iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by JamesBlurbs

Will Norman @willnorman.co.uk · 09/06/2026

Sad to see anti-cycling campaigners Vincent Stops & John Stewart accusing us of some sort of cover up. We've been clear. Falling cycle deaths is good news, but rising numbers of serious injuries shows we've much more to do. Hence our new Vision Zero plan - inc more bike lanes.

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John Oxley @joxley.jmoxley.co.uk · 13/01/2026

Minister of State Alex Norris tells the BBC he won't personally come off X because it's important for communicating with voters. None of his tweets for the last month has more than 1000 views.

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JamesBlurbs @jamesblurbs.bsky.social · 10/01/2026

The comments here show the most incredible disconnect between the opinions of boomers who post on Facebook and the opinions of literally every other Londoner I’ve met in real life, who all think Oxford Street should’ve been pedestrianised decades ago.

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JamesBlurbs @jamesblurbs.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

He suggests an affinity to Green politics in your screenshot. Regardless, I don’t think this question affects the depressing fundamental truth that plenty of people who see themselves as progressive and environmentalist have frankly moronic views about cycling/transport policy more generally.

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John Oxley @joxley.jmoxley.co.uk · 04/11/2025

This, in bronze:

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JamesBlurbs @jamesblurbs.bsky.social · 03/11/2025

Rather less surprisingly than I’d have liked, it turned out that the Green Party voter spouted the anti-cycling views and the guy who says he’s going to vote Reform next election supported cycling.

theguardian.com

Dining across the divide: ‘He looked like a typical Green voter – long hair, laid-back, that sort of thing’

They locked horns on people crossing the Channel in small boats and cyclists using roads – did they find anything to agree on?

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JamesBlurbs @jamesblurbs.bsky.social · 03/11/2025

Thanks for taking the point. I think the confusion was caused by Tim Leunig (bizarrely given the wider policy context) only talking about electricity and ignoring gas. The Nesta and CCC quotes were much more on point.

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JamesBlurbs @jamesblurbs.bsky.social · 03/11/2025

(For what it’s worth, as VAT is charged as a percentage and gas is cheaper than electricity, a blanket removal of VAT on energy bills would still reduce the gap between gas and electricity prices — although it’d be much more sensible to weight any measure to reduce costs towards electricity).

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JamesBlurbs @jamesblurbs.bsky.social · 03/11/2025

Madeleine Gabriel and Nigel Topping do then (rightly) distinguish between reducing electricity bills (a good idea) and reducing gas bills (a bad idea), but Tim Leunig and the unnamed former official only mention electricity bills.

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JamesBlurbs @jamesblurbs.bsky.social · 03/11/2025

Thank you for the reply. It’s much appreciated. Your article centres on negative commentary on the possibility of removing VAT on electricity bills, which is 100% a good idea in carbon footprint terms. See annotated screenshot below.

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JamesBlurbs @jamesblurbs.bsky.social · 03/11/2025

If even the Guardian can’t get this sort of thing right, what hope is there for well-informed discussion of decarbonisation.

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JamesBlurbs @jamesblurbs.bsky.social · 03/11/2025

The biggest single obstacle to decarbonising British homes is that gas is too cheap and electricity is too expensive. Anything to shift that is a good thing.

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JamesBlurbs @jamesblurbs.bsky.social · 03/11/2025

Why has @kiranstacey.bsky.social of the Guardian highlighted an outlier (and badly wrong) view that making electricity cheaper compared to gas is a bad thing, and left the much more mainstream (and correct) views from climate change experts right to the end?

theguardian.com

Rachel Reeves’s 5% VAT cut on electricity bills will backfire, experts say

Critics believe cut would mostly benefit better-off people with larger homes and increase carbon emissions

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Parody Nigel Farage @parodypm.bsky.social · 14/10/2025

I assume all the 'hurty word' free speech warriors that were crying their eyes out over Lucy Connolly will be absolutely furious about the guy who has just been sent to prison for his social media posts about Nigel Farage.

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JamesBlurbs @jamesblurbs.bsky.social · 12/10/2025

I don’t think there’s any inconsistency in not caring in the slightest about Watkins’s death on an emotional level, while also thinking it’s a serious problem that the prison was run in such a way that this could happen and that those who killed him should face criminal sanctions.

