@michaeljahill.bsky.social
Good piece by @michaeljahill.bsky.social on 2 good examples of a major reason for Keir Starmer’s failure, his slowness at carrying through regulatory reforms that would boost growth, not that I necessarily agree with details of the #BrownfieldPassports idea! open.substack.com/pub/samdumit...
Keir Starmer and the Brownfield Passport
Even Keir's good ideas happened far too slowly
open.substack.com
Starmer and Reeves's planning reform agenda is working, but unfinished. My latest describes four reforms (in the works) that Andy Burnham should keep when he takes power next week. www.samdumitriu.com/p/what-burnh...
What Burnham should keep
Four pro-growth reforms that should outlive Starmer and Reeves
samdumitriu.com
This is mostly wrong. Wholesale costs are around 1/3rd of our bills. Non wholesale costs will be rising rapidly until 2030 and beyond. If the gas price fell to zero our energy bills would fall by just 11% by 2030. They would remain significantly higher than Switzerland.
Stephen Bush@stephenkb.bsky.social · last mo.Why do people reach for unfounded conspiracies about energy prices? No, it’s not because of a “greedy little spiv”. It’s because natural gas makes up a much larger share of the UK’s energy mix than Switzerland’s.
This week's YIMBY Pod is a fun listening – and super relevant if you want to understand the Burnham era!
James O'Malley@jamesomalley.co.uk · last mo.New YIMBY Pod! - Ft @michaeljahill.bsky.social from @britainremade.bsky.social on 'Manchesterism' and Manchester's theory of growth. - And @mjrobbins.com and I talk about three cool new energy storage projects that use gravity and compressed air! www.abundancepod.com/p/the-manche...
New YIMBY Pod! - Ft @michaeljahill.bsky.social from @britainremade.bsky.social on 'Manchesterism' and Manchester's theory of growth. - And @mjrobbins.com and I talk about three cool new energy storage projects that use gravity and compressed air! www.abundancepod.com/p/the-manche...
The Manchesterism theory of growth
Plus some new energy storage plans with a lot of... potential
abundancepod.com
Air con isn’t banned” is true in a narrow legal sense. But the rules make proper fixed cooling impossible in many homes, while letting anyone buy inefficient portable units online. People do not need smug word games. They need homes they can actually keep cool. open.substack.com/pub/catching...
☀️ 36°C incoming. Time for an air con thread. ☀️ Cool Britannia! No… not like that. Unless you’re talking about degrees Fahrenheit, it’s not the 90s any more. In 2026 it’s time to cool Britannia with home air con. Here’s why.
New study: Britain spends a third more on transport infrastructure than its peers, but because of high construction costs ends up with a fifth less. The UK spends £1.65 to get what £1 buys in France, Germany and Spain. (1/N) www.britainremade.co.uk/moreforless
Building More for Less: A cost-free path to European levels of investment | Sam Dumitriu, Michael Hill, David Lawrence and Pedro Serôdio
Contrary to what has become a standard view in policy circles, the British state does not invest far less than its peer countries. Britain’s broken system of infrastructure investment has limited the ...
britainremade.co.uk
1/7 Britain will likely waste over £41 billion of our infrastructure investment during this parliament. Just like we did in the last parliament. And will in the next if we don’t get a grip. 🧵
Listen to me talking all things infrastructure with the great @freewheeling.info! www.freewheeling.info/the-freewhee...
Getting Britain Building with Michael Hill — Freewheeling
Michael Hill used to be a civil servant but now leads policy for the campaign group Britain Remade. In today’s episode, we talk through the extraordinary degree of political centralisation in the UK ...
freewheeling.info
1/6 There have been some great articles from @jamesbreckwoldt.bsky.social @tejparikh.ft.com and @jenwilliamsft.bsky.social on the causes of Manchester's economic success in recent years. But these articles all take Manchester's economic success as read. But how successful is Manchester really?
