Articles in Author: Ben Clark

Articles in About BuDS

    Three hands of festival-goers wearing BuDS wristbands and stickers

    About BuDS

    Ben Clark

    BuDS Disability Service is a user-led disability charity operating in Buckinghamshire, the Thames Valley, and across England. We are a successful, dynamic and influential charity, focused on supporting disabled people by fixing the biggest issues facing them. We aim to build a world which is Fair4All, including disabled people. 

    BuDS works by permanently removing barriers facing disabled people and finding answers to the big issues facing them, alongside helping individuals. Our projects and partnerships deliver unique and lasting change and effective support that helps tens of thousands of disabled people in Bucks and across England.

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    A blue graphic. On the left is a image of the front of multiple military tanks. On the right is text reading: "Could ‘Welfare’ Cuts Fund Defence? Cutting ‘welfare’ could save billions But push millions into crisis Are there better ways to fund defence? Read our expert analysis to see how defence could be funded without cutting social security" Below is a QR code leading to the BuDS website page giving details on this topic.

    Cutting ‘Welfare’ to Pay For Defence

    Ben Clark

    Politicians of all political parties are talking about cutting ‘welfare’ (correctly known as social security) to pay for higher defence costs. BuDS has studied this issue and come up with another way to look at it.

    This article is a ‘thought experiment’, not a detailed economic plan. While all the data used is from official Government sources, and the calculations (methodology) is sound, we are not trying to set out a detailed plan for Government. What we are doing is helping people understand the reality of a complicated situation, and to look at it in another way from that presented in the media.

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    A pie chart showing the approximate councillor share across all English councils after the 2026 May elections.

    English Council Elections 2026 – A Different Perspective

    Ben Clark

    The election results for English council elections are still coming out, but we wanted to share with you a different perspective to the one you will see in the media.

    The media report ‘the English council election results’ and give you all the statistics for those elections. But there are 317 councils in England, and only 136 (43%) had elections today. And, of those councils which did have elections, most of them only elected a third or half of their councillor seats. So, the English council election results do not tell the whole picture. In fact, these election results tell a very partial picture, because more than half of councils did not even have an election and few elected their whole council.

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    Covid infection risk continues to fall. Risk level Moderately Low at 1 in 1597. Precautions still needed in High Risk indoor places.

    Covid-19 Risk Assessment: Week Ending 03 May 2026

    Ben Clark

    Covid infection levels in England have fallen again to a new low. The risk level remains Moderately Low, with 1 in every 1597 people in England infected.

    As regular readers will know, BuDS researchers use highly reliable data to calculate prevalence. We independently confirm our results using all other available data. As Covid-cautious people ourselves, we rely on these estimates just as much as we know our readers do.

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