Georgina Quach

Why do people *not* respond to the Labour Force Survey? For a while the biggest problem was thought to be failure to make contact with the sampled households.

New data suggests by far the bigger problem - arguably more worrying - is people knowing they've been invited but refusing to take part.

Sharing a page from our graphic novel, YOU MUST TAKE PART IN REVOLUTION. Feeling nostalgic about neon Hong Kong at night. Have a good weekend.

Great piece by @georginaq.bsky.social on the cottage industry that's grown up around UK universities, which are paying agents to recruit international students for them www.ft.com/content/3f49...

In the FT today I dug into the unregulated third-party networks cashing in on Britain's multibillion pound international education industry and helping prop up the sector. www.ft.com/content/3f49...

Failures that haunt UK’s asylum system Poor decision-making has exacerbated existing backlogs in appeals courts

Why is the backlog of UK asylum cases so large? Great deep dive here from @georginaq.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/819c... via financialtimes.com

thanks so much Hetan!

@financialtimes.com @georginaq.bsky.social has a fascinating bit of info in the newsletter: Though "brain rot” was only recently officially added to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term is actually 171 years old. 1/2

Q&A: How has Labour fared after one year in power? Today at 1pm BST, FT experts will answer your questions

cool new experiment by Inside Politics and friends! A web Q&A on where Labour goes from here with whipsmart columnists @stephenkb.bsky.social @greenmirandahere.bsky.social @robertshrimsley.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/692c...

Means a lot from you Giles, thanks!

Denser, smarter cities will boost UK productivity Britain has skilled workers to compete with peers but not the urban infrastructure to capitalise on agglomeration benefits

phenomenally good article on UK productivity, city and the role of services and densification from @georginaq.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/5767...

Bookmark-worthy!

Uses good work from @centreforcities.bsky.social

Are stablecoins money? And are parallels to the era of Free Banking any good?

🚨 My first nature of money post in FTAV cc @lorcanrk.bsky.social on.ft.com/44l12Nk

With lots of students now doing online lectures and working part-time jobs during term time....I stress-tested the idea that UK tuition fees are falling in value relative to the other costs (rent, food, textbooks) & explored quality issues as the real fee erodes on.ft.com/3ZEW4td

Settlement and citizenship in Labour's white paper The proposals will make it harder, not easier, for migrants to integrate, with negative consequences for productivity, growth and the public purse

Finally managed to write something new for my Substack. It’s on the government’s immigration white paper and its likely unintended consequences. open.substack.com/pub/wewanted...

will be speaking at this tonight in London, all about remembering as a means of resistance

Students lured to UK universities by ‘fake promises’ from recruitment agents Cash-strapped institutions turn to unregulated firms to reel in lucrative overseas income

Really good, really important reporting by @georginaq.bsky.social:

thank you Hetan!

What Milton Keynes got right was having a masterplan that sought to integrate homes, community spaces, parks, roads and schools from the start (though there were teething pains in the delivery of these facilities, as in other new towns). The MKDC's board minutes in June 1967 called for "a broad concept — social and physical" to underpin land-use planning. The much-derided grid system helps separate main traffic flow from the pedestrian and cycle networks running through the city.

Enjoyed this from @georginaq.bsky.social on what plans for new towns might learn from Milton Keynes
www.ft.com/content/e640...

Change? If only. Labour’s housing plans are built on flimsy foundations, fantasies and fudge The manifesto promises minor common-sense reforms to the planning system. But the headline proposal for new towns won’t amount to much. Where is the bold modernism of the postwar Labour government?

interesting point about artificial-ness - was reading an architect earlier who spotted that some images used in the New Towns code produced for Labour were generated using Midjourney (eg this one)I can see why but raises qs about whether we should be using more than styles/aesthetics to prompt convo

In defence of Milton Keynes It is not perfect, but city’s infrastructure-led development and long-term planning may hold key to Labour’s new towns agenda

This was really interesting- my main reservation with Milton Keynes is that some parts of it are just impossible to walk between (despite pedestrian and cycle ways) so think a modern version would need a good tram system. Brilliantly written and lots of information though www.ft.com/content/e640...

thanks so much!

Thank you Jonny!

Thank you so much Aveek! very kind of you

thanks Stephen ! i am neither a motorist nor cyclist but now i feel like i understand where they're coming from !

AI can help fix potholes, but we need to get basics right first [FREE TO READ] Successful innovation abounds but a centralised approach to roll out tech across local government is required

Terrific newsletter this morning by @georginaq.bsky.social on 'using AI to fix potholes'. I learnt a lot, both about the specific policy and also about potholes - and it is genuinely a really fascinating read: (first 300 clicks free, then you have to register or subscribe)

thank you! and exactly, the AI is pretty straightforward (and has been around for a long time) - the bit we haven't got is diffusion and having good data

nice piece on AI/potholes from @georginaq.bsky.social with 1 positive for the AI case and 2 negatives... www.ft.com/content/7e9d...

+ve: it can help reducing search costs!
-ve: it only reveals other constraints (labour, etc )
-ve: we already knew how to do this! the challenge is diffusion
1/2

It's kind of impressive BBC can run an "In-depth" piece about an increase in Vietnamese people crossing the channel and not mention they are one of the main at risk groups of human trafficking in UK, or get the difference between smuggling and trafficking right #r4today
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

very kind, thanks Jim!

‘Fake news’ is not the only problem with political debate on TikTok Decontextualised opinions on short-form video apps lose the facts and nuance needed to make educated decisions

excellent column this morning from @georginaq.bsky.social on how young people are getting their political news from TikTok, and how it's boosting Nigel Farage:

www.ft.com/content/0d77...

Firing up Disney+ to begin the thirteenth complete Simpsons rewatch of my adult life because it speaks to real issues faced by real people in Barrow (proximity to nuclear power plant) and Plymouth (eccentric sea captain)