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Joe Sarling

@joesarling.bsky.social
7.8K followers 4.2K following 2K posts

Economist working in capital markets ▪ Big on placemaking, housing, regeneration, land policy ▪ Inspired by systems thinking and servant leadership ▪ FRSA ❤️ cycling & running in the Peak District & on Zwift 🚵🏻‍♂️🏃

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Joe Sarling @joesarling.bsky.social · 22h
"How much of the rise in food inflation last year can we blame on the weather?...In the latest period, our model suggests that weather shocks contributed 0.8 percentage points to food inflation at peak in May 2025."
bankunderground.co.uk
Has UK food inflation been under the weather?
India Rimmer, Hannah Copeland and Boromeus Wanengkirtyo Global extreme weather events may feel far away, but they leave behind a trail of higher prices in our shopping baskets. As outlined in past …
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Joe Sarling @joesarling.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I'll be conducting a weekly evaluation of this change
bbc.co.uk
Avanti West Coast services to be nationalised from March
The move is part of a plan to improve rail infrastructure, cut train delays and improve experiences for passengers.
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Joe Sarling @joesarling.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Who zipped it better?
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Joe Sarling @joesarling.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Spain is updating its road laws to make it safer for cyclists. Super excited for these changes! Link: www.instagram.com/reel/Ddrdk5h...
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Joe Sarling @joesarling.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Spain is updating its road laws to make it safer for cyclists. Super excited for these changes! Link: www.instagram.com/reel/Ddrdk5h...
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Joe Sarling @joesarling.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
It's grim up north
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Joe Sarling @joesarling.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Modern rugby shirts are awful to look at. Why have we allowed this to happen?! Let's please go back to these. Link: www.instagram.com/p/DdioNpCl_9...
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Joe Sarling @joesarling.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
On my way to The Oval for Living UK Conference! Geopolitics and macroecon are producing headwinds for the sector but we're seeing activity build momentum now. As ever, feel the most important discussions will focus on public-private partnerships and aligning incentives.
resilivingevent.com
The Leading Annual Conference for the UK Living Sectors - Living UK Conference
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Joe Sarling @joesarling.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Definitely Sonic 1. Aged eight, spent a whole Saturday afternoon sat on the floor with my Game Gear plugged in at the mains completing it with my dad who'd do all the levels I hated (Labyrinth, Jungle). Halcyon days.
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Joe Sarling @joesarling.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
static.klipy.com
Chris Pratt's Surprised Reaction
ALT: Chris Pratt's Surprised Reaction
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Joe Sarling @joesarling.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Goodness me 🙄
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Joe Sarling @joesarling.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
One of the things the pandemic did was it made the link between population health and the economy really obvious - they are not separate, they are fundamentally related. I worried we'd lose some of this over time. Now we're pitching an economy of a population without enough/varied food.
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Joe Sarling @joesarling.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Facebook has so much to answer for.
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Joe Sarling @joesarling.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
I hadn't clocked the two-year fall for health here.
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Joe Sarling @joesarling.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
"[Help to Buy] had propelled more than 300,000 people to buy their first home...Nearly half of those said that they could not have bought without it...The scheme had pushed up house prices by “only” 2 percentage points"
ft.com
Help to Buy scheme was ‘very high value for money’, says official review
Government ministers under Sir Keir Starmer had been preparing to unveil a new version of the flagship programme
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Joe Sarling @joesarling.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Typically forensic post by @mspry.bsky.social laser-focused on the point at which political objectives, broad case-making, and practical reality meet.
lichfields.uk
Payback for build out: the PM’s case for social housing
The PM referred to research from the National Housing Federation (NHF), which is seemingly the 2024 report by CEBR for NHF and Shelter. It estimates that 90,000 Social Rent homes would generate £86.5b...
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Joe Sarling @joesarling.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
My whole career has basically been flicking between 'build more homes' and 'fix local gov finance'. And even these are linked!
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Joe Sarling @joesarling.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Is this the first advertised No10 North civil service role?
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Joe Sarling @joesarling.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Astonishing. "Hall was also disqualified from driving for 12 months even though he did not have a licence at the time of the incident"
bbc.co.uk
Blind Huddersfield man sentenced for 150-mile drive while drunk
Anthony Hall, 50, took his partner's car and drove at night from Huddersfield to near Carlisle.
