Tim Leunig
@timleunig.bsky.social
Policy thoughts: http://timleunig.substack.com Chief Economist Nesta, Director Econ PublicFirst, Vis Prof LSE Sch Public Policy, Vis Fellow Inst for Govt
She's this mean we should have more onshore and less offshore wind? That would cut bills, presumably?
Good to see solar and onshore wind coming in a lot cheaper than offshore here. They are by some distance the cheapest new electricity generation capacity we can build in Britain.
BREAKING: UK govt auction secures 4.9GW new solar at £65/MWh and 1.3GW new onshore wind at £72/MWh, 13% and 21% below the price cap respectively.
All due online by 2029.
All due online by 2029.
February 10, 2026 at 12:49 PM
She's this mean we should have more onshore and less offshore wind? That would cut bills, presumably?
Have you read the article?
Seems a shame, if you have spare money, not to invest it in something/someone useful.
February 9, 2026 at 1:05 PM
Have you read the article?
Have you ever thought about buying #Gold? I tell the story of what happened when I bought gold, and why it was my best ever investment - observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
History predicts a fall in the price of gold. I wouldn’t ...
The precious metal is now worth $5,000 an ounce and anyone who bought big a year ago has made a fortune, but that doesn’t mean it won’t go higher still
observer.co.uk
February 9, 2026 at 12:30 PM
Have you ever thought about buying #Gold? I tell the story of what happened when I bought gold, and why it was my best ever investment - observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
Gold's price began to move up at the end of 1967, but yet, one could claim other dates just as well. It would not alter my basic story
Just nitpicking, why do you set the year for "the collapse of the Bretton Woods economic system" to 1967? Usually this is connected to the Nixon Shock in 1973, see e. g. www.bundesbank.de/de/aufgaben/...
1973: Das Ende von Bretton Woods – Als die Kurse schwanken lernten
Vor 40 Jahren brach das System fester Wechselkurse zusammen, auf das sich die wichtigsten Handelsnationen der Welt am Ende des Zweiten Weltkriegs geeinigt hatten.
www.bundesbank.de
February 9, 2026 at 12:29 PM
Gold's price began to move up at the end of 1967, but yet, one could claim other dates just as well. It would not alter my basic story
Reposted by Tim Leunig
This is a great piece with a lovely punchline.
I have written a column for @ObserverUK on the history of gold as an investment, and why its should now be seen as a risky, not a safe, investment. observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
History predicts a fall in the price of gold. I wouldn’t ...
The precious metal is now worth $5,000 an ounce and anyone who bought big a year ago has made a fortune, but that doesn’t mean it won’t go higher still
observer.co.uk
February 8, 2026 at 4:26 PM
This is a great piece with a lovely punchline.
Except that France only has spare power in summer, when it is least useful. Nuclear + solar is a terrible combo.
I wish we had France’s problem of too much abundant clean energy.
France has ended up in a strange position after using some €250bn of tax-payer money to build a fleet of nuclear power stations. Wind and solar power is merrily entering the French power market at prices nuclear production can't match, resulting in huge surpluses of power.
1/
1/
February 8, 2026 at 12:56 PM
Except that France only has spare power in summer, when it is least useful. Nuclear + solar is a terrible combo.
I have written a column for @ObserverUK on the history of gold as an investment, and why its should now be seen as a risky, not a safe, investment. observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
History predicts a fall in the price of gold. I wouldn’t ...
