Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Liam K McGrath @liammcgrath.bsky.social · 8d

Cities around the world are calming their streets, making them safer and cleaner. This road in East Dulwich used to be a congested rat run. Great example of improving London for its residents and due for planting next month 🌳🌿⚘️

Melbourne Grove East Dulwich new paving, seats and plants

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Liam K McGrath @liammcgrath.bsky.social · 10d

Massively frustrating. Thousands of people in insecure accomodation while acres of space next the the Elizabeth Line wasted. No more excuses - build or lose the land.

Murky Depths @murkydepths.bsky.social · 10d

The arrival of the Liz line at Abbey Wood should have produced much new building nearby.

However many sites remain vacant just a short walk away. Most in Peabody hands for 11 years but not all. Sites like the former car wash long had planning permission.

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Liam K McGrath @liammcgrath.bsky.social · 12d

Given they have a massive majority and most people agree on this: can the government replace council tax and stamp duty with Land Value Tax and higher Capital Gains tax? Seems like there is agreement on this across the spectrum. Am I wrong?

Liam K McGrath @liammcgrath.bsky.social · 12d

I worked for TOCs and they were structurally disincentivised to improve inner London. Focus was on longer distance. Business cases to improve service or facilities at places like South Bermondsey never worked. Needs to be TfL.

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Liam K McGrath @liammcgrath.bsky.social · 14d

Ilderton road is the stop that gains the most from Bakerloop. Loads of homes going up, the Tustin estate having more added, a new cycleway and Bakerloop. An exciting area. Its high council rent area so benefits won't all be lost to rents going up.b

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Liam K McGrath @liammcgrath.bsky.social · 14d

www.gov.uk/government/p... New Towns Taskforce report makes a compelling case and identifies some genuine new towns, and some urban extensions. Ease of land assembly & transport drive choices. The Crews Hill town could make a lot of money for the state if the land value uplift is taxed.

Screenshot of map of locations of new towns

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Liam K McGrath @liammcgrath.bsky.social · 14d

Good to see the new Bakerloop bus with a decent number on board. I think it will need more bus priority, and bus stops set into the pavement to really zoom past stopping buses. But it has got quite far ahead of the 53 stopping bus I'm on. Time will tell. Loads of new flats at Ilderton Rd so needed.

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Liam K McGrath @liammcgrath.bsky.social · 18d

Strong proposals to make taxes fairer for business and individuals while taking steps towards a more sensible system.

Resolution Foundation @resfoundation.bsky.social · 18d

The growth of National Insurance over time makes it more important than ever to worry about its design.

Read 'Call of duties' now, to learn why we propose switching 2p from National Insurance to Income Tax 👉 buff.ly/uLWun7f

chart showing Changes in tax revenue as a share of GDP, relative to 1948: UK

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Reposted by Liam K McGrath

Sadiq Khan @sadiqkhanlondon.bsky.social · 20d

Thousands of Londoners have indefinite leave to remain.

They have legal rights and are our friends, neighbours and colleagues, contributing hugely to our city.

Threatening to deport people living and working here legally is unacceptable.

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Farage vows to scrap indefinite leave to remain, placing thousands at risk of deportation

Reform UK plans to force non-citizens to apply for visas with high salary thresholds and no access to NHS services

www.theguardian.com

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Liam K McGrath @liammcgrath.bsky.social · 23d

Alongside amazing music, food, craft stalls, SE1 Solar will be at the Bermondsey Street festival tomorrow Sat 20th. We can't help much with the music but we can help make with community energy 💡 bermondseystreetfestival.com

Bermondsey Street Festival – Our Village Fete in the City

Bermondsey Street Festival – Saturday 21st September 2024. WE ARE BACK! We're Thrilled to Announce the Return of the Beloved Bermondsey Street Festival for 2024

bermondseystreetfestival.com

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Liam K McGrath @liammcgrath.bsky.social · 23d

💡SE1 solar will have a stall plus presenting on energy efficiency and community energy at Wonderful Waterloo on Sunday www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/wonderful-...

Wonderful Waterloo and South Bank Fun Day

We invite you to Wonderful Waterloo and South Bank Fun Day to join your neighbours in shaping a sustainable heart of London.

www.eventbrite.co.uk

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Liam K McGrath @liammcgrath.bsky.social · Sep 7

Stockport interchange is fantastic. Massive bus station, elevated park, cycle route. In the background is the Stockport Viaduct which opened in 1840 and carries the mainline to Manchester on 11 million bricks. Best view of the interchange is from a train on the viaduct.

