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Mia Gray

@mia-gray.bsky.social
608 followers 446 following 101 posts

Professor of economic geography at the University of Cambridge. Researches austerity, labour, debt, gender & sustainable regional economies. Keen gardener.

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Mia Gray @mia-gray.bsky.social · 8h
Very good post on the history of "problem tenants" in early public housing in the Netherlands and the UK. If interested in urban history, @municipaldreams.bsky.social really worth following.
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Jake Grumbach @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
New working paper: the Norwegian wealth tax was a huge success. The "exodus" of wealthy people never happened (less than 100 individuals left). Tax revenue increased by 71.5%. No changes in business activity or investment. www.nber.org/papers/w35854
Taxing Entrepreneurial Wealth: Evidence from
Norway, 2021-2025
Marius A. K. Ring
WORKING PAPER 35854|
DOl 10.3386/w35854
ISSUE DATE October 2026
Whether imposing higher taxes on business owners adversely affects business activity by constraining investment and inducing capitalist flight is a central question in the ongoing debate on how to tax the ultra wealthy. To shed new light, I exploit a series of related Norwegian reforms during 2021-2024 that increased dividend tax rates, removed migration-related capital gains tax loopholes, and nearly doubled the effective marginal tax rate on business wealth. These reforms spurred international debate and, allegedly, an "exodus" of Norwegian billionaires (Financial Times,
2023). While I document clear effects on migration, these responses are concentrated among the top 0.1% of the wealth distribution and mostly confined to 2022 and 2023. My results indicate that at most 100 individuals left due to the reforms. I find no evidence of significant outmigration or reduced inflows of startup founders or inventors. I estimate that absent any outmigration, wealth tax revenues would have increased by 75% from 2021 to 2024. Reform-driven outmigration lowers the revenue gain to 71.5%. My findings further show that outmigrating owners' firms remain economically active and do not reduce investment. In a broader set of analyses, I examine whether business outcomes are affected, regardless of whether owners outmigrate, since firms may reduce investment both due to liquidity constraints or distortions to owners' savings decisions. I compare firms owned by Norwegian individuals subject to the wealth tax with firms owned by foreigners and other tax-exempt entities. By merging historical ownership data from Orbis with the Norwegian shareholder register, I perform these analyses on both Norwegian and foreign-domiciled firms.
Across settings, I find no evidence that Norwegian-owned firms pay out more dividends or invest less after the reforms,…
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Mia Gray @mia-gray.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Does decentralisation lead to less regional disparity? Only if power, decion- making and resources are truly devolved. Good paper.
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Billionaire David Reuben says he quit UK for Monaco ... actually already there since 2014. Worth £28bn, objects to non-dom tax changes. Doesn't want to be taxed on the same basis as UK residents Super-rich happy to make profits in the UK, want special treatment, hold govts to ransom.
theguardian.com
‘I reside in Monaco’: billionaire said to have quit UK over potential wealth tax had already left
TaxWatch contradicts claims about David Reuben’s departure and questions stories of super-rich exodus
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Liam Saddington @saddy94.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Excited to share this very collaborative paper: rgs-ibg.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... This emerged from a workshop on the Geographies of Education at Cambridge last year - with teachers, postgraduates, academics and practitioners!
rgs-ibg.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
The Geographical Journal | RGS Research Journal | Wiley Online Library
Following the 2025 English Curriculum and Assessment Review, this commentary reflects on the relationship between geography and climate education in England. It convenes academics, postgraduate stude...
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Mia Gray @mia-gray.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Please see a new call for papers for a special issue on "Artificial Intelligence: Power, Place, and Uneven Development" in the journal CJRES academic.oup.com/cjres/pages/...
academic.oup.com
Artificial Intelligence: Power, Place, and Uneven Development
Editors: Judith Clifton, Mia Gray, Michael Kitson & Pete Tyler
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Mia Gray @mia-gray.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
New journal article out -- Power without Capacity? On English local government and the contradictions of the council tax regime. Free access. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
sciencedirect.com
Power without Capacity? Despotic Centralism, Local Government, and the Contradictions of the English Council Tax Regime
The financing of English local government has become a critical aspect of centre-local relations during a period in which austerity has produced great…
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Mia Gray @mia-gray.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Great piece.
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LSE Inequalities @lseinequalities.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
“The key question is not whether someone once grew up working class, but whether they currently depend on selling their labour to make ends meet” - @vladimirbortun.bsky.social on the class backgrounds of our politicians in our latest blog post #LSEInequalitiesBlog buff.ly/MMKrjUu
buff.ly
Why politicians' class origins matter less than their destinations
Beyond politicians' class origins - e.g. growing up working class - do we need to pay greater attention to class destinations, i.e. their current economic positions?
