Tim Leunig | Lightnews

[email protected] @francescrook.bsky.social · 2d

Very sorry to hear that Sir James Munby has died. He presided over the Howard League’s successful judicial review against the government on child protection in custody, one of the most important child protection judgments ever made

The Observer @theobserveruk.bsky.social · 3d

Prices will not go back to where they were a few years ago. A new normal will be established writes
@timleunig.bsky.social.
https://bit.ly/3NyilFI

Starmer says more of us will feel richer this year. Most ...

Prices may fall this year but without growth it won't be enough to win the prime minister any new friends

bit.ly

Tim Leunig @timleunig.bsky.social · 3d

The government's emphasis on inflation is understandable given the polling, but while falling inflation is welcome, growth matters most - me in @theobserveruk.bsky.social - observer.co.uk/news/nationa... \

Starmer says more of us will feel richer this year. Most ...

Prices may fall this year but without growth it won’t be enough to win the prime minister any new friends

observer.co.uk

Tim Leunig @timleunig.bsky.social · 5d

Others can get half of them for free, but you need to pay to read them all. Last year I made £6426.06 - all of which I donated to @againstmalaria.bsky.social laria. So if you subscribe, you help to save lives.

Tim Leunig @timleunig.bsky.social · 5d

Are you a civil servant in search of new policy ideas? Here are 116 ideas for you. Sign up to a free sub and I will give you a complementary upgrade so that you can read them all. timleunig.substack.com/p/my-policy-...

My policy ideas so far

An index of my post from 2023, 2024 and 2025

timleunig.substack.com

Tim Leunig @timleunig.bsky.social · 6d

paging @markpackuk.bsky.social

Emma Jacobs @emmavj.bsky.social · 6d

Feel sad for the idea you can use it for news. It’s hopeless for that now.

Jim Waterson @jim.londoncentric.media · 6d

If there is an argument then this is the argument. But lol I can’t find where this obviously false stat is coming from. And if the government does believe more than half the families in the UK are using it as their primary news source then woah maybe time to up the scrutiny of it!

Tim Leunig @timleunig.bsky.social · 6d

@torstenbell.bsky.social is spot on - and I wrote a column in the @theobserveruk.bsky.social on what his government could do about it! observer.co.uk/news/busines...

Emma Jacobs @emmavj.bsky.social · 6d

Feel sad for the idea you can use it for news. It’s hopeless for that now.

Jim Waterson @jim.londoncentric.media · 6d

If there is an argument then this is the argument. But lol I can’t find where this obviously false stat is coming from. And if the government does believe more than half the families in the UK are using it as their primary news source then woah maybe time to up the scrutiny of it!

Tim Leunig @timleunig.bsky.social · 6d

Really? By their deeds shall you know them...

John Andrews @jkaconductor.bsky.social · 6d

The problem with making political decisions on this basis is that it’s a little tricky for the rest of us to check his workings….

John Andrews @jkaconductor.bsky.social · 6d

The problem with making political decisions on this basis is that it’s a little tricky for the rest of us to check his workings….

Iain Mansfield @igmansfield.bsky.social · 6d

I wish the UK were rich enough to be able to afford to pay for people to study for degrees as a retirement hobby, but we are not...Government should therefore have an age restriction on student loans for university fees.

Sensible from @timleunig.bsky.social.

timleunig.substack.com/p/student-fe...

Student fees and loans

Some government spending should not happen

timleunig.substack.com

Edward Luce @edwardluce.bsky.social · 8d

"Trump’s new world order is now very much a reality. It has no obvious rules, no real allies, celebrates the jungle and is almost always about money. There is a lot of wealth under Venezuela’s soil. Trump is now committed to extracting it." My column. Free to read. as.ft.com/r/08b22b7a-4...

