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Laurie Macfarlane
@L__Macfarlane
Co-director @FutureEconScot. Fellow @IIPP_UCL. Co-author Rethinking the Economics of Land and Housing
Edinburgh, Scotland
Joined November 2010
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22.8K
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  • user avatar
    Laurie Macfarlane
    @L__Macfarlane
    Mar 31, 2025
    What @garys_economics is correctly saying is that the social contract has been smashed to pieces We were always told that if you work hard, get an education, get a job - you’d get economic security and a decent roof over your head. This is no longer the case for young people
    user avatar
    Jay
    @JibbaJabb
    Mar 27, 2025
    Replying to @JibbaJabb
    Young people need hope. There is little reward for traditional work now. #bbcqt
    00:00
    511K
  • user avatar
    Laurie Macfarlane
    @L__Macfarlane
    Oct 20, 2020
    Andy Burnham asked for £65m to save lives and businesses in Greater Manchester – but was refused. That's about 0.5% of what the UK government has spent on a test and trace system that doesn't even work. #perspective
  • user avatar
    Laurie Macfarlane
    @L__Macfarlane
    Nov 8, 2024
    The reason electricity prices in the UK are so high is because we’re more reliant on gas than other countries - and gas sets the marginal price of electricity It’s our reliance on fossil fuels that’s making us cold and poor — not net zero
    user avatar
    Jacob Rees-Mogg
    @Jacob_Rees_Mogg
    Nov 7, 2024
    The net zero madness makes us cold and poor.
    750K
  • user avatar
    Laurie Macfarlane
    @L__Macfarlane
    Aug 8, 2025
    The fact that we instantly ended homelessness during the pandemic, and then let it return as some intractable problem straight after, is something we really don’t talk about enough.
    user avatar
    Jeremy Corbyn
    @jeremycorbyn
    Aug 7, 2025
    We have the means to end homelessness. We just need the political will.
    j
    00:00
    j
    397K
  • user avatar
    Laurie Macfarlane
    @L__Macfarlane
    Nov 21, 2019
    This video highlights why I think learning about the distribution of income in the country should be an essential part of the school curriculum. Absolutely bizarre. x.com/KeejayOV2/stat…
  • user avatar
    Laurie Macfarlane
    @L__Macfarlane
    Jul 8, 2020
    Rishi Sunak’s statement is a textbook plan for restoring business-as-usual: prop up the housing market, ignore renters, create low-paid jobs, get people consuming again, ignore the climate crisis. Totally oblivious to the scale of the challenges we face.
  • user avatar
    Laurie Macfarlane
    @L__Macfarlane
    Nov 23, 2019
    “I own a flat that I rent out to a lovely couple, but I want to make them homeless just before Christmas so I can make a bit of extra cash. How do I go about doing that?”
    user avatar
    FT Property
    @ftproperty
    Nov 23, 2019
    'I own a flat that I rent out to a lovely couple, but I want to get them out so I can rent it on Airbnb as a holiday let — preferably before Christmas. How do I go about doing that?' on.ft.com/2QJHIoz
  • user avatar
    Laurie Macfarlane
    @L__Macfarlane
    Jan 4, 2021
    Asked if anything is missing from the PM’s measures, Starmer says no Nothing about fixing the giant gaps in the safety net. Nothing about ensuring people can afford to self isolate. Nothing about helping firms at breaking point This is piss poor, frankly
    BBC News (UK)
    00:00
    BBC News (UK)
  • user avatar
    Laurie Macfarlane
    @L__Macfarlane
    Apr 18, 2019
    George Galloway (2014): “I’ll be campaigning to remain in the EU as anyone with any brain cells will be doing” George Galloway (2019): “I will be supporting Nigel Farage in next months elections” Life comes at you fast. x.com/clmbie/status/…
  • user avatar
    Laurie Macfarlane
    @L__Macfarlane
    Aug 12, 2025
    Inheritance tax isn’t “theft” from those who have built a “successful life and legacy”. It is a tax on those receiving a windfall of unearned wealth. It’s not “immoral” unless you think people’s life chances should be determined not by what they do — but who their parents are.
    3.6M
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    Laurie Macfarlane
    @L__Macfarlane
    Oct 25, 2019
    Last night Lazio fans marched through Glasgow doing fascist salutes. Celtic fans responded by unfurling a banner of Mussolini being hung after being shot by communists. Fair play.
  • user avatar
    Laurie Macfarlane
    @L__Macfarlane
    Jul 15, 2025
    The UK doing what it does best: pump-priming the housing market because it can’t deliver any real growth
    user avatar
    HM Treasury
    @hmtreasury
    Jul 15, 2025
    First-time buyers will be supported to get on the housing ladder, with the Bank of England allowing more lending at over 4.5x a buyer’s income. This reform could help 36,000 more people buy a home over its first year. Find out more about the reforms below.
    188K
  • user avatar
    Laurie Macfarlane
    @L__Macfarlane
    Oct 14, 2017
    Dear @DanielJHannan. In Singapore: 20% of GDP comes from state owned enterprises 90% of land is state owned 85% of housing is public.
  • user avatar
    Laurie Macfarlane
    @L__Macfarlane
    Sep 25, 2020
    Answer: because the interests of landlords come before everyone else.
    Nell Manson, left, and Lucy Owens are self-isolating at Glasgow University
    Covid-hit university students: 'Why have they sent us here?'
    From bbc.com