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Lenore Palladino @lenorepalladino.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
I have a new article in Intl J of PE, as part of a symposium on expanding our thinking about public banking & democratic finance it's called "The Potential of Public Credit Funds" & builds on work by @stomarova.bsky.social & many others www.tandfonline.com/eprint/CAIZH...
tandfonline.com
The Potential of Public Credit Funds
This article proposes a public credit fund as a new institutional form within an emerging ecosystem of public banking in the United States. State and local public pension funds hold nearly $6 trill...
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Mia Gray @mia-gray.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Almost everything we know about basic income comes from studying individuals, not communities. This book tries to remedy this and puts regions in the centre of their analysis and looks at basic income as a regional policy. Free access rsa.tandfonline.com/toc/rpim20/7/2
regionalstudies.org
14th Policy Impact Book published - Cash in hand: basic income as regional policy - RSA Main
The RSA is pleased to announce the publication of the 14th Policy Impact book: Cash in hand: basic income as regional policy, by Marc Doussard, Jurgen De Wispelaere and Joe Chrisp. For decades, policy...
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Institute for Public Policy Research @ippr.org · 29/09/2026
📢 We’re hiring a Deputy Executive Director to help shape our strategy, strengthen our political impact and lead an ambitious team. We’re looking for someone with big ideas, political insight and brilliant people leadership. Apply by 18 October 👇 buff.ly/wQGr7zZ
buff.ly
Deputy Executive Director | IPPR
The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) is an independent charity working towards a fairer, greener, and more prosperous society.
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Mia Gray @mia-gray.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Please see a new call for papers for a special issue on "Artificial Intelligence: Power, Place, and Uneven Development" in the journal CJRES academic.oup.com/cjres/pages/...
academic.oup.com
Artificial Intelligence: Power, Place, and Uneven Development
Editors: Judith Clifton, Mia Gray, Michael Kitson & Pete Tyler
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Mia Gray @mia-gray.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
As if students needed help to access AI!
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History Teacher Educators' Network @htenuk.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Delighted to share details of our Autumn @htenuk.bsky.social Conference featuring @alanlester.bsky.social and @justice2history.bsky.social & @abdulmohamud.bsky.social. Make sure to pop it in your calendar. Please contact HTENUK@outlook.com for more information about membership.
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Jessa Loomis @jessaloomis.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
What is a housing 'love letter' and how and why is it being used by prospective homebuyers? In this new paper with @lukegreen.bsky.social we argue that these personal letters are market devices through which buyers seek advantage in an increasingly unequal housing system doi.org/10.1016/j.ge...
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Diane Coyle @dianecoyle1859.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Insider's perspective on the asset stripping of Thames Water: www.the-londoner.co.uk/why-thames-w... Very much looking forward to hearing more about govt. plans to tackle this sorry industry.
the-londoner.co.uk
How Thames Water fell apart, according to its own engineer
‘It was all about selling things off. Sell, sell, sell’
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Hettie O’Brien @hettieobrien.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Today’s newsletter is about a subject I’ve been obsessing over for some time. It’s an environment story, a finance story, and a story about how people feel about politics in general www.theguardian.com/world/2026/s...
theguardian.com
Wednesday briefing: ​What’s behind the global backlash against datacentres?
In today’s newsletter: Communities from Scotland to India are pushing back against datacentres, warning they threaten energy supplies and the climate
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Regional Studies Association @regstud.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
We are delighted to award Miriam Gonçalves the 2026 Paul Benneworth PhD Student Award for the paper 'Examining local action groups as territorial development polities: CLLD in Lisbon Metropolitan Area'. Watch the award ceremony with @mia-gray.bsky.social at www.regionalstudies.org/news/2026-pa....
A yellow background with the text '2026 Paul Benneworth PhD Student Award to Miriam de Oliveira Gonçalves from CIAUD, the Research Centre for Architecture, Urbanism and Design, Lisbon School of Architecture at the Universidade de Lisboa in Portugal, for her paper titled “Examining Local Action Groups as territorial development polities: CLLD in Lisbon Metropolitan Area.”
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Jason Scott-Warren @jes1003.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Nondom billionaire media continues to campaign tirelessly against climate action. Please sign/share petition.parliament.uk/petitions/76...
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Mia Gray @mia-gray.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
@regstud.bsky.social @camunigeography.bsky.social @politicaleconhub.bsky.social
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Mia Gray @mia-gray.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Almost everything we know about basic income comes from studying individuals, not communities. This book tries to remedy this and puts regions in the centre of their analysis and looks at basic income as a regional policy. Free access rsa.tandfonline.com/toc/rpim20/7/2
regionalstudies.org
14th Policy Impact Book published - Cash in hand: basic income as regional policy - RSA Main
The RSA is pleased to announce the publication of the 14th Policy Impact book: Cash in hand: basic income as regional policy, by Marc Doussard, Jurgen De Wispelaere and Joe Chrisp. For decades, policy...
