iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Yunze Wang @yz18.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Stepped out of conference for an online meeting for two hrs, and apparently missed several good events, a free lunch and the end of both the triple lock and FPTP.

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Labour for Trans Rights @labour4transrights.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Fantastic to see so many people in attendance at our annual rally, packing out one of the largest rooms in the whole Labour Conference fringe!

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Yunze Wang @yz18.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

By official data, several major cities have had workforce decline since COVID, by as much as 10%! Not saying it was never possible. But surely something to have double checked on before publishing it.

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Nathan @nwylabour.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I'm not sure our current times are as unprecedentedly bad as we often think, but one thing that's for sure is that the senior ranks of our current political class are made up of people who hopped on board when times were unprecedentedly good

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Yunze Wang @yz18.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

En route to Liverpool for conference! If anyone is around and want to catch up/meet in person, just drop me a message.

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Nathan Ramsden @nathanjramsden.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Fantastic to see @labourunionsuk.bsky.social standing in solidarity with trans and non-binary people today. The government must heed the message from our affiliated unions and act now to reinstate the rights and freedoms that have been lost.

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Stephen Morgan MP @stephenmorganmp.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

🛟 The RNLI is an invaluable charity whose brave volunteers and staff selflessly served the UK for over 200 years by saving lives at sea. Share your thanks by signing my open letter to our city’s RNLI volunteers👇🏻 www.stephenmorgan.org.uk/thanking-portsmouths-brave-rnli-volunteers

stephenmorgan.org.uk

Thanking Portsmouth's brave RNLI volunteers - Stephen Morgan MP

The RNLI’s people represent the very best of society and our city. They dedicate themselves to rescuing people they’ve never met before, without judgment, fear or favour, and for that,...

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Duncan Weldon @duncanweldon.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Lots of good pieces on the ONS productivity stuff over the last week. But I think the really big takeaway is that we should all (including me) be more questioning of the quality of the data when a country is a huge global outlier and there is no obvious reason why it should be.

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Yunze Wang @yz18.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

While we r on this, every time I hear the name “Andrea Jenkins/Jenkyns,” I still think about the former Minneapolis council leader who only did public speaking in original poetry. Her and the council’s zoning reform made Minneapolis housing quite affordable as well.

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Maurice Lange @mauricelange.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

I have a new paper out today on what Andy Burnham needs to do to achieve “the biggest council housebuilding programme since the post-war period”. A coherent (I hope) to-do list, explaining the contingencies and pre-empting potential missteps. Do read the paper in full, but here's a 🧵

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Yunze Wang @yz18.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Currently reading a fantasy book based in a fictional civilisation with its own religion in an English village. If u r wondering how the small village manages to remain entirely isolated, the answer is apparently: “we lent the Treasury money. If they disturb us, we raise the interest rate.”

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Chris Giles @chrisgiles.ft.com · 23/09/2026

Had some fun talking to @timharford.ft.com on More or Less about whether people not at home might actually be on holiday www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

bbc.co.uk

More or Less - Has the UK’s productivity puzzle been solved? - BBC Sounds

Tim Harford investigates bad productivity data, AI carbon, nuns and quiet album ends.

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Yunze Wang @yz18.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

One bonus of having strong local governments, aside from just good governance, is that MPs can stop doing roles that would be done by councillors in other countries.

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Daniel Villar @daniel-a-villar.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Britain's finest hour was when it stood alone against the fascism enveloping the world, sacrificing its great power status in the process. These fascists wish we had fought on the other side, and should face the full extent of the law for their transgressions

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Yunze Wang @yz18.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

My slow reflexes are really hurting me. MP Recall 🏛️ I named 43/649 current MPs in five minutes. 🟥 35/403 LAB 🟦 4/118 CON 🩵 3/8 REF 🟪 1/2 YP Can you beat me? toys.jamesomalley.co.uk/mprecall/

toys.jamesomalley.co.uk

MP Recall — How many MPs can you remember?

Name as many current UK MPs as you can in five minutes.

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Yunze Wang @yz18.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Service export is still export! And we export a lot of services.

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Yunze Wang @yz18.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

I lived in Winchester for a bit in 2020. Went back again in 2023. Noticed that there were now 3 bubble tea places on the high street l, and went: “well this place is not going conservative.”

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Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

‘We cannot allow race to be reintroduced into our politics. We cannot allow Briton to be set against Briton.’ Bravo Rishi Sunak www.thetimes.com/article/e89d...

thetimes.com

Rishi Sunak: Britishness must not be turned into a DNA test

I worry that the immigration debate is going far beyond arrival numbers

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Will Jennings📉🗳️ @drjennings.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Time is long overdue that the political mainstream in Britain vigorously re-asserts its longstanding anti-racism norms... these have been allowed to be significantly eroded the last few years.

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Yunze Wang @yz18.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Yeah that sounds about right. I feel like some people just see manufacturing as a generic job provider for unskilled people rather than a career worthwhile to specific people with interest in and talent for the field. Hence, the “I love it for YOU” attitude.

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Yunze Wang @yz18.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Spotted an allegory for Lloyd George’s People Budget in a queer fantasy book at my book club. Gonna feel good about this for days.

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Yunze Wang @yz18.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

There is a lot of good stuff here. Two things can be true: 1). We can have a stronger manufacturing sector (through means that do not close our economy); 2. Reindustrialisation cannot be just about manufacturing. A few more things to note:

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Torsten Bell @torstenbell.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

These are thugs being thugs, not legitimate protests

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Eduin Latimer @eduinlatimer.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

This really should be bigger news. Most important driver on long-term changes in living standards is productivity and recent revision to how it is measured suggests output per hour actually grew almost twice as fast from 2009 to 2019 (up from 0.7% a year to 1.3% a year)

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Yunze Wang @yz18.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

I am regretting not screenshotting charts from their webinar. But in their analysis, the differences between the two estimates were: more part-time workers, lower usual paid hours, and more annual/bank holiday leave. I think annual leave was the largest difference between the two methods.

