Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #LevellingUp

Most recents (24)

A little late to the party, but catching up on this webinar to read the runes of the recent local elections & see what the results mean for urban Britain #LocalElections
Jennings also highlights that this was Labour's best electoral performance for some time, even compared to the 2013 peak. However, Jennings notes that our Parliamentary geography has changed since 1990s, so harder for Labour to get a majority in Westminster now #LocalElections Image
Jennings also highlights that this was Labour's best electoral performance for some time, even compared to the 2013 peak. However, Jennings notes that our Parliamentary geography has changed since 1990s, so harder for Labour to get a majority in Westminster now #LocalElections ImageImage
Read 45 tweets
Looking forward to digitally tuning in to the official launch of the Net Zero Review report #MissionZeroLaunch
First, @KingsCollegeLon President Prof Shitij Kapur welcomes the launch of the report. He highlights the role that universities can play in delivering the #NetZero agenda, both as a research institution & as a convenor of national & local stakeholders #MissionZeroLaunch
Next, BEIS Minister @grahamstuart welcomes the report. Sets out the Government's Net Zero strategy. He says he was the first Conservative MP to call for Net Zero & welcomes the fact Skidmore was previously the Minister to sign Net Zero into law #MissionZeroLaunch
Read 56 tweets
Using the boardroom analysis of today's #StarmerSpeech (as I did of the #SunakSpeech yesterday). I think they would say;
Great analysis of the problem (#stickingplasterpolitics), love the vision & roadmap, and looking forward to more of the detail.
1/5

news.sky.com/story/politicsโ€ฆ
I very much liked the focus on
- #Devolution, #Levellingup & more power to communities.
- The strong focus on public private / industrial partnership to help solve many of our critical issues.
2/5
The analysis of #Brexit however remains dishonest. Maybe that doesn't matter anymore, but nothing, especially not the #EU ever stopped us taking back control of our public services. We have full responsibility for the mess created in our NHS, Railways etc.
3/5
Read 5 tweets
For sure, we donโ€™t like top-down targets. But most of all, we want a better way of doing things: a planning system with #communities, regeneration and the environment at its heart.

2/10
We want a planning system that is environmentally #sustainable, rooted in community support and used to regenerate out towns and cities, not hollow them out.

3/10
Read 10 tweets
Looking forward to what should be a timely and informative briefing on what is likely to be at the top of Liz Truss' in-tray and how her Premiership may respond to the challenges #IfGNewPM
First, @Emma_Norris opens the debate by setting out the range of challenges facing the Truss Government - Brexit, the energy crisis & energy bills, as well as political intrigues in her own party #IfGNewPM
Next @DrHannahWhite opens looking at Truss' leadership campaign. Says Truss' emphasis on "delivery" chimes with an electorate that "wants to move beyond soundbytes and towards action" #IfGNewPM
Read 52 tweets
Our latest paper in @eursjournal looks at role of actors & knowledge flows in transforming development paths in #decliningcluster @bathfmf @JRBranston #clusterlifecycles #econgeog #clusterevolution #levellingup #openaccess ๐Ÿงต1/n journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/09โ€ฆ
Using mixed methods, we explore the mature #NorthStaffsCeramicsCluster (NSCC) & role of firm & institutional-level actors in shaping emergent transformative development paths under stimulus of local/global knowledge links from int trade fairs (ITFs). 2/18
Standard Cluster lifecycle models imply clusters emerge, take-off, mature, stabilise and eventually decline - a grim deterministic outcome (even death) is predicted for mature clusters (such as NSCC) 3/18
Read 19 tweets
#THREAD

Under the Tories, the proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals has risen again, & now stands at 22.5%.

Nearly 2 MILLION schoolchildren in English schools were eligible for free school meals at the start of this year, government data shows.

#SunlitUplands Image
22.5% of pupils in English schools were eligible for free school meals (FSM) in January - an increase of 160,000 on last year's figure - described as "shocking" by headteachers' leaders.

This thread is based on this article:

tes.com/magazine/news/โ€ฆ
School leaders' Unions warned that these pupils' circumstances could become even "more severe" due to the #CostOfLivingCrisis & called for additional funding "for both educational & pastoral support".

No doubt the Mail & Tory MPs will ramp up their anti-union rhetoric, as usual. ImageImage
Read 16 tweets
#ThoughtForTheDay

Bonuses in the financial & insurance sector have hit a record high, growing by 27.9% over the last year, while average wages in the same period grew by just 4.2% - nearly ยฃ6BILLION was paid out in City bonuses in March alone.

