England’s regions need power, money and institutions -not another tax-cutting contest. Burnham’s plan cd finally unbundle its centralised state @guardian editorial featuring work by @dtturner.bsky.social @annastansbury.bsky.social and @officialedballs.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The Guardian view on England’s centralised state: Andy Burnham must unbundle it | Editorial

Editorial: Devolution should finance transport, skills and industry, not become a rightwing contest to promise the largest tax giveaway

theguardian.com

Huge step forward on devolution today. Sense of urgency (rolling out Strategic Authorities everywhere by 2028) and ambition (not just the tax stuff, but on police/NHS and even sports and arts) we haven't seen before. Says it's "just the beginning" too www.gov.uk/government/p...

Rewiring the State – Cabinet Statement (HTML)

gov.uk

We spoke to John Healey as part of our Harvard-KCL project on regional growth - see what he had to say here 👇

Ross Mudie@rmudie96.bsky.social · 2mo ago

An interview with John Healey on regional economic policy that is very worth reading: sites.harvard.edu/uk-regional-...

Great to speak to the Today programme this morning about our research - making the case that Andy Burnham is right to be ambitious for growth and devolution in rural and coastal areas too. Listen from 25:20 here: bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/... I could have added: 1/

Today - 18/07/2026 - BBC Sounds

News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.

bbc.co.uk

Dan Turner@dtturner.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Two years ago Labour promised a “devolution revolution” to drive growth. Today, with @officialedballs.bsky.social, Nyasha Weinberg, @annastansbury.bsky.social and @esmeelsden.bsky.social, we publish our verdict: a government at risk of squandering the best opportunity in a generation. 🧵

Two years ago Labour promised a “devolution revolution” to drive growth. Today, with @officialedballs.bsky.social, Nyasha Weinberg, @annastansbury.bsky.social and @esmeelsden.bsky.social, we publish our verdict: a government at risk of squandering the best opportunity in a generation. 🧵

Why even bother with long-run economic change & industrial policy if you don't get the chance to see it through? Biden went all in on economic change, giving other progressives confidence to back things like industrial policy. But after the Democrats loss many are questioning whether it's worth it?

Institute for Public Policy Research@ippr.org · last yr.

🗽 | NEW REPORT: Why are progressives losing elections, even when the economy is growing? We went to Washington to speak to Biden's former White House staff and other officials to find out where it all went wrong. Read here: www.ippr.org/articles/its...

Great to contribute to Sam’s excellent Substack today, setting out some of the arguments from our recent working paper on Bidenomics and what it might mean for the U.K. 👇

Sam Freedman@samfr.bsky.social · last yr.

New post just out: "Running Hot" A guest post today from Ed Balls (yes that one) + his research colleague Dan Turner. It looks at why the US economy has grown so much faster than the UK's (pre-Trump). And what Rachel Reeves can learn from that. (Free to read) open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/r...

Any recommendations on role of wealth effects in driving recent (post-2008) US growth? Struck that average real consumption is up about a third (left) while real terms wealth is up about 80% since 2009 (right). Or $4trn extra C for $77bn extra wealth (all real)

Great to see coverage of our new working paper in Martin Wolf's FT column today: www.ft.com/content/7c0c... Full paper available here: www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/mrcb...

Global turmoil makes Britain’s productivity predicament even worse

The situation is dire and only active policymaking is going to make a difference

ft.com

1/ Today, we publish a new working paper: what should the UK learn from Bidenomics? At its core are 15 interviews—including 5 former Council of Economic Advisers members (3 of them Chairs), 4 former NEC Directors & 2 former Cabinet members. www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/mrcb...

Here is what I've been working on for the last few months: we are launching the Centre for British Progress to make the progressive case for growth. Our founding essay describes how Britain once drove our collective progress, and how we must rediscover this dynamism.

Centre for British Progress@britishprogress.org · last yr.

💫 We’re launching the Centre for British Progress Our founding essay: Rediscovering British Progress is a case for growth that drives shared progress, rooted in Britain's values and industrial heritage. It all starts with a postcard from 1870 👇 britishprogress.org/articles/red...

This is mortifying. It's the kind of calculation you would normally make about a dictatorship. open.substack.com/pub/christin...

OBR still leading the pack for optimism about real GDP in 2029, even after downward revisions; and RDEL growth path has become *more* front-loaded over the parliament - both should raise eyebrows about whether today's forecast will survive contact with (i) reality and (ii) politics

It's a very sad day. Just notified that @iza.org is closing its doors as of 31 December 2025. At a time when labor is under attack and technological change moves at an ever-faster pace, I can't help but think that this is a short-sighted decision. My heart goes out to those folks who work there.

EVENT: What next for devolution and regional growth? Join us for the inaugural @faerfield.bsky.social lecture with Dr Nik Johnson, @officialedballs.bsky.social, Nora Senior CBE, @dtturner.bsky.social & @bobbyduffy.bsky.social Register your interest in attending ➡️ docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

▶️ Here's a 1-minute summary of our new paper showing the places being left behind by English devolution. 📄 The Intersection of Productivity and Governance Capacity in Spatial Inequality: The Case of England’s Devolution Periphery 👥 Jack Newman & Charlotte Hoole 🖇️ doi.org/10.1080/2158...

My initial reaction to the English devo white paper: it's constitutional, not than economic or administrative; it's historic, grasping nettles avoided in the 1970s (Redcliffe-Maud) and 1990s; and it sets up mayors are preeminent English gov players, despite warm wards to local authorities.

English devolution white paper has been released; www.gov.uk/government/p... Exec summary promises "the biggest transfer of power out of Westminster to England’s regions this century"

​​English Devolution White Paper​: Power and partnership: Foundations for growth

​​The government’s proposals to empower local leaders and communities to drive growth and raise living standards across the country.​

gov.uk

White smoke on Local Growth Plans, as West Yorkshire become the first to publish their plan (in draft, ahead of the Combined Authority Board next week). Leans heavily on existing WY Plan, even getting into things like policing and crime westyorkshire.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s3...

Bright and crisp day at the Royal Society for @centrepropolicy.bsky.social’s Inclusive Growth Conference. Will keep a thread going here of the day

The Employment White Paper is out. It's got the crispest summary of the gov's approach to more, better jobs I've seen; a welcome focus on devolution (after decades of DWP as a hold-out); and - for Whitehall watchers - a bumper four-way foreword: www.gov.uk/government/p...

🚨New #IGConf24 speaker announcement! We are excited to announce that Devolution Minister, @jimmcmahon.co.uk is joining us as our keynote speaker this Thursday. 🎟️Spaces are limited, get your free ticket and find our full programme here: progressive-policy.net/events/inclu...

Really interesting paper ahead of the anticipated Employment White Paper over the next fortnight. Pairs well with IFS work on UK exceptionalism post-covid on health-related benefits. Together, they imply we may not get as much growth from "welfare to work" plans as hoped ifs.org.uk/publications...

Health-related benefit claims post-pandemic: UK trends and global context | Institute for Fiscal Studies

How do post-COVID claimants of health-related benefits compare with pre-COVID claimants? Where in the UK are they? How do other countries compare?

ifs.org.uk

Adam Corlett@adamcorlett.bsky.social · 2y ago

Just how wrong might the Labour Force Survey have been about employment, unemployment and inactivity rates? My new paper estimates these rates independently of the LFS and gives quite different results... www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications... 🧵