Eyes (ears) on the North… www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

‘At a time when society is grappling with radical uncertainty, in the face of technological, economic and environmental change, the humanities and social sciences have never been more important’. … www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/news/92-new-...

Check this out. Without a major reset, the skills and capabilities we need to thrive may simply disappear… www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/news/loss-of...

‘The past we inherit, the future we build’ (or a grand day out if you are a brass band anorak!). www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/2627252...

‘Government must urgently rethink this decision and restore funding to arts courses to meet its own growth strategy and allow students from all backgrounds to pursue their creative career ambitions.’ www.ism.org/news/univers...

Ta Dah! ‘a single national contributions levy to replace six separate taxes’ (including stamp duty and council tax). www.thetimes.com/article/1c9b...

Hanging on to human ingenuity in an age of AI…

‘We need to show the power of science advising and why it’s so important in a functioning democracy’…

The present direction of travel risks irreversible damage to UK higher education, research and innovation, to scholarship, and to our capacity to shape the future…

Stating the obvious (about the taxation of #housing assets), Australian style: pearlsandirritations.com/post/2026/07...

More on the alarming direction of travel in Australian #housing www.housing-critical.com/home-page-1/...

It’s the Ruths who are the litmus for the insane world of property tax. That dwindling minority who are running two homes get all the flack attracted by the Richards and none of the tax breaks available to the Henrys. Tackle property tax to level the playing field. www.thetimes.com/article/e51d...

Aha, so: ‘The share of all mid- and entry-level job ads asking for human judgement has risen sharply over the past two years’. Time to tackle those those ‘cold spots’ in critical humanities and socials science subjects?

Which might be ok if there were less ‘cold spots’ in the availability of key subjects… www.thetimes.com/article/353c...

So, there IS an alternative! Bold policies can raise living standards, reduce inequality and improve sustainability. Another lesson in what’s to like from @wid.world globaljusticeproject.wid.world

So excited that this offer includes work with performing arts institutions as well as the GLAM sector. Nice long lead-in time too: open until 15 September 2026, earliest start 1 April 2027…

Worrying about the best way to tax #housing wealth? A few ideas prompted by the Australian budget: www.austaxpolicy.com/budget-forum...

Which is all very impressive but it doesn’t tackle the majority of under-occupation and is a fraction of what could be gained by applying a fair, progressive residential property tax across the board… www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Probably worth saying more about the wide range of empirical research linking mortality and morbidity with measures of economic inequality… www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

This is a new role packed with potential. An exciting direction of travel to get caught up in…

Check out the British Academy’s signature small grants funding scheme: up to £10k over two years…

More in this reply on some ideas for residential property tax reform that I am working on with Gavin Wood… love it or not, nearly anything is an improvement on the status quo… www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Classic! Mary Beard FBA: ‘what a humanities degree teaches you is about arguing with responsibility and sharpness’… www.thetimes.com/article/d2d8...

Raising the marginal tax rate on savings interest is especially unfortunate for renters who can’t hold their assets in owner occupied homes where the return is tax free… www.thetimes.com/article/ceee...

The tax homes worth over £5m is less than the council tax surcharge levied by Edinburgh city council on Band F second homes worth about £400k. It would be simpler, fairer and probably easier to reform the whole crazy system. www.thetimes.com/article/6496...

The reason the whole thing needs a shake-up is here (imo, at least) (though don’t forget that income tax is far less orogressive than it was) www.economicsobservatory.com/what-future-...

So many #Habermas obituaries. Maybe one more is in keeping with the legacy he left? theconversation.com/jurgen-haber...

Some good news… www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Just wondering how much upsizing is being triggered by the sale of second homes? Perhaps second-steppers who need more space are being crowded out by ‘consolidators’ escaping council tax premiums? www.thetimes.com/article/0e77...

Which is somewhat intermediate by OECD standards? Maybe focus on the source of the revenue (income not wealth, so missing a trick), and the skew in the tax ‘burden’ (less progressive than it was).

Wondering what the British Academy is and how it makes a difference? Here’s a glimpse! www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/about/how-we...

Sounds bold, but leaves the majority of residential property wealth untaxed and tackles a fraction of under-occupation. www.thetimes.com/article/6173...

One of my favourite schemes!

A few edge-of-the-seat moments in a lively discussion, with top tips from @samiraahmeduk.bsky.social on how to tell gripping tales about findings that matter…

Thanks - an energising, soul-searching, eye-opening lesson to on how to win (or not) hearts and minds…

They all look fantastic, but I’m delighted to see that the list includes ‘With the law on our side’. A welcome intervention in uncertain times.

Nice intro to my focus article with Gavin Wood, neat comment on ‘the edges’ of ownership, and a few pointers to some fine commentaries commissioned by the journal www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Breathtaking array of conferences, coming soon, probably near you… Check them out: www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/events/briti...

I don’t draw much comfort from the income tax position (the post-tax income share of the top ten percent is 28%). But the regressive, irrational and unfair structure of council tax certainly takes the biscuit…

Very excited to be part of this inspiring line-up for the Chair’s sessions at the 2026 RGS-IBG conference www.rgs.org/research/ann...

Poignant moment. ‘Over the course of his career, Jackson built a movement to bring America's increasingly diverse population together’ www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c3...

Listen up peeps before we lose a key bridge between ‘the two cultures’…

Spot on. The clue is in the name. ‘Artificial’ intelligence - a product of human ingenuity, not a substitute for life itself…

Great news. Though I guess that if freeholders have a pecuniary interest in the charges levied by management companies, ground rents will be neither here nor there…

Council tax is regressive by income, region, and housing wealth. What’s to like?

Yikes! Something’s got to give…

Well good luck on all this, though it will be interesting to see whether build to rent turns out to be an alternative to ‘over-speculative’ models of #housing production…

Ooh, track 23 on BBC R3 Breakfast show, Kings Singers with a new vibe (oh, ok, with Jeremy West) on Orlando Gibbons, in a heads-up from their new album www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

A must-read for anyone curious about the mysterious world of brass bands and their contests (written, moreover, by a former member of the @girtoncollege.bsky.social brass dectet, aka the Girten 😎) www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

The politics of #housing have to be seen to be believed, though it’s demonstrably risky when large corporate/ institutional investors start acquiring single-family homes for profit… www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...