Mia Gray
@mia-gray.bsky.social
Professor of economic geography at the University of Cambridge. Researches austerity, labour, debt, gender & sustainable regional economies. Keen gardener.
Now is the time to assess remunicipalisation (nationalisation at a local level) as local regions/cities take essential services back into public control. Article free to access. academic.oup.com/cjres/articl...
How places are contesting the privatisation of local public services
The provision of essential public services — water, energy, health, housing, education, transport, social care and infrastructure — is a crucial determinan
academic.oup.com
Fiscal devolution, transport, housing, planning, 16-19 skills, employment support… and an autumn white paper. These are very big changes to English government/governance. www.gov.uk/government/n...
PM hands mayors share of income tax to make lives better in every postcode
The Prime Minister will today launch the biggest transfer of power from Westminster in a generation, giving communities greater control over the decisions that shape jobs, transport, housing and publi...
gov.uk
With the likely change in leadership to Andy Burnham and eyes on "Manchesterism" and the way municipal govt can contest privatisation, this is a good time to read our new paper on: How places are contesting the privatisation of local public services academic.oup.com/cjres/articl...
My latest blog post - a contribution to the debate about the future of adult social care in the UK and how Andy Burnham might address it ursulahuws.wpcomstaging.com/2026/07/20/r...
Reinventing social care
With a new prime minister committed both to devolution to regions and to developing a national plan for adult social care and the launch of a public debate on this topic, it seems to be an opportun…
ursulahuws.wpcomstaging.com
Hot off the press - Viral Debt: The Production and Reproduction of Economic Vulnerability This book shows how debt – like a contagion – works systematically across economic and social structures and geographies This is a free, Open Access, book: www.taylorfrancis.com/books/oa-edi...
Viral Debt | The Production and Reproduction of Economic Vulnerability
Challenging how social scientists, policymakers, legal scholars, and the public examine household debts and wellbeing, Viral Debt traces how debt moves within
taylorfrancis.com
‘London was an obvious destination for a US tech company with designs on hefty public contracts. Palantir had some connections – it had provided software to GCHQ – and was soon spending heavily.’ Peter Geoghegan and Lucas Amin on Palantir’s NHS contract: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Peter Geoghegan and Lucas Amin · ‘This looks absolutely rubbish’: Palantir and the NHS
A decade ago Palantir was largely unknown in the UK. It now holds public contracts worth hundreds of millions of pounds...
lrb.co.uk
This is good on the legacy of Thatcher's approach of privatisation, deregulation and centralisation. One of her consistent themes - continued with enthusiasm by Cameron, Osborne and Gove - was to reduce the power of local government.
We also discuss state/municipal ownership of utilities -- Thames Water and the Municipal water provision in Paris -- in academic.oup.com/cjres/pages/...
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academic.oup.com
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www.theguardian.com/society/2026... Including "almost £9.8bn in contracts from local councils went to companies majority-controlled by private equity firms, an estimated 10% of their external spending in the year to April 2025."
‘Financial pandemic’: £1 in every £11 spent on UK public contractors goes to private equity
Almost £24.4bn of government money went to private equity-run firms in year to April 2025, Guardian analysis shows
theguardian.com
New paper with @philiprathgeb.bsky.social in Journal of European Social Policy: #SocialInsurance is blamed for entrenching insider-outsider divides & weakening redistribution. Drawing on #Austria, we show it can be more solidaristic and resilient than means-tested benefits. doi.org/10.1177/0958...
Proof that a Geography degree can take you anywhere! From a Geography degree to the pinnacle of the UK arts and media landscape! Huge congratulations to alumna (1985) Dawn Airey CBE on being appointed Chair of Arts Council England, following a stellar career as CEO of Channel 5 and Getty Images.
Dawn Airey CBE appointed as Chair of Arts Council England
The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport has appointed Dawn Airey CBE as Chair of Arts Council England for a term of 4 years starting on 1 August 2026.
artscouncil.org.uk
Arts Council England@artscouncilengland.bsky.social · 2mo agoDawn Airey CBE has been appointed as our new Chair, starting 1 August 2026. With 30+ years experience across the media and creative industries, she brings outstanding leadership and a deep commitment to arts and culture. Read more 👇 https://bit.ly/4dVQrgF 📸 Jonathan Phang
See which places reversed privatisation in our paper!
Mia Gray@mia-gray.bsky.social · 2mo agoPrivatisation is not a “one-way street” - it is reversible. Remunicipalisation is a type of privatisation reversal where previously privatised services are brought back under local municipal control. free to access academic.oup.com/cjres/advanc... @judithclifton.bsky.social @weownit.org.uk
With the likely change in leadership to Andy Burnham and eyes on "Manchesterism" and the way municipal govt can contest privatisation, this is a good time to read our new paper on: How places are contesting the privatisation of local public services academic.oup.com/cjres/articl...