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Yunze Wang @yz18.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Honestly, a bit funny that the answer to "why is our productivity growth so slow" turns out to be (PARTIALLY) "we didn't account for that many people on holiday."

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Yunze Wang @yz18.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

It sounds like the sub-regional data will not be updated with this until at least next year. Meaning our November local productivity data (originally scheduled for June) will be 1). Close to two years behind and 2). Under an old and less accurate methodology.

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Oscar Selby @oscarselby.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Fiscal devolution for mayors: the government have announced it, here is how to do it: 1. Switch mayor's Integrated Settlements (grants) to a share of income and corporation tax - where 90% of funding is income tax and 10% is corporation tax.

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Ant Breach @antbreach.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Our new report does the numbers on fiscal devolution. By letting the metro mayors keep around 7% of their local income tax (2% in London) and 2% of their local corporation tax (1% in London), we can replace grants in a growth-positive, cost-neutral way for HMT and the mayors:

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Yunze Wang @yz18.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

A good, important but sobering read. We are a tolerant society, that tolerance was and still needs to be a deliberate political project.

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Yunze Wang @yz18.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Will believe it when I see it. But it is not just federal either. How many state legislatures would suddenly have a dem majority/super majority on this number?

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Yunze Wang @yz18.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Turns out my YA book about teen psychics is not that off in predicting government policy!

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Yunze Wang @yz18.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

My pet theory on this is that politics/policy has a disproportionately number of people who chose the career out of ideological/social goals rather than income. They then assume everyone else has the same motivation.

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Yunze Wang @yz18.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Me: “the book I am reading is saying that it is easier to get an apprenticeship than getting a degree, but that ignores a lot of stuff, like the lack of effective matching for apprenticeship.” My partner, half asleep: “feels like u r taking this YA book about teen psychics a bit too seriously.”

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Hassinator @hassinator.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

a great letter in the times today. perhaps worth sharing in these troubled times. #RNLI #heroes

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Yunze Wang @yz18.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Technically, I can agree that some regulations in Europe/UK could be simplified. But the end state of America’s current deregulation is clearly less “hiring is easier” and more “the lettuce and blueberries in the supermarket could kill you.”

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Yunze Wang @yz18.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Which is odd when u think about the people susceptible to economic liberalism, the professionals, and their socially liberal views. It is so easy to imagine a group of voters who r “double liberal.”

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Yunze Wang @yz18.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

The key here is that the "tax rise" of the tourism tax is optional. Mayors can charge it, but they do not have to. Several Labour mayors may not. And if any party is against it, they can run mayoral candidates or party platforms (in future non-mayoral strategic authorities) that oppose it.

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Nick Pettigrew @nick-pettigrew.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

I just think that risking your life at a moment's notice to save people you've never met in exchange for no money is a better expression of patriotism than dressing up like a Poundshop paramilitary and intimidating families with kids trying to get onto a ferry.

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Ilikecaketoo (UK) @ilikecaketoo.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Disgraceful that the RNLI have to say this today, but here we are 😞. If you would like to donate👇🏻. rnli.org/support-us/g... #RNLI #RNLISavesLives

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Yunze Wang @yz18.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Once told my partner that my best tourist experiences were Berlin and Tallinn. Then realised I just liked visiting places with past political trauma.

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Steve Akehurst @steveakehurst.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

For instance, yes the economically insecure are slightly more likely to vote Reform (though still a majority don’t), but the overwhelming majority of Reform voters are not economically insecure. So you can’t really leave them out of the explanation.

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Steve Akehurst @steveakehurst.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

This by Adam Tooze is good. I’ve always found overly materialist explanations of far right voting unsatisfactory and tbh a form of left cope at times. Yes economic insecurity & loss plays a role but the driving force is simply racial resentment. It’s always best to look that squarely in the eye.

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Yunze Wang @yz18.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Not to mention economic issues can also be cultural. The industry of yesterday, the dignity of good work, etc., these r, yes, a matter of employment. But they r also a matter of individual and community identity. U have to offer a story of not just what people can do but who they can be.

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Yunze Wang @yz18.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

I do love how I can spend less than £10 per hour on a 4-day-long class to learn how to make clothes. Honestly a lot of councils’ adult learning classes r really good, and u can just take it for fun.

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

A suggested statement for Andy Burnham.

‘The British public decided in the 1930s that they would not tolerate black-shirted militias marching through their streets. They would cherish robust political argument; they would not accept thuggery and intimidation. When Oswald Mosley led his Blackshirts to Cable Street, local people turned them back. A new law – introduced by a Liberal, backed by Labour and carried by a Conservative majority – banned private militias, political uniforms and ‘the use or display of physical force in promoting any political object’. The British people are as determined today as in the 1930s that they will not accept the methods of Mussolini and the Munich Beer Hall. This government will uphold the law and defend the traditions of British democracy’.

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Ruth Watson @ruthwatson.eurosky.social · 07/09/2026

The courage of those who set out to save those at risk of drowning can never be overestimated. Each rescue is a challenge. I used to watch the Orkney lifeboat head out into rough seas with my heart in my mouth. Remarkable bravery. Donate to the #RNLI here: shop.rnli.org/products/don...

shop.rnli.org

Donation to RNLI

It costs us around £483,000 a day to run our lifesaving service. Your kind donation will help deliver our lifesaving work.

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