iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Prof. John Clancy @johnmclancy.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Britain’s automotive supply chain doesn’t need to die. It needs a new mission. Blog by @dgbailey.bsky.social blogsfromtheblackstuff.com/bftbautoblog... "Reverse conversion: deliberate mobilisation &reorientation of established civilian industrial capabilities towards defence &dual-use production."

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Prof. John Clancy @johnmclancy.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

JLR Job Cuts: Britain’s Car Industry Is Running on Empty @dgbailey.bsky.social's blog today t.co/Xo2VzyF6x0 ‘The govt should treat the current situation as a strategic industrial emergency. Get industrial energy costs down. Give manufacturers a more realistic &flexible route through EV transition..'

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Prof. John Clancy @johnmclancy.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

Very sad to hear that Dermot Murnaghan has passed away. A brilliant journalist. And although he could be highly effective in challenging politicians, sometimes he gave time to politicians to explain in detail. I had 6 minutes with him almost 10 years ago. Here’s a 90 secs snippet of it.

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Prof. John Clancy @johnmclancy.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

@tobyn.bsky.social public.flourish.studio/visualisatio... and public.flourish.studio/visualisatio... and public.flourish.studio/visualisatio...

public.flourish.studio

UK LGPS ASSETS 2026 260709

A Flourish data visualization by John Clancy

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Prof. John Clancy @johnmclancy.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

**BREAKING**EXCLUSIVE** 97 UK Local Govt pension Funds' Assets pass **£0.5 TRILLION** at £517B. Extracted &aggregated from just-published Councils’ Accounts. Mgt.Expenses deducted reach scandalous £2.7B! Including £2.3B to investment managers. Standardised Funding Surplus now estimated at £200B+

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Prof. John Clancy @johnmclancy.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

Now £0.5Trillion UK LGPS had £150B+ surplus last yr, probably £200B+ this. A surplus that will *never* be used to pay a single pension. An untouched legacy of taxpayers’ money Burnham can &shd use to invest in every community it comes from, &inside fiscal rules. www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/market...

thisismoney.co.uk

Burnham urged to tap up £150bn council pension surplus

The £550 billion Local Government Pension Scheme is awash with cash, meaning it has more than enough money to pay the pensions of its 7million members.

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Prof. John Clancy @johnmclancy.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

Burnham's backyard blunder? The Scandal Nobody Noticed: £10.4B surplus in the Greater Manchester Pension Fund, starved from GM Economy. blogsfromtheblackstuff.com/bftbblog2606... Time for Action, Man. Get the money back to GM &get Makerfield its £420m. Questions for @andyburnham.bsky.social

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Prof. John Clancy @johnmclancy.bsky.social · 10/05/2026

How Birmingham City Council went ‘bankrupt’ being unnecessarily forced to pay hundreds of £millions into its pension fund to pay off a deficit which never existed. It was always in surplus. Labour didn’t listen. They’re not listening now. www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/market...

thisismoney.co.uk

Taxpayers 'fleeced' in Birmingham City Council pension fund blunder

It declared itself bankrupt in 2023, although it would have avoided this but for an accounting blunder by its pension fund managers that led to unnecessary top-up payments into the scheme.

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Prof. John Clancy @johnmclancy.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

BREAKING @dgbailey.bsky.social &my breakdown of all relevant stats in just-out 2025 Valuations of all England &Wales Local Govt. Pension Funds. public.flourish.studio/visualisatio... Postcode lottery in outcomes for taxpayers. V.troubling re: Public Accounts Probity. Total chaos. @tobyn.bsky.social

public.flourish.studio

Bar rank by Discount Rate E&W LGPS 260411 001

A Flourish data visualization by John Clancy

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Reposted by Prof. John Clancy

Prof David Bailey @dgbailey.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

With a heavy heart, I share the obituary of my beloved wife, Lisa, written by our friend @philtomlinson.bsky.social I hope you’ll take a moment to read & remember a truly extraordinary woman who meant everything to Mikey & myself & so much to so many others. www.regionalstudies.org/news/lisa-de...

regionalstudies.org

In Memoriam: Lisa De Propris (1967 – 2026) - RSA Main

Lisa De Propris was born in 1967 and grew up in Bologna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. She studied for her first degree in Political Science and Political Economy at the University of Bologna...

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Prof. John Clancy @johnmclancy.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

RBKC SINKS DHCLG How spectacular, but entirely correct, decision by Local Government Pension Fund for 0% employer contributions til 2029 will cascade &repeat across UK LGPS; releasing tens of £bns of delayed public spending. @dgbailey.bsky.social &my blog blogsfromtheblackstuff.com/bftbblog2604...