Last Monday the government announced a programme of nearly 180 Youth Hubs. It also announced a social media ban for young people, which took all the attention. www.gov.uk/government/n... #R4Today
Almost 180 more Youth Hubs to help young people build skills and find jobs
Thousands of young people across Great Britain will benefit from access to expanded employment and wrap-around support services as the locations of almost 180 new Youth Hubs are confirmed this morning...
gov.uk
Surprisingly no mention of public sector austerity in here (unless I've missed it in my skim). It's like it's yesterday's news or something...in reality we're still feeling the results now of decisions taken 15 years ago. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Revealed: Brexit voting areas have seen faster growth in foreign workers since EU referendum
Guardian investigation also finds same areas experienced relative decline over same period
theguardian.com
That looks more like it. As defence spending has fallen, non-pensioner welfare has grown slightly from around 4.8 per cent of GDP in the mid-80s to 5.1 per cent now. Non-pensioner welfare is now about the same level it was in the mid-1990s. Thank you for clarifying this @ruthcurtice.bsky.social
JamesSmithRF@jamessmithrf.bsky.social · 2mo agoThe debate on UK defence spending has jumped to a tradeoff between welfare and defending the country. That is odd, unhelpful and - in some cases - just plain inaccurate as Ruth Curtice explains here: substack.com/home/post/p-...
Not long to go now until the @cjres.bsky.social 2026 Conference, 16-17 July. The 2 main conference themes are: - Urban Agglomeration: Who Gains and Who Loses from Density-Driven Development? - Revisiting the Economic Geographies of the Defence Industry Info here: www.cpes.org.uk/events/cjres2026
The 2026 Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society Conference
The annual Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society conference will take place on 16-17 July 2026, at St Catharine’s College, Cambridge, UK. The 2026 Conference of the Cambridge Jour…
cpes.org.uk
Privatisation is not a “one-way street” - it is reversible. Remunicipalisation is a type of privatisation reversal where previously privatised services are brought back under local municipal control. free to access academic.oup.com/cjres/advanc... @judithclifton.bsky.social @weownit.org.uk
academic.oup.com
Celebrating anti-optimal living. "Things fall apart; the metrics cannot hold."
Austerity, centralised control, and the local elections. Taking it to the street -- "it's the potholes, Stupid" Very good piece from Simon Jenkins. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Potholes – that’s what voters care about. But you wouldn’t know it from the local elections coverage | Simon Jenkins
As I bounced dangerously around a Sussex road, I was reminded of the parlous state of our highways – and the serious neglect of local issues, says Guardian columnist Simon Jenkins
theguardian.com
A really important topic for academics - having children - and one that still doesn't get much airtime.
Rachel Franklin 🦚@rsfrankl.bsky.social · 3mo ago🎧 Our new #GLaDpodcast episode—Baby Talk—is all about, yeah, babies. Plus the academic life course, careers and the messy business of advice and decisionmaking. What's not to love?! With @darribas.bsky.social @levijohnwolf.bsky.social & @pietrostefani.bsky.social open.spotify.com/episode/5TDJ...
Private equity and the high street - asset stripping, debt, closure Modella owns chains TGJones, Claire’s and The Original Factory Shop, which have now closed all stores with the loss of about 2,500 jobs. And, Hobbycraft , which also closed numerous stores. www.theguardian.com/business/202...
Up to 150 former WH Smith stores face closure, putting thousands of jobs at risk
Modella Capital, which rebranded shops as TG Jones, unveils radical restructuring plan, including rent holidays
theguardian.com
A really important topic for academics - having children - and one that still doesn't get much airtime.
Rachel Franklin 🦚@rsfrankl.bsky.social · 3mo ago🎧 Our new #GLaDpodcast episode—Baby Talk—is all about, yeah, babies. Plus the academic life course, careers and the messy business of advice and decisionmaking. What's not to love?! With @darribas.bsky.social @levijohnwolf.bsky.social & @pietrostefani.bsky.social open.spotify.com/episode/5TDJ...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... Clearly, time to post this link again ... we argue electricity should be a basic human right and should be considered part of a social minimum. (free access) www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
'There were letters I didn't want to open': Rise in unpaid debt court cases
The number of county court judgements rose by 17.5% in the first quarter of this year compared to last, data suggests.
bbc.co.uk
Very good paper on the links between the rise of the right, austerity and running down public services (free to access) Public services are "important anchors of people's electoral choices" Study is on Italy but I think we see this in the UK as well onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/CUDU5R...
Geographies of discontent: Public service deprivation and the rise of the far right in Italy
Reader environment loaded
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
We need to rejoin the EU to stop the risk of these kinds of threats transpiring. Medium countries like the UK have no bargaining power in global trade on their own. We need to raise tax on US big tech + then replace it with open source + public option tech. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Trump says he will ‘probably put a big tariff on the UK’ if it doesn’t drop digital services tax
President accuses Britain of trying to ‘make an easy buck’ from American tech firms, weeks after warning UK–US trade deal can be changed
theguardian.com