John Springford
@johnspringford.bsky.social
Economist and occasional politics dabbler. Working on a project to improve labour markets. Associate fellow, Centre for European Reform. Visiting fellow, Institute for Policy Research, Bath University.
Pinned
Getting Britain out of the hole
A plan for the UK economy
getting-out-of-the-hole.uk
New essay out today by me and @acjsissons.bsky.social - ‘Getting Britain out of the hole: a plan for the economy’. You can read the whole thing here getting-out-of-the-hole.uk
A chart mega-thread follows 🧵
A chart mega-thread follows 🧵
Just ask - we speak English
January 27, 2026 at 9:14 PM
Just ask - we speak English
Reposted by John Springford
Last week in Minnesota, I watched ordinary people risk their lives to protect their neighbors. In the process, they not only won a significant—though not final—victory against authoritarianism, they proved virtually every MAGA social theory wrong. (gift link) www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
January 27, 2026 at 1:06 PM
Last week in Minnesota, I watched ordinary people risk their lives to protect their neighbors. In the process, they not only won a significant—though not final—victory against authoritarianism, they proved virtually every MAGA social theory wrong. (gift link) www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
Hasn't got the memo on what people are thinking about it yet.
Rep. Claudia Tenney has brainworms shooting out of her head on Fox Business: "We see these tragic deaths that have occurred because the Democrats are using outside groups and a lot of money going in to gin up these people and they really don't know what they're fighting about."
January 27, 2026 at 1:03 AM
Hasn't got the memo on what people are thinking about it yet.
A powerful, moving essay by Ta-Nehisi Coates.
www.vanityfair.com/news/story/t...
www.vanityfair.com/news/story/t...
“The Homeland” Is War on America: The Blood-and-Soil Nationalism That Killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti
In the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, Trump has clarified an inconvenient fact: The culture war is an actual war.
www.vanityfair.com
January 26, 2026 at 9:06 PM
A powerful, moving essay by Ta-Nehisi Coates.
www.vanityfair.com/news/story/t...
www.vanityfair.com/news/story/t...
Reposted by John Springford
Prosper UK has launched today. It is a new centre right movement in British politics. To find out more and to sign up as a supporter, go to prosperuk.com/sign-up/
Prosper UK - Sign Up
Prosper UK is bringing people together who share our values, care about the future of the country, and want politics to work better.
prosperuk.com
January 26, 2026 at 1:49 PM
Prosper UK has launched today. It is a new centre right movement in British politics. To find out more and to sign up as a supporter, go to prosperuk.com/sign-up/
Reposted by John Springford
Worse, it is the American administration that is intervening in private enterprises and contracts for regime-consolidation and self-dealing.
Douthat should be thoroughly ignored for the debating society distraction he is.
Douthat should be thoroughly ignored for the debating society distraction he is.
A blinkered piece from Douthat, arguing that the non-US democracies might succumb to the Chinese model of 'illiberal managerialism' if they follow the Carney doctrine, as opposed to America's 'free-wheeling political conditions'. OK, mate
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/24/o...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/24/o...
Opinion | The Binary Logic of the Carney Doctrine
www.nytimes.com
January 25, 2026 at 2:28 PM
Worse, it is the American administration that is intervening in private enterprises and contracts for regime-consolidation and self-dealing.
Douthat should be thoroughly ignored for the debating society distraction he is.
Douthat should be thoroughly ignored for the debating society distraction he is.
A blinkered piece from Douthat, arguing that the non-US democracies might succumb to the Chinese model of 'illiberal managerialism' if they follow the Carney doctrine, as opposed to America's 'free-wheeling political conditions'. OK, mate
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/24/o...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/24/o...
Opinion | The Binary Logic of the Carney Doctrine
www.nytimes.com
January 25, 2026 at 2:25 PM
A blinkered piece from Douthat, arguing that the non-US democracies might succumb to the Chinese model of 'illiberal managerialism' if they follow the Carney doctrine, as opposed to America's 'free-wheeling political conditions'. OK, mate
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/24/o...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/24/o...
This is the opposite of reporting - we expect the BBC to interrogate 'narratives', not repeat them
Absolute drivel from the BBCs live feed. Despite there being abundant evidence to contradict the repulsive Noem, her words are reported uncritically, in line with the apparent belief that presenting a lie alongside the truth and calling both “narratives” has anything to do with journalism.
