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Malcolm Tait

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H-index: 16
Political science 25%
Economics 19%
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Reposted by: Malcolm Tait

reclaimourmoors.bsky.social
🥾 Just shy of 200 people joined us up at Moscar Moor today to mark the start of the shooting season and united around our call for this huge grouse shooting estate in the Peak District to be taken into community ownership.
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by Malcolm Tait — Reposted by: Beth Perry

malcolmtait.bsky.social
Fascinating research from colleagues at @sheffielduni.bsky.social on impact of urbanization on moth and hoverfly populations

www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Gardeners urged to collaborate to help moths and hover flies thrive in cities
Researchers found moths and hover flies are more negatively affected by urbanisation than bees
www.theguardian.com
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by Malcolm Tait

malcolmtait.bsky.social
Completely agree - a garden is never going to replicate specialised habitats. I guess the message of providing as wide a mix as possible of plants, shrubs, and habitats is good tho, and gets us beyond the argument that all insects require is a patch of Rudbeckia!

Reposted by: Malcolm Tait

katefoneill.bsky.social
And lovely to see the data and code available under a CC0 licence too! doi.org/10.5061/drya...
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Reposted by: Malcolm Tait, Arthur Geßler, Els Torreele , and 2 more

georgemonbiot.bsky.social
For thousands of years, we have been parasitised, exploited and destroyed by elites. Our survival depends on overthrowing them.
Fascinating article by @dpcarrington.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘Self-termination is most likely’: the history and future of societal collapse
An epic analysis of 5,000 years of civilisation argues that a global collapse is coming unless inequality is vanquished
www.theguardian.com
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Reposted by: Malcolm Tait, Tom Goodfellow

malcolmtait.bsky.social
It was great to speak on this great podcast. Excellent hosting from @itsbethperry.bsky.social and @goodfellowtom.bsky.social - we covered a lot in a short time, including the problematic way that the government is talking about newts and bats blocking development!
sheffieldurbanism.bsky.social
Sheffield Urbanism @sheffieldurbanism.bsky.social · May 26
Episode 4 of Urban Radar, in conversation with @malcolmtait.bsky.social on recent #planning reforms, raising a crucial question: Are these planning reforms guiding us in the right direction?

Tune in here lnkd.in/enVHKU6g

For any feedback write to is at : [email protected]
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by Malcolm Tait

malcolmtait.bsky.social
And another example from the French Alps where the marmots gamble, but where there aren't meadows full of Monarch butterflies!
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Reposted by: Malcolm Tait

jpoliticalecology.bsky.social
Chapman, K. & Tait, M., (2025) “Commodification, labor, abstraction: Three key concepts to understand the many-headed hydra of biodiversity offsetting”, Journal of Political Ecology 32(1): 6186. doi: doi.org/10.2458/jpe....

@pollenetwork.bsky.social
Commodification, labor, abstraction: Three key concepts to understand the many-headed hydra of biodiversity offsetting
Natural capital approaches to mitigating the impacts of construction projects, in which environmental harms and mitigations are calculated and then traded, have become dominant features of contemporar...
doi.org
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Reposted by: Malcolm Tait, Beth Perry

goodfellowtom.bsky.social
Everything is urban these days.

#Urban#Radar podcast ep 4 from @sheffieldurbanism.bsky.social

- urban water crisis
- urban impacts of tariff wars
- planning reforms, what they mean for biodiversity, & why we need to be more utopian!

Thanks to all our fab guests

open.spotify.com/episode/4ZI3...
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by Malcolm Tait

malcolmtait.bsky.social
Really looking forward to it!
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Reposted by: Malcolm Tait

stuartspray.bsky.social
I am looking forward to discussing why the UK is so crap at looking after #biodiversity at the Byline Festival with Alexa Culver, @kitstoner.bsky.social, @malcolmtait.bsky.social and @carexnigra.bsky.social @bylinetimes.bsky.social
Visit the website to find out more: lnkd.in/eXfAnf3k
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Reposted by: Malcolm Tait

naturerecovery.bsky.social
Read our response to Defra's consultation on improving the implementation of #Biodiversity Net Gain for minor, medium and Brownfield development.
Our response to Defra’s consultation on improving the implementation of Biodiversity Net Gain for minor, medium and brownfield development
Read our response to the consultation here
naturerecovery.ox.ac.uk
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Reposted by: Malcolm Tait

kierachapman.bsky.social
@skomerisland.bsky.social just put a BRILLIANT gay birds post up on Facebook, in celebration of Pride. And they are copping hate for it in the comments.

