Is air con banned in Britain? No... and yes. Those who say it isn't banned are technically correct. But is that the best kind of correct? catchingmice.substack.com/cp/203711274

Is air con banned in Britain? No... and yes. Those who say it isn't banned are technically correct. But is that the best kind of correct? catchingmice.substack.com/cp/203711274

Last chance to join us for this briefing at midday. Why does it cost more to build in Britain? And what can we do about it?

Britain has to spend £1.65 for every £1 spent by our European peers for the same amount of road or rail. Why? Join us on Friday at 12pm to hear from @samdumitriu.bsky.social and @pedroserodio.com about why Britian overpays for infrastructure. www.britainremade.co.uk/more_for_les...

Britain has to spend £1.65 for every £1 spent by our European peers for the same amount of road or rail. Why? Join us on Friday at 12pm to hear from @samdumitriu.bsky.social and @pedroserodio.com about why Britian overpays for infrastructure. www.britainremade.co.uk/more_for_les...

New YIMBY Pod! - Ft @michaeljahill.bsky.social from @britainremade.bsky.social on 'Manchesterism' and Manchester's theory of growth. - And @mjrobbins.com and I talk about three cool new energy storage projects that use gravity and compressed air! www.abundancepod.com/p/the-manche...

Why is housing so extortionate in London? Sam Richards from @britainremade.bsky.social explains... Since early 1990s London's economic success has meant its population has grown by 2 million. But for every 10 jobs created just 3 homes have built. So housing costs rise, incomes fall, growth stalls.

☀️ 36°C incoming. Time for an air con thread. ☀️ Cool Britannia! No… not like that. Unless you’re talking about degrees Fahrenheit, it’s not the 90s any more. In 2026 it’s time to cool Britannia with home air con. Here’s why.

☀️ 36°C incoming. Time for an air con thread. ☀️ Cool Britannia! No… not like that. Unless you’re talking about degrees Fahrenheit, it’s not the 90s any more. In 2026 it’s time to cool Britannia with home air con. Here’s why.

New study: Britain spends a third more on transport infrastructure than its peers, but because of high construction costs ends up with a fifth less. The UK spends £1.65 to get what £1 buys in France, Germany and Spain. (1/N) www.britainremade.co.uk/moreforless

In infrastructure, Britain spends more and gets less. Look at what we could build without raising a penny of tax just by getting our costs down to European levels.

Must-watch video - this is excellent:

Great to see @britainremade.bsky.social venturing into YouTube with this cracking short film on Natural England’s ongoing war against clean energy youtu.be/NeuUdwD0_-g?...

Hinkley Point C might be delayed again. Why? Because Natural England say the £700 million spent on fish protection at Britain's next nuclear power station is not enough. We can't go on like this. youtu.be/NeuUdwD0_-g

USA vs. UK. There's one big difference in hot weather...

Building "luxury flats" actually makes housing more affordable for everyone. It's an effect shown in studies around the world. The chains created by people moving into high end properties free up homes all the way down the ladder.

Building "luxury flats" actually makes housing more affordable for everyone. It's an effect shown in studies around the world. The chains created by people moving into high end properties free up homes all the way down the ladder.

The way we build nuclear energy is broken. Great that legislation implementing the Fingleton plan to fix it is in the King’s Speech. Government must not back down on the bold reforms to habitats regulations that make nuclear easier/faster/cheaper to build, and also better protect nature.

You don't tackle climate change by stopping things. You tackle it by building things.

You don't tackle climate change by stopping things. You tackle it by building things.

If Britain's plan to tackle climate change is electrifying, then we better shape up. Electricity demand fell by 22% per capita between 2000 and 2019. Only in Yemen, Zimbabwe, Jamaica, Tajikistan and Syria did electricity demand drop by more.

Every govt forecast demand of electricity demand of the last 20 years has been catastrophically wrong. They keep predicting that electricity use will rise. In fact, it's fallen by than in any other developed country. Only Yemen, Zimbabwe, Jamaica, Tajikistan and Syria saw bigger per-capita falls.

If Britain's plan to tackle climate change is electrifying, then we better shape up. Electricity demand fell by 22% per capita between 2000 and 2019. Only in Yemen, Zimbabwe, Jamaica, Tajikistan and Syria did electricity demand drop by more.

In most of Europe the bigger a place is, the richer it is. The one big exception is the UK. What explains our secondary cities' struggles? www.samdumitriu.com/cp/193777284

Leeds and Dortmund are twinned, but in transport they're more like opposites. Dortmund has an 8-line light rail system, Leeds no mass transit. Trams/metros: Germany: 60 England: 7 Why? German cities approve and fund their transport, English cities need permission and money from Westminster.

Leeds and Dortmund are twinned, but in transport they're more like opposites. Dortmund has an 8-line light rail system, Leeds no mass transit. Trams/metros: Germany: 60 England: 7 Why? German cities approve and fund their transport, English cities need permission and money from Westminster.

