Conservation and environmentalism are heading for an almighty political head-on collision. Net Zero requires an *enormous* amount of infrastructure: new grid (pylons, sub-stations etc), road redesign, power generation (even talk of nuclear generation in communities!) etc. Yet... ... Every tree is defended. Every bollard is resisted. New institutions and means of resourcing are fought. Attempts to change transport behaviours are politically weaponised. Environmentalists are going to need a better theory of change than 'it still all be win-win'.

I joined the social sector almost nine years ago and the gap between rhetoric ('system change') and funding (short term, rhetoric chasing) has never been greater. It grows greater with every passing year despite lots of great but ultimately micro funding initiatives. To be honest, I wonder whether it would be better to dial down the rhetoric and dial up the realism: even the biggest funders have miniscule resources and maybe it should just be about funding good projects that do good things.

Some pieces from very different angles seem to be reaching in the same direction - the need for a left politics of place, democracy, community, belonging. A #postcorbyn thread. First, @chakrabortty. theguardian.com/commentisfree/… And then @Neal_Compass on the need to spread power to a networked citizen. theguardian.com/commentisfree/…

The cost of free broadband for all does look far closer to £100bn than £20bn. Openreach and Virgin's (who would be bankrupted) capital and operating costs somewhere close to £7bn at a glance. Then there's the additional costs of serving all rural areas. Then the cost of purchase. Now, it can be funded but why would you spend £100bn+ on broadband that the majority are willing and able to pay for themselves? Why not put the considerable resource into #GreenNewDeal or #BasicIncome or lifelong learning or social care etc

There is a big and obvious thing that happened in #LocalElections2019 - a surge of support for #remain parties - and it is real.But there is a smaller thing creating a more confusing picture. A theory .... 1/n (picture source @guardian ) #Brexit The smaller thing is that Labour is doing better in areas that are remain and worse in its strong areas that are #leave. This is a paradox as you would expect the opposite if this was driven by a #RemainBacklash.

New @theRSAorg publication out today. Ideas for a 21st Century Enlightenment. It is accompanied by a survey that shows deep pessimism about the future and a strong desire to reach beyond #Brexit thersa.org/discover/publi… 75% see #brexit as distracting from other pressing issues - both remain and leave supporters agree. People do trust experts. But they want a greater voice and say themselves. Only 21% think Britain will be better in 2030 than today. And yet, we don't despair.