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Jaime Jover @jaimejover.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
New paper out! Claire Cahen and I explore the uneven expansion low-end services across the world and how they work as a fix for the crises of production and care. Open access here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
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Chris Brooke @chrisbrooke.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Dolly Parton, trade unionist.
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Patrick Dunleavy @patrickdunleavy.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...
theguardian.com
‘A mockery’: how offshore tax havens are thwarting the UK’s transparency push
Critics say ownership registers are too costly and too complicated, scuppering attempts to expose alleged money laundering
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Michelle @michelleroy78.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
I might be going out on a hunch, but maybe the employer should pay a living wage to their staff.
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Jennifer Clark @jclarkcrp.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
🚨Call for Papers! @regionalstudies.bsky.social Special Issue on The Rise of Artificial Intelligence: The Diffusion and Adoption of an Emerging Enabling Technology and its Regional Development Implications. Details ⬇️ think.taylorandfrancis.com/special_issu...
think.taylorandfrancis.com
The Rise of Artificial Intelligence: The Diffusion and Adoption of an Emerging Enabling Technology and its Regional Development Implications
Submit a Manuscript to the Journal
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Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
It’s really important that independent organisations can hold Government to account. I’m on the Board of @nao.org.uk which does this and we are looking for two new Board members. Could you help spread the word so we can get the best possible field of candidates roles.saxbam.com/advert-detai...
NAO
National Audit Office
National Audit
Office
Non-Executive Directors
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Mia Gray @mia-gray.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
A call for papers for a special issue in CJRES on the changing economic geographies of the defence industry. The defence industry has a complex relationship to industrial and regional policy. What are the spatial & regional implications of the new arms race? academic.oup.com/cjres/pages/...
academic.oup.com
Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society | Oxford Academic
A journal of the Cambridge Political Economy Society. The journal publishes multi-disciplinary research on the spatial dimensions of contemporary socio-economic-political change, and examines the effe...
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Mia Gray @mia-gray.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
I completely agree -- you can't have devolved powers without increasing accountability. The BBC and other news organisations need to put more resources into local democracy reporting.
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
The number of known UK enablers of tax avoidance schemes up by 34%. HMRC didn't collect £59bn last yr, £500bn since 2010. 5 enablers prosecuted in 2023-24. In 2025, one firm charged with failing to prevent facilitation of tax evasion, result awaited. Make enablers personally liable for lost taxes
ifamagazine.com
The number of promoters of tax avoidance schemes in the UK jumps by 34% in a year to 183 - IFA Magazine
The number of known promoters and suppliers of tax avoidance schemes in the UK has increased by 34% in the last year from 137 businesses to 183* (as of June
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Mia Gray @mia-gray.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Please retweet the reminder above, thanks: @cjres.bsky.social @roberthassink.bsky.social @emilevenhuis.bsky.social @michaelkitson.bsky.social @harrygarretsen.bsky.social @judithclifton.bsky.social @stefaniafiorentino.bsky.social @thinkwoodist.bsky.social @elvirauyarra.bsky.social
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Mia Gray @mia-gray.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
A call for papers for a special issue in CJRES on the changing economic geographies of the defence industry. The defence industry has a complex relationship to industrial and regional policy. What are the spatial & regional implications of the new arms race? academic.oup.com/cjres/pages/...
academic.oup.com
Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society | Oxford Academic
A journal of the Cambridge Political Economy Society. The journal publishes multi-disciplinary research on the spatial dimensions of contemporary socio-economic-political change, and examines the effe...
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Will Jennings📉🗳️ @drjennings.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
'How Place-Based Policy Could Counter Populist Discontent' Our latest essay on place and discontent is out today in @politicalquarterly.bsky.social Free to read ➡️ doi.org/10.1111/1467...
How Place-Based Policy Could Counter Populist Discontent

Gerry Stoker, Daisy Blackburn, Nick Clarke, Will Jennings

Resentment felt by people in areas that have suffered from social and economic decline is a significant driver of populist backlash—‘the revenge of the places that don't matter’. An effective place-based strategy could provide something of an antidote to populist discontent. In power, populist leaders are arch-centralisers, organising government to dance to their tune. By focusing on place, UK government can respond to people's feelings of being neglected by Westminster and give them the power and tools to tackle issues that matter to their community. Drawing on a survey conducted in England in 2025, we show that, although place-based grievance is widespread, people still express pride in place and see unfulfilled potential, while negative perceptions reflect the material condition of local areas. There is demand for state intervention, but little faith in the ability of central government to deliver. In response, a place-based strategy requires a new style of multilevel governance followed by a slower, more place-sensitive push towards devolved government.
