At least he might have made the bin lorries run on time.

Alex Partridge@alexpartridge87.bsky.social · 2h ago

Joshua Bonehill-Paine steps back from being a Conservative council candidate following backlash

This is grim. DO is essentially a professor of practice - a common title where people often don't have PhDs He's obviously got the gig because he's well known for doing popular history telly programmes not coz woke.

Would Badenoch allow an advocate of net zero to sort out parking and put out the bins? That's the question.

I still feel for people who live in water stressed areas of southern England and have emotional ties to place, but in the long run they might have to consider moving to relatively resource-rich places such as North East England. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Relentless UK heatwaves turn ‘green and pleasant land’ brown

Visible impact of warming climate is impossible to ignore across landscapes that have been starved of rainfall

theguardian.com

Does a cynical take on fiscal devolution see the integrated settlement money devolved as a share of tax, along with legal duties to provide the stuff that is currently grant funded in the integrated settlements?

This could be right. Matthias Jaissle will either be ignominiously gone by Christmas or a resounding success and off as soon as the first vacancy comes up at a regular champions league club.

Michael Martin@tfmick1892.bsky.social · 5d ago

Matthew Philpotts on the man who might not be here very long - #NUFC tf1892.substack.com/p/matthias-j...

If a mayor wants to use their budget like this then probably allow it. I can't see it being a power that's used widely, TBH. When places ask for "tax cutting" powers they generally mean they want an additional fiscal incentives grant from Whitehall, not less spending on their patch

1000 words of pub bore "stop moaning and enjoy the lovely weather".

On reflection, it’s probably naive to expect a provincial English city like e.g Leeds to have the same stuff as Porto, a city in a southern European country that never fully industrialised and lived under a stifling, authoritarian dictatorship for 40 years until 1974.

Nick Gray@path-dependent.bsky.social · 2w ago

"Dad's taking photos of them building a metro". For shame

Ok, let's call it Number 10 North England and have it in the hamlet of Marshall Meadows just north of Berwick.

I'm on holiday in Porto but I've dipped into work social media and, yes, some people are making quite a spectacle of themselves.

Will Jennings📉🗳️@drjennings.bsky.social · 2w ago

It's interesting how a lot of people who were very keen on the 'Red Wall' are much less keen on Manchesterism and Number 10 North...

I still expect to be thoroughly disappointed with the Burnham government, but in presentation terms at least Farage with his pint of abbot ale suddenly looks like a hair metal band after grunge broke.

Obviously this is targeted at a sector, but (like Makerfield) there's a general sense in my neighbourhood and on the local Facebook groups that small businesses on the local high street are struggling because of greedy councils and their business rates. It's a view that's very resistant to evidence.

Jennifer Williams@jenwilliamsft.bsky.social · 2w ago

Fell into that one. I could see high st business rates cropping up fairly quickly - that one was from Makerfield - although that’s meant to be funded from an online retailer rise, which is complicated to do, will think

It would be good to find a way of none of this accruing to big pub-cos while tenants still struggle. But that's the anti competitive business model. www.theguardian.com/business/202...

Business rates to be cut by 20% for pubs, clubs and music venues in England

Burnham says relief for vape shops and other ‘non-positive’ businesses to be reviewed as part of £100m plan to fund cut

theguardian.com

"Dad's taking photos of them building a metro". For shame

That five percent vat cut should save my two academic salary household a few quid to add to our savings. Cheers.

Worth observing that DSIT (and UKRI) are not loved in the north (among people who are interested in this kind of thing) www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

UK tech advocates alarmed by Burnham plan to scrap technology department

MPs and industry experts say potential reorganisation will waste time at critical moment for AI and economic growth

theguardian.com

Swap growth for 'opportunity' in every postcode and everybody is happier, including the new economic geography agglomeration guys.

The Guardian@theguardian.com · 2w ago

‘Good growth in every postcode’: Burnham’s economic to-do list in seven charts

Leandro Paredes trying to kick off a scrap at the end was the most entertaining thing to happen on the pitch all night. "Nobody wants to see this". Yes we do

An amazing opportunity for British universities which the government is taking advantage of by *checks notes* pushing the system into a spiral of chaos and decline.

Mar Hicks@histoftech.bsky.social · 3w ago

This is awful for everyone. Also, mark my words: it’s going to lead to a speeding-up of degree times (and likely degradation of the quality of programs) at many institutions as they continue to admit non-US applicants and tacitly “promise” them that they can complete the program.

I think an aging population and the associated cost is a national crisis that we've largely - and bizarrely - tried to avoid talking about. Credit to Burnham if he actually tries to change that.

Good thing I've paid in all my life, otherwise I'd worry about who was going to cover my healthcare and state pension when I'm older.

Will Jennings📉🗳️@drjennings.bsky.social · 3w ago

In places like the village I live in it's basically a race to see if your kids make it through school before it closes...

Reading this and it is good (as are the other papers in the series) An early minor quibble - I'm not sure that the 1997 Labour government did chop and change so much. It retained and built on things like regional Government offices.

Dan Turner@dtturner.bsky.social · 4w 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. 🧵

I've a great deal of respect for the people at the Independent Commission for Neighbourhoods who are supporting this - this is *a lot* of jobs though. Even if we include some other SICs, particularly construction, it's still around a 20% increase. news.sky.com/story/labour...

Labour MPs form new squad to ensure Burnham keeps key pledge

Andy Burnham has positioned reindustrialisation as a core pillar of his economic vision - but Labour MPs say this must be backed with an ambitious jobs pledge to deliver tangible change.

news.sky.com

These lines from McFadden could be from any point over the past 30 years. Probably longer. Often from Labour politicians but Labour are still the "Welfare Party" in right wing media. www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

Labour must stop just writing a cheque for benefit claimants, says McFadden

Exclusive: Work and pensions secretary signals possible reform to welfare as ministers await key reviews

theguardian.com

Just had a look on X where I saw someone wondering if the murder of Ann Widdecombe was a “Fabian Society hit job”. I knew I’d regret looking.

Having mostly used basic smartphones and windows, my new cheap tablet just gave me my first taste of extreme bloatware – I narrowly avoided installing 18 weather apps, 25 candy crush derivatives and whatever else. I feel old and naive – why didn’t my house head of IT (eldest child) warn me?

I'm still praying for some respite from the punishing heat.

This is an excellent piece of work btw... not just a mildly entertaining regional politics anecdote

Nick Gray@path-dependent.bsky.social · 3w ago

There was even a big fight about the title of the thing. It couldn’t be Newcastle *and* the north east because that would suggest - God forbid - that Newcastle was the regional capital. Clearly Newcastle City Region or something like it wasn't up for discussion. www.oecd.org/en/publicati...

Is this surprising on the first vote? I'm a bit surprised given national polling. findoutnow.co.uk/blog/greater...