This is really good to see and a key recommendation from the paper I wrote on decentralisation a while back. www.labourtogether.uk/all-reports/...

Fantastic to see @rthonwesstreeting.bsky.social creating deputy mayors for health to join up the NHS with other services in an area - starting with @andyburnham.bsky.social in GM and Oliver Coppard in South Yorkshire. This takes forward something that I have long thought was a good idea.

We've got a new game that puts you in the shoes of a council leader. Try to win re-election and avoid bankruptcy - it's difficult...

I built a game to demonstrate one of the UK’s big political problems. Check it out.

This is a *fantastic* way of making a point.

We’ve built an interactive game to show what the pressure of adult social care looks like in practice. In Run the Council, you take charge of a fictional council for four years. Can you run ‘Northfield Council’ amongst mounting financial pressures? Play here: www.labourtogether.uk/council-sim

I wrote this paper because too many people feel like they’re paying more and getting less from local government. Council tax keeps going up, but the services people actually see: bins, potholes, parks, libraries, street cleaning. Too often feel like they’re getting worse.

Local government finances are in trouble. Council tax is outdated and regressive. Social care is underfunded. But council tax reform sits in the “here be dragons” bit of British politics, since it contributed to Thatcher's downfall 36 years ago. But @danmead.bsky.social has a solution! 1/

Dan Mead our Economics Adviser is quoted in Bloomberg today with his reaction to Thames Water's latest proposal. Our previous report on Thames Water: www.labourtogether.uk/all-reports/... Bloomberg piece: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Rising energy prices need more than 'wait and see.' @jameshowat.bsky.social sets out the case for capping prices at pre-war levels, a temporary income tax rise, and capping welfare, pension and wage uplifts at 2% to break the inflationary cycle. labourtogether.uk/blog/cap-energy-prices-raise-taxes

Statements from the chair of Labour Together's board, Baroness Sally Morgan, and CEO, Alison Phillips:

Terrific report on that by @dsquareddigest.bsky.social for Labour Together, this:

We're hiring for our Policy Unit. If you love rigorous policy work, political strategy and making the case for how to build a better Britain, we want to hear from you. Roles are at Senior Adviser and Director level. Apply here: tinyurl.com/4xsk7vc6 Closing date: 14th Jan

Yesterday, we put out a report on the most important issues to voters. We know that immigration now tops the traditional most important issues question (see below from @yougov.co.uk). But that doesn't tell the full story. Here is a rundown of the experiments we did to test this out (A THREAD):

I found this so interesting. We talk about polling results endlessly but rarely discuss how we ask the questions. This salience vs importance question is fascinating.

As immigration dominates the brief this morning, here’s my two cents on the salience vs. the importance of the issue: labourlist.org/2025/11/immi... (Full report linked below - Many thanks to @emmaburnell.bsky.social!!)

The map below shows how far behind France and Germany we are in mass transit. In France, every place with over 150,000 people has some form of tram or metro. But if mayoral areas can 'become builders' as @tracybrabinmayorwy.bsky.social puts it in the foreword, we can turn this around. 🧵 1/9

Great lineup for the final day of Labour party conference! Featuring Chris Ward, Peter Kyle, Darren Jones in convo with Beth Rigby, Liz Kendall, Sarah Edwards, Jonathan Reynolds, and Rachel Reeves. 📍All events will take place in Arena Room Aire (*except as noted).

At ‘How Broken is the Social Contract – and How Do We Fix It?’ fringe from @togethercoalition.bsky.social @labourtogether.bsky.social Brendan Cox opens, describing firm foundations of tolerance and trust in uk society; alongside worrying trends of rising dissatisfaction, prejudice & division.

Three statements of local ambition stand in Halifax, West Yorkshire: the Town Hall, the Borough Market and the Piece Hall. Such monuments of civic pride still bear the names of farsighted local leaders from past generations. 🧵 1/13

The worst possible message emerging in British politics is "We'll tolerate jobless serial criminals if, and only if, they are being racist".

There are clear inequalities in life expectancy and child poverty across the country, particularly affecting the North. See the data below from @healthfoundation.bsky.social showing premature mortality by local authority area and region. 1/3

Parks and playgrounds are integral to places, allowing people to relax, children to play and more. Hard to imagine NYC without Central Park, or Ilkley without its moor! This builds on a historic legacy of Victorian era council developing them for the good of their communities. Short 🧵 1/3

What has London’s Bakerloo line got to do with the government’s ability to invest in the North? Put simply, if we let London raise more money from high land values to pay for its infrastructure, this frees up more government spending for the rest of the country. Read below to see detail 👇

This is how we pay for the Bakerloo Line extension FREE TO READ!) takes.jamesomalley.co.uk/p/bakerloo-e...

The 1985 Transport Act was one of the biggest policy failures of recent decades. Nothing better describes this than the chart below by @jburnmurdoch.ft.com. A combination of new powers and funding through 'bus franchising' is looking to reverse this.

