OK, some more considered thoughts on the Industrial Strategy published on Monday and my comment on it.

The first, inescapable point to make about this thing is that it is *huge*. Not "Bidenomics" huge, which translated to £ would have meant £100bns. But in detail 1/

www.gov.uk/government/p...

Looks like an amazing impact for a programme that is justly able to claim it, based on a study evaluated with before/after data from a treatment and and control group. More of this please!

Made a goth cake. Now to give my annual "this time [14] years ago I was [xxx]" running commentary in the run up to her birthday tomorrow....

Time for my traditional rant that the one day in the year dedicated to mum's having a lovely sit down and being spoiled is an hour shorter than all the other days because the clocks go forward. #IBlameThePatriarchy

Early Morning Love Poem Duvet, you are so groovet, I’d like to stay under you all of Tuesdet. Brian Bilston

Early morning love poem.

Does anyone have any advice for Alex? No judgement please.

Happy Holidays from economists!

www.jstor.org/stable/2117564

Seems reasonable.

Genuinely one of my favourite Christmas things. Happy.

I mean I could probably still find this at the other place, but I increasingly couldn't be bothered to scroll through all the clickbait, promoted content and general dross to find it.

This is definitely taking me back to what I most liked about The Other Place. Until I landed here there was no longer anywhere I could get hot takes on both #strictly and the #devoWP alongside nice recipes and keeping in touch with old mates. And yet here I am: happy as a pig in the proverbial.

Wilson Pickett singing Hey Jude. Jeff Buckley's version of Hallelujah. Nouvelle Vague singing Too Drunk to Fuck. Leonard Nimoy doing If I Were A Carpenter (honestly).

My spirit animal Jim Royle

Me, at home, offering my critique of the dancing on #Strictly

a man in a black tank top is dancing on a pink stage ALT: a man in a black tank top is dancing on a pink stage

Welp, I’m pregnant now. #Strictly

Quite.

Can't make tomorrow but if you run any more next year I'll be there!

@whatworksgrowth.bsky.social is running our final 'thinking through' event next Wednesday 11th December 09.15-10.00 on Local Green Growth. Sign up details here: whatworksgrowth.org/events/think...

Fascinating!

Oh my goodness that's a blast from the past! Love it! All my photos from that era are in one of my parents' lofts (I think!)

Weirdly I can now see why people say my daughter looks just like me ...she's a year or two younger now than I was there

Increasing the likelihood that policies can be evaluated - What Works Growth Most local growth policies – in the UK and elsewhere – are not evaluated. This makes learning ‘what works’ difficult and means public resources may not be spent in the most cost-effective way. Whilst ...

Our latest @whatworksgrowth.bsky.social blog post looks at how to design local economic policies to increase the chances that the policy can be evaluated (as well as what to do when that's not feasible or proportionate) whatworksgrowth.org/insights/inc...

You look literally the same as you did at 16!

On aggregate, maybe, but my gut feeling is not in place. Making local people feel they have a stake in growth and benefit from it is an important factor in Getting Stuff Done. But I want to think more about this. Also high risk of locking in the wrong skills if you get it wrong....

Lynne Miles on LinkedIn: Some musings on education, local growth and pace of change If local kids don't change their educational choices in response to an influx of new jobs, then growth won't be as inclusive as we want it to be. A short…

If local kids don't change their educational choices in response to an influx of new jobs (and it seems they currently don't) then growth won't be as inclusive as we want it to be.

Some musings for economic policy, based on @tiernane.bsky.social research paper. (H/t @henryoverman.bsky.social)

Fantastic job klaxon! 🚨

bsky.app/profile/manw... hurray

Reading and reflecting on implications for Cambridge. I think in the past I've been guilty of underrating the contribution of day visitors (in general, not for Cambridge specifically) so this has given me food for thought. A really helpful report. As ever - an issue which requires nuanced thinking.

Post you from a different era :
Me and my little sister (now 42) c.1985. Back when you got your family portraits with a choice of brown background or library background.

Blue skies ... Throwback to epic holiday last Feb.

Transport Secretary promises ‘vision-led approach’ for project funding Louise Haigh said the switch could have ‘a lasting impact on transport for decades to come’.

“… move to a vision-led approach to planning infrastructure, where we work together to consider the type of places we want to live and work, the different ways people want to travel, the deprived communities we want to support the most, and design transport systems that enable those outcomes”