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 🧵
Reposted by John Springford
New Swingometer! The Gorton and Denton By-election: A tale of Two Manchesters
open.substack.com/pub/swingome...
open.substack.com/pub/swingome...
The Gorton and Denton by-election: a tale of two Manchesters?
Unpopular incumbent + fragmented opposition + unusual seat = unpredictable contest
open.substack.com
January 28, 2026 at 7:21 PM
New Swingometer! The Gorton and Denton By-election: A tale of Two Manchesters
open.substack.com/pub/swingome...
open.substack.com/pub/swingome...
Very helpful explainer.
The stakes of the election could not be higher: if Orbán wins, #Hungary will continue its slide into autocracy domestically and will keep blocking joint action at the EU level. 🇭🇺 🇪🇺
@centreeuropeanref.bsky.social insight by @zecsaky.bsky.social
Read here: buff.ly/MtJXrKQ
@centreeuropeanref.bsky.social insight by @zecsaky.bsky.social
Read here: buff.ly/MtJXrKQ
January 28, 2026 at 11:36 AM
Very helpful explainer.
Reposted by John Springford
Someone should do a daily podcast this May on the General Strike one century on.
15 min episodes 4th to 12th May.
(I will happily write and present this podcast if some organisation wants to pay me).
15 min episodes 4th to 12th May.
(I will happily write and present this podcast if some organisation wants to pay me).
January 28, 2026 at 11:19 AM
Someone should do a daily podcast this May on the General Strike one century on.
15 min episodes 4th to 12th May.
(I will happily write and present this podcast if some organisation wants to pay me).
15 min episodes 4th to 12th May.
(I will happily write and present this podcast if some organisation wants to pay me).
Reposted by John Springford
Failing to pursue closer integration with the EU creates tension with the Government’s growth ambitions.
The Brexit impact on GDP per person may be bigger than feared; the impact on GDP per person may well sit above 4 per cent already.
Read more ➡️ buff.ly/VWHNFCb
The Brexit impact on GDP per person may be bigger than feared; the impact on GDP per person may well sit above 4 per cent already.
Read more ➡️ buff.ly/VWHNFCb
January 28, 2026 at 11:15 AM
Failing to pursue closer integration with the EU creates tension with the Government’s growth ambitions.
The Brexit impact on GDP per person may be bigger than feared; the impact on GDP per person may well sit above 4 per cent already.
Read more ➡️ buff.ly/VWHNFCb
The Brexit impact on GDP per person may be bigger than feared; the impact on GDP per person may well sit above 4 per cent already.
Read more ➡️ buff.ly/VWHNFCb
Usually UK companies base operations in other countries to get over barriers *their* governments impose, not ours.
In any other context, requiring a high-productivity sector to offshore the production of its highest value-added exports would be seen as the economic illiteracy it so obviously is...
www.ft.com/content/a23c...
www.ft.com/content/a23c...
UK drops target for international student recruitment
Government to encourage education providers to open campuses overseas as it focuses on reducing migration
www.ft.com
January 28, 2026 at 11:03 AM
Usually UK companies base operations in other countries to get over barriers *their* governments impose, not ours.
Reposted by John Springford
Mind-blowing vets don't have to do this already! As @acjsissons.bsky.social + @johnspringford.bsky.social argued recently, sorting this rip-off Britain stuff is a no-brainer for the economy...
January 28, 2026 at 10:09 AM
Mind-blowing vets don't have to do this already! As @acjsissons.bsky.social + @johnspringford.bsky.social argued recently, sorting this rip-off Britain stuff is a no-brainer for the economy...
This isn't convincing, because the problem isn't tackled. Many consumers prefer media that confirms their biases and gives them ammo in online arguments. That's an existential challenge for impartial reporting.
Weiss' full remarks to CBS News staff (1/4)
January 28, 2026 at 9:58 AM
This isn't convincing, because the problem isn't tackled. Many consumers prefer media that confirms their biases and gives them ammo in online arguments. That's an existential challenge for impartial reporting.
Reposted by John Springford
NEW: Expensive gas still biggest driver of high UK electricity bills, says UKERC
"Volatile, gas-linked market prices – not green policies, as some misleading claims have suggested – dominate the real-terms increase in bills since 2021."
www.carbonbrief.org/expensive-ga...
"Volatile, gas-linked market prices – not green policies, as some misleading claims have suggested – dominate the real-terms increase in bills since 2021."
www.carbonbrief.org/expensive-ga...
January 28, 2026 at 9:03 AM
NEW: Expensive gas still biggest driver of high UK electricity bills, says UKERC
"Volatile, gas-linked market prices – not green policies, as some misleading claims have suggested – dominate the real-terms increase in bills since 2021."
www.carbonbrief.org/expensive-ga...
"Volatile, gas-linked market prices – not green policies, as some misleading claims have suggested – dominate the real-terms increase in bills since 2021."
www.carbonbrief.org/expensive-ga...
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.