No one asked for it or cares, but here it is anyway - my favourite ten albums of 2025, in no particular order.

Timeline cleanse: dog + rainbow.

Very good news that Mayoral Strategic Authorities will be allowed to introduce tourist taxes. I feared government might seek to restrict how funds raised by a visitor levy would be used (e.g. only for transport or public safety), but the proposals are quite flexible. www.gov.uk/government/c...

Travis Head, fair play.

*PSA EVENT* 'English #Devolution & Community Empowerment Bill - Possibilities & (Missed?) Opportunities' Hybrid workshop with PSA Local Governance & #Politics Group @psalocalpol.bsky.social 📆 24 November, Online & London ➡️

The Ashes 🤝 American elections Waking up at 6 am, nervously checking my phone, and hoping the loud blokes with daft hair aren’t winning.

Looking forward to this 👇

Really sad to hear this. Just the three albums across 20 years but all are stone cold classics. Black Messiah is surely one of the greatest comeback albums ever - to return with a record of such quality and innovation after so long away was incredible. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

My view on JG is that 90% of his takes on culture are great but his stuff on politics is mostly terrible. This column contains some genuinely useful advice which has actually shifted my reading habits. www.ft.com/content/685a...

⚽NEW POLICY BRIEFING⚽To mark our 2025 annual lecture, which this year celebrates the deep relationship between the city of Liverpool and its football clubs, this new briefing by @tjarnold.bsky.social explores the role of clubs as anchor institutions. www.liverpool.ac.uk/heseltine-in...

Just 2 weeks to go until our 2025 annual lecture! Join us for a fascinating discussion on football's relationship with Liverpool, its economy and its people, featuring Keiran Maguire (Associate Professor in football finance) at @liverpooluni.bsky.social and more. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/heseltine-...

I'm at Conservative conference next week with @instituteforgovernment.org.uk talking integrated settlements, local growth plans, fiscal devolution and probably a bunch of other stuff.

It's October, which means our annual lecture is this month! Marking Everton's move to a new stadium and Liverpool's 20th top flight title, we focus on the deep and complex relationship between football and the city. Join us on 21 October @liverpooluni.bsky.social news.liverpool.ac.uk/2025/10/01/c...

Relieved that the weather has played ball in Liverpool for conference. Last year I attended an event where the politician on the panel arrived late and was so wet that he looked like he’d just stepped out of the River Mersey.

Took Kasper to a physio today where he had to wear safety goggles due to some kind of laser being used, so please enjoy this photo of him looking like a WW2 fighter pilot.

First week of term campus fashion observation: we may be approaching peak big trousers. The wheel of trouser may soon turn and in 3-4 years everyone will start dressing like The Strokes again.

I know by their nature reshuffles are disruptive but ditching McMahon seems really daft. He’s leading on a bill that‘s just passed second reading, dealing with tricky local government reorganisation, has worked the brief for several years and is widely regarded as doing a pretty good job.

Radical right accommodation really does not work. New paper out with this exceptionally talented team @katharinalawall.bsky.social @robjohns75.bsky.social @drjennings.bsky.social @sarahobolt.bsky.social @zachdickson.bsky.social @danjdevine.bsky.social & @jack-bailey.co.uk doi.org/10.31235/osf...

@footballcliches.bsky.social Julián Carranza has just signed on loan for Leicester, with the news accompanied on the LCFC website by this image. The year the loan ends on the back of the shirt - are we having this? Surely the date on the shirt thing should be reserved for contract renewals?

Will wait to see detail on this before getting too excited, given Northern Powerhouse Rail has come to mean anything from ‘Shinkansen style network enabling travel between Liverpool and Hull in 12 minutes’ to ‘electrification of one mile of the Transpennine’. www.theguardian.com/business/202...

This has been the best test series in England since 2005 I think. 2009, 2015 and 2019 Ashes all had their moments but there’s been drama almost every day in this series.

Crawley to bag his standard one big score per series here. He loves Old Trafford (as all batters should - it's even flatter than usual this year) #engind

Increasingly convinced the cheapest way to address this is to reverse local government austerity. Returning English local authority budgets to 2010 levels would cost about £7bn. Factor in population and demographic change and you'd want maybe £15bn. Benefits could be seen quickly and felt widely.