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JamesBlurbs @jamesblurbs.bsky.social · 21/09/2025

The battery has a small catch to hold it in place, which an averagely strong person could probably break with their bare hands. And given the new retail price (see screenshot; even higher than I said) it’d definitely be worth stealing on its own. It’s totally normal to remove it when parked.

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JamesBlurbs @jamesblurbs.bsky.social · 21/09/2025

Not safe in terms of theft that is (the battery for my bike retails at over £500).

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JamesBlurbs @jamesblurbs.bsky.social · 21/09/2025

Also worth noting the disproportionate negative impact on disabled people who need electric assist. May be of interest to @wheelsforwellbeing.org.uk

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JamesBlurbs @jamesblurbs.bsky.social · 21/09/2025

My family and I just cycled over to visit the Tate Modern but have been refused entry because we had our cargo bike’s battery with us. As most children-carrying bikes have electric assist these days and it’s not safe to leave batteries on them, this essentially bans families from visiting by bike.

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JamesBlurbs @jamesblurbs.bsky.social · 02/09/2025

FWIW I do agree we need more social housing specifically but (i) market rate housing doesn’t usually require public money to build it which should make it a lot easier to get it built and (ii) many people are struggling with housing need but are a long way off being eligible for social housing.

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JamesBlurbs @jamesblurbs.bsky.social · 02/09/2025

If the rents seem too high that looks very much like a supply/demand issue to me — which can be solved by building more homes.

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JamesBlurbs @jamesblurbs.bsky.social · 02/09/2025

This is anecdotal I realise, but as a former resident of a social housing block it seemed that flats seemed to be left empty for about six months between tenants. No idea why. However I doubt many private landlords would just shoulder a six month void like that.

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JamesBlurbs @jamesblurbs.bsky.social · 19/08/2025

And as you say keeping the hit of up-front SDLT for non-owner-occupied homes will be good if you want to give owner-occupiers a relative buying power boost.

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JamesBlurbs @jamesblurbs.bsky.social · 19/08/2025

Yes I can see that — so someone who paid tuppence h’penny in SDLT 40 years ago doesn’t “get away with it” — but it’d also be politically harder.

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JamesBlurbs @jamesblurbs.bsky.social · 19/08/2025

Yes the big up front cost of SDLT is a factor in stagnation in the property market, whereas an annual property tax based on value would actually encourage downsizing over the longer term. It feels like it could be genuinely good policy….

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JamesBlurbs @jamesblurbs.bsky.social · 19/08/2025

That makes sense, as there’d be an obvious unfairness to starting to charge someone who’s recently paid SDLT on their purchase the ongoing SDLT replacement as well. Also the replacement seemingly wouldn’t apply to additional homes; presumably the deterrence of SDLT up front is seen as good there.

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JamesBlurbs @jamesblurbs.bsky.social · 19/08/2025

Yes it works for that, but probably less well for immediate government cash flow.

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JamesBlurbs @jamesblurbs.bsky.social · 19/08/2025

Seems particularly tricky bearing in mind that, with years of house price inflation, in a lot of areas of the country pretty normal houses often cost over £500k….

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JamesBlurbs @jamesblurbs.bsky.social · 19/08/2025

Does it mean that the tax will be levied annually but rolled up so it’s only charged when people sell? All very confusing.

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JamesBlurbs @jamesblurbs.bsky.social · 03/08/2025

Overall the tweet is an archetypal example of a politician diverting attention away from the need for building more homes by using the diversion of empty homes — which the numbers show can only have a small impact.

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JamesBlurbs @jamesblurbs.bsky.social · 03/08/2025

I’m not convinced that she isn’t being dishonest in saying that the “grey belt” proposals would only result in “luxury” (whatever we take that word to mean in this context — see also “executive homes”) housing being built.

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JamesBlurbs @jamesblurbs.bsky.social · 03/08/2025

And the key criticism of the tweet (which @jonnelledge.bsky.social makes more eloquently in his article than I could) is that the sole measure to increase overall housing supply she expresses support for only has a small role to play in solving the problem.

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JamesBlurbs @jamesblurbs.bsky.social · 03/08/2025

There is nuance missing in this debate. Some say reoccupying empty homes is the solution, some (e.g. Nick Bano) say tenure regulation, and some say building. In truth all three are desirable but the third is the one which is definitely needed at scale regardless of your wider left/right politics.