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Beth Kitson @drbethkitson.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
A new piece from @ojgarling.bsky.social and me for @ippr.org on rethinking ‘Manchesterism’ through the lens of infrastructural citizenship. Open access link: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
What Could ‘Manchesterism’ Mean?: Infrastructural Citizenship for Civic Renewal
Local infrastrucutre is a lens through which citizens materially experience the actions of the state. Drawing on the concept of 'infrastructural citizenship', this paper explores how shared spaces ca...
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Mia Gray @mia-gray.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
And "Carrying class and gender: cargo bikes as symbolic markers of egalitarian gender roles of urban middle classes in Dutch cities" by Willem R. Boterman 2020 in Social and Cultural Geography.
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Mia Gray @mia-gray.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
There's a lot out there, including "the gender of cargo bikes on the travel patterns of women" by William Riggs and Jana Schwartz, 2018 in Urban, Planning, and Transport Research (free to access) Good luck!
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Jimmy Goddard @jimmy-goddard.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
I'm in the group that has experienced wage contraction due to AI adoption by large corporations. "As the sociologist Tressie McMillan Cottom says, AI has merged regressive politics with unchecked economic power under the guise of technological innovation."
theguardian.com
Lost jobs, inequality, rogue agents: why are we accepting oligarchs’ AI agenda? | Robert Reich
The dangers of AI become clearer every day. Why are we still acting as if we have no choice about our future?
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Mia Gray @mia-gray.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Good piece on what is needed to make English devolution work. Including "what kind of fiscal equalisation model is needed to guide regional funding allocations...". Perhaps we also need to think about local capacity issues?
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Mia Gray @mia-gray.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
I'm afraid I haven't noticed men in Britain becoming better coiffed in the last decade ...!
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Mia Gray @mia-gray.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Interesting data in the FT's coverage of this (giving councils more powers to curb some types of shops & rejuvenate “hollowed out” high streets). Look at the growth in the number of barber shops and fast food outlets! www.ft.com/content/7db6...
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Mia Gray @mia-gray.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
Now is the time to assess remunicipalisation (nationalisation at a local level) as local regions/cities take essential services back into public control. Article free to access. academic.oup.com/cjres/articl...
academic.oup.com
How places are contesting the privatisation of local public services
The provision of essential public services — water, energy, health, housing, education, transport, social care and infrastructure — is a crucial determinan
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Mia Gray @mia-gray.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
I completely agree with @rjpartington.bsky.social here - the legacy of austerity is still resonating for the young. Youth services cut, Sure Start cut, playing fields sold-off, youth clubs closed, & social workers lost. A call for strategic, preventative policy www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
theguardian.com
Britain is paying the price for failing to invest in its young people | Richard Partington
Alan Milburn has outlined a generation cut adrift by austerity. We must grasp the nettle and rebuild a preventive state
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Mia Gray @mia-gray.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
I completely agree with @rjpartington.bsky.social here - the legacy of austerity is still resonating for the young. Youth services cut, Sure Start cut, playing fields sold-off, youth clubs closed, & social workers lost. A call for strategic, preventative policy www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
theguardian.com
Britain is paying the price for failing to invest in its young people | Richard Partington
Alan Milburn has outlined a generation cut adrift by austerity. We must grasp the nettle and rebuild a preventive state
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Prof Katherine Schofield 🇬🇧🇦🇺🇪🇺 @katherineschof8.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
This is extraordinarily bad, as even the UK copyright libraries (e.g. Cambridge) have moved over to frequently only acquiring the ebook version of new publications. If you don't own the hard copy, you're just renting and you are at the mercy of the publisher.
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Carolina Alves @cacrisalves.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Must read!
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Mia Gray @mia-gray.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Thanks, Mark!
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Mia Gray @mia-gray.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
The latest issue of the Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society is all about remunicipalisaiton -- in many different counties, including France, the UK, the US, Germany, Bolivia, Spain, etc.... See: academic.oup.com/cjres/issue
academic.oup.com
Issues | Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society | Oxford Academic
A journal of the Cambridge Political Economy Society. The journal publishes multi-disciplinary research on the spatial dimensions of contemporary socio-economic-political change, and examines the effe...
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Mia Gray @mia-gray.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
Now is the time to assess remunicipalisation (nationalisation at a local level) as local regions/cities take essential services back into public control. Article free to access. academic.oup.com/cjres/articl...
academic.oup.com
How places are contesting the privatisation of local public services
The provision of essential public services — water, energy, health, housing, education, transport, social care and infrastructure — is a crucial determinan
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Andy Westwood @andywestwood.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Fiscal devolution, transport, housing, planning, 16-19 skills, employment support… and an autumn white paper. These are very big changes to English government/governance. www.gov.uk/government/n...
gov.uk
PM hands mayors share of income tax to make lives better in every postcode
The Prime Minister will today launch the biggest transfer of power from Westminster in a generation, giving communities greater control over the decisions that shape jobs, transport, housing and publi...
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