Last orders? What the should the Chancellor John Healey do in the budget to save Britain’s pubs? New blog + Phil Tomlinson: blogsfromtheblackstuff.com/bftbblog2610... @prt1969.bsky.social @dfkogler.bsky.social @camraofficial.bsky.social @acadsocsciences.bsky.social @regstud.bsky.social

My comments included in national coverage of Glasgow Council's just-declared record £12B Pension Fund surplus. 60% more than its pensions bill. The Canary in the mine of a likely UK-wide surplus of over £200B of taxpayers' money at LGPS. As we warned 18ms ago. www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/market...

Record £12bn surplus in council pension fund slammed as 'utterly nuts'

Strathclyde Pension Fund has £12bn more in the kitty than it needs to pay the pensions of its near-300,000 members, its latest accounts show.

thisismoney.co.uk

Britain’s automotive supply chain doesn’t need to die. It needs a new mission. Blog by @dgbailey.bsky.social blogsfromtheblackstuff.com/bftbautoblog... "Reverse conversion: deliberate mobilisation &reorientation of established civilian industrial capabilities towards defence &dual-use production."

JLR Job Cuts: Britain’s Car Industry Is Running on Empty @dgbailey.bsky.social's blog today t.co/Xo2VzyF6x0 ‘The govt should treat the current situation as a strategic industrial emergency. Get industrial energy costs down. Give manufacturers a more realistic &flexible route through EV transition..'

Very sad to hear that Dermot Murnaghan has passed away. A brilliant journalist. And although he could be highly effective in challenging politicians, sometimes he gave time to politicians to explain in detail. I had 6 minutes with him almost 10 years ago. Here’s a 90 secs snippet of it.

@guardianheather.bsky.social @theguardian.com

Prof. John Clancy@johnmclancy.bsky.social · 4mo ago

**BREAKING**EXCLUSIVE** 97 UK Local Govt pension Funds' Assets pass **£0.5 TRILLION** at £517B. Extracted &aggregated from just-published Councils’ Accounts. Mgt.Expenses deducted reach scandalous £2.7B! Including £2.3B to investment managers. Standardised Funding Surplus now estimated at £200B+

@tobyn.bsky.social public.flourish.studio/visualisatio... and public.flourish.studio/visualisatio... and public.flourish.studio/visualisatio...

UK LGPS ASSETS 2026 260709

A Flourish data visualization by John Clancy

public.flourish.studio

Prof. John Clancy@johnmclancy.bsky.social · 4mo ago

**BREAKING**EXCLUSIVE** 97 UK Local Govt pension Funds' Assets pass **£0.5 TRILLION** at £517B. Extracted &aggregated from just-published Councils’ Accounts. Mgt.Expenses deducted reach scandalous £2.7B! Including £2.3B to investment managers. Standardised Funding Surplus now estimated at £200B+

**BREAKING**EXCLUSIVE** 97 UK Local Govt pension Funds' Assets pass **£0.5 TRILLION** at £517B. Extracted &aggregated from just-published Councils’ Accounts. Mgt.Expenses deducted reach scandalous £2.7B! Including £2.3B to investment managers. Standardised Funding Surplus now estimated at £200B+

Now £0.5Trillion UK LGPS had £150B+ surplus last yr, probably £200B+ this. A surplus that will *never* be used to pay a single pension. An untouched legacy of taxpayers’ money Burnham can &shd use to invest in every community it comes from, &inside fiscal rules. www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/market...

Burnham urged to tap up £150bn council pension surplus

The £550 billion Local Government Pension Scheme is awash with cash, meaning it has more than enough money to pay the pensions of its 7million members.

thisismoney.co.uk

Burnham's backyard blunder? The Scandal Nobody Noticed: £10.4B surplus in the Greater Manchester Pension Fund, starved from GM Economy. blogsfromtheblackstuff.com/bftbblog2606... Time for Action, Man. Get the money back to GM &get Makerfield its £420m. Questions for @andyburnham.bsky.social

How Birmingham City Council went ‘bankrupt’ being unnecessarily forced to pay hundreds of £millions into its pension fund to pay off a deficit which never existed. It was always in surplus. Labour didn’t listen. They’re not listening now. www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/market...

Taxpayers 'fleeced' in Birmingham City Council pension fund blunder

It declared itself bankrupt in 2023, although it would have avoided this but for an accounting blunder by its pension fund managers that led to unnecessary top-up payments into the scheme.

thisismoney.co.uk

YOUR HANDY ELECTION NIGHT LGPS GUIDE! A few smaller councils changing hands or going into No Overall Control can have huge sudden changes to who controls 100s of £billions of Pension Funds. The top 10 funds have £150B in assets between them. www.linkedin.com/posts/prof-j...

YOUR HANDY ELECTION NIGHT LGPS GUIDE! With big changes afoot in councils expected after today's election, we should also see big changes in England's local government pension funds, and who c...

YOUR HANDY ELECTION NIGHT LGPS GUIDE! With big changes afoot in councils expected after today's election, we should also see big changes in England's local government pension funds, and who controls ...

linkedin.com

BREAKING @dgbailey.bsky.social &my breakdown of all relevant stats in just-out 2025 Valuations of all England &Wales Local Govt. Pension Funds. public.flourish.studio/visualisatio... Postcode lottery in outcomes for taxpayers. V.troubling re: Public Accounts Probity. Total chaos. @tobyn.bsky.social

Bar rank by Discount Rate E&W LGPS 260411 001

A Flourish data visualization by John Clancy

public.flourish.studio

With a heavy heart, I share the obituary of my beloved wife, Lisa, written by our friend @philtomlinson.bsky.social I hope you’ll take a moment to read & remember a truly extraordinary woman who meant everything to Mikey & myself & so much to so many others. www.regionalstudies.org/news/lisa-de...

