andrewcities.bsky.social - Profile | ThreadSky | a Reddit-style client for Bluesky

🎧 Driving national prosperity with @georgefreemanmp.bsky.social Our latest podcast covers the upcoming national Industrial Strategy, the possibility of the UK becoming a science superpower and the role of R+D in levelling up. Listen now 👇 buff.ly/mEdsKjP

submitted 13 hours ago • 0 comments

Excellent thread from @timbartik.bsky.social on how to help distressed places recover/improve. Very relevant on the day UK government published its 'Plan for Neighbourhoods' www.gov.uk/government/p...

submitted 1 day ago • 0 comments

“The UK economy needs a way out of the stagnation that has plagued it for nearly two decades, and more housebuilding is a key part of the solution”, writes Andrew Carter of @centreforcities.bsky.social 🏗️ Labour has a chance to be bold on planning www.politics.co.uk/comment/2025...

submitted 1 day ago • 1 comment

Government has published its 'Plan for Neighbourhoods' which is good. www.gov.uk/government/p... It looks a lot like the last government's 'Long Term Plan for Towns' which is good.

submitted 1 day ago • 0 comments

Was on deadline for something else when this landed yesterday, but it looks a lot like the last govt’s “long term plan for towns”. Slightly more money (£1.5bn/£1.1bn), slightly more areas (75/55) Quick comparison with original NW towns = the same towns with 3 added www.gov.uk/government/p...

submitted 1 day ago • 2 comments

Pop Econ books - what to read, what to read with caution, what to avoid. From @fiosrealm.bsky.social who is v kind about The Undercover Economist. Great list. www.noahpinion.blog/p/popular-ec...

submitted 6 days ago • 2 comments

In other news, @nao.org.uk says local government funding is unsustainable - this is our everyday civic infrastructure. www.nao.org.uk/reports/loca...

submitted 5 days ago • 1 comment

This is an important point with major ramifications - both A) how grey belt works but also B) how changing the green belt implicitly releases land for development because it is a type of 'zoning'. This is why we would have higher housebuilding in England if we had a zoning system.

submitted 6 days ago • 2 comments

🎧CITY TALKS | The role of UK R+D clusters in driving national prosperity @andrewcities.bsky.social is joined by @georgefreemanmp.bsky.social, former Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology to discuss industrial strategy and the role of R+D. Listen to the podcast 👇

submitted 6 days ago • 0 comments

Sadiq Khan launching the long-gestating London Growth Plan today. BBC has a preview: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

submitted 6 days ago • 0 comments

Mayors have missions for their areas, whether tackling child poverty on the North East or youth unemployment in the West Mids. How could they best use the voluntary sector to achieve these? We've written these briefings, using survey data on local giving patterns, to explain how 👇

submitted 8 days ago • 1 comment

📍Why we should be building new towns in big cities Our research suggests building lots of new homes in and around big cities to make them denser would benefit these cities and the country. Read our latest blog from @andrewcities.bsky.social 👇

submitted 13 days ago • 0 comments

My column this week: on the conversation the UK parliament is not having about assisted dying and the broader problem of coyness in making bad policy and bad guidance:

submitted 15 days ago • 2 comments

The 1st of the consultations on the new Mayoral authorities have been published. These will be key strategic authorities for planning and housing - well worth a look. www.gov.uk/government/n...

submitted 16 days ago • 0 comments

What is the UK Government doing with mayors and 'strategic authorities', following the December 2024 white paper? Find out in this new Commons Library briefing paper: commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-bri... Key points:

submitted 16 days ago • 1 comment

Actually this link might allow more people to access, apologies brain tired on.ft.com/41j2uQ8

submitted 19 days ago • 8 comments

Explaining why the Nordic countries have such low income inequality and discussing the lessons, if any, for other countries, from Magne Mogstad, Kjell G. Salvanes, and Gaute Torsvik https://www.nber.org/papers/w33444

submitted 22 days ago • 0 comments

I have a new piece in @ForeignAffairs titled, "The Post-Neoliberal Delusion and the Tragedy of Bidenomics". They were generous about giving me a lot of words but were less generous with charts--so this long thread partially rectifies that. (And links to the piece at the end.)

