Robert Cuffe

Should all government statistics look like the Department for Education’s? analysisfunction.civilservice.gov.uk/blog/chartin...

Got a marketing survey about ppl who admitted to lying on CVs. Reminds me of a riddle about two doors and two guards. One door led to hell, the other heaven. One guard could tell only the truth, the other only lies. So we surveyed both - our results say you should use our site for your CV.

13 Sept

Reform’s slide from top of the polls

20 Aug

Me: “relative changes, schmelative schmanges : doubling a small number is still a small nu…..” Also me: “whhhhooooaaa! CHECK OUT THIS CHART!!! We rule”

20 Aug

Latest growth figs overstate latest growth

Robert Cuffe reposted

Robin Hawkes

@robhawkes.bsky.social

7 Aug

Britain's electricity network* *now in high-res with floofy clouds More experiments visualising energy data using Blender and Geometry Nodes

kellnerp.substack.comBurnham’s biggest problem: ungrateful votersFew of us believe we benefit from our contract with the state

27 July

Watching a Mel Gibson vehicle on Prime, I’m prepared to bet that I’m seeing my first example of a Chekhov’s lawn mower

Robert Cuffe reposted

Tim Bale

@timbale.bsky.social

23 July

Fascinating and worrying in equal measure. Apparently, according to the ONS, some 53% of us currently receive more in benefits (including pensions) than we contribute in taxes (up from 37% in 1977). But polling shows that only 12% of us think this applies to them.

Robert Cuffe reposted

1 June

At the BBC we pulled out interesting leads in the Mandelson doc drop using Google's AI-powered journalism assistant. Watch the clip for deets. Behind me is @barbarametzler.bsky.social, one of BBC News's data scientists - always on the lookout for better ways to do computer-assisted journalism.

1 June

15 May

UK pop ~growth~ slowth More detail at www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

ons.gov.ukNational population projections - Office for National StatisticsThe potential future population size of the UK and its constituent countries. These statistics are widely used in planning, including fiscal projections, health, education and pensions.

15 May

And all the data at www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopula...

bbc.co.ukMore UK deaths than births expected every year from now onThe UK population is expected to grow at a slower rate than previously thought owing to a sharp fall in migration and declining fertility rates

28 Apr

More UK deaths than births expected every year from now on www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

21 Apr

A lot of the increase in young men living with parents looks like a post uni return home that gradually fades.

bbc.co.ukOne in three young men now live with their parents, ONS data showsLast year, the highest proportion of men aged 20-34 were still living at home since at least 2007 as the rising cost of living takes hold.

21 Apr

bbc story here by Ellie Lawrie www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

ons.gov.ukFamilies and households in the UK - Office for National StatisticsEstimates of families (with and without children) and household types, including people living alone in the UK in 2025.

21 Apr

ONS data here www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopula...

16 Apr

good growth figure this morning is more likely a swallow than a summer...

Robert Cuffe reposted

Ben Chu

@benchu.bsky.social

31 Mar

How much more North Sea oil and gas could be extracted by the UK? & what direct impact might this have on UK energy prices? Some relevant data. Thread 🧵...1/17

1 Apr

Analogy chosen for the Arsenal fan in the house.

25 Mar

meh inflation in feb is the best we'll see for a while.

en.wikipedia.orgIEEE 754 - Wikipedia

18 Mar

Rounding reminder - to the nearest whole number: 0.5 = 0 1.5 = 2 2.5 = 2 3.5 = 4..... Don't @ me. @ the IEE754 and round to the nearest even number. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_754

questions-statements.parliament.ukWritten questions and answers - Written questions, answers and statements - UK ParliamentInformation from UK Parliament on written questions & answers, written statements and daily reports.

18 Mar

Prompted by a query on this line in a PQ from Anthony Reuben. "Figures have been rounded to 10 for presentational purposes. Numbers ending in 5 have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systemic bias." questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-ques...

pewrsr.chHas there been a Christian revival among young adults in the U.K.? Recent surveys may be misleadingDespite the widely recognized decline of Christianity in the U.K., there have been persistent rumblings of a Christian resurgence.

27 Jan

The LFS may have its failings, but it still beats opt-in data on faith among young adults. pewrsr.ch/4bbNh8N

Robert Cuffe reposted

Duncan Lamont

@duncanlamont2.bsky.social

24 Jan

VAT banter. Niche audience but I’m in that niche so I’m here for it @louisashworth.bsky.social

13 Jan

Solar's not the biggest renewable in Britain but it drove last year's rise to record renewable generation. From @beckydale.bsky.social @markpoynting.bsky.social & Jess Carr's www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

janhove.github.ioJan Vanhove :: Blog - Does multilingualism really protect against accelerated ageing? Some critical comments

7 Jan

Has anyone seen a good stats analysis of The Traitors?

