It's hard to take this in good faith when people across the sector have been making these arguments for years and been shouted down as being NIMBYs 🙃

David Lawrence@davidlawrenceuk.bsky.social · 3mo ago

YIMBYism promised to be the next big thing in progressive politics. But a couple of years after the PM declared himself a YIMBY, housebuilding has stalled, and YIMBYs have found themselves on the side of killing newts. Where did 'build baby build' go wrong? 🧵

Some news… @carsjung.bsky.social and I are launching a Substack! We will be using this to explore what needs to change for AI to actually work for most people (spoiler: it is a lot) First post is up looking at today’s launch of the AI economics institute and how to predict AI's jobs impact 1/2

AI jobs predictions keep missing the point. Here’s what to measure instead

A government institute to track how AI disrupts jobs is long overdue. But as it officially launches today, will it measure the right things?

modeleconomy.substack.com

Over half of what we see on social media is posts from influencers, ads, brands and recommended content. Content from people we know makes up only 18% of what we see. These platforms personalise our feeds and promote one-sided relationships with influencers over social ones. We can demand better.

Institute for Public Policy Research@ippr.org · 5mo ago

📱| NEW REPORT: Social media platforms are prioritising influencers, adverts and brands over posts from friends and family - contributing to a more divisive and less social online experience. Read our solutions here 👇 www.ippr.org/articles/stu...

NEW: The high cost of living is on the forefront of the public's mind. The government should launch 'a war on bills' - a multi-year policy campaign to bring costs down. There are no silver bullets, but there are lots of small things that the government can do to show that it's on people side. (1/4)

This is an ace paper. We are far beyond "China dominates supply". Building domestic/regional supply chains are contingent on Chinese firms/expertise. The most interesting qus for govts now around tech transfer and leapfrogging rather than competition www.netzeropolicylab.com/china-green-...

The UK isn't close to broke but it does have a problem with fiscal drama. Tax rises will help - higher revenues will mean that HMT is less under pressure from chaotic financial markets, and the UK economy is more stable. Pleased to be quoted in @politicshome.bsky.social by @nadinebh.bsky.social

@barclaysuk.bsky.social says savers should shove cash savings into stocks for “higher returns” and to “help the economy.” What it really means is more risk for households, no guarantee of new UK investment, and one certainty—banks rake in more fees. Financial assets ≠ real investment.

We are just the only country stupid enough to discuss "black holes" every time yields rise 10bps

Toby Nangle@tobyn.bsky.social · last yr.

🚨 How bad is UK fiscal vs G7 peers? on.ft.com/462WKLd

This isn't really true though. Borrowing over the quarter is completely in line with OBR's expectations. Borrowing was higher than expected in June, lower than expected in May, overall no deviation to the OBR's forecast. Economists in the city just got it wrong...

Richard Partington@rjpartington.bsky.social · last yr.

UK borrowing rises more than expected, putting pressure on Rachel Reeves www.theguardian.com/business/202...

Today’s industrial strategy made some clear strategic choices for the future direction of the UK economy. @ippr.org found that there are opportunities for the UK in three key clean technology industries, all of which are featured in the strategy 1/8

GDP stats today were a pleasant surprise for the Chancellor. BUT there are real headwinds coming up. There needs to be a real commitment to long-term investment. It was great to talk about this on the BBC (with a brief intrusion from Trump...) youtu.be/l5r5ib4Jb24

Pranesh Narayanan on BBC News discussing GDP

YouTube video by Institute for Public Policy Research

youtu.be

Thanks @prospectmagazine.co.uk @aloner.bsky.social who let me write about Tony Blair's recent tribute act to the TB-GBs of New Labour, with some more serious consideration of where his NZ antipathy comes and the new politics if climate mini 🧵 www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/698...

Tony Blair’s ideas for net zero are expensive and unpopular

The former PM’s clumsy climate intervention exposes the new political contest over the environment

prospectmagazine.co.uk

This is what growth looks like - innovation leading to successful export opportunities in things that the world needs. UK rail manufacturing is small right now but it has potential - the new government's Industrial Strategy has to support it www.telegraph.co.uk/business/202...

