“A publicly coordinated, publicly led transition is the fastest, fairest, most affordable way to decarbonise.”

Mathew Lawrence spoke to megan kenyon for The New Statesman ⬇️

In this interview with Michael Gove, who compares the Government's plan to tackle regional inequalities to a 'half-built cathedral', Gove reportedly asked the Treasury for a council tax cut for northern households - which Rishi Sunak rejected as Chancellor.ft.com/content/d68d96…

Backed by £3.3bn in investment, how will the net zero energy generation mission actually work at local level?

💡 megan kenyon for The New Statesman Spotlight newstatesman.com/spotlight/2024…

NEW: Housing charities have withdrawn their support for the Renters Reform Bill

@shelter & Renters' Reform Coalition who have previously backed govt reforms say they’ve been watered down by “a minority of landlord backbenchers” and will be a “colossal failure that won’t protect tenants.”

Happy #EarthDay 🌳🌍🍃

Sorry what moment of the day (so far): According to the Resolution Foundation the most common living arrangement for an adult aged between 18 and 34 in 1997 was being in a couple with children, it is now living with parents. bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…

“And, yet, women are setting the tone in dating culture even though it shouldn’t really be our job to educate men on how not to harass or discriminate.”

A brilliant piece from Poppy Sowerby

unherd.com/2024/04/inside…

And yet, we’re still ploughing ahead with plans to open a coal mine in Whitehaven, Cumbria. Make it make sense.

End times for the UK’s final coal-fired station theguardian.com/business/2024/…

No one knows how much I love this woman

The Tortured Poets Department. An anthology of new works that reflect events, opinions and sentiments from a fleeting and fatalistic moment in time - one that was both sensational and sorrowful in equal measure. This period of the author’s life is now over, the chapter closed and…

The Local Government Chronicle has found 74 councils are receiving government support or intervention lgcplus.com/politics/gover…

ICYMI:

Last year the government pledged £6 million to tackle air pollution; local authorities spent time and resources to apply; 2 months ago they were told whether they were successful (and presumably planned rollout on this)… and today the government has withdrawn the money.

My first article since my resignation- on why I decided to stand down and focus now on delivering the energy transition and emissions reductions Better Earth newstatesman.com/spotlight/2024…

#journorequest I am looking to speak to anyone who has found their home difficult to keep cool over the past couple of sweltering summers for a feature on overheating for The New Statesman Spotlight. How are you prepping for Summer 2024? Installing aircon? Black out blinds? email me! (in bio)

Energy Security Minister, Graham Stuart has resigned from government. He'll still fight the next election, but will be returning to the back benches.

Happy National Heat Pump Day! 🌿🌎Earlier this year, I wrote this piece about trying to persuade my parents to switch over when they next need to replace their boiler. newstatesman.com/spotlight/sust…

The British public feel police have 'given up' on their areas, as 1/3 Brits experience antisocial behaviour.

In my latest The New Statesman column, I visited a fly-tipping and drug-dealing hotspot to explore what's happening - and how locals are responding:

newstatesman.com/comment/2024/0…