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. https://bsky.app/profile/johnspringford.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/johnspringford.bsky.social/post/3mlxsdigbhc23Largely agree Britain is governable, but it does have a media problem, both social and legacy. Higher standards would help a lot.16 May 2026 12:00 +0000at://did:plc:uuhoxjadteygh25vm32robp4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlxsdigbhc23https://bsky.app/profile/johnspringford.bsky.social/post/3mlxd3vs5ns2fI was in Essex last month and the flag-hangers apparently didn't have a cherry-picker, so the flags were all at half-mast. Maybe just stop the cherry-pickers, take the flags down, and it'll peter out. [contains quote post or other embedded content]16 May 2026 07:27 +0000at://did:plc:uuhoxjadteygh25vm32robp4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlxd3vs5ns2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/johnspringford.bsky.social/post/3mlxc7zwoxk2aThe use of coercion to maintain pre-eminence only hastens relative decline. We Europeans have a lot of experience here. [contains quote post or other embedded content]16 May 2026 07:12 +0000at://did:plc:uuhoxjadteygh25vm32robp4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlxc7zwoxk2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/johnspringford.bsky.social/post/3mlvuivmpws2fWarren G, Tonya Harding, Raheem Stirling, The Stig, Sandi Toksvig and Snoop Dogg. [contains quote post or other embedded content]15 May 2026 17:33 +0000at://did:plc:uuhoxjadteygh25vm32robp4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlvuivmpws2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/johnspringford.bsky.social/post/3mlv2almcvc2gNo one's saying we're not [contains quote post or other embedded content]15 May 2026 09:43 +0000at://did:plc:uuhoxjadteygh25vm32robp4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlv2almcvc2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/johnspringford.bsky.social/post/3mlurtewr4c2kVery even-handed. [contains quote post or other embedded content]15 May 2026 07:13 +0000at://did:plc:uuhoxjadteygh25vm32robp4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlurtewr4c2khttps://bsky.app/profile/johnspringford.bsky.social/post/3mlslml2y4k2tGah. What are health levels correlated with? Age, educational attainment *and income*. The median age of a place also has an impact on the local economy: we found that a lower median age is increasingly associated with higher regional productivity https://www.cer.eu/publications/archive/policy-brief/2019/big-european-sort-diverging-fortunes-europes-regions [contains quote post or other embedded content]14 May 2026 10:16 +0000at://did:plc:uuhoxjadteygh25vm32robp4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlslml2y4k2thttps://bsky.app/profile/johnspringford.bsky.social/post/3mlsa2nsuhk2tAnother strong start to the year for UK GDP. But there were strong first quarters in 2024 and 2025. https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/grossdomesticproductgdp/bulletins/gdpfirstquarterlyestimateuk/latest14 May 2026 06:49 +0000at://did:plc:uuhoxjadteygh25vm32robp4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlsa2nsuhk2thttps://bsky.app/profile/johnspringford.bsky.social/post/3mlpx4zt4nc2rNo. I don't want my pasta to scar my throat. [contains quote post or other embedded content]13 May 2026 09:04 +0000at://did:plc:uuhoxjadteygh25vm32robp4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlpx4zt4nc2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/johnspringford.bsky.social/post/3mlpuaamcz22rGreat appointment [contains quote post or other embedded content]13 May 2026 08:13 +0000at://did:plc:uuhoxjadteygh25vm32robp4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlpuaamcz22rhttps://bsky.app/profile/johnspringford.bsky.social/post/3mlprlar4zs2rSee also social care, energy, tax. [contains quote post or other embedded content]13 May 2026 07:25 +0000at://did:plc:uuhoxjadteygh25vm32robp4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlprlar4zs2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/johnspringford.bsky.social/post/3mlnb3ujp2k2vThere is a tendency to blame Brexit for everything which encourages the savvy to downplay it, but we know that leaving the EU has reduced growth significantly, and hence tax revenue, and public finances are more strained as a result. 1/12 May 2026 07:25 +0000at://did:plc:uuhoxjadteygh25vm32robp4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlnb3ujp2k2v