Prof Mike Yearworth

Is the tide turning? New post on my Brexit & Brexitism Blog. Renewed talk of a customs union may well come to nothing, but rapidly changing geo-politics mean the UK needs urgently to face up to the failure of the entire Brexit ‘strategy’: chrisgreybrexitblog.blogspot.com/2025/12/is-t...

The front cover of the British Academy's report: A place-sensitive approach for environmental sustainability

Today, the Academy publishes a report setting out findings from our Where We Live Next programme on place-led approaches to environmental sustainability. www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/publications...

Europe must be ready when the AI bubble bursts A market correction will give the EU the chance to offer a trust-based alternative to American tech

“One take away of the new US national security strategy is the extent to which Washington fears a strong EU, as a single market, a democratic bloc and, crucially, as a tech regulator.”

www.ft.com/content/0308...

Construction building materials: commentary September 2025

England struggles to build 1.5m new homes because of deindustrialization.

316m bricks imported last year, world's largest importer.

Govt stats show UK production of almost all building products down.

High energy prices, lack of investment & industrial strategy.

The Home Office also recognise that this may have an impact on user of care services who are likely to be older people and those with disabilities. The Home Office believes that despite these points the changes are justified for a number of policy reasons including reducing net migration and ending reliance on overseas recruitment.

Home Office Ministers state publicly, on the record, that they are deliberately making life worse for older people and people with disabilities who depend on care services, but it's worth it because it reduces net migration.

Hydrogen dreams meet reality as oil and gas groups abandon projects BP and Exxon are some of the big companies that have halted plans for low carbon plants in recent months

The hydrogen bubble has burst.

Nearly 60 major low-carbon H₂ projects have been cancelled or paused — far more capacity than the world has actually built. The reason? Fundamentals still don’t add up:

• Demand isn’t there
• Costs remain high
• Infrastructure is missing

www.ft.com/content/b098...

All travelers from ESTA countries (yes the ones on visa waiver programs) will have to disclose 5 years of social media + huge amounts of personal data to enter the US now. All US academic associations should now meet outside the US if we want to meet our international colleagues.

Tighter visa rules will cost UK up to £10.8bn Home Office assessment shows impact of latest changes to immigration regime over next five years

"If growth was actually your priority, you would not be doing this."

(Me, stating the obvious)

www.ft.com/content/2b60...

Thousands of flood defences below standard as Storm Bram hits A BBC study lays bare the scale of flood defences in England that are in need of maintenance.

“The 6,498 "high consequence" defences were among about 8,500 that were not fully working as intended due to erosion, damage or being overgrown. … as of 20 October, almost 9% of the 98,000 defences inspected by the Environment Agency were below condition.”

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

“The Matthew Effect applied to kebab shops”

“Digging for Gold in Import-Export Data” with Bellingcat's Katherine de Tolly | Podcast Episode on RSS.com In the final Stage Talk of the year, we learnt the mechanics of investigating trade data thanks to this week's guest, Bellingcat research consultant and self-confessed data nerd Katherine de Tolly. Us...

How do investigators turn raw trade data into real stories?
Bellingcat’s Katherine de Tolly uncovers hidden supply chains, red flags in import-export records, and key pitfalls in trade-data investigations.
Search 'Stage Talks with Bellingcat' on podcast platforms: rss.com/podcasts/bel...

Massachusetts court hears arguments in lawsuit alleging Meta designed apps to be addictive to kids Massachusetts' highest court heard oral arguments Friday in the state's lawsuit arguing that Meta designed features on Facebook and Instagram to make them addictive to young users.

Massachusetts’ highest court heard oral arguments Friday in the state’s lawsuit arguing that Meta designed features on Facebook and Instagram to make them addictive to young users. https://to.pbs.org/3KhYQ3i

AI and recruitment: Are we in a 'race to the bottom'? AI helps jobseekers to apply for hundreds of roles, meanwhile employers use AI to filter them.

“…the proliferation of AI on both sides of the recruitment process is causing "a race to the bottom". … "This just creates a really dire state where the only way that recruiters and companies can possibly sift through these is by using AI to filter them””

www.bbc.com/news/article...