#LevellingUp #CostOfLivingCrisis
โ€œThere is no justification for such obscene City bonuses at the best of times โ€“ let alone during a #CostOfLivingCrisis. While City executives rake it in, millions are struggling to keep their heads above water.โ€ - Frances Oโ€™Grady, TUC general secretary.

theguardian.com/business/2022/โ€ฆ
โ€œWorking people are at breaking point, having been left badly exposed to soaring bills after a decade of standstill wages & universal credit cuts. Ministers have no hesitation in calling for public sector pay restraint, but turn a blind eye to shocking City excess.โ€

#JoinaUnion
Read 5 tweets
#THREAD

Tony Blair's son, Euan, who started his career in investment banking & now has a ยฃ22 MILLION London home, founded an apprenticeship training BUSINESS now valued at ยฃ700 MILLION, & has been awarded an MBE for "services to education".

In the UK, social mobility is dead.
Last year it was reported that Euan Blair's start-up โ€“ Multiverse โ€“ had been valued at ยฃ639 million, making him worth around ยฃ160 million.

I'm sure it's just a coincidence his dad is Tony Blair.

But did he really benefit from an accident of birth?

tatler.com/gallery/tony-bโ€ฆ
Nothing against Euan Blair, & I don't know much about his Multiverse business, but imho his life trajectory highlights unequal Britain's absence of true meritocracy & the abject failure of successive Govt's to break the elite stranglehold on top jobs & improve social mobility.
Read 60 tweets
#THREAD

A new research report from colleagues at Sheffield Hallam University shows that for the bits of Britain most in need of โ€œlevelling upโ€, full employment is simply a myth.

#CostOfLivingCrisis

shura.shu.ac.uk/30252/1/real-lโ€ฆ
The report - the sixth in a series that has been published every five years since 1997 - reveals the real level of unemployment in Britain by adding in the hidden unemployed โ€“ people who are on incapacity benefits but who would be working in a truly full employment economy.
The real unemployment total is around 2.34 million โ€“ a million higher than the Govt claims.

Official measures fail to adjust for distortions arising from the operation of the benefits system - how very large numbers of incapacity-related claimants hide substantial unemployment.
Read 14 tweets
Listened to the Institute for Government event on #LevellingUp this morning, which provoked three thoughts. A short thread:
The first is I think addressing short-term priorities is often mischaracterised as a cosmetic second order priority. The position most often taken is that we should focus on long-term systems change instead.
I agree that short-term priorities shouldn't be pursued at the expense of long-term priorities, but I think the former can create the conditions to support the latter.
Read 8 tweets
Having just caught up with the Queen's Speech, some thoughts:

- Enshrining the #LevellingUp missions in law is the right approach, but that's one thing and ensuring that the conditions are in place to embed them is another. Legislation is only one piece of the puzzle.
- It's not entirely clear whether banning authorities from adopting strategies that involve boycotting, as Lancaster has done to Israeli goods, will have an impact on council action in relation to Russian services. I suspect it won't but authorities may need clarity.
- Giving communities a say over street names is a third order priority, but names are symbolic signifiers of place in my view. They tell stories and provide a 'spatial membership'. I quite like the idea but it's going to do zilch for the cost of living crisis or #LevellingUp.
Read 6 tweets
Earlier on my #WalkForPlunkett I tweeted a pic of a former bus shelter converted into a library service. It made me look out for so many village assets no longer in use which once provided essential services, housed key workers, created employment & brought #communities together
I didn't come across any village services, businesses, or even people for over 10miles until I reached the amazing @westburyshop which was a busy and thriving #communityhub and testament to the resourcefulness of rural communities to take action themselves
The only new services or investment in the countryside I came across was the construction of HS2 - but of course this doesn't benefit the communities it cuts thru- only the urban centres at either end...
Read 7 tweets
1/4 Let's play storm overflows spot the difference!

Reasons why #sewage๐Ÿ’ฉpollution is a problem are varied and need a cross-govt / system-wide solution. How much has changed between past-present-future @pow_rebecca @Dunne4Ludlow @PutneyFleur? Here's how sewers started off:
2/4 Now here's our rather dismal present:

ill-conceived development / highway infrastructure doesn't properly consider water, nature or people.
Poor maintenance, bad practice all over the place and climate change exacerbating.
3/4 But! Here's an entirely possible future:

