John Springford
@johnspringford.bsky.social
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.
Pinned
Getting Britain out of the hole
A plan for the UK economy
getting-out-of-the-hole.uk
New essay out today by me and @acjsissons.bsky.social - ‘Getting Britain out of the hole: a plan for the economy’. You can read the whole thing here getting-out-of-the-hole.uk
A chart mega-thread follows 🧵
A chart mega-thread follows 🧵
Reposted by John Springford
The Rubio speech was not a detente.
It was the JD Vance message delivered with velvet rather than boxing gloves (h/t @fbermingham.bsky.social)
He signalled 0 actionable compromises to the EU other than implicitly asking Europe to close its borders / round up migrants (and then the US offers what?)
It was the JD Vance message delivered with velvet rather than boxing gloves (h/t @fbermingham.bsky.social)
He signalled 0 actionable compromises to the EU other than implicitly asking Europe to close its borders / round up migrants (and then the US offers what?)
February 14, 2026 at 1:02 PM
The Rubio speech was not a detente.
It was the JD Vance message delivered with velvet rather than boxing gloves (h/t @fbermingham.bsky.social)
He signalled 0 actionable compromises to the EU other than implicitly asking Europe to close its borders / round up migrants (and then the US offers what?)
It was the JD Vance message delivered with velvet rather than boxing gloves (h/t @fbermingham.bsky.social)
He signalled 0 actionable compromises to the EU other than implicitly asking Europe to close its borders / round up migrants (and then the US offers what?)
Still fighting the last war ...
www.ft.com/content/beee...
www.ft.com/content/beee...
February 14, 2026 at 10:18 AM
Still fighting the last war ...
www.ft.com/content/beee...
www.ft.com/content/beee...
Europe's history is very different from America's - two millennia of princely warfare, empires and decolonisation, Cold War division, neighbourhood. MAGA's mistake is to see it as the same.
Rubio speech at MSC—in short: US sees global trade, diplomacy, migration, immigration, global institutions and global affairs in general as a “foolish post-WWII mistake” and invites Europe “so save itself by each protecting sovereignty, closed borders, and Christianity” alike Trump’s America.
February 14, 2026 at 9:14 AM
Europe's history is very different from America's - two millennia of princely warfare, empires and decolonisation, Cold War division, neighbourhood. MAGA's mistake is to see it as the same.
Reposted by John Springford
Oh to be a little Tardigrade walking around a microscopic volvox algae colony. 🫧🐻🧪
February 13, 2026 at 5:00 PM
Oh to be a little Tardigrade walking around a microscopic volvox algae colony. 🫧🐻🧪
Reposted by John Springford
You know what helps make the streets safer? Paying your taxes
Nadhim Zahawi thinks London is now unsafe, because the other day a tired-looking man walked past him during the morning rush hour.
February 13, 2026 at 4:38 PM
You know what helps make the streets safer? Paying your taxes
Over 100 people were killed by secret police in the 'street coup', with Russian FSB involvement in the attempted crackdown. Yanukovych then fled to Russia.
February 13, 2026 at 4:32 PM
Over 100 people were killed by secret police in the 'street coup', with Russian FSB involvement in the attempted crackdown. Yanukovych then fled to Russia.
Reposted by John Springford
Maybe a Bristol drinks being organized; make yourself known if you live within a donkey ride (or whatever mode of transport they use).
Locally (including Bath and shit), @jomichell.bsky.social, @sianushka.bsky.social, @anthonypainter.bsky.social @colinyeo.bsky.social @gsoh31.bsky.social @dmk1793.bsky.social (think bath?) @acjsissons.bsky.social @sfrost.bsky.social off the top of my head
February 13, 2026 at 3:57 PM
Maybe a Bristol drinks being organized; make yourself known if you live within a donkey ride (or whatever mode of transport they use).
Reposted by John Springford
I think we summarised this well in The Hole.
Yes, there are some pretty acute problems in Britain’s energy system, but none of the alternatives are better. The best way forward is still to complete the transition
getting-out-of-the-hole.uk
Yes, there are some pretty acute problems in Britain’s energy system, but none of the alternatives are better. The best way forward is still to complete the transition
getting-out-of-the-hole.uk
February 13, 2026 at 3:01 PM
I think we summarised this well in The Hole.
