point to make the range of the spell 30 feet. Empowered Spell. When you roll damage for a spell, you can spend 1 sorcery point to reroll a number of the damage dice up to your Charisma modifier (minimum of one). You must use the new rolls. You can use Empowered Spell even if you have already used a different Metamagic option during the casting of the spell. Extended Spell. When you cast a spell that has a duration of 1 minute or longer, you can spend 1 sorcery point to double its duration, to a maximum duration of 24 hours. Heightened Spell. When you cast a spell that forces a creature to make a saving throw to resist its effects, you can spend 3 sorcery points to give one target of the spell disadvantage on its first saving throw made against the spell. Quickened Spell. When you cast a spell that has a casting time of 1 action, you can spend 2 sorcery points to change the casting time to 1 bonus action for this casting. Seeking Spell (UA). If you make an attack roll for a spell and miss, you can spend 2 sorcery points to reroll the d20, and you must use the new roll. You can use Seeking Spell even if you have already used a different Metamagic option during the casting of the spell. Subtle Spell. When you cast a spell, you can spend 1 sorcery point to cast it without any somatic or verbal components. li> Transmuted Spell. When you cast a spell that deals a type of damage from the following list, you can spend 1 sorcery point to change that damage type to one of the other listed types: acid, cold, fire, lightning, poison, thunder. Twinned Spell. When you cast a spell that targets only one creature and doesn’t have a range of self, you can spend a number of sorcery points equal to the spell’s level to target a second creature in range with the same spell (1 sorcery point if the spell is a cantrip). To be eligible, a spell must be incapable of targeting more than one creature at the spell’s current level. For example, magic missile and scorching ray aren’t eligible, but ray of frost and chromatic orb are. ooOOOoo Font of Magic At 2nd level, you tap into a deep wellspring of magic within yourself. This wellspring is represented by sorcery points, which allow you to create a variety of magical effects. Sorcery Points. You have 2 sorcery points, and you gain more as you reach higher levels, as shown in the Sorcery Points column of the Sorcerer table. You can never have more sorcery points than shown on the table for your level. You regain all spent sorcery points when you finish a long rest. Flexible Casting. You can use your sorcery points to gain additional spell slots, or sacrifice spell slots to gain additional sorcery points. You learn other ways to use your sorcery points as you reach higher levels. Creating Spell Slots. You can transform unexpended sorcery points into one spell slot as a bonus action on your turn. The Creating Spell Slots table shows the cost of creating a spell slot of a given level. You can create spell slots no higher in level than 5th. Any spell slot you create with this feature vanishes when you finish a long rest. Converting a Spell Slot to Sorcery Points. As a bonus action on your turn, you can expend one spell slot and gain a number of sorcery points equal to the slot’s level. Creating Spell Slots Spell Slot Level Sorcery Point Cost 1st 2 2nd 3 3rd 5 4th 6 5th 7 These notes are made from https://dnd5e.wikidot.com/sorcerer
<img width="150" height="150" src="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/HoC-parliament-parlycopyrght-2023-crpd-150x150.png" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/HoC-parliament-parlycopyrght-2023-crpd-150x150.png 150w, https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/HoC-parliament-parlycopyrght-2023-crpd-100x100.png 100w, https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/HoC-parliament-parlycopyrght-2023-crpd-50x50.png 50w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" />Time to look at the Democracy Indices again. In particular the EIU are suggesting that democracy is making a comeback. They say, “democracy stabilises after eight years of decline”. Here are my notes and links … LInks I wanted to see if specific events were reflected in the indices, I found these, This is one...
<img width="150" height="150" src="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/HoC-parliament-parlycopyrght-2023-crpd-150x150.png" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/HoC-parliament-parlycopyrght-2023-crpd-150x150.png 150w, https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/HoC-parliament-parlycopyrght-2023-crpd-100x100.png 100w, https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/HoC-parliament-parlycopyrght-2023-crpd-50x50.png 50w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" /> Time to look at the Democracy Indices again. In particular the EIU are suggesting that democracy is making a comeback. They say, “democracy stabilises after eight years of decline”. Here are my notes and links … LInks The EIU’s annoucment page for its 2025 report with a tag line, “democracy-stabilises-after-eight-years-of-decline“, although the numbers are marginal over the last 10 years and “We’re doing better than Afghanistan” is not a compelling argument. They have another page, called EIU Democracy Index 2025, which hosts the full report , but its behind an identity wall. The World Bank data set also points to the EIU index, as does, Our World in Data https://www.v-dem.net/ are the alternative index. When I started this, I found their methodology more opaque. Chat GPT comment on the fall in V-Dem scores, this is worth a read as it explores some often unexplored issues, relating to “winner take all”, conventions and constitutions, power of the executive, ministerial accountability but not the role & power of local government & the devolved assemblies. I wanted to see if specific events were reflected in the indices, I found these, The Prorogue Crisis, https://news.liverpool.ac.uk/2019/08/29/boris-johnsons-prorogation-of-parliament-a-challenge-to-the-uks-constitutional-democracy/ The Covid lockdowns, https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/sites/default/files/timeline-lockdown-web.pdf https://www.bestforbritain.org/international_community_condemned_uk_in_past_year, mainly the 2023 Asylum bill Today, in their Human Rights report on the UK, Amnesty talk about freedom of expression and assembly, including comments about attacks on places of worship of many faiths, refugee and migrant’s rights, and noting that, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights concluded that the UK had failed to comply with its international obligations, including to ensure the rights to food, housing and adequate social security. This is one of a series, see also, https://davelevy.info/wiki/uk-democracy-in-2022/ https://davelevy.info/how-democratic-is-the-uk/, where I looked in detail at the EIU scheme, and tried to use their method to score the UK. My scores were lower. Wht might be interesting is that https://davelevy.info/wiki/measuring-democracy/ I note the V-DEm scores are very similar and show a similar dip and recovery. Here’s a chart showing the scores <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="750" height="451" src="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/democracyintheUK-history.png" alt="" class="wp-image-14213" srcset="https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/democracyintheUK-history.png 750w, https://davelevy.info/wiki/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/democracyintheUK-history-300x180.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px" /> made by dfl1955, collected by chatgpt, normalisation by dfl1955 Amusingly the picture, which is used under Parliament’s Open licence is not of 2025.