Can’t be too many artists who’ve had as strong a run of albums as Alex G has over the last few years. Each one evolving sonically and lyrically from the last and bringing his fans along as they grow older with him. What a guy.

Delighted to announce my candidacy for Governor of the Western Ridge (c/o @reformthinktank.bsky.social) re-state.co.uk/wp-content/u...

Before being rebranded in the early 2000s he was known as Marti Jifuentes.

I appreciate this is quite a niche request, but does anyone know why the cover art for the new Madlib record is a photo of Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral?

This is a superb (but very depressing) essay www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

Hadn't spotted that the ONS regional productivity estimates were released yesterday. This is a good summary. North West performing strongly.

This week saw the launch of a new report by @paulanderson88.bsky.social and @tjarnold.bsky.social on English devolution. Drawing on interviews with key policymakers, the report calls for reforms to how government engages with regional and local leaders. www.liverpool.ac.uk/heseltine-in...

Skimming the 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy and you've got to wonder if sub-national transport bodies are long for this world. Over 100 pages and not a single mention of Transport for the North. Meanwhile on page 55 there's this map which uses data from pretty much everyone but TfN.

It's not too late to sign up for our webinar on 19 June with @paulanderson88.bsky.social and @tjarnold.bsky.social on The State of Intergovernmental Relations in England. The authors will be joined by a stellar panel to discuss all things English devolution. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/report-lau...

Filled up my car next to Nasser Hussain.

On Thursday, @tjarnold.bsky.social and @paulanderson88.bsky.social are launching their new report: 📘 The State of Intergovernmental Relations in England Sign up to the launch event here (Thu 19th June, 1.30pm): www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/report-lau...

One week today! Join us online for the launch of a new report by @paulanderson88.bsky.social and @tjarnold.bsky.social on The State of Intergovernmental Relations in England. 🗓️ Thurs 19 June 2025 🕝 1:30–3:00pm | Online 📍 Register: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/report-lau...

A perfect song. youtu.be/gikGLzkKElw

"Reeves says in the coming weeks she will be setting out plans for Northern Powerhouse Rail"

It's been great working on this report with @paulanderson88.bsky.social - looking forward to launching it next month. Please do join us!

13 years, 500 appearances, 200 goals, 1 Premier League title, 1 FA Cup, 2 Championship titles, a Charity Shield and countless opposition supporters rattled. Thanks for the memories Vards.

Our research associate @tjarnold.bsky.social explores Local Growth Plans in a new blog, highlighting key challenges and opportunities. The plans must go beyond 'picking winners', he argues, emphasising the need to tackle binding constraints on local growth. www.liverpool.ac.uk/heseltine-in...

Leicester City 🤝 Markets The beatings will continue until morale improves

Interviewed on BBC local radio this morning, which is a mini insight into what it must be like being on The One Show. They were talking about dad jokes then Mother's Day then Mums no longer with us then a pie shop that's closed down then there's me on fiscal devolution then it was the travel news.

Hello Bluesky!! We are the Local Politics & Governance Specialist Group of the Political Studies Association @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social. Convened by @peckersley.bsky.social, @tjarnold.bsky.social, Joanie Willett, & @jacknewman.bsky.social. We'll be posting the latest research on local politics.

Yesterday we supported a Liverpool City Region and Greater Manchester APPG event in Parliament on housing and regeneration. The discussion, attended by MPs from the two city-regions, was opened by @tjarnold.bsky.social and focused on the opportunities for regeneration provided by devolution.

This special 50th anniversary edition of Local Government Studies is guest edited by @profcatdurose.bsky.social and features contributions from @tjarnold.bsky.social and @ariannagiovannini.bsky.social, alongside many other leading voices in local government research.

The mud tells you he’s going to need a bath today. The smile tells you he hasn’t realised that yet.

Good column this. Summarises well why I liked living in Leeds so much, and why I left. If you're on a decent income it's a lovely place to live - green, fun, friendly, affordable. But opportunities for career progression were limited, and the transport infrastructure sent me loopy on a daily basis.

Interesting background on this from @annasophiegross.bsky.social. Alongside cancellation of the Edinburgh supercomputer and winter fuel decision, it seems there is not enough politics in the Treasury and/or too much Treasury in No 10. A bit more friction between PM and Chancellor might be helpful.