January 25, 2026 at 1:23 AM
This is the opposite of reporting - we expect the BBC to interrogate 'narratives', not repeat them
The problem with this @economist.com argument is that deep spending cuts are politically implausible, as @acjsissons.bsky.social set out in the last part of our essay here: getting-out-of-the-hole.uk
January 24, 2026 at 2:22 PM
The problem with this @economist.com argument is that deep spending cuts are politically implausible, as @acjsissons.bsky.social set out in the last part of our essay here: getting-out-of-the-hole.uk
Reposted by John Springford
"Sometimes it may be wise, in the national interest, to be flexible." is funny from the guy who, on principle, kept making demands on Northern Ireland that flew in the face of the already long in force Withdrawal Agreement and resigned when that didn't get anywhere
January 23, 2026 at 5:37 PM
"Sometimes it may be wise, in the national interest, to be flexible." is funny from the guy who, on principle, kept making demands on Northern Ireland that flew in the face of the already long in force Withdrawal Agreement and resigned when that didn't get anywhere
Reposted by John Springford
Astonishing judgement from @ipso.co.uk
Says that when Trevor Phillips said that "the fact that it is likely" that
a) "likely" does not mean "likely" but means "could happen"
b) "the fact that it is" was a comment not a factual statement.
Bizarre and laughable
www.ipso.co.uk/rulings/0348...
Says that when Trevor Phillips said that "the fact that it is likely" that
a) "likely" does not mean "likely" but means "could happen"
b) "the fact that it is" was a comment not a factual statement.
Bizarre and laughable
www.ipso.co.uk/rulings/0348...
03483-25 Portes v The Times - IPSO
Jonathan Portes complained to the Independent Press Standards Organisation that The Times breached Clause 1 (Accuracy) of the Editors’ Code of Practice in an article headlined “Labour’s class war plan...
www.ipso.co.uk
January 23, 2026 at 7:43 AM
Astonishing judgement from @ipso.co.uk
Says that when Trevor Phillips said that "the fact that it is likely" that
a) "likely" does not mean "likely" but means "could happen"
b) "the fact that it is" was a comment not a factual statement.
Bizarre and laughable
www.ipso.co.uk/rulings/0348...
Says that when Trevor Phillips said that "the fact that it is likely" that
a) "likely" does not mean "likely" but means "could happen"
b) "the fact that it is" was a comment not a factual statement.
Bizarre and laughable
www.ipso.co.uk/rulings/0348...
Reposted by John Springford
UK to make fresh push to join EU defence fund ft.trib.al/DCofR1f
UK to make fresh push to join EU defence fund
Talks that are due to take place next month take on fresh urgency after the transatlantic rupture in Davos
ft.trib.al
January 23, 2026 at 3:58 PM
UK to make fresh push to join EU defence fund ft.trib.al/DCofR1f
A bad piece even by his standards. No point standing up to Trump on Greenland; Europe doesn't have any power. (He backed down.) Starmer does 'computer says no' foreign policy. (He's been a Trump-whisperer, as Frost wants, till this week). archive.ph/5FgcS
January 23, 2026 at 2:25 PM
A bad piece even by his standards. No point standing up to Trump on Greenland; Europe doesn't have any power. (He backed down.) Starmer does 'computer says no' foreign policy. (He's been a Trump-whisperer, as Frost wants, till this week). archive.ph/5FgcS
Reposted by John Springford
We are delighted to welcome @james-r-green.bsky.social to the @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social, he will be working on EU technology, innovation and economic policy.
January 23, 2026 at 11:01 AM
We are delighted to welcome @james-r-green.bsky.social to the @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social, he will be working on EU technology, innovation and economic policy.
Reposted by John Springford
I have three heretical thoughts about books:
- Time spent browsing in bookshops is mostly wasted
- Books make for terrible gifts. Don't give books.
- There are vastly more interesting things to put on living-room shelves than books
Come at me! Add to the list!
A 🧵 for book-lovers
- Time spent browsing in bookshops is mostly wasted
- Books make for terrible gifts. Don't give books.
- There are vastly more interesting things to put on living-room shelves than books
Come at me! Add to the list!
A 🧵 for book-lovers
January 23, 2026 at 10:10 AM
I have three heretical thoughts about books:
- Time spent browsing in bookshops is mostly wasted
- Books make for terrible gifts. Don't give books.
- There are vastly more interesting things to put on living-room shelves than books
Come at me! Add to the list!
A 🧵 for book-lovers
- Time spent browsing in bookshops is mostly wasted
- Books make for terrible gifts. Don't give books.
- There are vastly more interesting things to put on living-room shelves than books
Come at me! Add to the list!
A 🧵 for book-lovers
Reposted by John Springford
Here's the @labourtogether.bsky.social collab, in which I argue that adversarial-judicial structures aren't "planning" in any normal sense, and we could have more output from the same people doing the same job for the same money
www.labourtogether.uk/all-reports/...
www.labourtogether.uk/all-reports/...
Build the rail! Save the snails! — Labour Together
Why does British infrastructure cost so much? This paper, by economist Dan Davies, argues that Britain’s adversarial planning system forces developers to gold-plate solutions to hypothetical problems....
www.labourtogether.uk
January 23, 2026 at 12:56 PM
Here's the @labourtogether.bsky.social collab, in which I argue that adversarial-judicial structures aren't "planning" in any normal sense, and we could have more output from the same people doing the same job for the same money
www.labourtogether.uk/all-reports/...
www.labourtogether.uk/all-reports/...
Great stuff. The discussion of media framing is very well done.