Stockport interchange gardens and cycle path with rail viaduct in the background

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Liam K McGrath @liammcgrath.bsky.social · Aug 25

Not sure how a site like this (central, near station, riverside) isnt viable for housing. Give me a few square meters and I'll build my own place. www.ipswichstar.co.uk/news/2540673...

Council reluctantly grants permission for supermarket to use land as car park

Ipswich Borough Council has granted planning permission for the East of England Co-op to use Burrell Road land as a temporary car park.

www.ipswichstar.co.uk

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Liam K McGrath @liammcgrath.bsky.social · Aug 22

Electric hire bikes, thanks to private sector innovation and investment, have transformed transport (for people that can use them) in areas where public transport isn't good (e.g. Peckham, Camberwell). We should support with more bike parking and easing regs. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

‘A nuisance and an eyesore’: hire ebikes accumulate at London border between rival firms

Chiswick Bridge now frontline of turf war as Lime bikes stop functioning when they cross from Richmond into Hounslow

www.theguardian.com

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Liam K McGrath @liammcgrath.bsky.social · Aug 20

As a lifelong Ipswich Town supporter, I'd rather wear a Norwich City shirt

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Liam K McGrath @liammcgrath.bsky.social · Aug 20

Anyone out there with experience of Biosolar roofs? Or good reading materials? Interested in practical experience of installation and operation.

Reposted by Liam K McGrath

Doug Parr @dougparr.bsky.social · Aug 20

UK solar power output is breaking records this year, and has now exceeded the total generated in 2024 🌞

www.ft.com/content/9e49...

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Liam K McGrath @liammcgrath.bsky.social · Aug 19

Oh no not again... 😆

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Liam K McGrath @liammcgrath.bsky.social · Aug 19

My colleague and I have been published! This is our method to use machine learning on massive multimodal data to automatically identify the most effective pubic transport routes and produce thousands of value for money business cases automatically 🚇🚌🚊 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Example benefit cost ration for thousands of machine generated bus routes

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Liam K McGrath @liammcgrath.bsky.social · Aug 19

🚨 New Episode!
Towns in Turmoil: The Tudor & Stuart Era
Discover how fire, plague, and politics shaped England’s towns between 1500–1700, and the impact of the Reformation and Civil War
🎧 Listen now: yeoldeguide.com/towns-in-tur...
#HistoryPodcast #UrbanHistory #TudorEngland #StuartEra #YeOldeGuide

Towns in Turmoil and Transition – The Tudor & Stuart Era - Ye Olde Guide

Podcast exploring the Tudor and Stuart period in England’s urban history. From the Reformation to the Civil War, discover how towns evolved through upheaval, early urban planning, and cultural renaiss...

yeoldeguide.com

Liam K McGrath @liammcgrath.bsky.social · Aug 14

www.cityam.com/heres-how-sa... we get many ideas like this which are great in theory until you consider how the 8bn is financed I.e. who lends you 8bn before housing sales complete. Financing is not funding. Problem is units at least 400k plus cost of decking, rail disruption. Car parks easier.

Here's how Sadiq Khan could build 250,000 more homes

Whatever Sadiq Khan’s been doing the past nine years, it isn’t working. Time, therefore, to get much more creative with housebuilding.

www.cityam.com

Liam K McGrath @liammcgrath.bsky.social · Aug 1

is it incompetence, lack of money, supply chain or all of the above?

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Liam K McGrath @liammcgrath.bsky.social · Aug 1

Wow Heathrow runway £49bn. You'd get several hub airports for that in other countries. Just noticed the Lower Thames Crossing is £9bn - 40x more expensive inflation adjusted than the first Dartford tunnel. Appreciate its much bigger, better and safer, includes access motorways but still.

Chart showing cost inflation of lower Thames crossings

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Liam K McGrath @liammcgrath.bsky.social · Aug 1

Troubling that £20m of a council's housing revenue account that should be used to maintain council housing was spent on legal fees due to poorly maintained housing. Something has to give: either rents up or some government support. www.brixtonbuzz.com/2025/07/lamb...

Lambeth Council to sell off housing assets as pressure mounts over spiralling £40m HRA crisis

Lambeth Council has confirmed plans to sell off 20 housing assets, including five empty homes and 15 non-residential sites, in a move designed to plug gaps in its troubled Housing Revenue Account (…

www.brixtonbuzz.com

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Liam K McGrath @liammcgrath.bsky.social · Jul 13

Yes, AI will take away entry-level jobs, but the upside must appear somewhere in the economy. If companies are spending less on staff, then there must be more profit or lower prices for their services. We need to tax the beneficiaries to pay for things we need. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

‘Workforce crisis’: key takeaways for graduates battling AI in the jobs market

Recruitment is powered increasingly by artificial intelligence but employers still want big (human) brains

www.theguardian.com