If anyone doubts whether people notice or care about small improvements to the public realm, they should come round my way, where I always know local elections are approaching because a playground is being renovated.

Botswana sets excellent example for the U.S., demonstrating how democratic transitions work

Just remembering how Democrats reacted to Biden’s victory four years ago. “Well, we’re definitely going to lose the midterms” was a theme.

New paper on UK demography. The Scots are different, as they often say. But, when it comes to births, they don’t follow Scandinavia. The rise in one-child families makes the country more like Eastern Europe.

I like this. A rare example of a take that doesn’t say, in effect: for why Trump won, see all my previous opinions.

Will the US negativity to immigration reverse now? Quite likely! Folks forget immigration backlash works both ways. Pro-immigration politics may be unpopular, but so is unnecessarily cruel anti-immigration politics. "Reverse Backlash" is open-access now: doi.org/10.1093/poq/nf…

Some extraordinary figures about young women in India here. Highly educated, able to work, unable to find suitable jobs.

Important thing about Britain’s agriculture department: whatever you think of its policies, it is really incompetent and really bad at extracting money from the Treasury.

bonjour

I've been called worse.

On Labour's plans to reorganise local government, in the name of "efficiency". economist.com/britain/2024/1…

Others compete, but nobody can beat the people of Birmingham when it comes to terrible car parking

From Joel Budd's latest on the National Character: economist.com/britain/2025/0…

On Britain's bubble-tea economy, and a dilemma for the government: economist.com/britain/2025/0…

‘Car modification provides a rare opportunity for white working-class Britons to flaunt their artistry and skill.’ Joel Budd on the petrolhead revival👇buff.ly/cpP55BC

This is a heavily trimmed excerpt from one of the chapters of "Underdogs". The modified-car scene was once almost entirely white, working class and male. Today it isn't. The change says something about Britain.