iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Rob Johnson @rjson.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Thanks to a data release from ONS, we can get a sense of where NEETs are across England's cities for the first time. My blog has five charts to help Government understand how it should go about tackling the national crisis.

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Rob Johnson @rjson.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Healey's 'local apprenticeship service' seems promising: sounds a lot like our recommendation for a wider rolling out of mayoral powers to 'broker' connections between companies and prospective apprentices. Retention of Growth and Skills Levy would be an important subsequent step

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Rob Johnson @rjson.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Meanwhile in Japan: - Wages related to local economic conditions - Local jurisdictions at the scale of local labour markets - Input of local expertise about economic conditions - Flexibility within a nationally coordinated system We think this points to a 'Mayoral LPC' model in the UK

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Rob Johnson @rjson.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

What about varying across sectors, rather than geography? Italy - a country with similar regional variation to the UK - shows why this would not work. Wages set sectorally at a national level would not mitigate geography, as low paid sectors are relatively evenly spread

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Rob Johnson @rjson.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

People tend to look at the US as an example of sub-national minimum wage variation. But it offers a poor example: variation without coordination, driven by politics and not particularly aligned to local economic performance. See also (to a lesser extent) Canada

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Rob Johnson @rjson.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

New Briefing: what could the UK learn from Japan's system of sub-national minimum wages? And why might the US not be an applicable example when thinking about how to incorporate economic geography into rate setting? Have a read here: www.centreforcities.org/publication/...

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Rob Johnson @rjson.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

The tax retention news is so big it has overshadowed some of chunky stuff in the press release that complements it and fills out the devolution strategy pursued by the new PM. Some initial reactions by me and some @centreforcities.bsky.social thinking below to get you started 👇

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Rob Johnson @rjson.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

We've got the biggest by-election in UK history happening tomorrow. We at @centreforcities.bsky.social have got you covered on the details 👇 Here's what the incoming Greater Manchester Mayor should focus on:

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Rob Johnson @rjson.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Much done, still more to do. Ahead of the first ever mayoral by-election, @xuanrulin.bsky.social summarises the tasks ahead for the next Manchester Mayor: 🎯Grow city centre strengths 🎯Bee Network rail 🎯More participation through devolved skills policy 🎯Densification in the urban core

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Rob Johnson @rjson.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Having ticked off Newcastle this week, Leicester and Bradford are the biggest not yet visited. I'm now up to 36/63 of the cities we at @centreforcities.bsky.social look at. For anyone needing guidance these are the rules we play by!

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Rob Johnson @rjson.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

With all the chat about more local powers: what is fiscal devolution and how could it be a radical reform for the shape of the UK economy? We've got a handy briefing on why it matters and the 5 tests that it must pass to be designed for fairness and growth: www.centreforcities.org/publication/...

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Rob Johnson @rjson.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Why do our big cities matter for regional imbalances? And what are the ingredients for their success? Our BIG CITIES OUTLOOK report sets out scale of the 9 largest places outside London and their importance for 'growth in every postcode': www.centreforcities.org/publication/...

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Rob Johnson @rjson.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Still digesting yesterday's speech? Well, there were a couple of well-timed @centreforcities.bsky.social outputs last week that we think make great accompaniments. Short 🧵 👇

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Rob Johnson @rjson.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

TfL's plans are a template for how other metro mayors should start thinking about their upcoming road powers in the context of their integrated transport plans. Even the best version of Bee Network buses will still get stuck in the Manchester morning peak traffic if these measures are ignored!

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Rob Johnson @rjson.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

Both have seen big reductions in deprivation. Focus in Manchester is on transport, while Liverpool have made strides in skills. But the underlying ingredients are the same: inclusion (through access to opportunities) and, crucially, underpinned by growth. It's the emphasis that differs.

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Rob Johnson @rjson.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

See our work two years ago (!) showing this for hybrid working in central London. Young workers are keenest to be in the office. They have most to learn from senior colleagues - who prefer being at home, but may not be appreciating the externalities... www.centreforcities.org/publication/...