Yes, there are some pretty acute problems in Britain’s energy system, but none of the alternatives are better. The best way forward is still to complete the transition
getting-out-of-the-hole.uk
Yes, there are some pretty acute problems in Britain’s energy system, but none of the alternatives are better. The best way forward is still to complete the transition
getting-out-of-the-hole.uk
Reposted by John Springford
I have a question for Tony Blair
February 13, 2026 at 1:24 PM
I have a question for Tony Blair
Reposted by John Springford
I wrote for the Guardian about why Jim Ratcliffe's talk of Britain being "colonised" by immigrants crosses the line between legitimate debate and inflammatory rhetoric. It fuses echoes of Powellism with great replacement conspiracies of "civilisational erasure"
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Forget Jim Ratcliffe’s half-apology: to speak of immigrants ‘colonising’ Britain is wrong and sinister | Sunder Katwala
He fused an echo of Enoch Powell with the spirit of the far right’s great replacement theory. This is no way to progress a humane migration debate, says Sunder Katwala, director of British Future
www.theguardian.com
February 13, 2026 at 1:54 PM
I wrote for the Guardian about why Jim Ratcliffe's talk of Britain being "colonised" by immigrants crosses the line between legitimate debate and inflammatory rhetoric. It fuses echoes of Powellism with great replacement conspiracies of "civilisational erasure"
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by John Springford
Well, there are some names I hope to see pulling out of this. Not only is Yarvin a profoundly uninteresting thinker, for interesting thinkers to appear alongside him helps mainstream the anti-democratic, anti-pluralist views that inform the current political moment.
Curtis #Yarvin, der "reactionary fascist" (JD Vance), tritt nicht nur bei den Identitären in Wien auf, sondern auch auf dieser von Ivan Krastev kuratierten Tagung in Schloss Elmau, neben @leaypi.bsky.social, Eva Illouz, Dan Diner und @quinnslobodian.com.
www.schloss-elmau.de/kultur/sympo...
www.schloss-elmau.de/kultur/sympo...
February 13, 2026 at 10:34 AM
Well, there are some names I hope to see pulling out of this. Not only is Yarvin a profoundly uninteresting thinker, for interesting thinkers to appear alongside him helps mainstream the anti-democratic, anti-pluralist views that inform the current political moment.
Reposted by John Springford
‘Choosing happy is a hell of a process’: Thundercat on funk, lost friends and being fired by Snoop Dogg (possibly)
‘Choosing happy is a hell of a process’: Thundercat on funk, lost friends and being fired by Snoop Dogg (possibly)
The genre-hopping bass virtuoso has backed Ariana Grande and Herbie Hancock, appeared in Star Wars and become a dedicated boxer. Ahead of his fifth album, Stephen Bruner explains his polymath mindset
www.theguardian.com
February 13, 2026 at 6:14 AM
‘Choosing happy is a hell of a process’: Thundercat on funk, lost friends and being fired by Snoop Dogg (possibly)
So 1.5% and 8.4% of foreign-born people in the UK. What share of Brits in non-Anglophone countries speak the host country language fluently?
Farage's claims here are straightforward lies (and it's about time the media/press said so)
The correct figures are 160K (0.3%) and 900K (1.5%)
www.gbnews.com/news/video-n...
The correct figures are 160K (0.3%) and 900K (1.5%)
www.gbnews.com/news/video-n...
February 12, 2026 at 7:35 PM
So 1.5% and 8.4% of foreign-born people in the UK. What share of Brits in non-Anglophone countries speak the host country language fluently?
Obviously not, but also really not in Britain www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
February 12, 2026 at 7:04 PM
Obviously not, but also really not in Britain www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
He spent 40 years working on earthworms and said he was looking forward to the grave after publishing a book on them, his last. Also keen on turtle meat.
Happy birthday to one of my favourite haters, Charles Darwin
February 12, 2026 at 6:37 PM
He spent 40 years working on earthworms and said he was looking forward to the grave after publishing a book on them, his last. Also keen on turtle meat.
Reposted by John Springford
The Trump administration on Thursday will revoke a scientific finding that long has been the central basis for U.S. action to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change, the White House announced. https://to.pbs.org/4610Jci
WATCH LIVE: Trump, Zeldin to announce end of scientific basis for U.S. action on climate change
The Trump administration on Thursday will revoke a scientific finding that long has been the central basis for U.S. action to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change, the White Hous...
to.pbs.org
February 12, 2026 at 5:59 PM
The Trump administration on Thursday will revoke a scientific finding that long has been the central basis for U.S. action to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change, the White House announced. https://to.pbs.org/4610Jci
Reposted by John Springford
"If any criticism is needed, it should be directed towards those who have offered little contribution to our life here and have instead spent years siphoning wealth out of one of our proudest institutions."
February 12, 2026 at 8:18 AM
"If any criticism is needed, it should be directed towards those who have offered little contribution to our life here and have instead spent years siphoning wealth out of one of our proudest institutions."