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JamesBlurbs @jamesblurbs.bsky.social · 03/08/2025

I appreciate that you personally might (rightly) think that reoccupying empty homes is only a small part of a much wider necessary solution (which involves quite a lot of building), but that’s not what the politician quoted was saying.

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JamesBlurbs @jamesblurbs.bsky.social · 03/08/2025

The article was in response to Zoë Garbett’s tweet, where reoccupying empty homes was the only supply measure (as opposed to tenure-regulation measure) she expressed support for and in which she explicitly opposed proposals to actually build more homes.

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JamesBlurbs @jamesblurbs.bsky.social · 02/08/2025

For all that my previous reply was a little flippant, I too would genuinely be interested to read an intelligent evidence-based critique/rebuttal of your article.

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JamesBlurbs @jamesblurbs.bsky.social · 02/08/2025

Yes please take me to this magical place, it sounds lovely.

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Reposted by JamesBlurbs

Will Norman @willnorman.co.uk · 01/08/2025

TfL Cycle Sundays is back, offering unlimited free Santander Cycle rides every Sunday in August 🚲😎 tfl-newsroom.prgloo.com/news/tfl-cyc...

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JamesBlurbs @jamesblurbs.bsky.social · 22/07/2025

Thanks for your informed reply! From a layperson’s lived experience perspective (which I think is also useful in the context of public uptake), all the ASHPs I’ve come across have been close to silent unless you put your ear right up against the fan.

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JamesBlurbs @jamesblurbs.bsky.social · 22/07/2025

Heat pump noise is fine as long as everyone experiences exactly the same level of heat pump noise…or something like that? Also worth noting that heat pumps aren’t generally actually at all noisy and the idea that they are is essentially a fabrication of the anti-net-zero brigade.

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JamesBlurbs @jamesblurbs.bsky.social · 22/07/2025

It’s also worth noting that correctly installed and maintained heat pumps are not, by most people’s standards, meaningfully noisy — and the idea that they are has essentially been invented by anti-net-zero campaigners.

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JamesBlurbs @jamesblurbs.bsky.social · 22/07/2025

This may be of interest to @hoxtonrich.bsky.social as I know you’re an interested watcher of this guy’s grim descent.

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JamesBlurbs @jamesblurbs.bsky.social · 22/07/2025

Not content with his role campaigning against LTNs, John Stewart is now giving quotes to the right-wing press campaigning against heat pumps (on spurious noise grounds).

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JamesBlurbs @jamesblurbs.bsky.social · 20/07/2025

“It’s nice here, but have you ever been to Baden-Württemberg?” Anyone know what’s behind these flyposted German tourism marketing stickers? And wouldn’t they be more successful in Britain if they were in English?

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Reposted by JamesBlurbs

Will Norman @willnorman.co.uk · 07/07/2025

New research shows LTNs are making our streets safer. 10yrs of data in & around 113 London LTNs shows: 💚37% less deaths & serious injuries 💚No negative safety impact on surrounding roads 📉that's 600 fewer injuries (100 fewer deaths & serious injury) www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

theguardian.com

London’s low-traffic zones ‘cut deaths and injuries by more than a third’

Exclusive: Study also finds no change in number of casualties on roads just outside low-traffic neighbourhoods

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JamesBlurbs @jamesblurbs.bsky.social · 13/07/2025

Absolutist statements of principle (with which I do happen to agree in this instance) often land well on Bluesky, but often fare worse in the real world.

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JamesBlurbs @jamesblurbs.bsky.social · 13/07/2025

Given that one of the biggest barriers to electric car take up is charging point availability, I do therefore think a variety of options for swift roll out need to be considered — which may in some circumstances include some form of cross-pavement gullies.

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JamesBlurbs @jamesblurbs.bsky.social · 13/07/2025

I have never owned a car, will never own a car, and spend most of my free time campaigning to reduce car use. However, to the extent cars continue to exist (which I expect will sadly be in greater numbers than you and I would like) they very quickly need to transition to electric.

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JamesBlurbs @jamesblurbs.bsky.social · 13/07/2025

On the latter point, I spend most of my life outside work campaigning locally to reduce car use and improve cycling and walking infrastructure so obviously I agree! But even if my dreams were realised there’d still be some motor vehicles, and they need to be electric.

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