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Rob Johnson @rjson.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

If the wage floor and other pressures are to reach a tipping point, it is young people in already struggling places that will feel the effects first. Given the government's commitments to regional growth, there's a big risk to equating absence of evidence with evidence of absence

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Rob Johnson @rjson.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

2. powers and responsibility to tackle NEETs are refracted through competing jurisdictions with misaligned boundaries and hobbled by fiscally restricted local gov. Review right to identify metro mayors as a solution - will be interesting to see developments in skills budgets and post-16 powers

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Rob Johnson @rjson.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

1. Barriers to opportunities in young people are concentrated geographically. 75% of LAs with highest NEET risk are in northern cities. So a 'national crisis' that is urban and regionally disparate. In our view, cannot disentangle from the national mission for growth in all parts of the country

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Rob Johnson @rjson.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

Key point: Rising min wages have not led to unemployment - theory is because they have balanced employer (monopsony) power in concentrated labour markets. But cities are the most competitive labour mkts. So requires vigilance where min wage bite is high! (great title for a blog too!)

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Rob Johnson @rjson.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

More steps towards the TfW T network here. But the biggest steps to better connect up Wrexham will come from buses. we've got the key insights to our Welsh city transport data tool here: www.centreforcities.org/blog/integra...

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Rob Johnson @rjson.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

And check out this great summary from my coauthor Maxwell on how we got here and where this should take us for the next round of rates: www.centreforcities.org/blog/the-min...

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Rob Johnson @rjson.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

Higher education is also Nottingham's number one international exporting sector (overseas students = exports!). 8% of all GVA from exports.

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Rob Johnson @rjson.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

Oof. Missed this the other day. By our measure Nottingham is the UK big city most reliant on the universities for local 'knowledge' jobs. One in four of all of these high skilled jobs in the city are academic and non academic staff in higher education. Could be a big blow

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Rob Johnson @rjson.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

For some more examples like this, and crucially why this matters in the context of the Government's wider economic policy, join us online at 1pm today - will be lots of good discussion from some real experts on the matter! www.centreforcities.org/event/report...

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Rob Johnson @rjson.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

Just one example on how the trajectory of a single headline rate has affected urban areas very differently. Some places it hasn't really altered the bottom of the local Labour market. Others, more and more workers are being brought within touching distance.

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Rob Johnson @rjson.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

Want to know what Transport for Wales' integrated transport plans could mean for Welsh cities? Come join me for a discussion about Welsh living standards and live demo of our latest data transport tool in a hour 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿: www.centreforcities.org/event/deep-d...

Connectivity map of Cardiff, showing extra population connected to city centre with an integrated network

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Rob Johnson @rjson.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

Economic performance varies a lot across UK cities. But the minimum wage doesn't. So it is playing a very different role in different urban labour markets. www.centreforcities.org/blog/the-myt...

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Rob Johnson @rjson.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

You can see this at a national level in the FT piece. Watch the bottom end steadily rise since 2015 while there's more stagnation near the top

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Rob Johnson @rjson.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

To highlight what this has meant in different places: Reading has seen some compression in the upper middle but managed to keep a similar wage structure below that, despite a rising minimum wage bite. Whereas Doncaster has clearly felt the squeeze, particularly since the NLW was introduced in 2016

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Rob Johnson @rjson.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

Two good pieces in the FT on implications of UK wage compression, mainly at the top end. We've been focusing on the bottom end, and from a geographical perspective - see the significant role of the minimum wage in cities with weaker economies! From our upcoming NLW report (out May)

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Rob Johnson @rjson.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

Something I've written about in the case of Warrington - places with peripheral economies should recognise their strengths, but must recognise it leaves vulnerabilities on city centre high streets:

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Rob Johnson @rjson.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

The map of what's driving Wakefield's economy. Good illustration of the risks and rewards of out-of-town offerings. Blog sets out Wakefield's promising plans to bolster the city centre and bring some of that economic activity inwards.