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Reposted by Prof. John Clancy

Prof David Bailey @dgbailey.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

A gentle riposte to @timleunig.bsky.social last Observer column which seemed to write off much of UK manufacturing. That would be a bad mistake. @makeuk.bsky.social @smmt-ukauto.bsky.social @unitetheunion.bsky.social @faradayinstitute.bsky.social blogsfromtheblackstuff.com/bftbblog2601...

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Prof. John Clancy @johnmclancy.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

Stairway to Scandal: how West Midlands Pension fund gradually top-sliced £1.1 billion from its asset base to pay Managers’ Expenses. It’s taxpayers’ money. Today’s blog with @dgbailey.bsky.social

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Prof David Bailey @dgbailey.bsky.social · 04/01/2026

The West Mids Pension Fund; the vastly overfunded £22bn Elephant in the Room that broke @bhamcitycouncil.bsky.social : latest, breaking news blog with @johnclancy.bsky.social @https://blogsfromtheblackstuff.com//bftbblog260102b

blogsfromtheblackstuff.com

Blogs from the Blackstuff - Professor John Clancy and Professor David Bailey

Blogs from the Blackstuff blogs

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Prof. John Clancy @johnmclancy.bsky.social · 03/01/2026

EXCLUSIVE BREAKING NEWS - WMPF insider spills the beans to BFTB: WMidlands Pension Fund Chaos as SURPLUS hits £11BILLION! blogsfromtheblackstuff.com//bftbblog260... It’s 200% funded. Apparently broke Birmingham Council has £2.5B pension surplus. Open Warfare at WMPF. FCA Tory WMPF Cllr tells all.

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Prof David Bailey @dgbailey.bsky.social · 02/01/2026

West Midlands Pension Fund insider spills the beans: an £11 billion surplus. It's 200% funded! New blog with John Clancy. blogsfromtheblackstuff.com//bftbblog260...

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Prof. John Clancy @johnmclancy.bsky.social · 26/12/2025

'Embarrassment of riches' © @tobyn.bsky.social, laid bare in Birmingham - huge leaps in LGPS Valuation discount rates reported to pension funds ctees across LGPS in last few weeks. Scandalous, nightmarish miscalculations last time round come home to roost blogsfromtheblackstuff.com/bftbblog2512...

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Prof. John Clancy @johnmclancy.bsky.social · 26/12/2025

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Prof. John Clancy @johnmclancy.bsky.social · 26/12/2025

ICYMI @dgbailey.bsky.social & my Chrismas Eve blog: blogsfromtheblackstuff.com/bftbblog2512... £1.9 Billion wake-up call for Birmingham. If it acts quickly& responds correctly, it can get £400 million back of its £1.9B Pension Fund surplus and into its revenues over next 3 years. The rest from 2029+

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Prof. John Clancy @johnmclancy.bsky.social · 20/11/2025

*BREAKING* We reveal total paid out in mgt expenses to 97 UK Local Gvt Pension funds last yr was record-high of *£2.7Billion*. blogsfromtheblackstuff.com/bftbblog251120 £2.4B in investment fees for pathetic 3.3% return. Paid for mainly through council tax. How much did your local fund shell out?

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Prof. John Clancy @johnmclancy.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

@theguardian.com @guardianheather.bsky.social Yday's blog showing how Chancellor highly likely has £10B more fiscal headroom than she, OBR&Treasury realise, from the 97 UK Local Govt. Pension Funds' current snail's pace (re)valuations - if she acts fast! blogsfromtheblackstuff.com/bftbblog2511...

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Prof. John Clancy @johnmclancy.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

@newstatesman1913.bsky.social Yday's blog showing how Chancellor highly likely has at least £10B more fiscal headroom than she realises, or OBR&Treasury realise, from the 97 UK Local Govt. Pension Funds' current snail's pace valuations - if she acts fast! blogsfromtheblackstuff.com/bftbblog2511...

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Prof. John Clancy @johnmclancy.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

Yesterday's blog showing how the Chancellor highly likely has at least £10B more fiscal headroom than she realises, or OBR&Treasury realise, from the 97 UK Local Govt. Pension Funds' current snail's pace (re)valuations - if she acts fast! blogsfromtheblackstuff.com/bftbblog2511...

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Prof. John Clancy @johnmclancy.bsky.social · 09/11/2025

Councils &employers in the LGPS will see £10B windfall if 97 UK Local Govt Pension Funds get their sums right. Just because snail’s-pace 3yr valuations still ongoing doesn’t mean OBR &Treasury shouldn’t project now probable headroom outcome for Chancellor! blogsfromtheblackstuff.com/bftbblog251109

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Prof. John Clancy @johnmclancy.bsky.social · 24/10/2025

UK LGPS Assets now stand at £476Billion. blogsfromtheblackstuff.com/bftbblog251024 Our updated blog following DHCLG's publication of official statistics for England &Wales. 5th biggest pension fund in the world &9th biggest sov.asset fund in the world. We projected £475B 10 days ago. Pretty close!

