Postcard from Manchester: a Landmark Trust retreat at the heart of railway history A house that was at the centre of the 19th-century rail revolution can now be yours for the weekend

This is so lovely from @jenwilliamsft.bsky.social it’s worth breaking my social media silence for. Wonderful writing on a favourite topic!

on.ft.com/3JJXC0e Postcard from Manchester: a Landmark Trust retreat at the heart of railway history

What about the long term? Rachel Reeves' speech this week was billed as the economic reset moment. It did its job up to a point. She started with a courtly bow to President Trump. This set...

My latest for MJ on Rachel Reeve’s reset of last week and the regional challenges ahead is here and not paywalled:

www.themj.co.uk/about-long-t...

Worth reading @jenwilliamsft.bsky.social piece in the FT too. It is here: Does Labour have a plan for regional growth? on.ft.com/3Q4mrDL

Does Labour have a plan for regional growth? [FREE TO READ] Rachel Reeves’ proposals have drawn criticism for their focus on the south-east and the scarcity of northern projects

Wrote about whether Labour has a plan for regional growth, after a speech last week in which the most eye catching headlines were all in the south east

on.ft.com/3EnEmCR

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announces Canada's response to U.S. tariffs – February 1, 2025 YouTube video by cpac

Trudeau showing a better grasp of the economics of tariffs than many British commentators. This really isn’t difficult. Of course my YouTube clip was accompanied by an ad fir crypto currency www.youtube.com/live/PnvyrKv...

I think that qualifies as a normative statement. It is a similar point to that made the FT yesterday by Janan Ganesh. He is clearer though. The observed reality of low uk growth isn’t an inevitability but a product of policy choice. We need to choose differently.

Elon Musk thinks there is a hidden grooming scandal in Oldham. Why can’t the police find it? This week’s controversy can be traced back to a vicious online campaign that has terrified politicians – but struggled to substantiate its claims

The latest v good piece by @joshiherrmann.bsky.social of @manchestermill.bsky.social on grooming in Oldham: on the difficulties (successes & failings) of those in office and the impact of baiting of them by media-hungry populists who deliberately spread fear.

open.substack.com/pub/themill/...

I've also been thinking about this.

Life is hard for many people, but we are nowhere near the conditions of the 1930s or even the '70s.

For all their faults, democratic states provide services today beyond the imagination of most generations.

So we need a deeper analysis of democratic discontent.

A fitting first post. I came off X this morning with a post about Musk and the AfD. His bots liked it…