In response to the Fingleton Review, the Govt didn't commit to legislating to fix the Habs Regs to avoid things like fish discos/bat tunnels. However, they are legislating to do just that for offshore wind. Why is it one rule for wind and another for nuclear? www.samdumitriu.com/p/if-its-goo...

Birmingham is almost three times the size of Lille. But Lille is winning comprehensively when it comes to rail transport. Why? Because English cities have to go to Westminster for money and permission to build. We need to give mayors the power to build. Sign the petition below 👇

In the Guardian, I argue that Britain’s nature protections often lead to expensive, ineffective mitigations and, paradoxically, harm nature in the long run because they make it harder to build the clean energy infrastructure we need to tackle climate change.

How can we really protect Britain’s environment? Well-intentioned laws designed to safeguard nature frequently have the opposite effect, says @samdumitriu.bsky.social @britainremade.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/books/2026/m...

The Shoreditch Works application has taken 4 years and 9,000 pages of documents. Hackney Council has concluded what this project needs is… more documents.

NEW: Labour are on track to miss their 1.5 million home by a distance. Our analysis of planning application data predicts only 800,000 homes will be built in England by 2029. Just 3.4% of people in England live somewhere on track to meet their housing target. www.samdumitriu.com/p/labours-15...

NEW: This government on track to build fewer homes than the last one. They need ~45k planning applications a month for the 1.5m home target. They're nowhere near it, and only on track to build 800,000. We now need a sustained surge in building, Sam Richards tells @itvnews.bsky.social.

Today we're part of the launch of Scotland For Nuclear Energy - a coalition of communities, businesses and campaigners calling on the Scottish Government to lift the ban on new nuclear power in Scotland. More information and coverage of the launch below.

Would you say a 9,054-page planning application for an office block and some flats is: A) Too long B) About right C) Not long enough If you answered C, congratulations! You could work at Hackney Council.

This is a must-read. A forensic analysis of a planning application (and a report from planners recommending its refused). Kafkaesque is over-used, but it is the perfect description of the process so far for the extremely popular Shoreditch Works scheme.

An incredibly correct letter, signed by no less than ten former guests on YIMBY Pod/The Abundance Agenda!

NEW: 45 leading figures from academia, business and politics tell Ed Miliband "Don't U-turn" on the commitment to implement every recommendation of the Fingleton Nuclear Regulatory Review. Full letter below.

Is it me or is this really egregious? Green NGOs have published a briefing claiming that the Fingleton Review into nuclear regulation made up a key case study. The only problem is they didn't. And it isn't hard to check.

NEW: Britain's latest CfD auction secured a record 8.4GW of wind capacity. New projects will be awarded 20-year fixed-price contracts at £91 per MWh. The highest price 2015. Why has wind power got more expensive and what will it mean for bills? www.samdumitriu.com/p/britains-l...

Britain has bought 8.4GW of new wind capacity on 20 year contracts at £91.20 per MWh. What does this mean for energy bills? For decarbonisation? And why have renewables got more expensive? @samdumitriu.bsky.social explains in his new Substack. www.samdumitriu.com/p/britains-l...

It is more expensive to build on previously-developed land than greenfield. A new tax on housebuilding (Building Safety Levy) was meant to have a lower rate for it. One problem: the discount is defined in a way that rules out almost all brownfield sites. www.samdumitriu.com/p/the-buildi...

The Government have come up with another new tax proposal that will make it harder to build where they most need to.

Are supermarkets, industrial estates, and railway sidings 'brownfield land'? The answer is no. At least that's what the Government's definition for a new tax on housebuilding says. Our campaign director Sam Richards explains.

So do check out this week's show as it's a good one. We've got: - Badgers making life miserable for one village - The biggest infrastructure project you've never heard of - And Michael Hill from @britainremade.bsky.social on China and Net-Zero Tech! www.abundancepod.com/p/bodge-up-a...

New: Britain can't decarbonise quickly without buying a lot of Chinese tech. What are the risks of becoming dependent on China for solar panels, batteries, and EVs? Britain Remade's China expert Michael Hill explains what we should and shouldn't worry about. www.samdumitriu.com/p/how-worrie...

From solar panels to EVs, China dominates green supply chains. So how did they get there? @britainremade.bsky.social's Michael Hill explains that it wasn't some grand strategy, but applying the East Asian industrial model to 1.4bn people. www.samdumitriu.com/p/why-china-...

This is potentially one of the most transformational policies this government has done if it holds its nerve.

Really good and thoughtful write-up of one of the most positive changes Labour is attempting to make, this:

NEW: Labour just announced the biggest change in planning policy in 80 years. My breakdown of the key measures and whether they will succeed. www.samdumitriu.com/p/labour-are...