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David Higham

@oldtrotter.bsky.social

6.7K followers 620 following 16K posts

Former economist and civil servant. Former (age related) national cycling champion. Still a music fan. Sewn up member of the Zipper Club.

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David Higham @oldtrotter.bsky.social · Jan 21

A short summary of my thoughts on regional policy. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Beyond ‘Levelling up’: how to improve regional policy in England: 10 lessons from 20 years

‘Levelling-up’ as a political slogan in the UK may be finished, but a commitment to reducing regional inequalities remains, as highlighted in the 2024 Green Paper on Industrial Strategy. This paper...

www.tandfonline.com

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David Higham @oldtrotter.bsky.social · 16m

Good job no one's planning to build lots of data centres, otherwise we'd really be in trouble.

David Higham @oldtrotter.bsky.social · 42m

Perhaps they just like being close to Russians?

David Higham @oldtrotter.bsky.social · 49m

This sounds "bad" 🤔

Faisal Islam @faisalislam

NEW

Bank of England:

value of Al tech companies "appear stretched" with a rising risk of a "sharp correction” saying that on some profit measures it was “comparable to the peak of the dotcom bubble".

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David Higham @oldtrotter.bsky.social · 52m

I'd love to know the geopolitical context in which our own steel production is "strategic". Another Brexit benefit.

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Reposted by David Higham

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1h

Q: Do you agree that the mayor of Chicago and governor of Illinois should be in prison?

MIKE JOHNSON: Should they be in prison? I'm not the attorney general. I'm not following the day to day on that

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Reposted by David Higham

Arthur Snell @snellarthur.bsky.social · 1h

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David Higham @oldtrotter.bsky.social · 1h

See the "modern industrial policy" is going well. Protecting steel and undermining universities is an interesting take on comparative advantage.

Industry minister Chris McDonald, who worked in the steel industry on Teesside before entering Parliament, said: "We will always defend our critical steel industry, which is why we are pushing the European Commission for urgent clarification of the impact of this move on the UK.

Starmer told reporters the aim of the trip was not to recruit students but for universities to expand their overseas offerings - for students to study while staying in India.

The visit to India comes months after Starmer

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David Higham @oldtrotter.bsky.social · 4h

What's that saying about doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result?

Badenoch will seek to carve out a niche for the Conservatives as the party of spending control in contrast to what Tory officials claim are the "fantasy economics" of Nigel Farage's Reform UK.

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David Higham @oldtrotter.bsky.social · 4h

Even fewer in the future at this rate.

David Higham @oldtrotter.bsky.social · 4h

😉

David Higham @oldtrotter.bsky.social · 4h

Seb Payne praising Badenoch’s speech. That should do the trick 👍

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David Higham @oldtrotter.bsky.social · 5h

They could even listen to this www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p...

BBC World Service - Sporting Witness, The Three Degrees

Three black players who found fame in the British football league in the 1970s.

www.bbc.co.uk

David Higham @oldtrotter.bsky.social · 5h

I do rather miss the days when politicians attempted to construct arguments rather than throw out a series of incoherent soundbites.

Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 5h

"15 years ago, Polish workers came here to find opportunity. Now Poland is growing twice as fast as we are," says Kemi Badenoch.

Any ideas what may have happened in the interim?

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David Higham @oldtrotter.bsky.social · 5h

This may well be the post of the day (need to follow the thread to appreciate it)

Fraser Galbraith @frasergalbraith.bsky.social · 5h

Kemi's misunderstood the concept of the nuclear family.

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David Higham @oldtrotter.bsky.social · 5h

To be fair to Cameron (not a phrase I normally write) he didn’t exactly disguise his plans to slash the size of the state and I don’t recall many Tory politicians complaining about it during the Coalition. And this was the era of Maude pushing “open policy making”.

Reposted by David Higham

Henry Foy @henryjfoy.ft.com · 6h

Washington has asked Brussels to scrap requirements for non-EU companies to provide “climate transition plans” and to change supply chain legislation to exclude US companies “with high-quality corporate due diligence”, according to a document seen by @financialtimes.com

on.ft.com/46Ijpye

US demands EU dismantle green regulations in threat to trade deal

[FREE TO READ] Washington wants American companies to be exempted from rules such as having to draw up climate transition plans

on.ft.com

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Reposted by David Higham

Will Dunn @willdunn.bsky.social · 5h

I wrote about the Tory conference, having watched most of it on GB News:
www.newstatesman.com/politics/con...

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David Higham @oldtrotter.bsky.social · 5h

It’s also deeply patronising and a throwback to the debates about education in Victorian times, to which so many on the Right appear to want to return.

Reposted by David Higham

Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 7h

If you want to win over younger voters, telling them they can't go to university is probably not going to help.

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Reposted by David Higham

Jim Waterson @jim.londoncentric.media · 5h

Without one I just couldn’t balance work/kids and would have given in and bought a car. The biggest challenge for mass take-up is everyone’s buying them through regressive Cycle to Work tax dodge. So a £5k bike costs 12 x £241 monthly payments if you’re high earner or 12 x £416 if you’re in poverty.

Oxford Clarion @oxfordclarion.bsky.social · 1d

Electric cargo bikes can replace many everyday car trips for the average family and “reshape suburban family mobility”, say Oxford University researchers. 49 British households were loaned e-cargo bikes for school runs, shopping trips, family outings and other day-to-day use.

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Reposted by David Higham

Emma Jacobs @emmavj.bsky.social · 6h

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Reposted by David Higham

Joshi Herrmann @joshiherrmann.bsky.social · 7h

A podcast intro that is actually funny!

@patrickmaguire.bsky.social sings I Think We're Alone Now at Maggie Thatcher’s 100th birthday to explain Kemi’s position at conference.

podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...

Badenoch woos WhatsApp plotters

Podcast Episode · The State of It · 08/10/2025 · 37m

podcasts.apple.com

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David Higham @oldtrotter.bsky.social · 6h

I’m looking forward to the negotiations around the agenda for government of this anti Farage coalition.

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David Higham @oldtrotter.bsky.social · 6h

Including for the public finances.

David Higham @oldtrotter.bsky.social · 6h

Could someone please secure our borders against harlequin labybirds. Thank you for your attention to this matter.