“Defenders of FPTP argue that the ends justify the means … In an age of fragmentation, FPTP compounds the volatility of the electorate, making election results even more capricious.”

Our new model captures the lottery of Britain’s electoral system Similar results, our data analysis shows, can yield strikingly different outcomes

“The unfairness of FPTP could undermine the legitimacy of the governments it produces. In 2024 Labour won 63% of the seats in Parliament with 34% of the vote … Robert Ford … calls FPTP “a destabilisation mechanism. It is a volatility amplifier.””

www.economist.com/interactive/...

There is another issue here - "cutting-edge" sciences need properly functioning library services too. I think it is actually operational delivery of valuable services, everywhere, that is considered dull and old - the day-to-day delivery of services that constitute vital infrastructure.

“Defenders of FPTP argue that the ends justify the means … In an age of fragmentation, FPTP compounds the volatility of the electorate, making election results even more capricious.”

Our new model captures the lottery of Britain’s electoral system Similar results, our data analysis shows, can yield strikingly different outcomes

“The unfairness of FPTP could undermine the legitimacy of the governments it produces. In 2024 Labour won 63% of the seats in Parliament with 34% of the vote … Robert Ford … calls FPTP “a destabilisation mechanism. It is a volatility amplifier.””

www.economist.com/interactive/...

There is another issue here - "cutting-edge" sciences need properly functioning library services too. I think it is actually operational delivery of valuable services, everywhere, that is considered dull and old - the day-to-day delivery of services that constitute vital infrastructure.

“Prolonged exposure in shared, poorly ventilated spaces, which potentially includes several infectious sources, drives respiratory virus transmission more than close contact”

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Rights groups warn against UK plans to weaken torture protections in ECHR Exclusive: Ministers face pushback over potential changes to asylum seekers’ rights before Council of Europe meeting

Should go without saying, but if protections against torture are preventing your policies being implemented then it isn't the protections which are the issue.

There's no difference, for those affected, here from leaving the ECHR if rights are removed anyway.

www.theguardian.com/law/2025/dec...

Two weeks ago I said that there were likely millions of uninstalled Blackwell GPUs sitting in warehouses as there is neither the data center capacity nor the power to turn them on. Michael Burry is looking into it and it looks like he’s got evidence I’m right.

www.wheresyoured.at/the-haters-g...

Royal Navy unveils new Atlantic strategy to counter Russian threat Experimental underwater drones form part of a new plan to protect the UK's undersea cables and pipelines.

“Prof Peter Roberts, an expert on contemporary conflict at the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi), says the Royal Navy's new strategy looks fine on paper but "feels like putting lipstick on a pig".”

www.bbc.com/news/article...

Excellent

This really is a must read for anyone in academia.

I wonder what Thatcher would have made of the idea of “society-as-a-service” for a fixed monthly fee?

Tech elites are starting their own for-profit cities They want to escape from regulation and ‘failing’ democracy — but are they more opportunistic than libertarian?

“Srinivasan himself has started a “Network School” on an artificial island near Singapore, where techno-optimists can work their day jobs remotely …Membership and accommodation, which he dubs “society-as-a-service”, starts at $1,500 a month.”

www.ft.com/content/b127...

Chernobyl leak fears as nuclear radiation shield broken by Russian strikes A drone strike hit the protective outer shell of Ukraine's Chernobyl nuclear plant in February - and while Ukraine blamed Russia, the Kremlin denied it was responsible

Protective shield at the Chornobyl nuclear plant has been damaged by a Russian strike and can no longer block radiation, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has announced.
www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-n...

How solar storms that cause the Northern Lights have the power to wreak havoc on Earth The aurora borealis can bring stunning night skies, but hidden dangers can accompany the Northern Lights to disrupt life on earth as Chris Fawkes explains.

“Much of the planning for a severe space weather is based on the Carrington Event of 1859, the most intense geomagnetic storm in recorded history.”

www.bbc.co.uk/weather/arti...

“Expectations of an actual default remain low for most of these companies. CDS markets are pricing in just a 5% probability of Meta being unable to pay its debts over the next five years, and only 4% for Nvidia…rises to 10% for Triple B rated Oracle and a more worrying 48% for junk-rated CoreWeave”