- Water-smart
- Climate resilient
- Green, healthy and nature-rich
- People-centric
- Vibrant and productive
- Minimal storm overflows
Read 4 tweets
1/ New Paper bit.ly/3M2gZNv @bmj_latest showing overlooked potential of โ€œAvailability Interventionsโ€ to cut consumption of energy-dense foods, meat and alcohol, for leaner greener diets @OHID @OHA @Alc-UK @CCC_UK @WWF @BIT @NESTA @GJHollands @J_P_Reynolds @LEAP_Oxford
2/ Suboptimal diets are one of the largest contributors to premature death and preventable diseases worldwide, contributing also to health inequalities and environmental harm.
3/ Interventions that alter the assortment of available food or drink โ€“ โ€œAvailability Interventionsโ€ - show consistent and often large effects on selection and consumption with no evidence of adverse effects, particularly on inequalities.
Read 9 tweets
Looking forward to an august panel discussion on how the economy can be reshaped to help better deliver on our #NetZero and #LevellingUp agendas #NEFBriefing
.@Miatsf opens the panel by welcoming the progress that has been made to date in getting finance more interested in #NetZero & #LevellingUp, but there is still progress to be made - for example, low levels of investment in #SMEs despite them being drivers of growth #NEFBriefing
First speaker @JosephEStiglitz discusses how to use the credit system to accelerate a green transition. Says historically financial institutions have made "strong statements" about wanting a green portfolio, but critics fear this may just be "greenwashing" #NEFBriefing
Read 59 tweets
Looking forward to what should be an insightful conversation about how the government can make the #LevellingUp agenda work in practise #IfGLevellingUp
.@bronwenmaddox opens by asking Haldane if the #LevellingUpWhitePaper provides a description as to what #LevellingUp is. Haldane says the 12 Missions were designed to "provide clarity" around what successful levelling up would look like #IfGLevellingUp
Haldane stresses that "Missions" are not government targets, but are "loftier goals" that have actions that governments, private sector, VCSE, etc can all contribute towards to #IfGLevellingUp
Read 41 tweets
Be afraid, be VERY afraid. Today's #Expreshit JRM article: Supply Side Reforms

NHS privatisation, remove worker rights, bash unions further, reduce unemployment benefits EVEN FURTHER, deregulate the banks - they've already had a ยฃ1 BILLION tax cut, whilst the rest of us suffer.. ImageImage
ELECTIONS BILL: VoterID disenfranchises MILLIONS of Labour voters, MILLIONS, let that sink in
Read 18 tweets
Looking forward to what should be an interesting discussion on how the aspirations of the #LevellingUpWhitePaper can be translated into meaningful change #WhatNextForLevellingUp
First panelist @KatieSchmuecker looks at the White Paper from the issue of #Poverty - says this is "not a White Paper for Poverty". The word only mentioned 9 times, mostly in the context of #FuelPoverty & international comparisons #WhatNextForLevellingUp
Schmuecker says #LevellingUp will not be achieved unless we meaningfully improve prospects of those at the bottom. Is sceptical that high productivity automatically means higher wages. Cites London which is the most productive, but most unequal, region #WhatNextForLevellingUp
Read 46 tweets
Boris Johnson: "As Saudi Arabia is to oil, the UK is to wind..."

"In the trial running from Friday, 1.4m customers of Octopus Energy ..."

Read 4 tweets
Looking forward to hearing what should be an interesting debate from an illustrious panel on what contents of the #LevellingUpWhitePaper will really mean for local & regional policymakers #PolExEvents
First speaker Mayor @BenHouchen opens his talk saying that the #LevellingUpWhite Paper was never going to please everyone due to "different people wanting different things". However, welcomes the fact we now have definition for #LevellingUp & list of govt priorities #PolExEvents
Houchen says we now need to see a delivery plan ASAP. Gives his priority as the future of #Devolution - which now has a "sliding scale" between County Deals & creation of more Combined Authorities. Says we need to see clarity around devolution in rural areas #PolExEvents
Read 37 tweets
Looking forward to what should be a very timely discussion on the IFS's latest research geographic inequalities in labour market outcomes & how this may present challenges for the Govt's #LevellingUp agenda #IFSEvents
First @PJTheEconomist and the @NuffieldFound's @markfranks give a brief overview of the IFS #DeatonReview into inequalities, and why the Nuffield Foundation gave the review its financial support #IFSEvents
Franks recognises that #LevellingUp will only be delivered if we focus on multiple factors of #inequalities - age, gender, education, public services, jobs - not just place #IFSEvents
Read 35 tweets
Covid-19 has exposed the limits of the public health status quo โ€“ but what should come next?
Delighted to host this #RSPHSparksDebates event #ReimaginingPublicHealth alongside
@davidnabarro
@AlisonDDCox
@cthomasippr
@JonAshworth
@JyotsnaVohra
5 key learnings from the pandemic are:
โœ”๏ธThe virus continues to circulate
โœ”๏ธIt impacts on all sectors
โœ”๏ธDecisions require explicit trade offs
โœ”๏ธCollective responses are powerful and needed
โœ”๏ธPublic health vital for societies and economies
says @davidnabarro #RSPHSparksDebates
We need bold system leadership to meet the demands to address the public health challenges today and in the future says @davidnabarro #RSPHSparksDebates #ReimaginingPublicHealth
Read 13 tweets
A few quick thoughts on R&D aspects of the #LevellingUp white paper: #thread 1/
Overall, much to admire & digest. Itโ€™s a serious piece of workโ€”& represents a welcome attempt to synthesise the evidence base on regional inequality & opportunity across the UK. 2/
On R&D aspects, the thrust of its conclusions seem sensible. Whether the recommendations will do much to shift the balance of R&D funding distribution is far more debatableโ€ฆ3/
Read 19 tweets

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