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Joe Sarling @joesarling.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
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Joe Sarling @joesarling.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
I'd imagine a good chunk of those 'neither' votes are actually 'don't knows' too, which is the only real response you could have, surely? Having said that, I did want to QT with *land klaxon* to see what'd happen here.
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Joe Sarling @joesarling.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Honestly, the more I say this type of 'innovation' the closer I get to becoming Ron Swanson
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Joe Sarling @joesarling.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Cannot describe how excited I am for this. A mix of genuine love for this franchise alongside heightened youthful nostalgia and frustration at current world events has turned this from a 'want' to a 'need'!
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Joe Sarling @joesarling.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
"If you don't drive, the trip, the adventure, begins at your door"
newyorker.com
Video: “Gloria Steinem Doesn’t Drive”
Although Steinem often takes control, travel is one of few areas of her life where she prefers to play the role of passenger.
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Joe Sarling @joesarling.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
"If you don't drive, the trip, the adventure, begins at your door"
newyorker.com
Video: “Gloria Steinem Doesn’t Drive”
Although Steinem often takes control, travel is one of few areas of her life where she prefers to play the role of passenger.
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Joe Sarling @joesarling.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Very sad to see this. Once it's gone, it's gone. We should treat these types of things with the love and importance they deserve. This kid who grew up in *extremely* rural England remembers being mesmerised by Alberto Tomba risking it all.
theguardian.com
BBC axes ‘iconic’ Ski Sunday winter sports show after nearly 50 years on TV
The BBC blamed changing viewing habits and financial concerns after dropping Ski Sunday, amid scrutiny over its approach to sports rights
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Met Office - weather and climate @metoffice.gov.uk · 01/09/2026
Summer 2026 is provisionally the UK’s warmest summer on record with the season’s mean temperature made around 130 times more likely due to human-induced climate change. Here, we delve into the numbers 🧵
Mean temperature for 2026 in the UK. The map shows widely above average temperature, particularly in the south. Rainfall amounts in summer 2026 in the UK compared to average. The maps shows widely dry conditions, though the west of Scotland is slightly wetter than averageSunshine duration in summer 2026 compared to average. The map shows widely sunny conditions in the season, with the south of the country particularly sunny.
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Joe Sarling @joesarling.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Interesting papers on loneliness: one by @ippr.org on young people, one on the connection between loneliness & political apathy. Can't neatly box policy change here - needs whole-system thinking. IPPR: www.ippr.org/articles/the... Electoral Studies journal: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
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Joe Sarling @joesarling.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
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Joe Sarling @joesarling.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
🤣🤣🤣
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Joe Sarling @joesarling.bsky.social · 13/10/2023
A blast-from-the-past housing flow diagram. Useful things like this should migrate from X to here!
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Joe Sarling @joesarling.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Great piece by @stephenkb.bsky.social: "The UK really does have less state than it did. Much of what the government did for people at the time of the financial crisis, for example, it no longer does."
ft.com
Austerity denial and the mystery of Britain’s shrunken state
There is a ready supply of explanations on offer at Westminster
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Joe Sarling @joesarling.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
I recognise there may be a myriad of factors going on in any individual case. *But* if I were living my dream of being a professional sportsman knowing my career is short even without injuries I would probably not get into fights. Hell, I'm probably never going out past 9pm.
bbc.co.uk
England bowler Brydon Carse under investigation by ECB for reported nightclub incident
The ECB is investigating after videos circulating online appear to show England bowler Brydon Carse being led away from a nightclub in handcuffs.
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Joe Sarling @joesarling.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
"In addition to gaining the new 'call-in' powers, mayors are set to be able to grant "up-front permission", which the government says will allow building to begin "without a developer having to apply"...A consultation on how the powers will work is due to be published next week."
bbc.co.uk
Mayors to get powers to overrule local councils on planning decisions
Housing minister Matthew Pennycook said the change was "essential" for helping mayors "effectively deliver new homes".
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Joe Sarling @joesarling.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Agreed. There was a great 'lifeboat' service in the early days to migrate from X to here. Do we need something similar but different now? A new gravitational pull. Big accounts to rally the troops?