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Rob Johnson @rjson.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

And finally, 'can't it be a bus' is a fair question from DfT/Treasury. The fact is that making buses frequent and reliable in Leeds would have 4x the connectivity impact of Phase 1 of its tram extension. Trams have capacity/permanence benefits, but they shouldn't preclude lower hanging fruit.

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Rob Johnson @rjson.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

It's a good point. We've been thinking about public transport in big cities as providing *access* to prosperity - you still need the right jobs/businesses generating that prosperity in the first place. e.g. Manchester - its the city centre that allows its improved transport to spread prosperity

Map of Manchester neighbourhood change in deprivation overlayed by transport connectivity to the city centre

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Rob Johnson @rjson.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

See our write up this morning, and a map that will give you a flavour of the deeper data work we're going to do on this in the next few weeks

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Rob Johnson @rjson.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

Something missing from today's coverage of the minimum wage uplift is how it 'bites' differently across the UK. We're talking from 82% of the median wage in Doncaster (equiv to Chile) to 53% in Reading (Japan). This national policy is doing very different things in different labour markets.

Chart showing minimum wage variation across UK cities, Doncaster at top, Reading at bottom.

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Rob Johnson @rjson.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

A good international example on locally set visitor levies told through some great visuals - check out Zoe's work what it could mean for fiscal devolution to city regions

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Rob Johnson @rjson.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

Fittingly, a People's Network could better connect many more people to Sheffield city centre (162,000 more within an easy half hour journey according to our modelling). Most of that comes from better (more orange) buses, but integration with tram and rail crucial too

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Rob Johnson @rjson.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

In which I use Slough to show that these lessons still apply even in places where the local economy and resident living standards seem to bear no relation. Still highlights the importance of having a local payoff to local economic strengths.

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Rob Johnson @rjson.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

See this typically Ballardian response from a snippet of Iain Sinclair that I read yesterday

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Rob Johnson @rjson.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

Second: the goal is integrated transport in big cities. The means is incidental. Mayors should have this mind and be flexible about how they get there. This also means DfT recognising a national integrated transport strategy sees this goal. We wait for INTS with bated breath...

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Rob Johnson @rjson.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

First: big cities should aim for 'local commissioning by default'. This is the minimum viable product for integrated networks in big cities, and is key if GBR is to meet national economic ambitions. That means extra capacity for mayors where needed.

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Rob Johnson @rjson.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

But flexibility comes with uncertainty which could stop rail devo in its tracks. 'Bottom up' approach leaves uncertainty on GBR's aims, mix of models, and whether mayors will be limited by capacity. I think key to this is lack of economic framework over the specific role of intra-city rail in GBR

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Rob Johnson @rjson.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

The Railways Bill has provisions for this. Most encouragingly is a flexible partnership framework for mayors, which recognises the different capacities and network considerations in each area, and a baseline commitment to collaborate and devolve powers. So far so good.

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Rob Johnson @rjson.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

Track and train together helps the national network to reduce operational fragmentation. But - as any customers of Northern Rail may know - there is spatial fragmentation when it comes to commuter rail serving big cities vs the regional (and ultimately national) considerations of their operators.

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Rob Johnson @rjson.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

This is a great, pithy piece from @xuanrulin.bsky.social on why we shpuld probably stop thinking of 'Oxbridge' as an amorphous blob. Neck and neck a decade ago, there's been a marked difference in economic performance since. The varsity match is looking a little one sided these days...

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Rob Johnson @rjson.bsky.social · 05/02/2026

Is 'Glasgow Crossrail' in the room with us right now?

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Rob Johnson @rjson.bsky.social · 05/02/2026

Sydney's 1997 light rail system clearly a direct response to the true deserved winner of the millenium Olympic Games

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Rob Johnson @rjson.bsky.social · 05/02/2026

Going through a document on regional railways from 1992 - there is a world out there where the Leeds tram is older than me, and yet... 😢

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