iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Jeremy Driver @jdriver89.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

So I do think there can be a case made for some sort of initial wage subsidy to hire disabled people (particularly in a high minimum wage world) but it's VERY funny to do this after raising employer NICs

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Britain Remade @britainremade.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

How did we spend 1/4 of a billion pounds on the Botley Road bridge? For all the issues around Victorian flood defences and the muddle of accountable bodies, we must see the bigger picture of it costing too much to build anything in Britain, @samdumitriu.bsky.social tells BBC Radio 4's PM.

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Jeremy Driver @jdriver89.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

It never fails to alarm me how little we know about so much of the past

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Britain Remade @britainremade.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Join us and Minister for Growth @dantomlinson.bsky.social on a boat at Labour Party conference from 4.30pm on Sunday 27 September. You'll find the venue, The Daffodil Bar, floating at Canning Dock. Register your interest below. luma.com/yh6ajwxv

luma.com

Britain Remade Labour Conference Drinks Reception with Dan Tomlinson MP · Luma

All aboard the Daffodil Bar (it's a boat!) to join Britain Remade, the campaign to get Britain building again, as we kick off Labour Party Conference with…

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Stephen Jacob Smith @stephenjacobsmith.com · 18/08/2026

Well this is insane: “High affordable housing requirements within the Government’s ‘Golden Rules’ are likely to dash any hopes of a ‘Train Belt’ building boom…A 300-home development will typically be forced to provide between 110 and 150 homes at a discount.”

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Sam Dumitriu @samdumitriu.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

NEW: My verdict on Labour's planning rewrite. When I read the draft, I thought the 'train belt' policy could be transformative, but viability challenges (high affordable shares) mean it disappoints. However, there's one really radical policy in there... www.samdumitriu.com/p/the-really...

samdumitriu.com

The really radical policy in Labour's planning rewrite

What's in the new National Planning Policy Framework

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Jeremy Driver @jdriver89.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

Enjoyable mystery novel, centred around the Ghanaian scam infrastructure. Maybe a tad overlong, but a good window into a version of a country

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Sam Dumitriu @samdumitriu.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Starmer and Reeves's planning reform agenda is working, but unfinished. My latest describes four reforms (in the works) that Andy Burnham should keep when he takes power next week. www.samdumitriu.com/p/what-burnh...

samdumitriu.com

What Burnham should keep

Four pro-growth reforms that should outlive Starmer and Reeves

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Jeremy Driver @jdriver89.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

A flawed novel with some beautiful arresting moments. Confused at times, but recommended as long as you don't think too hard about the mechanics of its central conceit

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Jeremy Driver @jdriver89.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Warra 5 album run, surpassed only by Sabbath I think?

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Jeremy Driver @jdriver89.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Remarkable that we're being asked to pretend that the Defence Investment Plan is meaningfully government policy when it's a contested issue within Labour and we'll have a new PM in a matter of weeks

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Jeremy Driver @jdriver89.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

Loved this. Possibly fails as a crime novel, particularly in the denouement, but as an exploration of both the ripples a crime can cause, and of the pain of the birth of modern Croatia, it is wonderful

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Sam Dumitriu @samdumitriu.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

New study: Britain spends a third more on transport infrastructure than its peers, but because of high construction costs ends up with a fifth less. The UK spends £1.65 to get what £1 buys in France, Germany and Spain. (1/N) www.britainremade.co.uk/moreforless

britainremade.co.uk

Building More for Less: A cost-free path to European levels of investment | Sam Dumitriu, Michael Hill, David Lawrence and Pedro Serôdio

Contrary to what has become a standard view in policy circles, the British state does not invest far less than its peer countries. Britain’s broken system of infrastructure investment has limited the ...

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Britain Remade @britainremade.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

How did things get so expensive in Britain? And what can we do to fix it? Find out by reading the new joint paper from us and the Centre for British Progress - Building More for Less: A cost-free path to European levels of investment. www.britainremade.co.uk/moreforless

britainremade.co.uk

Building More for Less: A cost-free path to European levels of investment | Sam Dumitriu, Michael Hill, David Lawrence and Pedro Serôdio

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Britain Remade @britainremade.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

In infrastructure, Britain spends more and gets less. Look at what we could build without raising a penny of tax just by getting our costs down to European levels.

