Beth Stratford

Beth Stratford

@bethstratford.bsky.social

Economist (mainly ecological macro, housing, rent theory). Senior Research Associate at Oxford's ECI. Honorary Fellow at UCL's IIPP. Proud to have helped set up the London Renters Union✊. Co-author #LandForTheMany.

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Beth Stratford
@bethstratford.bsky.social

Well, I for one am an economist who supports rent controls! Here’s why 🧵: Markets only work well if: -buyers & sellers have roughly equal power -producers respond to price signals & expand supply in response to scarcity -buyers can walk away if prices get too high

Saul Staniforth@saulstaniforth.bsky.social

Ash Sarkar: "The one thing the govt could do to improve the lives of young people is introduce some rent controls" Govt minister Jonathan Reynolds: "No economist supports rent controls" There you have it. Are you a young person trapped paying exorbitant rent? The Labour govt says f**k you.

Beth Stratford
@bethstratford.bsky.social

I love that that there is a kids version of the show - Three Acres and a Calf (!) - and that the whole show is available as a wiki online, too, so that people can look up details after the show and integrate elements into their own teaching.

Beth Stratford
@bethstratford.bsky.social

Well, I for one am an economist who supports rent controls! Here’s why 🧵: Markets only work well if: -buyers & sellers have roughly equal power -producers respond to price signals & expand supply in response to scarcity -buyers can walk away if prices get too high

Saul Staniforth@saulstaniforth.bsky.social

Ash Sarkar: "The one thing the govt could do to improve the lives of young people is introduce some rent controls" Govt minister Jonathan Reynolds: "No economist supports rent controls" There you have it. Are you a young person trapped paying exorbitant rent? The Labour govt says f**k you.

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Beth Stratford
@bethstratford.bsky.social

In the coming months I’ll be publishing more (with @drdonalbrown.bsky.social and Madeleine Pauker) on the detailed design of rent controls – and how they have an essential role to play in tackling the poor quality & energy inefficient nature of PRS homes. Do get in touch if this is of interest!

Beth Stratford
@bethstratford.bsky.social

Well, I for one am an economist who supports rent controls! Here’s why 🧵: Markets only work well if: -buyers & sellers have roughly equal power -producers respond to price signals & expand supply in response to scarcity -buyers can walk away if prices get too high

Saul Staniforth@saulstaniforth.bsky.social

Ash Sarkar: "The one thing the govt could do to improve the lives of young people is introduce some rent controls" Govt minister Jonathan Reynolds: "No economist supports rent controls" There you have it. Are you a young person trapped paying exorbitant rent? The Labour govt says f**k you.

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Beth Stratford
@bethstratford.bsky.social

So we conclude that the risks of rent controls are real, but manageable. And they pale against the risks of continued inaction – entrenched poverty, spiralling public spending and millions of people locked out of housing security.

Beth Stratford
@bethstratford.bsky.social

Well, I for one am an economist who supports rent controls! Here’s why 🧵: Markets only work well if: -buyers & sellers have roughly equal power -producers respond to price signals & expand supply in response to scarcity -buyers can walk away if prices get too high

Saul Staniforth@saulstaniforth.bsky.social

Ash Sarkar: "The one thing the govt could do to improve the lives of young people is introduce some rent controls" Govt minister Jonathan Reynolds: "No economist supports rent controls" There you have it. Are you a young person trapped paying exorbitant rent? The Labour govt says f**k you.

View full thread
Beth Stratford
@bethstratford.bsky.social

Meanwhile that same rent reduction would save renters £2400 per year and govt £2bn per year in housing benefit spend. It's hard to think of any other policy that could deliver such meaningful relief for households most at risk in the current cost of living crisis, whilst SAVING THE GOVT MONEY!

Beth Stratford
@bethstratford.bsky.social

Well, I for one am an economist who supports rent controls! Here’s why 🧵: Markets only work well if: -buyers & sellers have roughly equal power -producers respond to price signals & expand supply in response to scarcity -buyers can walk away if prices get too high

Saul Staniforth@saulstaniforth.bsky.social

Ash Sarkar: "The one thing the govt could do to improve the lives of young people is introduce some rent controls" Govt minister Jonathan Reynolds: "No economist supports rent controls" There you have it. Are you a young person trapped paying exorbitant rent? The Labour govt says f**k you.

