Surprised by the surprise Don’t economists visit supermarkets? app.ft.com/content/5d22cc…

Hard to exaggerate how much this sort of thing undermines faith in public services. Fosters the impression - rightly or not - that incompetence goes forever unpunished, everyone just moves on

The experience of the US is that renewables investment continues apace despite the climate change denialsm of the administration Most corporate leaders can see that global warming will be a major issue long after these twerps are mouldering in their graves

Showing my 80-something dad how to use WhatsApp really brings home how good tech bros are at taking a brilliantly simple idea and making it as complicated, unintuitive and frustrating as possible

Read and weep HS2 is costing a fortune because Cameron gave rural Tory MPs every piece of pork-barrel nonsense they asked for Oh, and the tunnels. Lots and lots of (v expensive) tunnels bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…

It's grotesque Get rid of it

Some interesting nuggets in this interview with Kemi Badenoch. Though slightly odd to model yourself on a leader most Brits won't have heard of... ft.com/content/710839…

I get that these videos are politically effective But they're also a bit daft No transit system can completely eliminate fare dodging No police force can arrest every phone thief in a city of 8mn people

Jonathan Eley Yes. Someone should do a piece on Tories' wholesale destruction of the criminal justice system. From the Forensic Science Service, police, courts to prison and probation. Each one is on its knees - years to process evidence, no staff to review, years to trial, no prison spaces.

Rightmove calling for stamp duty reform, saying bands have failed to keep pace with prices Better to replace it with reformed CGT - with indexation but without primary residence relief That way, housing tax falls on those who've made the money

Well, hats off to Baroness Laing

There's a good reason why this Ruchir Sharma column has been the most-read piece on Financial Times for most of the morning ft.com/content/bb3551…

As I've said many times... Not even about quality necessarily...just different tastes and norms - try parking a Chevy Silverado in a European city centre

Pity the humanities graduates!

So…if we’re going to tax gambling groups in proportion to the societal damage they cause… …why aren’t we doing the same to social media groups? ft.com/content/4d206b… via Financial Times

Chronic disease has been on the rise for decades NHS has decided it only really treats acute conditions So chronic disease continues to rise People get sicker And govt wonders why benefits bill is soaring Join the dots, you muppets bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…

On top of the high housing costs And the high commuting costs And the ridiculous cliff-edges in the tax system that disincentivise career progression If only there was a govt with the balls to do anything about these things....

Superb one-take summary from Marc De Vos of the current EU/US dynamic. From this piece on.ft.com/4owBpT9