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Jeremy Driver @jdriver89.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

Britain's infrastructure problem isn’t that we spend too little compared to our peers. It’s that we get much less for what we spend. Chart from the latest @britainremade.bsky.social and @britishprogress.org report: www.britainremade.co.uk/moreforless

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Britain Remade @britainremade.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

Hinkley Point C might be delayed again. Why? Because Natural England say the £700 million spent on fish protection at Britain's next nuclear power station is not enough. We can't go on like this. youtu.be/NeuUdwD0_-g

youtu.be

Why Britain's New Nuclear Power Station Might Be Delayed... AGAIN

YouTube video by Britain Remade

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Martin Robbins @mjrobbins.com · 08/06/2026

Great to see @britainremade.bsky.social venturing into YouTube with this cracking short film on Natural England’s ongoing war against clean energy youtu.be/NeuUdwD0_-g?...

youtu.be

Why Britain's New Nuclear Power Station Might Be Delayed... AGAIN

YouTube video by Britain Remade

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Jeremy Driver @jdriver89.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

Found this incredibly thin, if readable. Characters where stuff just sort of happens to them. Can see how this was an important book to publish, but not a recommend from me.

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Courtney Milan @courtneymilan.com · 01/06/2026

Air conditioning is unapologetically a good thing because it helps people not die. And one good thing about air conditioning is that it largely needs to run during the day when solar power is at its maximum: it can and should align with clean energy goals.

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Marlowe @marlowe1939.substack.com · 19/05/2026

I don’t use Bluesky really, but as I have some former mutuals from the other place that are now only here, I thought I would share why I am worried about Andy Burnham becoming Prime Minister. marlowe1939.substack.com/p/im-worried...

marlowe1939.substack.com

I’m worried about Andy Burnham

Judge him on his record? Ok then.

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James Breckwoldt @jamesbreckwoldt.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

🚨NEW POST BY ME🚨 Greater Manchester’s growth success is real, but didn't happened by accident. The country should be studying it closely Plus: - Why a city's reputation matters so much - How much credit can Burnham take? (not much) - What does this tell us about a future PM Burnham? (not much)

jamesbreckwoldt.substack.com

How Manchester Turned Its Economy Around

From Gunchester to growth, from bombing to Burnham

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Jeremy Driver @jdriver89.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

I at times felt some of the writing in this grating, but it's totally forgivable because it's such a bare, exposed account of addiction and struggle, while also, despite itself, being a sad eulogy to the beauty of boozing

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Jeremy Driver @jdriver89.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

Last read this 15 years ago and it didn't disappoint. Martin is a master of character. So many of his, both POV and minor, breathe so well. And the world building is second only to Tolkien.

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John Self @john-self.bsky.social · 16/05/2026

I think the best way to enjoy this list, which contains lots of predictable choices (made as it was by committee), is to find a book you like, click to see who voted for it, and then look at the voters' other top 10 choices. You might find something else you like that you haven't read.

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Jeremy Driver @jdriver89.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

Whisper it quietly, but one part of this Government’s programme that is making slow, careful progress is its work to fix nuclear regulation. I sincerely hope this Bill is not lost or watered down if we see a change of Prime Minister.

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Britain Remade @britainremade.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

You don't tackle climate change by stopping things. You tackle it by building things.

Graphic showing the difference in outcome after a change to planning rules making it easier for judges to throw out judicial review cases with no merit.

The central claim is that planning reform reduces carbon emissions. The chart shows the example of new rules allowing a judge to stop an attempt to block a solar farm in Kent after 2 months, when it would previously have dragged on for 14 months. The new system prevented 31,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent being released in burning gas instead of using the solar farm while waiting for it to come online.

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Sam Dumitriu @samdumitriu.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

Failed legal challenges have delayed major infrastructure projects like new roads and power stations by a collective 32 years. Labour recently changed the law to cut the time it takes to throw out anti-infrastructure lawsuits. And it's working. www.samdumitriu.com/p/the-planni...

samdumitriu.com

The Planning and Infrastructure Act is working.

It just got harder to delay infrastructure with bogus lawsuits

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Sam Dumitriu @samdumitriu.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

Every govt forecast demand of electricity demand of the last 20 years has been catastrophically wrong. They keep predicting that electricity use will rise. In fact, it's fallen by than in any other developed country. Only Yemen, Zimbabwe, Jamaica, Tajikistan and Syria saw bigger per-capita falls.

samdumitriu.com

Why Britain's electricity demand forecasts are always wrong

Britain's electricity demand destruction problem

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Britain Remade @britainremade.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

If Britain's plan to tackle climate change is electrifying, then we better shape up. Electricity demand fell by 22% per capita between 2000 and 2019. Only in Yemen, Zimbabwe, Jamaica, Tajikistan and Syria did electricity demand drop by more.