Hinkley Point C might be delayed again. Why? Because Natural England say the £700 million spent on fish protection at Britain's next nuclear power station is not enough. We can't go on like this. youtu.be/NeuUdwD0_-g
Why Britain's New Nuclear Power Station Might Be Delayed... AGAIN
YouTube video by Britain Remade
youtu.be
Great to see @britainremade.bsky.social venturing into YouTube with this cracking short film on Natural England’s ongoing war against clean energy youtu.be/NeuUdwD0_-g?...
Why Britain's New Nuclear Power Station Might Be Delayed... AGAIN
YouTube video by Britain Remade
youtu.be
Labour's vote share in Camden fell by 24 percentage points. Higher than the UNS swing against Labour in London (-16) and exactly what you'd expect from the proportional swing.
Stephen Bush@stephenkb.bsky.social · 3mo agoThis account’s curious hobby horses apparently include the idea Camden Council is “rubbish”, which was clearly not the experience of residents who returned the council in, uh, sub-optimal national circumstances!
I'm very into the new Labour Growth report from @markmcvitie.bsky.social and @chriscurtis94.bsky.social. 🔥🔥🔥 www.labourgrowth.co.uk
Yesterday, the Government announced they were scrapping an £18 per tonne carbon on electricity. In a new post, @michaeljahill.bsky.social explains the green case for cutting carbon taxes on electricity. www.samdumitriu.com/p/why-the-ca...
Why the Carbon Price Support was scrapped
How cutting a carbon tax on electricity could cut carbon emissions
samdumitriu.com
Remember the Preston Model? The council was meant to have saved their area by shifting spend to local SMEs. But the sums don't add up: council spend is just too small to explain it. @michaeljahill.bsky.social on the real Preston Model: build homes and roads. www.samdumitriu.com/p/the-truth-...
The truth about the Preston Model
How housebuilding, not 'community wealth building', explains Preston's success
samdumitriu.com
Picked up my bike from the otherwise completely empty bike storage in my building. Dropped it off at the half empty bike storage at work. Lovely sunny day. Are we subsidising a not particularly popular form of transport too much?
The Shoreditch Works application has taken 4 years and 9,000 pages of documents. Hackney Council has concluded what this project needs is… more documents.
The council decision on this was last night. After 9,000 pages and 4 years the decision was to......defer. More documents, more delay.
@michaeljahill.bsky.social · 6mo agoWould you say a 9,054-page planning application for an office block and some flats is: A) Too long B) About right C) Not long enough If you answered C, congratulations! You could work at Hackney Council.
Would you say a 9,054-page planning application for an office block and some flats is: A) Too long B) About right C) Not long enough If you answered C, congratulations! You could work at Hackney Council.
Are supermarkets, industrial estates, and railway sidings 'brownfield land'? The answer is no. At least that's what the Government's definition for a new tax on housebuilding says. Our campaign director Sam Richards explains.
The UK’s Net Zero transition is very dependent on China. Over 80% of our solar panels come from China because China makes almost all the world's solar panels.
Labour spent ages arguing that the railways should be nationalised. They appear not to have spent much time figuring out what we can learn from the best nationalised systems. catchingmice.substack.com/cp/180687006
We’re getting worried about Great British Railways
Nationalisation can work, but the Government isn’t doing it right
catchingmice.substack.com
Britain can't reach Net Zero without Chinese supply chains. What are the risks and what should we do about them? This, from my colleague Michael Hill, is the best thing I've read on Britain's reliance on China to reach Net Zero. www.samdumitriu.com/p/china-the-...
China, the UK and Net Zero
Relying on a rival
samdumitriu.com
NEW: Labour just announced the biggest change in planning policy in 80 years. My breakdown of the key measures and whether they will succeed. www.samdumitriu.com/p/labour-are...
Labour are finally taking the housing shortage seriously
Is the new National Planning Policy Framework Labour’s biggest pro-growth move?
samdumitriu.com
"Scotland faces a choice: embrace nuclear and share in the investment, jobs, and clean power, or stick with an outdated ban and watch opportunity flow elsewhere" @michaeljahill.bsky.social writes for the blog on the opportunities for Scotland from nuclear power www.enlighten.scot/time-to-ditc...
