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Centre for British Progress @britishprogress.org · 10/07/2026

This week, we joined forces with @arguablymag.bsky.social to bring together some of the best minds in British politics for our Summer Reception. Deputy PM David Lammy, Pensions Minister Torsten Bell, Yuan Yang and George Freeman joined us for a lively evening of British Progress.

An edited image of the speakers lined up, and including Julia Willemyns and George Eaton.

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Centre for British Progress @britishprogress.org · 17/04/2026

Britain needs new homes to grow. Street votes are backed by @philipsalter.bsky.social @tenentrepreneurs.bsky.social and by some of the UK’s most innovative founders and entrepreneurs who signed TEN’s Strong Foundations letter, including Matt Clifford

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Centre for British Progress @britishprogress.org · 17/04/2026

Students across Britain are routinely crammed into expensive, dilapidated converted homes. Street votes could see low quality houseshares transformed into modern student homes or flats for post-graduates.

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Centre for British Progress @britishprogress.org · 17/04/2026

To get Britain growing again we need to build new homes in the places they’re most needed. Street votes will deliver thousands of new homes close to good jobs and will help revitalise our cities. Professors Tony Travers and Jonathan Haskel support street votes.

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Centre for British Progress @britishprogress.org · 17/04/2026

Street votes give local residents the power to say yes to new homes and control over the future, and design of their local area. Architects like @jayvictoria8.bsky.social, @russellcurtis.com @benderbyshire.bsky.social and @rietteoos back street votes.

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Centre for British Progress @britishprogress.org · 17/04/2026

Street votes will build homes in our well connected cities and suburbs, not produce sprawl. That’s why they’re backed by transport campaigners like Chris and Roger.

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Centre for British Progress @britishprogress.org · 17/04/2026

@anyamartin.bsky.social and @danwilsoncraw.bsky.social have been fighting for better prices and conditions for renters. They both see the opportunity that street votes bring: lower rents and better homes.

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Centre for British Progress @britishprogress.org · 17/04/2026

Senior planning lawyers have backed street votes for their ability to help unblock planning and get local residents to say yes to new homes.

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Centre for British Progress @britishprogress.org · 17/04/2026

Housing associations are part of Britain’s vital social housing backbone. Street votes have been endorsed by leading voices at some of the largest HAs in the country.

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Centre for British Progress @britishprogress.org · 17/04/2026

Labour Together’s Director of Devolution, @jpspencer.bsky.social, on why giving local communities more say matters.

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Centre for British Progress @britishprogress.org · 17/04/2026

Both @benjudah.bsky.social and Issy Waite back street votes because of the huge benefit they can bring to local communities and their power to deliver new homes.

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Centre for British Progress @britishprogress.org · 17/04/2026

Rt Revd Dr Guli Francis Dehqani, Bishop of Chelmsford and Lead Bishop for Housing supports the potential for street votes to help local people become leading voices for positive change in their area.

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Centre for British Progress @britishprogress.org · 17/04/2026

Mirte co-founded the Carbon Balance Initiative. Street votes will deliver homes in places that are best for communities and the climate: in our existing cities close to good jobs and public transport.

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Centre for British Progress @britishprogress.org · 17/04/2026

Green Alliance wrote in support of street votes because higher densities in our existing cities are one of the best ways to tackle the climate crisis.

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Centre for British Progress @britishprogress.org · 17/04/2026

@tomchance.bsky.social knows how important local communities are to delivering homes and the high barriers for community land trusts to create affordable plans.

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Centre for British Progress @britishprogress.org · 17/04/2026

Street votes have also been supported by a wide range of progressive think tanks, policy organisations and campaigns.

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Centre for British Progress @britishprogress.org · 17/04/2026

Labour MP for Milton Keynes North and co-chair of Labour Growth Group @chriscurtis94.bsky.social, is a tireless advocate for more and better homes. We’re extremely pleased that he has expressed his support for street votes.

