Why the North needs a Green New Deal

Angel of the North

Bringing together the ‘levelling up’ and climate agendas makes sense. I wrote for Tribune in 2019: https://tribunemag.co.uk/2019/12/why-the-north-needs-a-green-new-deal There is political consensus on the need to address geographic inequalities in the UK, with the Conservatives calling it ‘levelling up’ and Labour ‘regional rebalancing’. But what they’re missing is that the climate transformation is the perfect opportunity to put this approach into …

Re-energising Manufacturing (2019)

I was lead author on a report commissioned by the Scottish Green Party – what the Scottish Government could do to support more green manufacturing jobs. NEF link: https://neweconomics.org/uploads/files/NEF_Re-energising-manufacturing_Nov.pdf “The Scottish Government should match its aspirations to be a world leader on climate action with more direct support for domestic manufacturing for its future renewables growth. This means acting both …

Social care as a local economic solution (2017)

Image of a carer holding the hands of an elderly lady.

What would happen if you thought about social care as a way to revitalise local economies, rather than drain them? In a departure from my usual domain I wrote this report for NEF (2017) in partnership with Localise West Midlands. It was fascinating. A focus on new models of care could be a win-win in difficult times. To be clear: …

Aberdeen: In tough times, whose job is it to plan for the future?

Oil rigs near Aberdeen

I visited Aberdeen in 2016, when the oil price was ultra-low and the city was facing massive job losses and an uncertain future. With Sam Pickard (ODI) I wrote for NEF about what should be done for a just transition for the city. https://neweconomics.org/2016/09/aberdeen-tough-times-whose-job-plan-future “City-scale transitions like the move away from oil and gas, at whatever level you’re tackling them, …

The looking-glass world of fossil fuel subsidies

The UK claims it doesn’t have any. It’s wrong, and anyway that’s not really the point. Original piece is in Business Green (paywall, free trial). https://www.businessgreen.com/opinion/2460331/the-looking-glass-world-of-fossil-fuel-subsidies Or you can read it here (NEF) So call things subsidy, or call them support; call them Susan if you like. If we’re making the economics of fossil fuels better today than they were yesterday, we’re …