In Memoriam: Lisa De Propris (1967 – 2026) - RSA Main

Lisa De Propris was born in 1967 and grew up in Bologna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. She studied for her first degree in Political Science and Political Economy at the University of Bologna...

regionalstudies.org

RBKC SINKS DHCLG How spectacular, but entirely correct, decision by Local Government Pension Fund for 0% employer contributions til 2029 will cascade &repeat across UK LGPS; releasing tens of £bns of delayed public spending. @dgbailey.bsky.social &my blog blogsfromtheblackstuff.com/bftbblog2604...

A gentle riposte to @timleunig.bsky.social last Observer column which seemed to write off much of UK manufacturing. That would be a bad mistake. @makeuk.bsky.social @smmt-ukauto.bsky.social @unitetheunion.bsky.social @faradayinstitute.bsky.social blogsfromtheblackstuff.com/bftbblog2601...

Stairway to Scandal: how West Midlands Pension fund gradually top-sliced £1.1 billion from its asset base to pay Managers’ Expenses. It’s taxpayers’ money. Today’s blog with @dgbailey.bsky.social

The West Mids Pension Fund; the vastly overfunded £22bn Elephant in the Room that broke @bhamcitycouncil.bsky.social : latest, breaking news blog with @johnclancy.bsky.social @https://blogsfromtheblackstuff.com//bftbblog260102b

EXCLUSIVE BREAKING NEWS - WMPF insider spills the beans to BFTB: WMidlands Pension Fund Chaos as SURPLUS hits £11BILLION! blogsfromtheblackstuff.com//bftbblog260... It’s 200% funded. Apparently broke Birmingham Council has £2.5B pension surplus. Open Warfare at WMPF. FCA Tory WMPF Cllr tells all.

West Midlands Pension Fund insider spills the beans: an £11 billion surplus. It's 200% funded! New blog with John Clancy. blogsfromtheblackstuff.com//bftbblog260...

'Embarrassment of riches' © @tobyn.bsky.social, laid bare in Birmingham - huge leaps in LGPS Valuation discount rates reported to pension funds ctees across LGPS in last few weeks. Scandalous, nightmarish miscalculations last time round come home to roost blogsfromtheblackstuff.com/bftbblog2512...

'Embarrassment of riches' © @tobyn.bsky.social, laid bare in Birmingham - huge leaps in LGPS Valuation discount rates reported to pension funds ctees across LGPS in last few weeks. Scandalous, nightmarish miscalculations last time round come home to roost blogsfromtheblackstuff.com/bftbblog2512...

ICYMI @dgbailey.bsky.social & my Chrismas Eve blog: blogsfromtheblackstuff.com/bftbblog2512... £1.9 Billion wake-up call for Birmingham. If it acts quickly& responds correctly, it can get £400 million back of its £1.9B Pension Fund surplus and into its revenues over next 3 years. The rest from 2029+

*BREAKING* We reveal total paid out in mgt expenses to 97 UK Local Gvt Pension funds last yr was record-high of *£2.7Billion*. blogsfromtheblackstuff.com/bftbblog251120 £2.4B in investment fees for pathetic 3.3% return. Paid for mainly through council tax. How much did your local fund shell out?

@theguardian.com @guardianheather.bsky.social Yday's blog showing how Chancellor highly likely has £10B more fiscal headroom than she, OBR&Treasury realise, from the 97 UK Local Govt. Pension Funds' current snail's pace (re)valuations - if she acts fast! blogsfromtheblackstuff.com/bftbblog2511...

@newstatesman1913.bsky.social Yday's blog showing how Chancellor highly likely has at least £10B more fiscal headroom than she realises, or OBR&Treasury realise, from the 97 UK Local Govt. Pension Funds' current snail's pace valuations - if she acts fast! blogsfromtheblackstuff.com/bftbblog2511...

Yesterday's blog showing how the Chancellor highly likely has at least £10B more fiscal headroom than she realises, or OBR&Treasury realise, from the 97 UK Local Govt. Pension Funds' current snail's pace (re)valuations - if she acts fast! blogsfromtheblackstuff.com/bftbblog2511...

@tobyn.bsky.social bsky.app/profile/john...

Prof. John Clancy@johnmclancy.bsky.social · 12mo ago

Councils &employers in the LGPS will see £10B windfall if 97 UK Local Govt Pension Funds get their sums right. Just because snail’s-pace 3yr valuations still ongoing doesn’t mean OBR &Treasury shouldn’t project now probable headroom outcome for Chancellor! blogsfromtheblackstuff.com/bftbblog251109

Councils &employers in the LGPS will see £10B windfall if 97 UK Local Govt Pension Funds get their sums right. Just because snail’s-pace 3yr valuations still ongoing doesn’t mean OBR &Treasury shouldn’t project now probable headroom outcome for Chancellor! blogsfromtheblackstuff.com/bftbblog251109

@tobyn.bsky.social bsky.app/profile/john...

Prof. John Clancy@johnmclancy.bsky.social · last yr.

UK LGPS Assets now stand at £476Billion. blogsfromtheblackstuff.com/bftbblog251024 Our updated blog following DHCLG's publication of official statistics for England &Wales. 5th biggest pension fund in the world &9th biggest sov.asset fund in the world. We projected £475B 10 days ago. Pretty close!