By Tim Thorlby 8 mins What does the future hold for young Charlie? This is the second of two blogs looking at the UK’s housing omni-crisis. Last month’s blog outlined the challenge of our six overlapping housing crises and showed how housing choices have deteriorated over the last generation. This month we explore possible solutions. In particular, why don’t we seem to build enough houses in the UK? And is this the main problem anyway? How do we improve Charlie’s prospects for a safe, decent and affordable home? What’s the answer?  A wise person once said: For every complex problem ther ..read more

By Tim Thorlby 8 mins What does the future hold for this one? This blog provides a long view on the UK’s rolling housing omni-crisis. We look through the eyes of 8 year old Charlie. How do his housing prospects differ from when his parents were children, a generation ago? It shows the different parts of the housing crisis, how they relate to each other and how we got here. (Next month’s blog looks forward to possible answers; how do we give Charlie a better future?) Housing in this country is in a mess. Houses cost too much to buy, yet renting is expensive too. Social housing is in short supp ..read more

By Tim Thorlby 7 mins The UK has a million job vacancies and a shortage of workers. Yet millions of workers have been leaving the workplace in recent years. But why? Who are they? And will they ever return? This blog explores who Britain’s missing workers are. 1 – An incomplete story In some respects, the current story about the UK’s economy looks quite good – high employment and low unemployment. Some politicians repeat this like a mantra as though it was all you need to know. However, there are two crucial pieces of the story missing. Firstly, there are nearly 1 million job vacancies today ..read more

By Tim Thorlby 4 mins 1 – Maurice is unwell Meet Maurice. He is a 34 year old front-desk receptionist with a smart suit and a winning smile. He works in one of the big glass skyscrapers in the City. You know the sort - full of banks and fintech companies and with a beautiful ground-floor atrium big enough to host music concerts. Maurice is originally from Brazil, he is good at his job and he is popular with the many office workers to whom he chats and dishes out security passes every day. Today Maurice has a problem. It is Monday morning and he feels ill. High temperature, persistent cough, t ..read more

By Tim Thorlby 6 mins This is the fourth and final blog in a series looking at what makes a ‘good city’. Taking the idea of a 15-minute city as a starting point this blog explores the democratic gap that exists in our towns and cities.    1 – Introduction What is a ‘good city’? What does it look like? Who decides what it looks like? Given that over 80% of us live in towns and cities in the UK these are important questions.   The first blog in this four-part series introduced the idea of the ‘15-minute city’. It’s not a full answer to the question – but I think it’s a good ..read more

Bosco Verticale (‘vertical forest’), Milan By Tim Thorlby 6 mins This is the second blog in a series looking at what makes a ‘good city’. Taking the idea of the 15-minute city as a starting point this blog explores the ecology of cities and what ‘greening’ them could mean and why it matters.   1 – Introduction What is a ‘good city’? What does it look like? Who does it benefit? Why should we care? Given that over 80% of us live in towns and cities in the UK it is an important question and the answer we give will shape our lives, our impact on each other and, indeed, the planet.  The ..read more

By Tim Thorlby 2 mins This blog provides an overview of the blogs I have written to date and shows how, together, they describe a fresh approach to enterprise and economics - the beautiful enterprise framework.    1 – An overview of beautiful enterprise Over the last few years, and drawing on inspiration from many others, I have developed a simple framework of six principles for how the UK might build an economy which is fairer, more dignified and more sustainable. We need more beautiful enterprises. The framework is summarised here: 2 – Exploring the framework Each of the blogs I h ..read more

By Tim Thorlby 6 minutes In my previous blog, I explored the many environmental issues affecting our food and drink industry. In this blog, as food prices continue to rise, I take a long, hard look at the economics of a loaf of bread and ask - how did this loaf get here and who got paid? 1 – The price of bread The price of bread has once again become a political hot potato. The rapidly rising cost of everyday food is now overtaking energy costs as the biggest challenge to our household finances[1]. Most of us spend more on food than energy and whilst you can turn the heating down to save mone ..read more

By Tim Thorlby 6 mins In this blog, Tim explores how our approach to food has become damaging to both us and our planet. The blog explores the key environmental issues within our food and drink industry, suggests a biblical perspective on this and highlights some practical responses.   1 – Food, glorious food! Food is essential for life and at the heart of community, culture and society. Whether it’s a quick breakfast on the go, a big family Sunday lunch or a takeaway curry, it is an integral part of our daily lives. It can be a great source of joy. It can also be a cause of much anxiety ..read more

By Tim Thorlby 12 min read This blog explores the rise of AirBnb, the property sharing website, and the impact it has had on many communities. As owners flip their properties from housing long term tenants to seeking profits from short term rentals, who are the winners and losers? The blog focuses on the plight of tourist hotspots in the UK. It builds on my previous blog on rentier capitalism and offers a case study of rentierism in action. 1 – “Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside!” There is a housing crisis in the UK. As our population continues to rise, housebuilding has failed to keep u ..read more