The precious metal is now worth $5,000 an ounce and anyone who bought big a year ago has made a fortune, but that doesn’t mean it won’t go higher still
observer.co.uk
February 6, 2026 at 10:55 AM
I have written a column for @ObserverUK on the history of gold as an investment, and why its should now be seen as a risky, not a safe, investment. observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
Reposted by Tim Leunig
Just catching up on the situation with UKRI and I can’t claim much expertise, but worth saying:
1. Research funding is pretty crucial when you’re a knowledge-based economy like the UK is
2. Blanket pauses in funding can be very damaging
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
1. Research funding is pretty crucial when you’re a knowledge-based economy like the UK is
2. Blanket pauses in funding can be very damaging
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
UK’s £8bn research fund faces “hard decisions” as it pauses new grants
UKRI boss Ian Chapman said it had been told by the government to
www.bbc.co.uk
February 5, 2026 at 6:14 PM
Just catching up on the situation with UKRI and I can’t claim much expertise, but worth saying:
1. Research funding is pretty crucial when you’re a knowledge-based economy like the UK is
2. Blanket pauses in funding can be very damaging
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
1. Research funding is pretty crucial when you’re a knowledge-based economy like the UK is
2. Blanket pauses in funding can be very damaging
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Tim Leunig
One of the big problems for marketeers such as myself is that people absolutely hate prices being used to indicate scarcity. Rent controls are exactly the same as calls for constraints on TicketMaster: requests to move towards a system of queuing for scarce products rather than money.
"The price just doesn't matter if you can't get a home".
Good write up here of the problems of trying to use rent controls to force down private rents.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Good write up here of the problems of trying to use rent controls to force down private rents.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Rent controls are coming to the UK - but they're not a guaranteed win for tenants
Rent controls are coming to the UK - but they're not a guaranteed win for tenants
www.bbc.co.uk
February 4, 2026 at 7:39 AM
One of the big problems for marketeers such as myself is that people absolutely hate prices being used to indicate scarcity. Rent controls are exactly the same as calls for constraints on TicketMaster: requests to move towards a system of queuing for scarce products rather than money.
Reposted by Tim Leunig
Well yes, when you want someone to have stuff in stock, right next to where you are, so that you can buy the thing at the drop of a hat and not wait a day, you will end up paying more. That is also the market working well!
But when I need them there and then... Plus own brand aren't as good! Maybe the market is fine and I just have niche needs 🤣
February 4, 2026 at 1:03 PM
Well yes, when you want someone to have stuff in stock, right next to where you are, so that you can buy the thing at the drop of a hat and not wait a day, you will end up paying more. That is also the market working well!
Reposted by Tim Leunig
Farming subsidies are increasingly linked to environmental outcomes.
This change has upended decades of stability in how farmers are subsidised.
Find out more about how we can support farmers with the net zero transition 👇
buff.ly/ogIwegT
This change has upended decades of stability in how farmers are subsidised.
Find out more about how we can support farmers with the net zero transition 👇
buff.ly/ogIwegT
February 4, 2026 at 12:26 PM
Farming subsidies are increasingly linked to environmental outcomes.
This change has upended decades of stability in how farmers are subsidised.
Find out more about how we can support farmers with the net zero transition 👇
buff.ly/ogIwegT
This change has upended decades of stability in how farmers are subsidised.
Find out more about how we can support farmers with the net zero transition 👇
buff.ly/ogIwegT
The market is working fine, and you need to stop complaining! amazon.co.uk/Post-Notes-Assorted-Colours-Sheets/dp/B0FBX59NLX/ref=ast_sto_dp_puis?rdc=1
Post-it Notes, Assorted Colours, 24 Pads, 100 Sheets per Pad, 76 mm x 76 mm - Self-Stick Notes for Note Taking, to Do Lists & Reminders, School and Office Supplies : Amazon.co.uk: Everything Else
Post-it Notes, Assorted Colours, 24 Pads, 100 Sheets per Pad, 76 mm x 76 mm - Self-Stick Notes for Note Taking, to Do Lists & Reminders, School and Office Supplies : Amazon.co.uk: Everything Else
amazon.co.uk
February 4, 2026 at 11:06 AM
The market is working fine, and you need to stop complaining! amazon.co.uk/Post-Notes-Assorted-Colours-Sheets/dp/B0FBX59NLX/ref=ast_sto_dp_puis?rdc=1
You just need to swap around. You are complaining about £2.60 a pad, but 1 min research showed they are 83p on Amazon. Own brand alternatives are half that price on Amazon as well.
February 4, 2026 at 11:06 AM
You just need to swap around. You are complaining about £2.60 a pad, but 1 min research showed they are 83p on Amazon. Own brand alternatives are half that price on Amazon as well.