So please lets show them some love on here by dropping them a follow and a supportive tweet!
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by Malcolm Tait

malcolmtait.bsky.social
Mine truly captures the majesty of these creatures. Let's see who wins!
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by Malcolm Tait

malcolmtait.bsky.social
"the struggle between local residents and festivalgoers deserves less scrutiny than the tensions between austerity, profit and urban public space." @michaelchessum.bsky.social on Brockwell Park and YIMBYism

Uggly Fences www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2025/ju...
Michael Chessum | Uggly Fences
‘Can’t you ping elsewhere?’ The question, daubed on the twelve-foot green fences encircling much of Brockwell Park...
www.lrb.co.uk
2

by Malcolm Tait

malcolmtait.bsky.social
Battleship grey of the battleship of a moth - the Poplar Hawk-moth
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by Malcolm Tait

malcolmtait.bsky.social
I thought at the time of the Spring Statement that the OBR estimates on housebuilding were extremely optimistic...

www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
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by Malcolm Tait

malcolmtait.bsky.social
A nice couple of moths yesterday: Lime Hawkmoth and Elephant Hawkmoth. Both relatively common, but nonetheless very beautiful
Triangular shaped moth with light brown and green camouflage markings resting on stone. Triangular moth with green-brown and pink markings resting on stone
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by Malcolm Tait

malcolmtait.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
A new kind of gentrification is spreading through London – and emptying out schools | Anna Minton
Thanks to ‘placemaking’, thriving communities are hollowing out, to be replaced by luxury apartments and expensive restaurants, says author Anna Minton
www.theguardian.com
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Reposted by: Malcolm Tait

sheffieldurbanism.bsky.social
At Urban Radar @malcolmtait.bsky.social & @kierachapman.bsky.social in conversation with Tom Goodfellow and Beth Perry talk about their recent report on biodiversity and planning, and why it's so important to rethink our planning approaches if we want to turn things around.

lnkd.in/enVHKU6g
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by Malcolm Tait

malcolmtait.bsky.social
And no mention in the working paper about local authority housing targets being raised in the current system if housebuilders fail to build speedily...
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by Malcolm Tait

malcolmtait.bsky.social
A rather belated admission from Government that housebuilders benefit from building slowly. Reheating quite a few existing ideas, and a lot rests on councils and housebuilders agreeing build out rates.

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Developers face fines as Rayner steps up plans to speed up UK housebuilding
Councils will get powers to impose ‘delayed home penalty’ under latest government proposals
www.theguardian.com
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by Malcolm Tait

malcolmtait.bsky.social
Best discussion on housing, planning and nature that I've heard in a long time.

Thanks for mentioning our research on housebuilders failing to put in ecological features - given the news on swift bricks, I think we need to continue to shout about this failure!
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by Malcolm Tait

malcolmtait.bsky.social
Very frustrating news! Despite our research showing that 75% of bird boxes were not installed, despite being required in planning consents, apparently this isn't enough to move towards mandatory provision of swift bricks
kierachapman.bsky.social
Kiera Chapman @kierachapman.bsky.social · May 24
So Labour say they won't install swift bricks because they are moving away from specific species mitigations to landscape level ones.

But swifts nest IN BUILDINGS. So how is landscape-level compensation supposed to help? Just ecologically illiterate nonsense 🤦‍♀️

www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Labour blocks proposal for ‘swift bricks’ in all new homes
MPs had previously backed Conservative amendment to ask developers to provide hollow bricks for endangered birds
www.theguardian.com
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Reposted by: Malcolm Tait

kierachapman.bsky.social
So Labour say they won't install swift bricks because they are moving away from specific species mitigations to landscape level ones.

But swifts nest IN BUILDINGS. So how is landscape-level compensation supposed to help? Just ecologically illiterate nonsense 🤦‍♀️

www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Labour blocks proposal for ‘swift bricks’ in all new homes
MPs had previously backed Conservative amendment to ask developers to provide hollow bricks for endangered birds
www.theguardian.com
9 44 96

by Malcolm Tait

malcolmtait.bsky.social
Fascinating study - would be interesting to compare with the building of the 'Dutch roundabout' in Sheffield
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by Malcolm Tait

malcolmtait.bsky.social
@georgemonbiot.bsky.social goes ballistic on Labour's planning reforms, and quite rightly so. They give licence to trash nature, diminish democratic rights in planning decisions, and also won't work in building the 1.8m homes the government wants.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Labour has denounced me as ‘deeply misleading’ on its planning reform. I wish that were true | George Monbiot
Even it now admits that brick by brick, these proposals will wreck habitats. This could be Starmer’s most damaging mistake yet, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
www.theguardian.com
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by Malcolm Tait

malcolmtait.bsky.social
Our Lost Nature report for the @rtpiplanners.bsky.social
is now written up in the @newscientist.com! A really good article and insightful comments from Natalie Duffus and Tom Oliver.

www.newscientist.com/article/2480...
www.newscientist.com
1

Reposted by: Malcolm Tait

jimhorsfall.bsky.social
I managed a jaunt to Lindrick Common this morning to check on the Rare Spring Sedge. This SSSI golf course is fairly sympathetically managed for it's interesting plants.

The last record for this site was 2008, so good to refind it. A fellow @sorbynathissoc.bsky.social found another patch last month
A small slender sedge with male flowers above (with a couple of anthers still present) and 2 lots of female flowers below (stigmas still visible).
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Reposted by: Malcolm Tait

kierachapman.bsky.social
So Angela Rayner just issued a judgement based on the new Planning Policy Guidance about the greenbelt - and it's a sign of seismic change to come in the countryside.

So there used to be 5 purposes to the greenbelt. But these were recently been reduced by Labour to three.

1/?
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