JN

It's reported that John Lennon first heard this on the radio and said "Is that Paul? Christ that's one hell of a groove"

This is so striking it bears repeating. The only other parts of Europe that ever saw deindustrialization as rapid as the Midlands and Yorkshire did in the ‘80s were formerly Communist countries transitioning to capitalism

every town in britain is full of £40-50k cars now and i earn more than 98% of this country and can’t justify one. how are you affording these? it’s not just the £500 a month. it’s the insurance, the maintenance, and the thing losing a third of its value in three years. what am i missing

Manchester's renaissance is remarkably unremarkable. It had the same strategy as basically every other post-industrial city, it just actually executed it well

London is de-gentrifying — and that’s far more worrying than gentrification ever was. The latest figures show the capital has recorded its first real population decline in 37 years, with 420,000 people leaving for other parts of Britain. This is a flashing sign that the nation’s capital is moving in the wrong direction. In the early 2010s, Brixton was the poster child for urban revival. So much so that, in 2013, anti-gentrification protesters “Yuppies Out” marched on a Champagne and cheese shop. That shop closed last September.  The Dogstar, once a nightlife landmark, and targeted in several earlier riots, was forced to shut in 2024. Squatters moved in within days, while units in Brixton market sit vacant, inviting antisocial behaviour. Gentrification is one of those archetypal bogeymen: wealthy phonies moving into a poor but cool neighbourhood, forcing out the “true” locals in favour of matcha lattes and yoga studios, destroying an area’s character in the process. But, in fact, everything you’ve been told about gentrification is wrong: it’s immensely beneficial to all. We’re now seeing the reverse. Across London we’re seeing disinvestment, declining amenity, fewer homes being built, higher-income residents leaving, and an increasingly hostile attitude towards regeneration. Neighbourhoods that were once symbols of revival are instead becoming symbols of stagnation. This isn’t authenticity triumphing over capitalism. It isn’t communities being “saved”. It’s decline. London’s prosperity has never come from freezing neighbourhoods. It came from attracting ambitious people, investment and development. Successful regeneration transformed once crime-ridden and neglected areas into places where people actually wanted to live, work and start businesses. Contrary to the popular narrative, the evidence that gentrification forces mass displacement has always been remarkably weak. What it overwhelmingly does is improve neighbourhoods and expand opportunity. Yet we’ve spent the past decade romanticising poverty while treating regeneration as something shameful. Planning applications are blocked. New housing is opposed. Investment is viewed with suspicion. The result is a city that people increasingly choose to leave. London isn’t Britain’s problem. It’s Britain’s greatest asset. When London grows, the whole country benefits. When London declines, the consequences are felt far beyond the M25. We’ve run this experiment before. Between 1939 and 1988, London’s population fell by a quarter under policies of managed decline. It took decades to reverse that mistake. The latest figures should be a warning that we may be repeating it. We should stop fearing gentrification and start fearing de-gentrification. London’s future depends not on managing decline, but on welcoming regeneration once again.

Manchester's renaissance is remarkably unremarkable. It had the same strategy as basically every other post-industrial city, it just actually executed it well

Leaving aside the building, everything else in the photo is a hideous mess. Have we really got this bad at designing cities? We used to be pretty good at it (before urban designers existed, incidentally).

Intense reflected sunlight from New Street station caused parked hire e-bikes and scooters to overheat and smoke on July 10, 2026. Fire service and company investigations confirmed the high heat spots (reaching 43°C) were driven by architectural solar glare.