submitted 23 days ago • 22 comments

Amazing, amazing, amazing. Cambridge got it done! One day thousands of families will be living here, spending less of their budget on rent, and few of them will realize it never would have happened but for the leadership and persistence of @burhanazeem.bsky.social.

submitted 22 days ago • 5 comments

Wrote about how Leeds is an unwilling lab rat for a particular strand of Treasury thought www.economist.com/britain/2025...

submitted 26 days ago • 18 comments

Why is North England poor? If policy is to improve prosperity in this part of the country then it needs to remove the barriers that stop export businesses from investing. Read our latest blog from @paulswinney.bsky.social 👇

submitted 27 days ago • 1 comment

Today marks the first integrated settlement for Greater Manchester and the West Midlands, a landmark moment in our ambitious devolution agenda to empower local leaders and bring decision making closer to communities. www.gov.uk/government/p...

submitted 34 days ago • 0 comments

tbf I do think there's a logic here that Prof Ansell is missing and that didn't make it into his recent blogpost on economic policies benansell.substack.com/p/grasping-f.... And that's surprising given the prominence of the Resolution Foundation on the left recently. Some halfbaked musings ...

submitted 29 days ago • 2 comments

Great research on the politics of growth. Voters judge politicians on very narrow cost of living criteria. The big lesson is optimistic for the Government. But it means they are currently making a big mistake in a key area and need a different approach - English devolution.

submitted 32 days ago • 1 comment

This is actually happening on the radio right now - dear me! Radio presenter: you’ve changed your mind Chancellor: yes I think the evidence and context has changed Radio presenter: but . . .

submitted 34 days ago • 1 comment

Lots of things can be true at the same time. Economies are dynamic. Does the UK currently face a construction capacity constraint partially due to skilled labour shortages? Yes. Would a credible commitment to a decade+ of building projects see the sector expand and ease constraints? Also yes.

submitted 35 days ago • 11 comments

Surprisingly few people are saying it!

submitted 35 days ago • 2 comments

I see we are talking about “creating the Silicon Valley of Europe” again. OK, so:

submitted 35 days ago • 2 comments

Lot of stuff in that Reeves speech. Big bet on the ability to pull supply side levers. It’s all stuff that will have a positive impact on growth potential in the medium to longer term. The hope - which is plausible - is that this might also encourage more biz investment in the more immediate term.

submitted 35 days ago • 2 comments

Exactly what I was talking about in my Prospect column this week.... www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/691...

submitted 35 days ago • 7 comments

📣 New JRF analysis: just relying on growth won’t reduce child poverty. By 2029 (end parliament) only Scotland will see poverty falling, largely due to social security changes. A credible UK child poverty strategy would end the two-child limit & ensure people on UC can afford essentials

submitted 35 days ago • 0 comments

I can be as critical as anyone of the government's occasionally muddled message on growth but Look! At! This! Chart!! Anything they've done pales next to this GIGANTIC UNFORCED ERROR COMMITTED IN 2016! (fagpacket maths follows) on.ft.com/4hzyvbJ

submitted 35 days ago • 41 comments

Some thoughts from me on the limits (and potential) of delivering affordable homes through S106/other private cross-subsidy models. tdlr: any significant increase in affordable through s106 is tied to a massive increase in private building in the home counties, meaning we can't rely on it alone

submitted 36 days ago • 2 comments

Thank-you to all those who joined us last week for the launch of #CitiesOutlook2025 🚀 If you weren't able to come along, don't forget to check out the report online 👉🔗https://buff.ly/3DPaUp0

submitted 37 days ago • 0 comments

Cracking chart here from the @centreforcities.bsky.social team. Overlay the percentage of jobs connected to tradeables on this, and you pretty much have the whole story.

submitted 36 days ago • 1 comment

New post: Labour and Growth mainlymacro.blogspot.com/2025/01/labo... There is a danger the government is giving undue prominence to achieving growth in areas where the growth benefits are relatively small or where the costs are high, while ignoring the reasons for the past 15 years of decline.

submitted 36 days ago • 2 comments

20+ states have adopted policies to boost housing supply. What do we know about successes & challenges in implementing these policies? New brief from Semida Munteanu, Sydney Zelinka @LincolnInstitute and me: www.lincolninst.edu/publications...

submitted 37 days ago • 1 comment