John Burn-Murdoch

Friday, 29 September, 2023

Friday, 22 September, 2023

Data PointsGlobal Economy

Are we destined for a zero-sum future?

A backdrop of slower economic growth may be shaping attitudes of tomorrow that cut across political divides

Friday, 15 September, 2023

Data PointsResidential property

Repeat after me: building any new homes reduces housing costs for all

Building unsubsidised housing pushes down rents and prices while freeing up cheaper properties

Saturday, 9 September, 2023

Data PointsEconomic statistics

The danger of building strong narratives on weak data

Hazy statistics have painted too gloomy a picture of Britain, but similar issues affect many countries

Friday, 25 August, 2023

Data PointsUK infrastructure

The Nimby tax on Britain and America

Local objections and protracted reviews mean new infrastructure projects cost far more in the UK and US than elsewhere

Saturday, 19 August, 2023

FIFA World Cup

‘It boils down to money’: England and Spain prepare for Women’s World Cup face-off

The finalists have boosted spending to become magnets for global talent

Friday, 18 August, 2023

Data PointsConservative Party UK

The Tories risk driving a wedge between themselves and the electorate

Rishi Sunak’s campaign on immigration is falling foul of the rules of this tried-and-tested political game

Friday, 11 August, 2023

Data PointsUK economy

Is Britain really as poor as Mississippi?

The answer says much about the monopolarity of the UK’s economic geography

Friday, 28 July, 2023

Data PointsClimate change

Everyone loses if net zero becomes the new partisan divide

Cross-party support for green policies provided one of Britain’s few recent success stories, but this progress is now under threat

Friday, 21 July, 2023

Data PointsClimate change

What we get wrong when we talk about global warming

We emphasise the wrong numbers in what is a present reality, not a future threat

Friday, 14 July, 2023

Data PointsSocial affairs

Home ownership in Britain has become a hereditary privilege

Without realising it, we have chosen to tackle unaffordable housing by widening wealth inequality

Friday, 7 July, 2023

Data PointsFrench society

French riots show how entrenched inequalities have become

The gulf between immigrants and those born in the country is larger than in almost any other developed nation

Saturday, 3 June, 2023

The Weekend Essay

Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi: who was the greatest footballer?

As their ‘beautiful rivalry’ comes to an end, which of these sporting superstars emerges the winner?

Friday, 26 May, 2023

Data PointsUK society

Britain is not America — and the right shouldn’t forget it

The US brand of national conservatism fails to resonate in the UK because it is a fundamentally different society

Friday, 19 May, 2023

Data PointsResidential property

How England’s flats turned into second-class housing

Leaseholds and cladding crisis help explain the stagnation in apartment prices

Friday, 12 May, 2023

Data PointsUS gun violence

Collapsing social trust is driving American gun violence

Mass shootings and high-powered rifles draw most attention, but the reality of most US firearm deaths lies elsewhere

Friday, 5 May, 2023

Data PointsUK immigration

Progressives are winning the immigration debate — but it doesn’t feel like it

In the west, increased openness to diversity may be a direct reaction to populism

Monday, 1 May, 2023

Data PointsNational Health Service

Pay rises alone will not stem the flow of Britain’s medics

Stress, burnout and workplace culture are driving the mounting exodus

Friday, 21 April, 2023

Data PointsDemographics and population

London’s parasitical housing market is driving away young families

Sky-high property costs are forcing thousands to flee the capital, leaving a trail of closed primary schools behind them

Friday, 14 April, 2023

UK employment

Tell-tale signs that UK slowdown is here to stay

While other countries have recovered, clues among UK employment figures suggest problems ahead

Thursday, 6 April, 2023

Data PointsMillennials

Millennials are not as badly off as they think — but success is bittersweet

Highly educated and with earnings to match, this generation still falls behind boomers in the housing market

Friday, 31 March, 2023

Data PointsDemographics and population

Why are Americans dying so young?

US life expectancy is in freefall as the young and the poor bear the brunt of struggles for shared prosperity

Friday, 24 March, 2023

Data PointsMillennials

Conservatives win some culture battles, but they are losing the war

Exploiting wedge issues such as immigration and LGBT rights has cost the right its next generation of voters

Friday, 17 March, 2023

Data PointsProperty

The Anglosphere needs to learn to love apartment living

Housebuilding rates in English-speaking states have fallen behind the rest of the developed world

Friday, 10 March, 2023

Data PointsSocial Media

Smartphones and social media are destroying children’s mental health

Evidence of the catastrophic effects of increased screen-time is now overwhelming

Chief data reporter

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