Trump now owns Venezuela

[FREE TO READ] The US president has a growing appetite for military adventure

as.ft.com

Tim Leunig @timleunig.bsky.social · 11d

The company is still liable, however, if you do something wrong, so I don't think this can be it. @missmc.bsky.social @rmappleby.uk

Richard Appleby @rmappleby.uk · 12d

From working in a big corporation, we had so much “mandatory training” they built a system to track it all.

IMHO, at least 90% was only there to ensure we were liable, and our execs arses were legally covered, in the event of anything bad happening. Which is nice, right?

Richard Appleby @rmappleby.uk · 12d

From working in a big corporation, we had so much “mandatory training” they built a system to track it all.

IMHO, at least 90% was only there to ensure we were liable, and our execs arses were legally covered, in the event of anything bad happening. Which is nice, right?

Tim Leunig @timleunig.bsky.social · 12d

When I was in DHSC I thought we could change the law to reduce or eliminate a lot of this tick box training. Found out there is no law requiring it. No DHSC policy either. Or NHS-England policy. It has just become commonplace - people think it is required, so they arrange it, but it isn't.

Laura McInerney @missmc.bsky.social · 12d

A year or so ago a Question Time audience member suggested the NHS could save millions by having doctors & nurses do quizzes at start of annual mandatory training courses - and only make you do it if you fail.

I think it could go for most jobs tbh.

Laura McInerney @missmc.bsky.social · 12d

A year or so ago a Question Time audience member suggested the NHS could save millions by having doctors & nurses do quizzes at start of annual mandatory training courses - and only make you do it if you fail.

I think it could go for most jobs tbh.

Joni Askola @joniaskola.bsky.social · 16d

On the 34th anniversary of the collapse of the Soviet Union, I am deeply thankful to the generations of Finns before me who fought courageously to ensure that Finland was never part of the inhumane, deadly experiment that was the Soviet Union

Tim Leunig @timleunig.bsky.social · 19d

Still great value: no one in the private sector is offering it more cheaply. Well done DfE!

Schools Week @schoolsweek.bsky.social · 19d

The Department for Education has confirmed costs for its school insurance programme will rise again by 7.4 per cent this year, with the scheme now costing 60 per cent more than in 2020
schoolsweek.co.uk/cost-of-dfes...

Cost of DfE's school insurance scheme to rise 7.4%

Risk protection arrangement costs have risen by 61 per cent since 2020

schoolsweek.co.uk

Tim Leunig @timleunig.bsky.social · 19d

And presumably the U turn cost money, so forcing the government to take other tough decisions in future...

Tom Clark @tom-clark.bsky.social · 19d

Half reform inheritance tax so farmers treated a bit more like others

Run into a backlash

Wait

Wait

Wait till it’s dropped off radar

Then decide that a quarter-reform might be better

Will this win any votes?

Hard to imagine

What it will do is make it harder to make other policies stick

Paul Lewis @paullewismoney.bsky.social · 19d

Major new concession on farm inheritance tax bit.ly/3Y9rdDX on top of normal reliefs farmers can leave £2.5m tax free - up from £1m - and heirs pay half normal tax on rest. Left to a spouse all is taxfree and then spouse’s heirs gets double - could total £6 million free of Inheritance Tax.

Schools Week @schoolsweek.bsky.social · 19d

The Department for Education has confirmed costs for its school insurance programme will rise again by 7.4 per cent this year, with the scheme now costing 60 per cent more than in 2020
schoolsweek.co.uk/cost-of-dfes...

Cost of DfE's school insurance scheme to rise 7.4%

Risk protection arrangement costs have risen by 61 per cent since 2020

schoolsweek.co.uk

Tom Clark @tom-clark.bsky.social · 19d

Half reform inheritance tax so farmers treated a bit more like others

Run into a backlash

Wait

Wait

Wait till it’s dropped off radar

Then decide that a quarter-reform might be better

Will this win any votes?