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Jeremy Driver @jdriver89.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

Natural England says £700m protecting fish at Hinkley isn’t enough, and want more before it can switch on. This is process over outcomes: big delays, higher bills and, crucially, terrible for tackling climate change. This is not a serious way to deliver clean infrastructure.

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Jeremy Driver @jdriver89.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

Think this fundamentally promised more than it delivered

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Jeremy Driver @jdriver89.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

Chess by Stefan Zweig is a wonderful novella about an Idiot Savant chess player who is challenged while traveling on a passenger liner. It's a novella about obsession, madness and, of course, chess. It's best summed up in these two quotes. Highly recommended!

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Jeremy Driver @jdriver89.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

Good example of the sort of bind the BBC is regularly in. I sort of instinctively agree with this point, but then if the BBC don't do anything about it and legal action does happen, the Beeb ends up facing questions about what they knew and when. Structurally can't win

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Sam Dumitriu @samdumitriu.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

In response to the Fingleton Review, the Govt didn't commit to legislating to fix the Habs Regs to avoid things like fish discos/bat tunnels. However, they are legislating to do just that for offshore wind. Why is it one rule for wind and another for nuclear? www.samdumitriu.com/p/if-its-goo...

samdumitriu.com

If it’s good enough for wind, it’s good enough for nukes

Cutting red tape for offshore wind is welcome, it should apply to nuclear too

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Jeremy Driver @jdriver89.bsky.social · 29/03/2026

Agree a cut would do little in policy terms, but disagree it's a trivial political debate. Last Budget was balanced in part by adding 5p to fuel duty in 26/27, if that's not an option it's a headache for the next budget. The government is right not to budge (yet) but there is a debate to be held

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Jeremy Driver @jdriver89.bsky.social · 29/03/2026

Absolutely love the Narnia books, but I find it very funny that by the Voyage of the Dawntreader they're basically like: '"I'm jesus btw lol", Aslan said Jesusly'

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Jeremy Driver @jdriver89.bsky.social · 28/03/2026

Freaks my nut out that 300 years ago monarchs would die from something as daft as a broken collarbone

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Jeremy Driver @jdriver89.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

Went to go and do set up at the playgroup my daughter does on a Friday this morning as their normal volunteers were away, and it really does bother me how much of actual existing volunteering and civic society is held together by women in their 60s and 70s.

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Jeremy Driver @jdriver89.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

Disability pay gap reporting is another great example of this government pursuing policy in two contradictory directions, in that it directly rubs up against their stated policy aim of getting more disabled people into work.

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Jeremy Driver @jdriver89.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

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Jeremy Driver @jdriver89.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

If you are 21 in 2026, you were 5 when the coalition first came into power

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Jeremy Driver @jdriver89.bsky.social · 17/03/2026

A striking chart The average first-time buyer age in England has risen from 29 in 1994/95 to 34 today- and 35 in London. Meanwhile, the share of buyers under 25 has collapsed from 23% to just 6% over the same period.

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Ken Jennings @kenjennings.bsky.social · 17/03/2026

They’re telling me a great empire will be destroyed if I attack Persia. Even the oracles who don’t like me very much, very nasty, they all said to me, “Sir, it’s one of the great empires, and it’ll be destroyed. And all because you attacked Persia.” That’s what they’re telling me.

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Sam Dumitriu @samdumitriu.bsky.social · 14/03/2026

Britain is the most expensive place in the world to build a nuclear power station. Labour have just announced an extremely ambitious supply-side reform agenda to change that. Here's my analysis of what just might end up as the Starmer Govt's proudest legacy. www.samdumitriu.com/p/how-seriou...

samdumitriu.com

How serious is the Government on nuclear reform?

Britain Remade’s analysis of the Government’s response to the Fingleton Review

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Jeremy Driver @jdriver89.bsky.social · 14/03/2026

Always blows my mind that the Inca empire only really came into existence in the century before Spanish colonisation of South America

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Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

Think this kind of messaging is just self-sabotaging, reinforces the mad meme that “energy costs go up when supplies of energy drop” is about wicked profiteering and not a literal resource constraint, makes government look weak when nothing happens.

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