"Yes, I suppose the news should just be a dispassionate list of all the events that have occurred the world over during the day. That would be good. Except of course, it would take forever!"

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.

Not true though, is it?

Britain is a very centralised country. Britain is also a very expensive place to build new infrastructure. Are these two facts linked? @alonlevy.bsky.social, one of the world’s top experts on infrastructure costs doesn’t think so. Here’s why I disagree. open.substack.com/pub/samdumit...

Hell of a set of top BBC politics stories for the government

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.

CS Lewis's bodying of Eustice's parents in the very first paragraph of Voyage of the Dawntreader is incredibly enjoyable.

The Ceide fields, County Mayo, Ireland. Found underneath peat by a schoolteacher in the 1930s, they date back to 3500 BC and are the oldest known field systems in the world

Very funny that Kemi's video had the vibe and video quality of a despotic leader at risk of being deposed:

That 15 years of stagnation? Interacts poorly with this quasi-tax structure. Wouldn't have done that.

This is clearly depressing and radicalising in a way a tax wouldn't have been.

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.

Growing up is accepting that 15 year old you was right and Foo Fighters rule.

2026 book thread This year I'm setting myself a challenge and plan to read one book from every nation competing in this year's world cup. Any recommendations are incredibly welcome! 1) Pedro Paramo - Juan Rulfo (Mexico 🇲🇽)

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...

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...

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:

I am consistently amazed the Building Safety Regulator isn’t a much bigger story. It’s brought house building in London to a total halt, but it’s also brought cladding remedy works to a halt, too. Which is costing leaseholders FORTUNES, halting sales, and leaving people living in unsafe buildings.

Haven't read a single 2025 fiction book. Are there any releases from this year that people recommend?

Extremely good stuff 👍 www.gov.uk/government/p...

This is a vital report. Whether or not the Government accept it in full, is a test of whether they are serious about growth.

The findings of the Nuclear Regulatory Taskforce lay bare the litany of regulations that make Britain the most expensive place in the world to build nuclear power stations. 1/4

Underrated characteristic of Mamdani that works in his favour is he has quite a kindly smile

Customers invited to celebrate decades' long failure to complete the Croxley Rail Link

Join us tonight at Lib Dem Party Conference. Britain Remade drinks reception - 9.30pm to 11pm in the Bryanston Suite in the Highcliff Marriott Hotel.

Britain once led the world in nuclear power. Today, we’re building the most expensive nuclear power station in history. Why? And how do we fix it? The answer is here: www.britainremade.co.uk/cheapernuclear

🚨 NEW: Our analysis shows the Government is on track to miss its 1.5m housing target by nearly half a million homes

The Sharron Davies Lords appointment sums Kemi's leadership up in that she'd rather use one of a very limited number of peerages up on a single issue campaigner, than someone that would use the Lords for the wider benefit of her party

What’s the point of a licence fee or anything like it if not to provide coverage of the boring but important stuff? Stopping Politics Live just the latest in the slow killing of any proper coverage of the party conferences.

Reposting this piece (from a September heat wave 2 years ago) about how air conditioning could be helpful in tackling climate change. Air con is usually actually a type of heat pump, and can provide efficient, clean heating as well as cooling www.nesta.org.uk/blog/how-air...

36 degrees indoors! Have a look at the temperatures our supporters recorded at home with no air con (post a pic in the replies if you can beat them!) Only 5% of British households have air con due to anti-air con rules. It's time to change them and COOL BRITANNIA.

London hasn't built enough homes since the 1930s. 1937: 3 page planning application 2025: 1,250 pages (25 pages longer than War and Peace) It didn't used to be this hard to build homes, it doesn't need to be today.

Feel like the camp, day-time tv, low culture element of Reform is a very important part of its identity as a party and political project, but undercommented on.

9th anniversary of Brexit means that nobody you meet under the age of 27 voted in the referendum. Feels like quite an important thing to remember, really.

Interesting that the mission to land man on the moon polled really poorly at the time

We need Estate Renewal Passports to give automatic planning permission to plans residents support. At the Aberfeldy Estate in London, a plan to turn 330 post-war homes into 1,600 new ones was rejected, despite 93% support from residents (who all get new homes).

🥪💼NEW LUNCHTIME BRIEFING 💼🥪 How can we make planning reform work for workers? 🗓️ Friday 6 June, 12-12.30pm We've teamed up with Community trade union to find out. Join our Sam Richards and @samdumitriu.bsky.social, with @domarmstrong.bsky.social. www.britainremade.co.uk/lunchtime_br...

"What do the Scottish public think about the ban on new nuclear power?" In my latest post, I take a deep dive into some recent @britainremade.bsky.social polling to look at attitudes to the Scottish Government's effective ban on new nuclear power: normielisation.substack.com/p/what-do-th...

Britain’s planning system is broken, and working people are paying the price. High bills. Low wages. Sky-high house prices and rents. A system built for blockers, not builders. It doesn’t have to be this way. 🧵

💫 We’re launching the Centre for British Progress Our founding essay: Rediscovering British Progress is a case for growth that drives shared progress, rooted in Britain's values and industrial heritage. It all starts with a postcard from 1870 👇 britishprogress.org/articles/red...

Welcome news, but worth remembering that the £300m spent on the planning application for the Lower Thames Crossing is more than it cost Norway to actually *build* the world’s longest road tunnel and the world’s deepest subsea tunnel.