Freezing fees and maintenance loans also means they borrowed less, so there is less to write off. Good news for tax payers, bad news for unis, mixed news for students and graduates (who are also taxpayers, remember)
February 4, 2026 at 12:11 AM
Freezing fees and maintenance loans also means they borrowed less, so there is less to write off. Good news for tax payers, bad news for unis, mixed news for students and graduates (who are also taxpayers, remember)
The IFS rarely get these things wrong. Freezing the repayment threshold, and the interest rate threshold, means graduates will repay a lot more than earlier.
@timleunig.bsky.social is this really right?
I know the Conservatives cut back grants a lot but by that much?
I know the Conservatives cut back grants a lot but by that much?
I expect to spend today staring at this: ‘we’ve gone from government suggesting that the state would subsidise undergraduate student loans by about 45p in the pound, to making a profit on them for that cohort’.
A *profit* on student loans: everyone should read this. 🤯
wonkhe.com/blogs/gradua...
A *profit* on student loans: everyone should read this. 🤯
wonkhe.com/blogs/gradua...
February 4, 2026 at 12:11 AM
The IFS rarely get these things wrong. Freezing the repayment threshold, and the interest rate threshold, means graduates will repay a lot more than earlier.
1000 snowdrops bought for £105 will give HUGE amounts of pleasure for many years - here is where I got mine from... eurobulbs.co.uk/shop/galanth... (other suppliers are available, but I can vouch for these). Buy loads and just chuck them in, all over the place.
February 4, 2026 at 12:02 AM
1000 snowdrops bought for £105 will give HUGE amounts of pleasure for many years - here is where I got mine from... eurobulbs.co.uk/shop/galanth... (other suppliers are available, but I can vouch for these). Buy loads and just chuck them in, all over the place.
Reposted by Tim Leunig
Times:
The Metropolitan Police is expected to announced on Tuesday evening that Mandelson is being investigated on suspicion of misconduct in public office, an offence that carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
The Metropolitan Police is expected to announced on Tuesday evening that Mandelson is being investigated on suspicion of misconduct in public office, an offence that carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
February 3, 2026 at 6:02 PM
Times:
The Metropolitan Police is expected to announced on Tuesday evening that Mandelson is being investigated on suspicion of misconduct in public office, an offence that carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
The Metropolitan Police is expected to announced on Tuesday evening that Mandelson is being investigated on suspicion of misconduct in public office, an offence that carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Reposted by Tim Leunig
BREAKING on ft website:
Lord Peter Mandelson leaked a sensitive UK government document to Jeffrey Epstein while he was business secretary that proposed £20bn of asset sales and revealed Labour’s tax policy plans
www.ft.com/content/fdf7...
Lord Peter Mandelson leaked a sensitive UK government document to Jeffrey Epstein while he was business secretary that proposed £20bn of asset sales and revealed Labour’s tax policy plans
www.ft.com/content/fdf7...
Mandelson leaked sensitive UK government tax plans to Epstein
Former ambassador forwarded memo from special adviser to Gordon Brown to late sex offender in 2009
www.ft.com
February 2, 2026 at 11:30 AM
BREAKING on ft website:
Lord Peter Mandelson leaked a sensitive UK government document to Jeffrey Epstein while he was business secretary that proposed £20bn of asset sales and revealed Labour’s tax policy plans
www.ft.com/content/fdf7...
Lord Peter Mandelson leaked a sensitive UK government document to Jeffrey Epstein while he was business secretary that proposed £20bn of asset sales and revealed Labour’s tax policy plans
www.ft.com/content/fdf7...
Reposted by Tim Leunig
📊 Changes rolled out across 32 local authorities as part of a Tory-era SEND pilot have cut exclusions and kept more children in mainstream education, a report has found
schoolsweek.co.uk/piloted-in-s...
schoolsweek.co.uk/piloted-in-s...
Piloted in-school SEND support 'cut exclusions' - report
Standardised EHCPs also welcomed by parents and councils, researchers find
schoolsweek.co.uk
February 2, 2026 at 2:52 PM
📊 Changes rolled out across 32 local authorities as part of a Tory-era SEND pilot have cut exclusions and kept more children in mainstream education, a report has found
schoolsweek.co.uk/piloted-in-s...
schoolsweek.co.uk/piloted-in-s...