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Centre for British Progress @britishprogress.org · 17/04/2026

We’re delighted that @yuanfenyang.bsky.social, Labour MP for Earley and Woodley, Secretary of Tribune Group, founder of the Living Standards Coalition, and founder of Rethinking Economics, has endorsed street votes.

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Centre for British Progress @britishprogress.org · 17/04/2026

What if the residents of a street could collectively decide to build more homes on it - and share directly in the benefits? That's street votes. In our new paper with @labourtogether.bsky.social we set out how community-led street votes could help Steve Reed build 1.5 million new homes.

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Centre for British Progress @britishprogress.org · 14/04/2025

Once you’ve read our launch essay, don’t miss out on a few of our team’s top recommendations:

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Centre for British Progress @britishprogress.org · 14/04/2025

A date for your diaries: @jujulemons.bsky.social will be speaking at a TxP event on April 30th!

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Centre for British Progress @britishprogress.org · 14/04/2025

It’s been a busy few weeks here, with our launch. A massive thank you to everyone who helped us get this far, and to everyone who read, shared and commented on our essay.

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Centre for British Progress @britishprogress.org · 14/04/2025

The Progress Post: our new substack We'll look beyond policy to the cultural currents behind British progress, and the ideas, values, & visions that we're building towards. Today: our April newsletter, upcoming events, & bookshelf with pieces from @droojb.bsky.social & Jack Wiseman

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Centre for British Progress @britishprogress.org · 03/04/2025

Frustration with government is mounting across western countries, but we must resist the impulse to slash and burn. The harder, but more courageous, route is one that brings people with us to build effective institutions that last.

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Centre for British Progress @britishprogress.org · 03/04/2025

A better model of governance is possible. Since its founding in 1958, the US’s DARPA has produced a steady stream of technological breakthroughs: from GPS to mRNA vaccines. Not because of DARPA’s scale, but its structure: empowered program managers who make and own decisions.

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Centre for British Progress @britishprogress.org · 03/04/2025

Deeper than everythingism, our institutions lack agency. Our machinery of governance has been tailored for consultation not decisive action. The Lower Thames crossing, finally approved, has spent years and £300m in planning. A decision delayed and avoided and a road unbuilt.

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Centre for British Progress @britishprogress.org · 03/04/2025

‘Everything bagel liberalism’ is pervasive. A policy that sets out to achieve a single objective is laden with other worthy goals. Every policy must now also be a vehicle to tackle all ills like decarbonisation or lack of access to community sports.

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Centre for British Progress @britishprogress.org · 03/04/2025

This leaves Britain a high-wealth, low-income country. We’re sweating assets left to us by previous generations, instead of building an endowment for the future.

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Centre for British Progress @britishprogress.org · 03/04/2025

Building was once a national act of confidence. We laid 6,000 miles of railway in a generation. We built sewers, town halls, reservoirs, and housing for the masses. Today? We can't build a railway to the Midlands without cancelling it halfway through.

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Centre for British Progress @britishprogress.org · 03/04/2025

This isn’t just a story of stalled infrastructure. It’s a story of values. The Victorians didn’t just build fast. They built beautifully – and with pride. Paddington. St Pancras. Temple Meads. Glasgow Central. Civic cathedrals in glass, steel and iron.

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Centre for British Progress @britishprogress.org · 03/04/2025

2️⃣Borrowing vs Building - Britain needs to invest in its future We’re still using the roads, railways, pipes and public buildings laid down by the Victorians and the postwar state. But we’ve forgotten how to build.

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Centre for British Progress @britishprogress.org · 03/04/2025

The public sector needs dynamism too. Progress needs an empowered state to build infrastructure, deploy tech, and deliver public services. Britain once declared war on the “Five Giant Evils”. Now, our crumbling public services are in desperate need of ambition.

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Centre for British Progress @britishprogress.org · 03/04/2025

A conservative approach to regulation makes progress difficult or illegal. We ban delivery robots because of a law passed in 1835. Dynamism needs not only ambition, but a willingness to make mistakes and try again.

