Patrick Lee. Actuary. Cartoonist. Applying actuarial rigour to politics, the profession, and everyday absurdity. Free speech. Small government. Secularism.
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ALT Image showing two children screaming in pain while being beaten on the soles of their feet by a Muslim teaching them the Quran, plus my tweet criticising this
ALT Today marks a week since the tragic passing of our former colleague Jason Arday. Last Friday we heard the terrible news of his death and this past week has been a time of profound grief and deep reflection in our community. We understand the pain, sadness and anger that many of our colleagues, staff and students are feeling. We have been reaching out to meet as many of you as possible, to hear from you, and will continue to do so.
ALT Single-panel cartoon. A family at a dining table. A round man with glasses (Patrick) has put down his fork and is sketching on a paper napkin held facing the viewer. The napkin shows a steep exponential curve labelled "State Pension" diverging upward from a nearly flat line labelled "Working-Age Earnings". An eleven-year-old girl (Lily) continues eating. A woman (Beth) glances at a TV in the background showing a banner that reads "Triple Lock Guaranteed — PM". A tiny crocodile (Pucktick) sits under the table eyeing Patrick's fork. Caption: "The triple lock isn't a lock — it's a ratchet. Nobody gets elected by explaining compound growth to pensioners, though."
ALT Single-panel cartoon. A UK back garden. A round man with glasses (Patrick) wearing an apron stares at a phone showing a rain-cloud weather forecast. Beside him, a woman (Beth) holds a plate of uncooked burgers with a patient expression. A large printed spreadsheet is taped to the side of a kettle barbecue, headed "Barbecue Go/No-Go Analysis" with three columns: P(Rain), P(Wind), P(Guests Cancel). A tiny crocodile (Pucktick) lies on the patio behind them, wearing sunglasses, sunbathing. Caption: "I'm not saying we cancel. I'm saying the expected utility of this barbecue has fallen below the hurdle rate."
ALT Single-panel cartoon. A plain meeting room. Four weary-looking actuaries sit around a table in front of a large whiteboard. Each has a thick ring-binder open in front of them. The whiteboard reads "Working Party on Governance of Working Parties — Meeting #14" above a numbered agenda: "1. Review of Working Party Terms of Reference. 2. Proposal to form Sub-Working Party on Working Party Reporting. 3. Date of next meeting to discuss formation of steering group." Caption: "Meeting fourteen of the Working Party on the Governance of Working Parties. Their first recommendation is to form a sub-committee."
ALT Single-panel cartoon. A kitchen. A round man with glasses is on his hands and knees on the floor, examining a leaking washing machine with a studious expression. A Post-it note on the washing machine reads "DOD: TBC — monitor". A woman stands behind him holding a phone, looking exasperated. A tiny crocodile sits contentedly in the puddle of water on the floor. Caption: "Don't call anyone yet. I want to see if this is a genuine claim or just a period of temporary disability."
ALT Map illustration with pins representing actuarial graduate scheme employers across the UK
ALT Single-panel cartoon. A kitchen. A woman stands with arms folded, looking sceptical. A round man with glasses points confidently at a piece of paper on the table reading "Annual Household Maintenance: £200" circled in red. Behind them through a doorway, a plumber works under a sink and a crack runs up the wall. A tiny crocodile sits on the floor near a toolbox. Caption: "It's not a guess, Beth. It's a best estimate. The fact that it's wrong every single year is completely consistent with the methodology. Just ask the Treasury."
ALT Single-panel cartoon. Inside a car. A woman drives with a relaxed expression. In the passenger seat, a round man with round glasses frowns and points at the sat nav, which displays "14 MIN". In the rear-view mirror, a tiny crocodile sits on the back seat wearing a seatbelt. Caption: "By 'nearly there' do you mean geographically, temporally, or are we just using a confidence interval I'm not aware of?"
ALT Single-panel cartoon. An office scene with three elements. A laptop on a desk with its screen facing the viewer, displaying "RESERVE ESTIMATE £4.2 BILLION CONFIDENCE: 99.7%". To the right, a man in an immaculate suit gives an enthusiastic thumbs up, beaming at the screen. To the left, an office worker sits at the desk with his head in his hands, looking horrified. Caption: "The confidence was the most terrifying part. It was wrong the way a chairman is wrong — absolutely, enthusiastically, and with full board support."
ALT A balance scale tilting under the weight of UK government liabilities (£5.0tn) on one side, with assets (£2.7tn) on the other. Illustration for a blog analysing the Whole of Government Accounts 2023-24.
ALT Single-panel cartoon. A man stands in a living room in front of a wall-mounted whiteboard covered in a risk matrix with "Likelihood" on one axis and "Impact" on the other. Various holiday risks are plotted including "Lost passport", "Food poisoning", "Delayed flight", "Sunburn", and "Lily's phone falls in pool". A woman sits on the sofa with a holiday brochure, not looking up. A small crocodile sits in an open suitcase on the floor, packed and ready to go. Caption: "I'm not saying we can't go to Greece. I'm saying Greece has an unacceptable concentration of risk in the 'high likelihood, high impact' quadrant."