Reposted by Tim Leunig
📢 #CallForPapers for the 11th Monash-Paris-Warwick-Zurich-CEPR Text-As-Data #Workshop!
Papers using text, audio, images, or other unstructured data are welcome.
Organisers: @elliottash.bsky.social @essobecker.bsky.social & Philine Widmer
Deadline: 13 March
cepr.org/events/11th-...
#EconSky
Papers using text, audio, images, or other unstructured data are welcome.
Organisers: @elliottash.bsky.social @essobecker.bsky.social & Philine Widmer
Deadline: 13 March
cepr.org/events/11th-...
#EconSky
February 2, 2026 at 1:44 PM
📢 #CallForPapers for the 11th Monash-Paris-Warwick-Zurich-CEPR Text-As-Data #Workshop!
Papers using text, audio, images, or other unstructured data are welcome.
Organisers: @elliottash.bsky.social @essobecker.bsky.social & Philine Widmer
Deadline: 13 March
cepr.org/events/11th-...
#EconSky
Papers using text, audio, images, or other unstructured data are welcome.
Organisers: @elliottash.bsky.social @essobecker.bsky.social & Philine Widmer
Deadline: 13 March
cepr.org/events/11th-...
#EconSky
Well, I will take "not bad", but I don't think I am mad. Rather I think I am just honest about the world, and about policy choices... ;-)
This is not going to end well.
We need a renegade truth teller like "Mad not bad"
@timleunig.bsky.social ;) to run a session at the House with big colourful diagrams of the utter hames we have got ourselves into and how every future choice has serious existential implications.
We need a renegade truth teller like "Mad not bad"
@timleunig.bsky.social ;) to run a session at the House with big colourful diagrams of the utter hames we have got ourselves into and how every future choice has serious existential implications.
Momentum is building among backbench Labour MPs to force action on student loans
Options include 0% interest rates, raising repayment thresholds and monthly payments so students aren't forced into overdrafts
MPs said to be "spooked" by possible Reform policy offer
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
Options include 0% interest rates, raising repayment thresholds and monthly payments so students aren't forced into overdrafts
MPs said to be "spooked" by possible Reform policy offer
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
February 1, 2026 at 10:26 AM
Well, I will take "not bad", but I don't think I am mad. Rather I think I am just honest about the world, and about policy choices... ;-)
Reposted by Tim Leunig
BBC radio thinks a photo of Prince Andrew with an unknown woman is more newsworthy than revelations of tens of thousands of pounds from Epstein to the then deputy prime minister’s partner, seriously?
January 31, 2026 at 1:35 PM
BBC radio thinks a photo of Prince Andrew with an unknown woman is more newsworthy than revelations of tens of thousands of pounds from Epstein to the then deputy prime minister’s partner, seriously?
Reposted by Tim Leunig
I'm not prone to exaggeration but this is probably the biggest scoop I've ever been involved in
Mandelson's partner took £10,000 from Epstein to pay for his osteopath course while Mandelson was de facto UK deputy prime minister, according to new files
more to follow
www.ft.com/content/c950...
Mandelson's partner took £10,000 from Epstein to pay for his osteopath course while Mandelson was de facto UK deputy prime minister, according to new files
more to follow
www.ft.com/content/c950...
Jeffrey Epstein sent £10,000 to Mandelson’s husband, emails show
Epstein sent Reinaldo Avila da Silva payment in 2009
www.ft.com
January 30, 2026 at 4:34 PM
I'm not prone to exaggeration but this is probably the biggest scoop I've ever been involved in
Mandelson's partner took £10,000 from Epstein to pay for his osteopath course while Mandelson was de facto UK deputy prime minister, according to new files
more to follow
www.ft.com/content/c950...
Mandelson's partner took £10,000 from Epstein to pay for his osteopath course while Mandelson was de facto UK deputy prime minister, according to new files
more to follow
www.ft.com/content/c950...