View full thread
Beth Stratford
@bethstratford.bsky.social

Well, I for one am an economist who supports rent controls! Here’s why 🧵: Markets only work well if: -buyers & sellers have roughly equal power -producers respond to price signals & expand supply in response to scarcity -buyers can walk away if prices get too high

Saul Staniforth@saulstaniforth.bsky.social

Ash Sarkar: "The one thing the govt could do to improve the lives of young people is introduce some rent controls" Govt minister Jonathan Reynolds: "No economist supports rent controls" There you have it. Are you a young person trapped paying exorbitant rent? The Labour govt says f**k you.

View full thread
Beth Stratford
@bethstratford.bsky.social

Opponents of rent controls typically argue that rent controls would lead to landlords selling up. Of course that presents risks. But it also presents a historic opportunity. Because when a landlord sells, the home does not vanish – only the owner changes!

Beth Stratford
@bethstratford.bsky.social

Well, I for one am an economist who supports rent controls! Here’s why 🧵: Markets only work well if: -buyers & sellers have roughly equal power -producers respond to price signals & expand supply in response to scarcity -buyers can walk away if prices get too high

Saul Staniforth@saulstaniforth.bsky.social

Ash Sarkar: "The one thing the govt could do to improve the lives of young people is introduce some rent controls" Govt minister Jonathan Reynolds: "No economist supports rent controls" There you have it. Are you a young person trapped paying exorbitant rent? The Labour govt says f**k you.

View full thread
Beth Stratford
@bethstratford.bsky.social

For 30 yrs these supernormal returns and eye-watering margins have fuelled a Buy to Let frenzy: landlords outbidding first-time buyers & pushing up house prices, rather than using their savings to invest in UK productive capacity. Find me an economist who'd call that healthy!

Beth Stratford
@bethstratford.bsky.social

It's true that the rent controls that were in place for most of the 20th century were crude. But they protected tenants from exploitation. And their removal led to the most dramatic deterioration in rental affordability on record.

Beth Stratford
@bethstratford.bsky.social

Well, I for one am an economist who supports rent controls! Here’s why 🧵: Markets only work well if: -buyers & sellers have roughly equal power -producers respond to price signals & expand supply in response to scarcity -buyers can walk away if prices get too high

Saul Staniforth@saulstaniforth.bsky.social

Ash Sarkar: "The one thing the govt could do to improve the lives of young people is introduce some rent controls" Govt minister Jonathan Reynolds: "No economist supports rent controls" There you have it. Are you a young person trapped paying exorbitant rent? The Labour govt says f**k you.

View full thread
Beth Stratford
@bethstratford.bsky.social

The result is an inherent power imbalance that many landlords have exploited. This helps to explain why the average mortgaged landlord enjoys profit margins more than 5x the average UK business. (Profit margins for landlords without a mortgage – the majority – are bigger still!)

Beth Stratford
@bethstratford.bsky.social

Well, I for one am an economist who supports rent controls! Here’s why 🧵: Markets only work well if: -buyers & sellers have roughly equal power -producers respond to price signals & expand supply in response to scarcity -buyers can walk away if prices get too high

Saul Staniforth@saulstaniforth.bsky.social

Ash Sarkar: "The one thing the govt could do to improve the lives of young people is introduce some rent controls" Govt minister Jonathan Reynolds: "No economist supports rent controls" There you have it. Are you a young person trapped paying exorbitant rent? The Labour govt says f**k you.

Beth Stratford
@bethstratford.bsky.social

None of these conditions hold in the private rented sector. Shelter is non-substitutable. Few renters can 'exit the market' without becoming homeless. And decades of record-high rents & house prices haven't sparked the building boom neoclassical theory predicts.

Beth Stratford
@bethstratford.bsky.social

Proud to have contributed to this report. Do have a butchers - lots of great ideas for Burnham and team...

Compass@compassoffice.bsky.social

OUT TODAY: Our latest publication, 'Ending Business As Usual', brings together over 20 experts from a range of think tanks and academia to provide nearly 70(!) radical policy solutions to show the Prime Minister can deliver on that promise. www.compassonline.org.uk/publications...

compassonline.org.ukEnding Business As Usual: Policy Options for a Progressive Government - CompassAndy Burnham's rise to Prime Minister came off the back of a promise to 'end business as usual'. Here, 17 civil society organisations present a menu of policies to do just that.

Beth Stratford reposted

Tom Roberts
@tpgroberts.bsky.social

Look, put simply, people should not be comfortable saying that in public and the way to fix society runs directly through making them afraid to say it again.

