Much more than just megawatts ⚡️
Projects like this community-owned wind turbine in Kilbirnie give back to local people.
At a time when clean, homegrown power is more important than ever.
#communityenergy #cleanenergy #windpower
@bettersocietycapital.com @communityenergyengland.org
Only 30% of UK households have off-street parking. Without affordable street charging, the EV transition risks becoming a privilege divide. Imagine community-owned charging points offering discounted rates — turning lampposts into local energy assets. #EVcharging #JustTransition #EnergyEquity
7/ These numbers are rough. Even with conservative assumptions and honest caveats about winter, the opportunity is still HUGE.
As the right have used “shocks” to their policy advantage, let’s seize this moment for ambitious energy policies in light of the oil/gas price shocks of the 2020s.
(4/4)
5/ So what does solar displace? Mostly gas burned in spring/summer/autumn- when we still burn loads. Realistically ~25-30 TWh of gas generation, not the full 48. Still 1/4 of gas power.
6/ Cost: ~£7k/home × 14m = ~£100bn. UK spends £40bn+/yr on energy imports. It’s an investment, not a cost.
(3/4)
3/ UK sunshine gives ~850kWh per kW per year. 56GW × 850 = ~48 TWh/year. UK electricity demand: ~300 TWh. That’s 16% of all our electricity. From roofs.
4/ NOW the big caveat. Gas does the heavy lifting in winter. Dec/Jan solar output drops to ~10% of its summer peak. Be honest about that.
(2/4)
1/ 🧮 UK rooftop solar: a fag packet calculation. How much electricity would we get if we stuck panels on every suitable roof in Britain? Let’s do the maths. 🧵
2/ 28 million homes. Half have suitable roofs? Be conservative: 14 million. Average system: 4kW. That’s 56GW of rooftop capacity.
(1/4)
And now let's insulate and upgrade all the buildings we're already living in...
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czjw7klkjm2o
Every £1 invested in urban green space returns an estimated £27 in social, economic and environmental value. Cooler streets, cleaner air, better mental health, stronger communities. The case for a national urban greening strategy has never been clearer. #GreenInfrastructure #PolicyMatters
For every £1 spent on London’s public parks, an estimated £27 returns in health, wellbeing and environmental benefits (GLA, 2017). Across England it’s £1:£7.
A national urban greening strategy should be a policy no-brainer. #GreenInfrastructure #ProgressivePolicy #Nature
Heat pump subsidies that only work for homeowners who can front thousands upfront aren't progressive — they're regressive by design. Grants should cover 100% for low-income households. Decarbonising heat shouldn't be a privilege of wealth. #HeatPumps #FuelPoverty #JustTransition
France installed 600,000+ heat pumps in a single year. The UK managed around 55,000. Same technology, same climate goals — wildly different ambition.
Bigger subsidies, mandated training, lower costs. The policy levers exist. We're just not pulling them hard enough.
#HeatPumps #NetZero
A visual everyone should care about.
Wealth taxes are practically challenging.
But difficulty isn’t an excuse for inaction.
#WealthTax #Inequality #EconomicPolicy
A more balanced system could include:
• Regional development banks
• Local mutual banks
• Community banking licences
• Pension-fund backed lending institutions
Banks should serve the British economy, businesses and high streets — not just shareholders.
Other countries use local and co-operative banks to support small businesses, regional growth and community investment.
Germany’s Sparkassen are a good example.
Britain dismantled most of its local banking ecosystem decades ago.
Maybe it’s time to rebuild it.
(2015)
The UK banking system is one of the most privately concentrated in the developed world.
Germany, France, the Netherlands and Spain all have large networks of co-operative and public banks.
In Britain? Almost everything is shareholder owned.
We shouldn’t be surprised that local lending is weak.
This isn’t a subsidy for failing businesses.
It’s recognising that some places create public value:
• reducing loneliness
• supporting grassroots sport
• nurturing culture
• strengthening local economies
Let us know if anyone has any more advanced thinking in this space!
A new designation: Community Asset Status
Venues that provide clear community benefit could qualify for:
• Reduced employer National Insurance
• Business rates relief
• Planning protections against conversion
• Access to community investment funds
Community spaces create huge social value but survive on thin margins.
A pub that acts as the community meeting place
A music venue launching new artists
A community sports hall keeping kids active
They’re priced like ordinary businesses — but they aren’t ordinary businesses.
Britain has thousands of buildings that used to anchor communities: pubs, sports clubs, music venues, youth centres, local theatres.
Many are closing because the economics no longer work.
What if we treated them as Community Assets — and taxed them differently? 🧵
#thread #ukpolitics #socialpolicy
A thread on a pattern I’ve noticed while applying for jobs in London— roles shifting to EU cities, and what that might mean for UK economic strategy and regulatory alignment 👇
The race to build the green economy is already underway.
The question for the UK is whether it wants to compete for the jobs and industries that will define the next 30 years.
Follow Policy Progress for more threads on political economy and industrial strategy.
#PolicyProgress
If global firms know UK rules will remain compatible with the EU’s green regulatory system, London becomes attractive again as a hub.
Without that alignment, the gravitational pull of the EU market will keep growing.
One option is strategic regulatory alignment.
Not necessarily rejoining the EU — but aligning with key frameworks around climate policy, green finance and sustainability standards.
The UK still has huge strengths: finance, research, talent, and global links.
But there’s a real policy question:
How can the UK attract investment in the industries that will shape the global economy over the next 30 years?
This is especially visible in sectors tied to the green transition:
• clean energy
• climate finance
• sustainable industry
• carbon markets
These industries are expected to expand rapidly through to 2050.
There’s also the economics.
Higher London salaries + immigration friction + regulatory divergence = less incentive to build teams in the UK.
Meanwhile Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Brussels sit inside the market companies want to serve.
If you're building a European sustainability or policy team today, the logic is different.
Why base staff outside the EU’s regulatory system when so much climate, energy and green finance policy is shaped in Brussels?
For years London made sense as a base for US or global companies entering Europe.
You had finance, talent, English language, and access to a 500-million-person EU market.
Brexit quietly changed that calculation.
Over the past few months applying for energy transition jobs I’ve noticed a clear shift.
Roles that might once have been based in London are increasingly advertised in Frankfurt, Brussels, or Amsterdam instead.
It says a lot about where companies see the future of Europe’s economy. 🧵
#UKPolitics
For years London made sense as a base for US or global companies entering Europe.
You had finance, talent, English language, and access to a 500-million-person EU market.
Brexit quietly changed that calculation.