Reposted by John Springford
Those campuses could be £ funnelled into UK towns. Alas.
February 12, 2026 at 8:27 AM
Those campuses could be £ funnelled into UK towns. Alas.
Pay your taxes
'The UK has been colonised by immigrants', says INEOS boss and Man Utd co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe
'The UK has been colonised by immigrants', says INEOS boss and Man Utd co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe
Britain has been "colonised" by immigrants, who are draining resources from the state, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, one of the country's richest and most influential men, has told Sky News.
news.sky.com
February 11, 2026 at 6:39 PM
Pay your taxes
Reposted by John Springford
At the launch of Unsung Britain, @ruthcurtice.bsky.social reflected on the root causes of the loss of trust in politics ⤵️
February 11, 2026 at 1:45 PM
At the launch of Unsung Britain, @ruthcurtice.bsky.social reflected on the root causes of the loss of trust in politics ⤵️
Reposted by John Springford
Many asked whether MCC is taken seriously in Brussels. I thought already at the time that that's not the right question. We know full well from other examples that sometimes you just have to create enough noise to have impact.
US Republicans have been falsely claiming election interference by the European Commission using the DSA, for example in Romania.
Now the Hungarian think tank MCC, with ties to Orbán, has jumped on the trend. An attempt to delegitimise the DSA framework and, potentially, the election results.
Now the Hungarian think tank MCC, with ties to Orbán, has jumped on the trend. An attempt to delegitimise the DSA framework and, potentially, the election results.
February 11, 2026 at 1:37 PM
Many asked whether MCC is taken seriously in Brussels. I thought already at the time that that's not the right question. We know full well from other examples that sometimes you just have to create enough noise to have impact.
Reposted by John Springford
EU Leaders meet tomorrow to discuss measures to lift Europe's anaemic growth rate. But the summit risks turning into a nothing burger.
EU Leaders have cherry-picked a macroeconomically meaningless simplification agenda from the Draghi report
New oped.
1/
www.politico.eu/article/euro...
EU Leaders have cherry-picked a macroeconomically meaningless simplification agenda from the Draghi report
New oped.
1/
www.politico.eu/article/euro...
Europe is chasing the wrong fix for its growth crisis
The continent’s old growth model no longer works in today’s world. And EU leaders need a plan that matches the scale of this shift.
www.politico.eu
February 11, 2026 at 9:34 AM
EU Leaders meet tomorrow to discuss measures to lift Europe's anaemic growth rate. But the summit risks turning into a nothing burger.
EU Leaders have cherry-picked a macroeconomically meaningless simplification agenda from the Draghi report
New oped.
1/
www.politico.eu/article/euro...
EU Leaders have cherry-picked a macroeconomically meaningless simplification agenda from the Draghi report
New oped.
1/
www.politico.eu/article/euro...
Very good. I think the word for this is punchy. Also trenchant.
When EU leaders meet tomorrow to discuss the EU’s competitiveness agenda, they should stop chasing ghosts and confront the real problem Europe‘s economy is facing.
Our latest for @politico.eu with @nilsredeker.bsky.social and @sandertordoir.bsky.social 👇
Our latest for @politico.eu with @nilsredeker.bsky.social and @sandertordoir.bsky.social 👇
Europe is chasing the wrong fix for its growth crisis
The continent’s old growth model no longer works in today’s world. And EU leaders need a plan that matches the scale of this shift.
www.politico.eu
February 11, 2026 at 8:42 AM
Very good. I think the word for this is punchy. Also trenchant.
Reposted by John Springford
On Trumps grand future US business deals with Russia.
Germany and Europe at least could use Russian gas.
What will the US sell in Russia? LNG? And what will it buy from Russia? Western semiconductors Russia smuggled in past sanctions?
Germany and Europe at least could use Russian gas.
What will the US sell in Russia? LNG? And what will it buy from Russia? Western semiconductors Russia smuggled in past sanctions?
February 10, 2026 at 6:40 PM
On Trumps grand future US business deals with Russia.
Germany and Europe at least could use Russian gas.
What will the US sell in Russia? LNG? And what will it buy from Russia? Western semiconductors Russia smuggled in past sanctions?
Germany and Europe at least could use Russian gas.
What will the US sell in Russia? LNG? And what will it buy from Russia? Western semiconductors Russia smuggled in past sanctions?
Is it credible that the UK scores 70 against the US's 64 in this index? Trump's open corruption, plus the vastly larger amount of money in US politics.
February 10, 2026 at 7:51 AM
Is it credible that the UK scores 70 against the US's 64 in this index? Trump's open corruption, plus the vastly larger amount of money in US politics.