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Beth Stratford reposted

Musa Okwonga
@okwonga.bsky.social

From this review- “Think of all the diligent, decent black academics who have been lumbered with the embarrassment of having Arday as a figurehead” - no, think of *why* black academics are held collectively responsible in ways that white academics are not

Stephen Bush@stephenkb.bsky.social

I think functionally all of the post-resignation coverage that was about him rather than Cambridge was excessive (e.g. this poisonous review of a book nobody is going to buy - why)

thetimes.comJason Arday’s memoir is mawkish, self-aggrandising and hard to believeThe embattled former Cambridge professor’s autobiography, Great and Unfortunate Things, feels precision-tooled to flatter the biases of the sappiest white liberals

Beth Stratford reposted

Positive Money UK
@positivemoneyuk.bsky.social

⚡ Our new analysis finds that a windfall tax on bank profits could bring in *£19 billion* from just the UK's biggest four banks if announced in the Autumn Budget. Their profits for the first half of 2026 were £29.2bn (up 21% on the same period last year) 🤑 #TaxTheBanks

positivemoney.orgWindfall tax on colossal bank profits could raise £19bn in 2026Burnham urged to resist lobbyists and tax banks to pay for his cost of living measures

Beth Stratford reposted

George Monbiot
@georgemonbiot.bsky.social

Just loving how John Cleese, now reduced to one of his own caricatures, rages about immigrants coming to the UK and failing to accept "our" culture, from his home in ... (checks notes) ... Nevis in the Caribbean.

Beth Stratford reposted

Positive Money UK
@positivemoneyuk.bsky.social

“The new Prime Minister has a clear chance to break away from the unpopularity of his predecessors by standing up to City lobbyists & taxing banks’ unearned windfalls.” This policy isn't just about raising billions, it's about showing the public whose side the Govt is on.

mirror.co.ukAndy Burnham urged to unleash tax raid on banks amid £55billion profit bonanzaEXCLUSIVE: As Britain's big bank prepare to announce a round of bumper half year profits, critics argue a windfall could pay for the government's cost of living crusade

Beth Stratford reposted

Peter Geoghegan
@petergeoghegan.bsky.social

61% of all political donations in the last quarter came from just 14 people Reform took in £9.3m from a handful of super rich donors British democracy is being bought. We urgently need action to take the money out of our politics

Steve Goodrich@stevejgoodrich.bsky.social

Some quick thoughts on Q1 2026 donations data from @electoralcommission.org.uk 🧵 HEADLINE STATS Total: £20.7m (excl. public funds) Biggest recipient: Reform £9.3m Biggest donor: Ben Delo £4m to Reform Donors giving £1m+: £9.2m (44%) from 3 donors Donors giving £250k+: £12.7m (61%) from 14 donors

Beth Stratford reposted

Helen Warrell
@helenwarrell.bsky.social

If you read one thing today, make it @stephenkb.bsky.social's admirably clear and rational analysis of the police's actions following Henry Nowak's murder, from the @financialtimes.com Inside Politics newsletter www.ft.com/content/aa94...

ft.comWhat Henry Nowak’s murder does — and does not — tell us about policingKemi Badenoch says his killing needs to be seen as a ‘Stephen Lawrence moment’ but the failures in both cases differ

Beth Stratford reposted

Joseph Elliott
@jelliott94.bsky.social

Around a quarter of private renters in the UK spend over 40% of disposable income on rents. This is among the highest rates across the world. Meanwhile new analysis for JRF finds being a private landlord has been one of the best investment options available to individuals.

Beth Stratford reposted

Share The Wealth
@sharethewealthuk.bsky.social

A tiny 2% annual wealth tax could raise over £5bn a year from the top 15 billionaires on the Sunday Times Rich List alone. That could cut household energy bills by an average of £150 a year using @jrf-uk.bsky.social's Rising Block Tariff proposal. So why isn't the government doing it now?

Beth Stratford reposted

The Autonomy Institute
@autonomy-institute.bsky.social

Our new report – The Property Premium – is out today, with @jrf-uk.bsky.social 🎙️ Key finding: being a private landlord has been the best investment option available to individuals in England over the past decade. Read the full report here: autonomy.work/portfolio/th...

autonomy.workThe property premium: the nature and trajectory of landlord profits in EnglandNew Autonomy analysis of landlord profits in England over the previous decade.

Beth Stratford reposted

Patriotic Millionaires UK
@patmillsuk.bsky.social

Millionaires are five times more concerned about doctors leaving the UK than they are about other millionaires emigrating 💸 Our poll also found millionaires are proud to live in the UK, and they're willing to pay more tax to invest in our country and its young people.