Odds and Ends #54: Voters in 2019 and 2024 were (mostly) the same – it was the parties that changed

Plus can Trump revive the British left's patriotism? And some quick wins for growth, and the collapse of local government.

Photo by Calum Lewis on Unsplash

Hello! It’s time for Odds and Ends, your regular round-up of the most interesting links and other stuff that I’ve seen this week.

This time it's a real bumper edition, as I feature:

• What the government’s response to Southport shows us about state capacity

• How two playgrounds tell the story of the collapse of local government

• Why the National Data Library will only work if it is federated

• What the millennial experience of the early 2000s can teach us about making the British left patriotic again

• Why it wasn’t voters changing their minds that won Labour the election – it was the parties

• How to figure out the composition of exoplanets

• How human artists and creators can succeed in an age of AI

• A bunch of quick wins for growth

• A mad and horrifying story about how the government handle Freedom of Information request

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DON’T FORGET: February 25th is my next event, this time on how AI can (maybe) fix the government – where I’ll be speaking to Alexander Iosad, Director of Government Innovation Policy at the Tony Blair Institute. Come and hang out!

Now let’s get on with the links!