Burnham has already delayed the draft NPPF He needs to get it published and resist fiddling and weakening the draft, as well as supporting other proposals coming through eg medium sites. No path to building hundreds of thousands of council homes without a system enabling millions of private homes.

Centre for Economic Performance@cep-lse.bsky.social · 7h ago

Paul Cheshire (LSE, CEP) warns that radical reform of the planning system will be needed if the latest housebuilding pledge is to be met. https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/without-radical-planning-reform-burnham-cannot-build-the-houses-hes-promising/

Slow start - partly because FTTC was ubiquitous and sufficient for most needs - but UK no longer sick man of Europe for full fibre network and take up. Not just one network either; ended up with 3 in 4 households having at least 2 networks to choose from, and a 1 in 3 having 3 or more.

Mark Jackson@ispreview.bsky.social · 23h ago

UK to Overtake Spain as Europe's 2nd Largest FTTP Broadband Market in 2028 - News By ISPreview.co.uk #FTTP #PointTopic #Statistics https://www.ispreview.co.uk/?p=47602

Housing subsidies should be devolved. Freeze it at current level or increase at some sort of below inflation peg. Allow mayors and LAs to borrow against future revenues to build and reduce their future subsidy bill. As much devolve-to-save as spend-to-save by aligning incentives and policy levers

Giles Wilkes@gilesyb.bsky.social · yesterday

My goodness this chart tells a story

Price change in Tesco school uniforms after 46 years: Trousers: ⬇️ £1 Shirts: ⬇️ 49p Jumpers: ⬆️ 25p And that's *nominal*. Loss leaders and all that, but that's still incredible.

Old UK Print Ads@oldukprintads.bsky.social · 3d ago

Aug 1980: Schoolwear ad from Tesco (+Grey Polyester/Viscose Trousers; Polyester/Viscose Trousers; Sanforised cotton Denim Jeans; Acrylic Zippers; Acrylic V-neck Pullovers; Polyester/Cotton Shirts; Ribbed Polo Neck Jumpers; White lace-to-toe Sports Shoes; Black Plimsolls, and more)

Bottom up data from ONS vital for good economic policy. So much and many forms of new and live data available, both administrative and commercial. Make it happen!

Sam Freedman@samfr.bsky.social · 5d ago

Good to see acknowledgement of the accountability challenge. Want more detail on this though.

Lots of accountability talk today, rightly. Focus of these announcements good on that account by doubling down on existing areas of Mayoral competence. Even best local press and scrutiny cttees will struggle to disentangle current smush of shared responsibilities, funding streams and sign-offs.

Andy Westwood@andywestwood.bsky.social · 6d ago

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...

A confident, ambitious Conservative Party should be in favour of: - Fiscal devolution - Expanding London, Manchester and Birmingham into surrounding Tory-voting commuter areas to make them electorally competitive and economically coherent - Eye-watering inner city zoning and funding to support that

Sam Freedman@samfr.bsky.social · 6d ago

Telling that this line was the best the Tories could come up with. Since when were they opposed to growth incentives because it might seem unfair?

The tax retention news is so big it has overshadowed some of chunky stuff in the press release that complements it and fills out the devolution strategy pursued by the new PM. Some initial reactions by me and some @centreforcities.bsky.social thinking below to get you started 👇

Stephen Bush@stephenkb.bsky.social · 6d ago

This is a great move:

💣 UEFA eviscerates Gianni Infantino. "The World Cup is not for sale." "This is not merely a profound failure of leadership, but an abdication of FIFA’s duty as the custodian of world football." "We will never lend this model our legitimacy."

Statement on behalf of UEFA and its 55 national associations

UEFA and its national associations will not participate in FIFA competitions.

uefa.com

Evri just lost its "worst delivery" crown

Growth in every postcode a nice soundbite but will lead to bad policy in most places we see it used as a justification for some sort of intervention. Greggs in every postcode is within reach and generally supports positive policy interventions. (2979 postcode districts, 2773 Greggs)

Matcha and protein pivot pays off for Greggs as profits rise

UK's largest fast-food chain says it is changing its menu "in line with changing tastes and trends".

bbc.co.uk

If Bev Craig wins, fingers crossed it will be a Keith Andrews at Brentford situation. GMCA and wider Greater Manchester eco-system proves to be the star. Well run institution appoints internal candidate who knows the ropes after departure of beloved boss to a bigger job.

Are we going to end up with a real FIFA vs Pro-Evo but for real? How about a Free Trade World Cup for FIFA World Cup off-years? A celebration of (economic) openness. Coldplay railing against non-tariff barriers and calling for mutual recognition (of qualifications) during half-time show.

Finbarr Bermingham@fbermingham.bsky.social · last wk.

Perfect Brussels response: EU warns FIFA World Cup sell-off could breach competition law

Accessing #bluespace should not be difficult. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Almost 75% of England’s riverbanks ‘off limits’ to public, figures show

Campaigners urge government to introduce right of access to water, particularly as heatwaves become more common

theguardian.com

If the main job of council tax is increasingly to fund growing social care demand, a centrally funded National Care Service would make sense to see a big chunk of a nationally set property tax to replace council tax and stamp duty go to HMT to fund that.

New blog post: No, Manchester did not build more homes than Greater London last year jamesjgleeson.wordpress.com/2026/07/26/n...