Trump's Davos speech was the act of a madman and that is the only sensible manner in which it should have been covered iandunt.substack.com/p/breaking-t...
January 23, 2026 at 1:01 PM
Great stuff. The discussion of media framing is very well done.
Reposted by John Springford
My Trade Secrets today. Mark Carney’s speech: nice truth bomb even if not totally original.
But the middle powers finding a new way to run the world requires a massive shift in political will which Carney’s Canada itself has had trouble making.
But the middle powers finding a new way to run the world requires a massive shift in political will which Carney’s Canada itself has had trouble making.
Carney’s new global order needs a huge shift in political will
[FREE TO READ] Middle-power diplomacy of the sort the Canadian PM calls for requires governments to throw off domestic constraints
as.ft.com
January 22, 2026 at 6:56 AM
My Trade Secrets today. Mark Carney’s speech: nice truth bomb even if not totally original.
But the middle powers finding a new way to run the world requires a massive shift in political will which Carney’s Canada itself has had trouble making.
But the middle powers finding a new way to run the world requires a massive shift in political will which Carney’s Canada itself has had trouble making.
Reposted by John Springford
We have our Nesta reaction to today's Warm Homes Plan up!
What does it mean for heating, fabric and electrification? What funding is available? What gaps are there in the plan?
Read all about it here:
www.nesta.org.uk/blog/how-wil...
What does it mean for heating, fabric and electrification? What funding is available? What gaps are there in the plan?
Read all about it here:
www.nesta.org.uk/blog/how-wil...
How will the Warm Homes Plan change home heating?
Prioritising electric technologies like heat pumps and solar, and backed by £15 billion investment, the plan will mandate minimum energy efficiency standards for rented homes and create the new Warm H...
www.nesta.org.uk
January 21, 2026 at 3:47 PM
We have our Nesta reaction to today's Warm Homes Plan up!
What does it mean for heating, fabric and electrification? What funding is available? What gaps are there in the plan?
Read all about it here:
www.nesta.org.uk/blog/how-wil...
What does it mean for heating, fabric and electrification? What funding is available? What gaps are there in the plan?
Read all about it here:
www.nesta.org.uk/blog/how-wil...
This is a significant moment, and one that ought to lead to a changed stance towards Brexit, Trump (and Farage) more generally.
Starmer slams Trump:
"Trump deployed words on Chagos yesterday that were different to his previous words of welcome and support when I met him in the White House... for the express purpose of putting pressure on me and Britain in relation to my values and principles on the future of Greenland."
"Trump deployed words on Chagos yesterday that were different to his previous words of welcome and support when I met him in the White House... for the express purpose of putting pressure on me and Britain in relation to my values and principles on the future of Greenland."
January 21, 2026 at 12:57 PM
This is a significant moment, and one that ought to lead to a changed stance towards Brexit, Trump (and Farage) more generally.
Reposted by John Springford
Mark Carney's speech really is terrific: full text is here and very much worth your time.
The Carney doctrine
Open comment thread on the PM's Davos speech
paulwells.substack.com
January 20, 2026 at 5:52 PM
Mark Carney's speech really is terrific: full text is here and very much worth your time.
The UK is very exposed to MAGA presidents because our security services are so integrated with the US. So the question should be 'how do we reduce our exposure'? This is largely a security question that I'm not qualified to answer, but I haven't seen much focus on it from people who are.
January 20, 2026 at 1:38 PM
The UK is very exposed to MAGA presidents because our security services are so integrated with the US. So the question should be 'how do we reduce our exposure'? This is largely a security question that I'm not qualified to answer, but I haven't seen much focus on it from people who are.
Reposted by John Springford
The best way to read this is: "Myself and others on the fruitier side of the British right are terrified that our previous vocal support for Donald Trump is going to bite us viciously on the arse. There are skin diseases that poll better than he does in the UK."
January 19, 2026 at 8:04 PM
The best way to read this is: "Myself and others on the fruitier side of the British right are terrified that our previous vocal support for Donald Trump is going to bite us viciously on the arse. There are skin diseases that poll better than he does in the UK."
Reposted by John Springford
in this month's Observer column! I went to watch the snooker and I had an absolutely terrific time*
*I had absolutely no idea what was happening at any given moment observer.co.uk/news/columni...
*I had absolutely no idea what was happening at any given moment observer.co.uk/news/columni...
January 19, 2026 at 3:36 PM
in this month's Observer column! I went to watch the snooker and I had an absolutely terrific time*
*I had absolutely no idea what was happening at any given moment observer.co.uk/news/columni...
*I had absolutely no idea what was happening at any given moment observer.co.uk/news/columni...
There are two reasons to appease Trump now - either to buy time or because you think it unlikely that other political actors in the US can rein him in, making retaliation counter-productive.
January 19, 2026 at 11:59 AM
There are two reasons to appease Trump now - either to buy time or because you think it unlikely that other political actors in the US can rein him in, making retaliation counter-productive.