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Prof. John Clancy @johnmclancy.bsky.social · 14/10/2025

EXCLUSIVE: The UK's 97 Local Government Pension Funds' assets combined now worth *£475 Billion*. Each fund's autumn 2025 annual report output collated and combined, first for Assets Under Investment here: blogsfromtheblackstuff.com/bftbblog251014

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Prof. John Clancy @johnmclancy.bsky.social · 14/10/2025

@guardianheather.bsky.social blogsfromtheblackstuff.com/bftbblog2510... EXCLUSIVE: UK's 97 Local Government Pension Funds' assets combined now worth *£475 Billion*. Each fund's autumn 2025 annual report output collated &combined, first for Assets Under Investment. Now the 5th biggest global fund.

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Prof. John Clancy @johnmclancy.bsky.social · 14/10/2025

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Prof. John Clancy @johnmclancy.bsky.social · 23/09/2025

Back to school scandal: £1Billion (&likely £1.6B) of West Midlands schools' spending absorbed instead into £4.3B surplus of £21B West Midlands Pension Fund. £450m from FE Colleges&Unis, too. £183M from Police&Fire @dgbailey.bsky.social ‘s &my blog explains: blogsfromtheblackstuff.com/bftbblog250910…

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Prof. John Clancy @johnmclancy.bsky.social · 04/06/2025

@tobyn.bsky.social You presciently predicted an ‘embarrassment of riches’ for the LGPS at 2025 valuation. How about a surplus of £200B across the UK’s 97 pension funds? And assets totally just shy of £0.5 Trillion? @dgbailey.bsky.social john-clancy.com/blogsfromthe...

john-clancy.com

Blogs from the Blackstuff - Professor John Clancy and Professor David Bailey

Blogs from the Blackstuff blogs

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Prof. John Clancy @johnmclancy.bsky.social · 03/02/2025

@stevewebb1.bsky.social Our analysis of the Pensions Over-contribution crisis as it affected Birmingham City Council &Investment Management Expenses you tried to so something about, but which Tories dumped when they got their majority in 2015 centreforbrexitstudiesblog.wordpress.com/2024/12/03/t...

centreforbrexitstudiesblog.wordpress.com

The £1.2 Billion iceberg that sank Birmingham City Council – who knew?

· If you think you knew why Birmingham City Council went bust, think again. · Could Birmingham actually un-bust itself overnight (and halt the cuts) at the stroke of the Deputy Prime Minister’s pen…

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Prof. John Clancy @johnmclancy.bsky.social · 03/02/2025

@stevewebb1.bsky.social Excellent analysis from your LCP colleague Tim Gilbert this morning in the FT. LCP should be listened to. t.co/oV5Dj828R6

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Prof. John Clancy @johnmclancy.bsky.social · 03/02/2025

BREAKING NEWS: FT reports England’s councils to HALVE Employers’ contributions each year over next 3 yrs. That’s £60M credited back to Birmingham each yr. Likely much more as Birmingham overpaying by so much more. Expedited recertification &credit NOW &pause Birmingham Council cuts now til done.

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Prof David Bailey @dgbailey.bsky.social · 26/01/2025

Perhaps we should ask whether Max 🪓 Caller thinks that the Chancellor of the Exchequer is financially illiterate? www.ft.com/content/83ed...

ft.com

Reeves seeks to unlock billions from UK pension schemes for investment

Ministers set to allow companies to access defined benefit scheme surpluses to help kick-start growth

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Prof. John Clancy @johnmclancy.bsky.social · 24/01/2025

@guardianheather.bsky.social Letter sent yesterday to DeputyPM by @dgbailey.bsky.social &me asking for Birmingham intervention to require immediate, expedited contributions recert&refund of at least £0.5B by 3yr contributions holiday, as they’ve already been paid. open.substack.com/pub/blogsfro...

open.substack.com

Inbox | Substack

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Prof. John Clancy @johnmclancy.bsky.social · 24/01/2025

Letter sent yesterday to Deputy PM by @dgbailey.bsky.social &me asking for intervention in Birmingham to require it to request immediate, expedited contributions recertification &refund of at least £0.5B by 3yr contributions holiday - as they’ve already been paid. open.substack.com/pub/blogsfro...

open.substack.com

Inbox | Substack

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