What does the collapse of Wylfa in Anglesey tell us about Britain? Too much power and wealth in Whitehall & the southeast. Short-term fiscal choices. A state that can’t deliver. Anglesey’s story is Britain’s. Read our new report, Britain’s Bottlenecks 👉 www.labourtogether.uk/all-reports/...

Agree. One thing that I really liked about @jpspencer.bsky.social’s Labour Together report is it included culture in “growth spending”. So much policy about regional development in the UK basically regards culture, tourism, etc. as distractions from the real work of building trains to nowhere.

My friends at @labourtogether.bsky.social very kindly shared this fascinating polling with me…

Thank you to everyone who has shared or read Future North in its first week! This week I have started with two pictures. But can you guess what they are and why they are important? Short thread. 1/5

🚀 Introducing Future North - a Substack exploring the people, projects and ideas shaping the future of the North of England. First post below - please subscribe to get new posts directly to your inbox! futurenorth.substack.com/p/why-future...

The new Devolution Bill entrenches the mayoral model, extends its powers to new areas and creates a framework for the transfer of more powers - including a new right to request and a parliamentary lock on the removal of powers. New article by me in the MJ: www.themj.co.uk/genuine-mile...

We can build more and faster writes @dantomlinson.bsky.social, Labour MP and Keir Starmer's growth mission champion

✈️ Britain’s talked about a third runway at Heathrow for two decades. Our new report with @BritishProgress shows how a flight could take off before 2029 - if Parliament chooses to speed up the process through a Public Bill.

Catch our director of tech policy @kmeinnes.bsky.social on The Abundance Agenda, talking all things 'BritCard'

The "BritCard" digital ID proposal is a good idea (FREE TO READ!) takes.jamesomalley.co.uk/p/britcard

In ‘Nation Rebalanced’, I called for the government to boost growth and tackle our significant regional inequalities. Today’s announcements put much of this into practice. 🥳

Today @labourtogether.bsky.social called for a Digital ID for all UK citizens and residents. There are many good reasons for this - convenience, efficiency of public services, avoiding another Windrush scandal, but also the impact on perceptions of migration. www.labourtogether.uk/all-reports/...

Over recent years we have spent 20% more per person on growing the economy in the South East versus the rest of England. These suggested reforms would finally start to rebalance the country.

🎙️Catch our Director of Devolution Policy @jpspencer.bsky.social on the Abundance Agenda podcast talking through our latest report, Nation Rebalanced: www.labourtogether.uk/all-reports/...

Great article by @tracybrabinmayorwy.bsky.social for @labourlist.bsky.social drawing on @labourtogether.bsky.social research. Looks at how mayors and the government can work together to correct our regional imbalances, creating a society that works for every place. labourlist.org/2025/04/west...

ICYMI - we published a new report on rebalancing the country endorsed by @chriscurtis94.bsky.social of the Labour Growth Group and @jowhitemp.bsky.social of the Red Wall Group. Below are my 5️⃣ favourite charts from the report. 🧵

Great evening in the Terrace Pavillion for the Labour Together and Portland Parliamentary staffers reception, recognising the hard work of Labour staffers. Rousing speeches from @jonashworth.bsky.social, Claire Reynolds, Steve Morris, @chriscurtis94.bsky.social, and @alastaircampbell2.bsky.social

@labourtogether.bsky.social have just published our recent poll of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority. A write up can be found here: inews.co.uk/news/politic... Data tables, here: static1.squarespace.com/static/64f70...

Full report available here with much more detail on the analysis and recommendations. Delighted that the foreword was jointly written by @chriscurtis94.bsky.social and @jowhitemp.bsky.social www.labourtogether.uk/all-reports/... @labourtogether.bsky.social

We can kid ourselves that this economic divergence is complicated and difficult to sort out. Or we can look at the evidence on how much slower and unreliable travel is in places like Leeds and do something about it. For more on this see @jpspencer.bsky.social @labourtogether.bsky.social new report.

🔉 Today we published our latest report - Nation Rebalanced - by Labour Together's Director of Devolution Policy @jpspencer.bsky.social Nation Rebalanced sets out a bold vision for rebalancing the UK economy and creating prosperity in every part of the country. www.labourtogether.uk/all-reports/...

📣 New report 📣 In a volatile world, we need an economy that is firing on all cylinders - but regional imbalances are driving overheating and stagnation in different places. www.labourtogether.uk/all-reports/...

New research by Labour Together reveals the nature of inequalities in public investment. What we call 'growth spending' is 41 per cent lower in the East Midlands per capita than it is in London. Here's a regional breakdown:

In May, we’ll complete the map of mayors in Yorkshire when Hull and East Yorkshire go to the polls. This will mean more decisions being taken over areas like transport and housing by mayors who know their areas. Great news for growth and for Yorkshire. www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/opinion...