The Manchester model: The industrial revolution’s ‘shock city’ revives. Me for POLITICOEurope. 'Made in Manchester' due out May 23rd. politico.eu/article/manche…

“I’m deeply uncomfortable with the way I'm now in effect being expected to endorse something I just think is wrong”

Extraordinary moment just now as former minister Lee Waters calls on his boss Vaughan Gething to ‘do the right thing’ and give back a £200,000 campaign donation

In what moral universe can this be the right thing to do: the lower the life expectancy of a local area in 2010-12, the greater the cuts to government funding in the subsequent years. Was this a deliberate policy to increase health inequalities?

📊New OECD Data 🏠: Over 2 million people are experiencing #homelessness , but rates differ around the world.

Dive into the complexities of tracking and comparing #homelessness data in 40 countries the OECD ➡️ Better Policies for Better Lives #AffordableHousing Database! 🌍

👉 oecd.org/social/homeles…

- Labour party to kill the phrase 'levelling up' if it wins the general election

- but internal debate still taking place over what phrase to use instead

- 'Levelling-Up Department' likely to revert to its old name of 'Communities, Local Government and Housing' aka the Ronseal…

Lovely to see so much attention being given to the paint, but THERE ARE NO CONTROLLED CROSSING POINTS FOR PEDESTRIANS RUNNING NORTH-SOUTH EITHER SIDE OF THE ROAD AT A JUNCTION THAT SERVES SEVERAL SCHOOLS AND A NURSERY.

thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/24283361.…

🚨Attention all those who love the North East of England and the wonderful Beamish Museum!

We’re looking for a talented person to lead our fundraising work and help us build an even more exciting future for Beamish.

DM me if you’re interested👇🏻

beamish.org.uk/chief-philanth…

The Norwegian Mannsutvalgets, or Men’s Equality Commission. has just published its final report.
It is nothing less than a landmark in the debate about boys and men, & will have an impact far beyond Norway for sure. Here's my celebratory initial take: ofboysandmen.substack.com/p/look-to-norw…

Polanyi’s The Great Transformation remains one of the sharpest critiques of market liberalism ever. The belief that society should be organised through self-regulating markets represents an ontological break with much of human history, he said.
My latest:
unherd.com/2024/04/karl-p…

On the 60th anniversary of his death, Karl Polanyi’s profound synthesis of socialist economic theory and communitarian cultural values still represents the most powerful critique of — and alternative to — market liberalism ever produced.

My latest:
unherd.com/2024/04/karl-p…

Useful advice from Jeremy Clarkson on how to iron out any difficulties you might have with your planning application: theguardian.com/media/2024/apr…

Who, remarkable as it seems now, visited Jarrow while meeting Tyneside industrialists in 1877. I wrote about how the visit, though, came to be overshadowed by a local tragedy shieldsgazette.com/heritage-and-r…

You think housing prices will keep going up because you've seen it all your life. But this is a historic anomaly that is likely to reverse soon: Prices might start shrinking in many places.

This thread is the case against investing in housing:

Andy, your housing targets a) were set by the local authorities & b) are nowhere near what is needed with no process in place to address unmet needs. You can't wear the fact you don't have any planning powers like a badge of honour & take all the credit for planning decisions

This book is now open access - free to download and read.

Roy Keane’s take on Anthony Gordon’s move to Newcastle is quality 😂

‘Economics might be dismal, but it’s not really a science, even though it continues to advertise itself as one.’ |
Working-class hero • Inside Story insidestory.org.au/working-class-…

The rapid making and unmaking of the Ben Houchen myth is astonishing and a metaphor for levelling up. Hubris and nemesis, a Greek tragedy. Somebody should write a play or an ITV1 prime time drama.

Steve Gibson, owner of Middlesbrough FC, and Paul Booth, former chair of SABIC UK, former members of the board that founded Teesworks, call Ben Houchen “totally incompetent” and call for a deal struck three months after they were sacked to be renegotiated: on.ft.com/4aQopjX

My favourite graph in the fantastic FT piece on how levelling up money is far too small, hasn't arrived yet, and even where it has, often hasn't got spent is this one,... showing that Richmondshire (Rishi Sunak is an MP) has done best* from levelling up in Yorkshire.