Battery breakthrough to help UK train factory ‘leapfrog overseas rivals’

County Durham plant to help Hitachi Rail take on intercity giants Siemens and Alstom

telegraph.co.uk

Green transport manufacturing, including e-bikes, buses and EVs, can play a key role in the UK's industrial strategy Governance matters: this strategy must fit with creating a better transport system - one that embraces 'multimodal mobility' and reduces car dependency New @ippr.bsky.social report👇

Planes, trains and automobiles: How green transport can drive manufacturing growth in the UK | IPPR

Along with investment in infrastructure, the production of green transport equipment – electric trains and cars, for example – here in the UK, is the solut

ippr.org

Trump's tariffs are destabilising the global economy, and will impact UK manufacturers, particularly the car industry. A trade deal to avoid tariffs will be helpful, but the government can go further by supporting these industries to build the tech of the future

Slowly but surely, the economy is growing. The pessimism post-budget seems to have been overplayed as firms prepared for the pain of higher taxes but couldn’t yet see the benefits of increased spending. The government needs stick to its guns says @praneshippr.bsky.social.

You can grow the economy and hit climate goals at the same time - the story below highlights some of the opportunities. The government could quite easily (and quite cheaply!!) provide the certainty and support manufacturers need through the Industrial Strategy www.ft.com/content/397c...

How years of waiting for parts is holding up the UK’s energy transition

Companies are facing long lead times to secure essential items such as transformers

ft.com

Thrilling, baffling yet energising - What fresh economic opportunities might Genghis Khan's monumental million-skull structure portend for Merv?

Mordant Muppetry@mordantmuppetry.bsky.social · 2y ago

“tantalising” WTAF

Scotland’s investment in subsea cable manufacturing is a clear example of green, growth-enhancing industrial policy in action. This is the route to a competitive, sustainable and prosperous economy built for the future www.ft.com/content/8ce0...

Scotland bets on supply chain growth with subsea cable investment

Port project promises to deliver jobs and green growth but developers raise concerns over nascent technology

ft.com

I agree with this: planning reform is good, but the constraint on mass housebuilding now is a lack of real resources: www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/gove...

The government’s welcome planning reforms alone won’t deliver Starmer’s ‘building boom’ | Institute for Government

The government's planning reforms are bold and ambitious.

instituteforgovernment.org.uk

UK needs houses, gigafactories, data centres, labs, railways and new grid. This needs construction workers/materials, which are in short supply. Are benefits of airport expansion worth the opportunity cost of sucking resources from these other growth-boosting projects right now?

A company that spent tens of billions of £ on share buybacks over the past 3 years is now making job cuts to recover its share price... It's almost like prioritising short-term financial results is actually a bad business model... www.ft.com/content/2245...

BP axes 4,700 jobs in cost-cutting drive

UK energy major under pressure from shareholders to turn around its performance

ft.com

Today's monthly GDP figures show a 0.1% increase in real GDP in November - the first positive reading in 3 months. It's encouraging but far from outstanding, and very clear that interest rates have become a drag on growth. The Bank of England must cut rates ASAP

🚙 How can we make sense of the Vauxhall/Stellantis factory closure? First must avoid mixing up cause and effect, just because this is happening at the same time as the ZEV mandate doesn't mean it's the cause It's clear IMO that this has nothing to do with net zero regulations

- on.ft.com/4hZVGNj The world desperately needs a slump of Japanese length, to wring out this speculative excess

Crypto chief buys a banana for $6mn at contemporary art auction

Justin Sun, founder of blockchain network Tron, outbids six others for Maurizio Cattelan’s ‘Comedian’

on.ft.com

1/5 This WSJ article makes an important point: tax cuts promote growth mainly to the extent that they promote domestic business investment. This means that whether or not tax cuts are good for growth depends on underlying conditions. www.wsj.com/economy/why-...

Why Some Tax Cuts Can Be Better Than Others

The biggest potential payoffs for economic growth come from creating incentives for businesses to make new investments.

wsj.com

After seeing @isabellamweber.bsky.social's work on sellers' inflation, headlines like this make me think similar dynamics are at work when it comes to tax rises as well. Could firms be building their margins by coordinating actions around a tax hike? feeds.bbci.co.uk/news/article...

Hospitality workers' jobs threatened by Budget, bosses warn

Hospitality bosses are calling for changes to what they describe as

feeds.bbci.co.uk