On The Abundance Agenda this week:
* Martin digs into the NIMBY assault on the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, which is back in Parliament this week.
* We get mad at the Guardian and Natural England (again).
* We explore the big Abundance question at the heart of the Spending Review.
* And in a surprisingly candid interview, former Conservative cabinet minister Sir Simon Clarke makes the case for why his party needs to embrace building – or face irrelevance.
You can find the slightly spartan Conservative YIMBY website here, and Sir Simon’s think-tank Onward here.
The Centre for British Progress’s new paper, “The Case for Abundance: Why Demand Suppression Won’t Fix the Cost of Living” is here.
You can find James’s piece slagging off Matt Goodwin here.
And Martin’s controversial piece on crime is here.
The Abundance Agenda is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and hopefully wherever you get your podcasts!
You can find James on Bluesky here, and Martin here.
00:34 NIMBYism and Environmental Concerns
04:48 Natural England's Role and Challenges
10:33 Planning Reforms and Housing Crisis
14:02 Spending Review and Political Trade-offs
20:32 Balancing Short-term and Long-term Investments
24:14 Housekeeping and Substack Newsletters
24:51 Discussing Crime and Controversies
25:43 Introducing the Guest: Sir Simon Clark
26:40 The YIMBY Campaign and Housing Crisis
27:54 Planning Infrastructure Bill: Eight Quick Fixes
28:41 Political Challenges and Housing Policies
41:30 Devolution and Local Government
43:50 Treasury Brain and Economic Growth
48:16 Concluding Thoughts and Personal Projects
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