Robert Cuffe reposted

Darren Dahly

@statsepi.bsky.social

29 Dec 2025

‪It has a name now 😜 Many thanks to Ken for agreeing to put his good name to my...artwork. The image is in the public domain (CC 0), but citations to the linked documents are warmly welcomed. ✅ zenodo.org/records/1808... ✅ pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24452418/

Robert Cuffe reposted

Julia M. Rohrer

@dingdingpeng.the100.ci

17 Dec 2025

You remember that Nature Aging paper about how multilingualism protects against accelerated aging? Well…

Jan Vanhove@janhove.bsky.social

not to mention a bunch of other stuff: janhove.github.io/posts/2025-1...

giftarticle.ft.comThe UK economy is not nearly as bad as you’ve been toldA huge pessimistic bias in our national accounts leads us to doom and gloom which turns out to be nonsense

15 Dec 2025

40k small boat crossings so far this year is - second highest on record - less than half of asylum claims* - about 5% of immigration* *July '24 - June '25, latest figs More on BBC's migration tracker: bit.ly/4rVv595

Robert Cuffe reposted

Giles Wilkes

@gilesyb.bsky.social

12 Dec 2025

*The truth is that a huge pessimistic bias in our national accounts has led us to be fed with contemporary reports of doom and gloom, which subsequently turn out to be nonsense" . giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... via @chrisgiles.ft.com

10 Dec 2025

Record* life expectancy for women in the UK. *by 0.01 years.

mathsweek.scotStats in the Wild - Maths Week ScotlandThis set of bespoke evidence-based resources are for exploring statistics using outdoor maths.

10 Nov 2025

Record low murder rate in England and Wales

Robert Cuffe reposted

Darren Macey

@darrenmacey.bsky.social

14 Sept 2025

We would love to hear your thoughts on our new set of maths teaching resources, developed in partnership with @mathsweek.scot Please share widely! @robertcuffe.bsky.social @rssedinburgh.bsky.social @rss-teach.bsky.social #MathsWeekScot

bbc.comYour banknote redesign ideas - from British Bulldogs to Basil FawltyThe Bank of England wants views on themes for its next series of banknotes, and BBC readers are full of ideas.

4 July 2025

Surely should be a portrait of Notey McNoteface? British Bulldogs to Basil Fawlty - your banknote redesign ideas www.bbc.com/news/article...

instituteforgovernment.org.ukThe government should not ban public servants from speaking in public | Institute for GovernmentNew guidance will damage the quality of government and public discourse.

27 June 2025

Strong +1. Civil service statisticians made excellent technical contributions to recent UK Statistics Assembly.

Institute for Government@instituteforgovernment.org.uk

The government should not ban public servants from speaking in public A private instruction that prevents government officials from speaking at public events is counter-productive. It will lead to a more closed government and less effective policy www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/gove...

26 June 2025

UK's data agency has 'deep seated' issues, review finds ONS will reallocate ~10m worth of FTE to fix core econ stats National Stato job will be split into two: technical + running org Govt will look at the legislation defining roles and governance of UK stats www.bbc.com/news/article...

bbc.co.ukSection 11: Statistics, Data, Polls and SurveysSections 11.1, 11.2 and 11.3

24 June 2025

Among the new BBC editorial guidelines taking effect in September is an expanded chapter on stats, data, polls and surveys www.bbc.co.uk/editorialgui...

Trump announces 20% ‘reciprocal’ tariffs for EU. 10% for UK.

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Trump says that there’s a “minimum baseline tariff” of 10% being applied.

bbc.co.ukTrump tariffs live updates: EU says 'major blow to world economy' as China vows retaliationThe US president announces a 10% tariff on all imports, with further measures targeting countries the White House call the

3 Apr 2025

Looks like the left hand col is an size of trade deficit with a country (relative to total imports from that country). www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c1...

Trump announces 20% ‘reciprocal’ tariffs for EU. 10% for UK.

Says US tariffs are set at half the tariffs (including non-tariff trade barriers) that those countries impose on US.

osr.statisticsauthority.gov.ukRob Kent-Smith to Peter Schofield: Increase in the number of people on Universal CreditDear Sir Peter We have received a number of complaints relating to a press release published by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) on 13 March entitled ‘Almost two million people on Universal...

Both UK and Singapore are alleged to be imposing 10% tariffs on US (left had col). Unusually, the rate US will charge is not half that but is 10%.

Robert Cuffe reposted

Peter Matejic

@statspeter.bsky.social

1 Apr 2025

Our complaint re the growth in health benefits has been upheld: osr.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/corresponden...: "The statement that the number of people claiming disability elements of Universal Credit has increased by 383% presents an entirely misleading picture to the public."

Peter Matejic@statspeter.bsky.social

This is now being investigated by the Statistics Regulator, following three separate complaints, including from me. See issues log at osr.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/casework/.

osr.statisticsauthority.gov.ukCaseworkAs the Authority’s regulatory arm, Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) is responsible for managing its casework function, undertaking monitoring to identify issues and investigating issues raised w...

Robert Cuffe reposted

Matt Ashby

@mattashby.com

20 Feb 2025

The head of Amnesty International UK claims in this Guardian article that "The evidence that [predictive policing] keeps us safe just isn’t there". But that's simply not true. Let's look at what the best-available evidence on predictive policing shows … 🧵 www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

theguardian.comUK use of predictive policing is racist and should be banned, says AmnestyExclusive: rights group says use of algorithms and data reinforces discrimination in UK policing

Pretty poor stats from UK Home Office yesterday. Firstly, misleading to say 19k people were removed. Most "returns" (this stat) are people who left voluntarily, most often those who left of their own accord and whose departure the Home Office only discovered later when (e.g.) checking visa data.

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...there was a new figure (19k returns!) and a press release embargoed until 1700, when a new "data" publication arrived. The 16.4k covered data up to the end of Dec, which will be made available, in full, scrutinisable detail later this month. Same can't be said for the 19k.

gov.ukIllegal working activity since 5 July 2024

How does publishing data this way help inform the public? Lunchtime data: www.gov.uk/government/p... Evening data: www.gov.uk/government/p...