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Joe Sarling @joesarling.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
The only way I can accept "pickles were becoming to Gen Z what avocados was to Millennials" is if there has been an explosion in raclette.
wsj.com
Pickle Flavor Is Taking Over the Snack Aisle
A deluge of sour, briny snacks has infiltrated the market.
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Joe Sarling @joesarling.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Super important chart. And proposed central-to-local secondments will help with speed to establish a greater regional presence but it'll take time to reverse on a permanent basis. Might even need to invest locally in parallel and not replace centrally over time.
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Joe Sarling @joesarling.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
If you can get past "more Messi and less messy" there is an interesting appraisal test for public spending: a “growth delivery test”. As ever, clear policy needed. And can it align with a No. 10 North view of what's needed for economic growth? Link: www.ft.com/content/117e...
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Joe Sarling @joesarling.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
"The prime minister said the Treasury’s dual job of growth and control of public finances “sometimes clouds the growth mission” and No.10 North leading on growth will enable “maximum power to unlock the blockages where they exist in the wider Whitehall system”."
civilserviceworld.com
Burnham: Economic growth policy will move from HMT to No.10 North
PM Andy Burnham says the move to split the dual job of growth and control of public finances will be a 'huge transfer of power'
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Joe Sarling @joesarling.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Fascinating piece by @jo3hill.bsky.social here. "...in many cases the “policy profession” has become a kind of client function for political crisis management, stakeholder liaison and serving the never-ending demand for government ‘comms’."
restate.substack.com
Why we need metapolicy
What the state capacity field can learn from metascience
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Joe Sarling @joesarling.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
This was an interesting episode with Lee Cain. Can't help but feel there was some rewriting of history and personal repositioning but the principles raised were useful: the need for a central moral for a vision of the future, and how comms is the scapegoat for poor policy. Worth an easy listen.
open.spotify.com
Lessons from No 10: When government comms go badly wrong | Lee Cain
In The Room · Episode
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Joe Sarling @joesarling.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Rainfall. Actual rainfall. Water from the sky. It's happening!
static.klipy.com
Man Splashing in Rain with Umbrella
ALT: Man Splashing in Rain with Umbrella
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Joe Sarling @joesarling.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
😱😱
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Joe Sarling @joesarling.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
🚨🚨 NPPF klaxon 🚨🚨 According to this press release it's due to be published on Monday! "Further details will be set out in an updated National Planning Policy Framework, which will be published on Monday."
gov.uk
PM: Farmers should not carry the risk of a changing climate alone
Farmers across England will receive new support to help manage the impact of prolonged dry weather, including a £65 million funding boost, as the government steps up its response to the ongoing drough...
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Joe Sarling @joesarling.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
What if your retirement plan was an eight-leg acca?
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Joe Sarling @joesarling.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
🚨🚨 NPPF klaxon 🚨🚨 According to this press release it's due to be published on Monday! "Further details will be set out in an updated National Planning Policy Framework, which will be published on Monday."
gov.uk
PM: Farmers should not carry the risk of a changing climate alone
Farmers across England will receive new support to help manage the impact of prolonged dry weather, including a £65 million funding boost, as the government steps up its response to the ongoing drough...
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Joe Sarling @joesarling.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
RIP nudge theory. Hello government klaxon.
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Joe Sarling @joesarling.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
This by @laurenleek.eu (via @hetanshah.bsky.social) is *outstanding*. - performativity - model collapse - placelessness "The exploration has to be mandated at the level of the machine, because that’s where real change can happen."
laurenleek.substack.com
Temperature Zero for Culture: Why Everything Is Starting to Look the Same
What 640 London shopping streets, 4,000 Billboard hits, a million films and synthetic AI personas tell us about why everything is flattening into sameness and how to regulate the algorithms behind it.
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Joe Sarling @joesarling.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Plenty to like in this piece by Andy Haldane. There is a common thread across development corporations, public land, planning, and modern methods of construction, though: land market-savvy public sector that maintains stake & revenue stream. Could devo help? Link: www.ft.com/content/43af...
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Joe Sarling @joesarling.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Really sad to hear of the passing of Prof Michael Edwards. He was a tireless advocate of a planning system that works for all. He was always incredibly generous with his time and knowledge and was an early adopter of social media to promote practice. Thoughts are with friends and family 🙏🏻
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