No, Manchester did not build more homes than Greater London last year

A few days ago Manchester City Council published a press release with an eye-catching factoid. Manchester saw more homes built in the last year (4,766) than all the 32 Greater London boroughs combi…

jamesjgleeson.wordpress.com

Sets out the devo project clearly. Of the risks within, the RDA-lite quality of the geographies in some places worries me most. If you can't figure out a name for your new authority without the contortions of an '& !, 'of' or a point of the compass, you're setting up failure.

Sam Freedman@samfr.bsky.social · 2w ago

New post out "Burnham's defining project" Number 10 North isn't a gimmick, it's the start of first serious attempt to decentralise the state in England. I look at the five biggest challenges to getting it right and how best to manage them. (£/free trial) open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/b...

If you stood on Briggate at 8am on a weekday in 1957, and stood there again in 2026, in which year could you reach more of the city in half an hour? Samuel Bancroft has crunched the numbers. Since the 1950s, Leeds has got bigger - but the city has effectively shrunk.

We produced research last month on how to make income tax sharing work for the mayors + how to solve challenges with equalisation (i.e. how to deal with problem for fiscal devolution that some places can raise more cash than others). Check it out here: bsky.app/profile/cent...

Centre for Cities@centreforcities.bsky.social · last mo.

NEW | Fiscal devolution for England 🪙 Our latest briefing provides evidence to support the decision to advance fiscal devolution and explains how it can use these reforms to achieve both higher growth and greater fairness across the country👇 www.centreforcities.org/publication/...

This would be the most important local finance reform since Elizabeth I. Finally introducing local revenue sources that aren't property taxes will ensure places really benefit from local growth - more jobs and/or higher wages in a place will translate into more investment and services:

Brian Groom@groomb.bsky.social · 2w ago

Burnham plans to give England's 14 regional and metro mayors a share of income tax revenue to spend on their cities. Unclear whether this will need legislation, or whether 'equalisation measures' will be needed to prevent poorer regions from losing out.

The Glasgow Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony had a peak of 950k on Channel 5 on Thursday night. For Birmingham 2022, when it was on BBC One, it had a peak of 5.2 million.

Absolutely. Sadly heightens the flaws of the strategic and local govt geographies MHCLG has permitted. Braving the anger of police chiefs or hospital trusts you split/merge is good, but backwards if in the service of aligning to a weak geography you created to avoid annoying some councillors.

Stuart Hoddinott@stuarthoddinott.bsky.social · 2w ago

NEW BLOG: organisational boundaries in local govt, the NHS and police do not match up That's a problem for Burnham's devo ambitions He should intervene now to create an aligned system that paves the way for future public services devo More 👇 www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/burn...

It's wild to me how many people do not understand this. "Luxury housing" is not some ontologically separate category from the rest of the housing market. Nor is "affordable housing." It's all one big fluid market & when you build more, everyone moves up & frees up the bottom end.

Max Dubler 🏳️‍🌈@maxdubler.com · 2w ago

The idea that the wealthy, the middle class, and the poor are all in completely separate housing markets with no overlap ignores how things work in the real world. In the absence of new high end housing, wealthy people outbid the middle class for the best available existing housing and renovate it.

Basic rule of government: the most consequential government actions happen almost immediately or not at all. True of basically every government since Blair. www.economist.com/britain/2026...

I really wish that these details could be included in all reports of this kind. The problem isn't lithium batteries or Ebikes it's a UK state that allows irresponsible sellers to supply dangerous goods to service a delivery app economy that wouldn't be viable without the use of illegal motorbikes.

Jess McCabe@jessmccabe.bsky.social · 2w ago

Well this is a frankly terrifying read from @peteapps.bsky.social about the risk of e-bike fires, in particular from illegal ones and conversion kits. Also there is a Brexit angle here, as we are now a "dumping ground" for unsafe imported e-bikes www.insidehousing.co.uk/insight/the-...

Whoever at Commonwealth Games thought taking £5m from TNT for the UK TV rights - with Channel 5 highlights - was worth more than giving away to the BBC in return for the full hype and eyeballs needs to be sacked. Must lose as much on commercial value alone.

Guardian Sport@sport.theguardian.com · 2w ago

Final hurrah? Glasgow’s cut-price Commonwealth Games fight for survival

Glacial pace to do the obvious but finally talks about adding Channel 4 and UKTV content with ads to iPlayer. Freely buttons seem to have made it onto remotes, NOW is there but no iPlayer. Curious to see if/how Sky-NOW/ITV and Channel 5/Paramount+/HBO Max try to consolidate their apps.

BBC Boss Hints Channel 4 TV Content May Come to iPlayer Streaming Service

The Director General of the BBC, Matt Brittin, has confirmed they're exploring the possibility of creating a "sovereign streaming platform in the UK" and have a

ispreview.co.uk

Don't see the problem as long as there's well signposted free drop off at long stay car park and shuttle bus to the terminal.

Airport drop-off fees up by a third - here are the priciest

The cost of parking closest to the terminal has hit £10 at two of the UK's airports.

bbc.co.uk

Having seen no explainers and feeling increasingly like an idiot as apparently everyone else knows, I finally asked Gemini what Chancellor of Duchy of Lancaster is and why Louise Haigh’s various appointments make her so powerful. Very helpful clarifying a lot of opaque titles.

Inflation means the £2 bus fare cap in Jan 2027 would have been a £1.75 fare cap in Jan 2023 when first introduced. And bigger NMW increases will mean that £2 fare has gone from in Jan 2023 at most 13 mins of work to under 10 mins in 2027. Much more generous (and expensive) policy this time around