Hard to imagine

What it will do is make it harder to make other policies stick

Paul Lewis @paullewismoney.bsky.social · 19d

Major new concession on farm inheritance tax bit.ly/3Y9rdDX on top of normal reliefs farmers can leave £2.5m tax free - up from £1m - and heirs pay half normal tax on rest. Left to a spouse all is taxfree and then spouse’s heirs gets double - could total £6 million free of Inheritance Tax.

Inheritance tax reliefs threshold to rise to £2.5m for farmers and businesses

£1m Agricultural and Business Property Reliefs threshold increased to £2.5m from April 2026 – allowing spouses or civil partners to pass on up to £5m in qualifying agricultural or business assets betw...

bit.ly

Tim Leunig @timleunig.bsky.social · 19d

Worth reporting, @schoolsweek.bsky.social !

Tenison Blue @tenisonblue.bsky.social · 19d

If I have my sums right, it will be a total increase of 16% since it was introduced in 2014, which is a very small tad over 1% a year.

I can get that the some of the large ups-and-downs will make it difficult to manage, but we’d all love costs that went up that slowly.

Tenison Blue @tenisonblue.bsky.social · 19d

If I have my sums right, it will be a total increase of 16% since it was introduced in 2014, which is a very small tad over 1% a year.

I can get that the some of the large ups-and-downs will make it difficult to manage, but we’d all love costs that went up that slowly.

Tim Leunig @timleunig.bsky.social · 19d

It basically doesn't matter so long as enough gets built!

Anthony Painter @anthonypainter.bsky.social · 19d

Which model of housing will increase affordability? Madrid (market-led, "abundance") or Barcelona (state-regulated, scarcity).

You need both of course. In the case of the UK, I would be inclined to bet on a strategic state managing/sitting alongside the market.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Barcelona and Madrid have very different ideas on tackling Spain’s housing crisis. Which will succeed? | Jaime Palomera

While the country’s capital is loosening regulations, the Catalan city is strengthening social housing. Their outcomes will affect all our futures, says author and researcher Jaime Palomera

www.theguardian.com

Tim Leunig @timleunig.bsky.social · 19d

If any entrepreneur thinks they can offer schools insurance more cheaply they can do so. Otherwise the government scheme remains what it always has been, outstanding value for money.

Schools Week @schoolsweek.bsky.social · 19d

The Department for Education has confirmed costs for its school insurance programme will rise again by 7.4 per cent this year, with the scheme now costing 60 per cent more than in 2020
schoolsweek.co.uk/cost-of-dfes...

Cost of DfE's school insurance scheme to rise 7.4%

Risk protection arrangement costs have risen by 61 per cent since 2020

schoolsweek.co.uk

Tim Leunig @timleunig.bsky.social · 19d

Glad you like the paper, but cross sectional UK evidence suggests next to no effect of house prices on family size.

Ross Mudie @rmudie96.bsky.social · 19d

Maybe one for @timleunig.bsky.social team for 2026….

Schools Week @schoolsweek.bsky.social · 19d

The Department for Education has confirmed costs for its school insurance programme will rise again by 7.4 per cent this year, with the scheme now costing 60 per cent more than in 2020
schoolsweek.co.uk/cost-of-dfes...

Cost of DfE's school insurance scheme to rise 7.4%

Risk protection arrangement costs have risen by 61 per cent since 2020

schoolsweek.co.uk

Anthony Painter @anthonypainter.bsky.social · 19d

Which model of housing will increase affordability? Madrid (market-led, "abundance") or Barcelona (state-regulated, scarcity).

You need both of course. In the case of the UK, I would be inclined to bet on a strategic state managing/sitting alongside the market.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Barcelona and Madrid have very different ideas on tackling Spain’s housing crisis. Which will succeed? | Jaime Palomera

While the country’s capital is loosening regulations, the Catalan city is strengthening social housing. Their outcomes will affect all our futures, says author and researcher Jaime Palomera

www.theguardian.com