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...

This total disarray is hardly surprising - council tax is a mess as it is without trying to use it as if it were some kind of rational, progressive property tax. Must do better! www.thetimes.com/article/6871...

Something for everyone @britishacademy.bsky.social Join us ‘at home’ and across the UK to catch the latest in a series of visionary talks dating back to 1908! www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/events/lectu...

A sensible idea if we are thinking about social stability, working democracy, economic resilience and environmental sustainability…amongst other things (like ‘leave no one behind’)

Inspiring advocate for music and the performing arts; unmatched in energy, imagination and utter brilliance in the world of brass. One of those people who lit up the room simply by opening the door. Huge loss. www.thetimes.com/article/4656...

One of many reasons why ‘cold spots’ in the provision of humanities and social science subjects by U.K. universities is not so much a shame, as a massive risk… www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/huma...

This is why the @britishacademy.bsky.social is so worried about regional ‘cold spots’ in the provision of key university courses - young people who can’t afford the costs or the commute miss out on life-changing opportunities in labour markets that need these skills… www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The chaos that breaks out when you try to use an already bonkers charge to ‘tax’ (what might be) residential property. That’s before we get into the question of static caravans… www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The answer is more surprising than I thought!

Some #housing news FYI (if you didnt already know) www.jchs.harvard.edu/blog/homebui...

Smashing New Year’s Day concert from Vienna; listen up for a stirring speech on the power of #music by the irrepressible Yannick Nézet-Séguin www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...

A reminder that Flood Re is in the mix to help keep some insurance premiums (from some providers) in check… for now… www.floodre.co.uk

Right sentiment (tax the investment element of residential property), wrong - clunky, inefficient, irrational, unfair, partial, game-able - approach. Leaves most under-used housing assets untouched and does little to address the challenge of local authority funding. www.thetimes.com/article/c864...

Must do better… raising funds by reforming residentisl property tax would be a start. www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Apparently, the world is getting richer. Here’s the catch: ‘The top one-in-a-million (about 5,600 adults, enough to fill a concert arena) collectively hold 3% of global wealth, more than the entire bottom half of the world’s adult population’… wid.world/document/wor...

On the subject of New Year’s resolutions, philanthropy is extremely tax efficient - what’s not to like? www.thetimes.com/article/7b30...

She was also the first woman to receive the Patron’s medal from the Royal Geographical Society in 1869 for ‘her proficiency in those branches of science which form the basis of physical geography’.

Chuffed to be invited to join Melvyn Bragg and Martin Rees on Christmas Eve’s Today Programme to reflect on the future…

Loved the launch of the East of England Early Career Researcher Network - on the brink of a brighter future! www.crassh.cam.ac.uk/blog/launch-...

It is sobering, finally, to catch a glimpse across all subjects - the risks of this way of going on are enormous…

This is to enable the study of Western medieval manuscripts. Don’t miss it if you’re interested. Deadline 7 Jan…

Exactly. Which is why the @britishacademy.bsky.social is so concerned about the spread of ‘cold spots’ in the provision of courses in the humanities and social sciences www.timeshighereducation.com/news/more-ha...