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Centre for British Progress @britishprogress.org · 03/04/2025

Britain innovates well, but adopts slowly. The UK scores much lower than other countries on measures of tech adoption and diffusion. We fail to make use of the technologies we invent, contributing to low productivity.

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Centre for British Progress @britishprogress.org · 03/04/2025

Britain pioneered nuclear power: we built the world's first grid scale plant. Now, Hinkley Point C could be one of the most expensive ever built. British SMRs could power our next wave of growth, but outdated and overcautious regulators risk driving firms elsewhere.

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Centre for British Progress @britishprogress.org · 03/04/2025

Today’s trillion-dollar ‘superstar’ firms were mostly founded in the US, not the EU or UK. Many of these emerged in the last fifty years and took on incumbents, driving technological progress. Meanwhile, the EU and UK have spent their energy regulating and blocking larger firms.

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Centre for British Progress @britishprogress.org · 03/04/2025

1️⃣ Conservatism vs Dynamism: our institutions encourage caution & stifle entrepreneurship 🛑 Firms underinvest 🛑 Regulation protects incumbents 🛑 Merger rules discourage successful firms We once built a global telegraph network. Today, delivery robots are banned.

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Centre for British Progress @britishprogress.org · 03/04/2025

This isn’t just an economic problem. Slow growth means less money for public services. It means overcrowded classrooms, lengthening NHS waiting lists, and children hungry at school.

The Guardian article about NHS record low satisfaction

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Centre for British Progress @britishprogress.org · 03/04/2025

We are not just growing slowly; we’re falling behind. Since ‘08, Britain’s growth has lagged behind its peers’ dramatically. Families are 19% poorer than they would be if pre-2008 trends had continued – equivalent to £7,000 being lost per household.

Graph comparing UK and US growth, as well as the UK pre 2008 trend

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Centre for British Progress @britishprogress.org · 03/04/2025

British progress has faltered. 📉Wages flatlined 📉Productivity stalled 📉Public services buckling under pressure And for the first time in living memory, our children are expected to be poorer than their parents.

BBC news article bemoaning a 'lost decade' of UK productivity

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Centre for British Progress @britishprogress.org · 03/04/2025

Human progress depends upon material advancement. Britain’s industrialisation sparked massive leaps in living standards, shaping the modern world. Today, Britain has stagnated, and has lost control of its economic destiny. We must rediscover our ability to progress.

Graph of world GDP showing huge growth after 1800

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Centre for British Progress @britishprogress.org · 03/04/2025

The postcard is not just a story of technological progress. It’s one of state capacity. At the time, the Post Office was the world’s most advanced civil logistics network. Tech, growth, and the state together drove progress. Somewhere along the way, we forgot this formula.

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Centre for British Progress @britishprogress.org · 03/04/2025

Suddenly communication was within almost everyone’s grasp. Businesses connected nationwide. Families could keep in touch. Crucially: people began to organise. Unions and suffrage movements mobilised via this revolutionary and affordable medium, catalysing social progress.

Votes for women poster advertising a 1D weekly paper

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Centre for British Progress @britishprogress.org · 03/04/2025

Britain’s industrial and scientific revolution was not just marked by Brunel’s bridges and Stephenson’s steam engine. Before 1870, post was eyewateringly expensive, beyond the reach of almost all ordinary people. But the humble, pre-paid, halfpenny postcard changed everything.

Half penny post card from the victorian era

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Centre for British Progress @britishprogress.org · 03/04/2025

💫 We’re launching the Centre for British Progress Our founding essay: Rediscovering British Progress is a case for growth that drives shared progress, rooted in Britain's values and industrial heritage. It all starts with a postcard from 1870 👇 britishprogress.org/articles/red...

Cover of the essay Rediscovering British Progress available at https://britishprogress.org/articles/rediscovering-british-progress

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Centre for British Progress @britishprogress.org · 21/11/2024

We are on Bluesky! UK Day One exists to supercharge growth and progress in the UK, through implementation-ready policies. If you are interested in UK growth, science and innovation, we would love to connect with you!

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