When F Scott Fitzgerald’s Christmas wish came true ft.trib.al/1RylF84 | opinion

NEW - Keir Starmer is planning a King’s speech in the week after the May local elections. Will be a reset moment at a time when his leadership may be under threat. Bills could include AI, immigration, planning and electoral reform. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

My last day on campus this year (obviously it’s somebody else’s).

All these questions prove is that very few people have the slightest clue what an apprenticeship actually looks like these days.

Listen to Ted. @viviennestern.bsky.social and @universities-uk.bsky.social are. wonkhe.com/blogs/univer...

Paul Krugman and Adam Tooze chatting about Germany (and Netherlands, Italy, France, UK and US). Very good. paulkrugman.substack.com/p/talking-wi...

How redefining special needs rocked education on.ft.com/4iRbp22 | opinion

Read of the day. This is such good reporting and writing by @helenpidd.bsky.social

I expected this to taste quite bitter…

Slade’s Noddy Holder and Don Powell launching work on Wolverhampton’s ring road in 1985…

Not sure I've ever seen this before. Secretary of state writes to literally everyone (about franchising). "Dear all" saves time I guess

If you’re involved in research impact, public engagement (in any form) then you really need to read this from @dianecoyle1859.bsky.social and @michaelkenny.bsky.social at @bennettschool.cam.ac.uk www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Great opportunity to hear from Dani Rodrik in Cambridge in the depths of January. www.csap.cam.ac.uk/events/share...

Martin Parr RIP One of my favourite photographers. If you don't know his work, dip into the internet; it's a joy.

This brings back a few memories… well researched @jimdickinson.bsky.social wonkhe.com/blogs/whatev...

Loved this story about how historic businesses are being listed and preserved as part of protecting the character of Lisbon. Time for other London and other cities to do the same or should we let capitalism just do its thing? monocle.com/affairs/urba...

When the countries top two sides were United and Wolves. How the Black Country men led the rest into Europe. And why you shouldn't confuse Slade with Led Zeppelin. youtu.be/cexOng2_q5o?si… @linds6y.bsky.social @andywestwood.bsky.social#MUFCF#Wolvese#ManUtdtd

Lower middle class household? Yeah right… giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... Robert Jenrick: ‘I’m unashamedly provincial in my attitudes’

Tragically US under the current Administration is walking away from global responsibilities-- like countering #Putin. Europe must lead in defending itself & Ukraine. Must build its own home-grown tech economy! Read how with @andywestwood.bsky.social www.ips-journal.eu/work-and-dig...

‘Slop merchants clog up the internet with drivel.’ See also ‘enshittification’, ‘flooding the zone with shit’ (and my inbox).

Not just in the US either…

“Many systems in government are designed to move slowly.” A new @ifp.bsky.social analysis shows the CHIPS Act’s effort to deploy billions for U.S. semiconductor manufacturing was repeatedly stalled by hiring caps, long approvals, and process-first oversight. www.factorysettings.org/p/hiring-dam...

Free speechwriting tip for the PM: www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...

5 mins where no one in ground knew what was going on. Anyone watching on TV had live replays, lines, discussion of rules etc. Why do they get informed and those at game don’t? Ridiculous.

Every sympathy for University of Essex (and pressures facing them) but this is very bad news for Southend. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... Essex university to cut 400 jobs as overseas student numbers plummet

Great article from @amyborrett.ft.com. But it does make me wonder again why there was zero national media coverage when the University of Brighton closed down its big, decades-old campus in Eastbourne. Now of course, it would make a great case study for a journalist of the economic/cultural impact.

How much will strategic authorities receive as part of their Integrated Settlements? From the Institute for Government:

The UK must escape the doom loop of low skills on.ft.com/3KuxmY6 | opinion

WTAF? www.bbc.com/news/article...

The noise about relations between the OBR and the Treasury obscure a more important issue. Nothing is more important for the future of the UK economy than the prospects for productivity growth, and the OBRs record in predicting productivity over the last decade and a half has been dreadful.

I wrote for @theobserveruk.bsky.social on the special needs problem highlighted by the budget and the big political battle over it coming next year. share.google/kTTENR1gX4Y4...

Excellent telling of the Budget’s story - by @rachelsylvester.bsky.social

This piece on the dynamics of the English HE market from David Maguire and Alex Bols is excellent. So are the conclusions they draw. www.timeshighereducation.com/depth/why-uk...

A blog on innovation, universities and the regions that really, really need them. Written with my very good colleague @jcaustin.bsky.social and published by IPS (International Politics & Society) in Berlin. www.ips-journal.eu/work-and-dig...

Following yesterday’s Budget, TPI’s @andywestwood.bsky.social @profdaverichards.bsky.social @drdarcyluke.bsky.social @samwarner.bsky.social and Patrick Diamond share insights on the government’s approach to growth and productivity. Read more: bit.ly/3JVRkLi

NEW on Wonkhe: The UK Standard Skills Classification is a new way to think about the connections between courses and jobs. David Kernohan loves a new coding framework buff.ly/nVlSlHr

A blog on innovation, universities and the regions that really, really need them. Written with my very good colleague @jcaustin.bsky.social and published by IPS (International Politics & Society) in Berlin. www.ips-journal.eu/work-and-dig...

The tax rises in this Budget’s are backloaded. They're largely kick in in what is likely to be a pre-election year, somewhat implausibly.

More Budget chat - from @drdarcyluke.bsky.social, @samwarner.bsky.social, Dave Richards, Patrick Diamond and me for @productivity.bsky.social Smorgasbords, Pick n Mix, Sticking Plasters etc www.productivity.ac.uk/news/budget-...

This is quite a story for English Higher Education policy. #Budget2025 on.ft.com/4ogqPxZ Threshold for repaying student loans to converge with minimum wage

OK but like inflation link to tuition fees this just locks in current levels of funding. Also scope of both QR and HEIF are presumably in mix for new UKRI approach set out earlier this week?

International student fee levy details confirmed in Budget document: flat fee charged on institutions "of £925 per student per year of study, starting in August 2028 academic year 2028-29". No charge for first 220 students per year. assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6926eb...

Rachel Reeves can count herself (at least a bit) lucky. OBR productivity downgrade would have knocked £16 billion off tax receipts. But she was saved by £32 billion of *extra* receipts from higher inflation and a shift to more tax-rich growth (lower profits, higher wages).

"It is imperative for democracies to build robust, innovation-driven economies & domestic high-tech industries, especially in those regions undergoing structural change that cannot achieve this on their own. " @andywestwood.bsky.social & I detail how to do this: www.ipg-journal.de/rubriken/arb...

BREAKING: Tourist tax to be introduced across England. The money raised is intended to be invested in local transport, infrastructure and the visitor economy to attract more tourists news.sky.com/story/touris...

Except in Lincolnshire. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Is this really a headline measure? #Budget2025

Here is @richardaljones.bsky.social basically telling us how it is. I’ve been thinking about this since listening to him say this stuff out loud at the @royalsociety.org on Thursday. softmachines.org?p=3192