Meanwhile as an abundance/Yimby-curious speccy nerd, honestly interested to know if you have good examples of advocates trying to convince the public not just political elites?

As a card-carrying speccy nerd, I think its probably on all of us to acknowledge that the public are very frustrated with politics as an 'inside game'. Seems to be more than just a stylistic concern but one of how you build trust in democracy.

We also have Harringay Green Lanes home of the best Turkish food in London. Also frankly if Tottenham is good enough for Beyonce then it's good enough for any Londoner. (I say hardened by years of battle with smug hackneyites)

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What would be the cost of going a step further for subscriptions. i.e. you have to deliberately opt in every three months to a subscription continuing. If it's just a pop up on an app surely that's pretty frictionless consumer protection

Struck a nerve! We're now all sitting in the policy lab office bemoaning unintelligible council tax platforms, moving from GPs that offered online booking to phone-only and trying to get through to an actual person at broadband providers.

Agreed but also think people create a 0-sum game between types of socialising, when (esp. for those with anxiety) going to work and talking to colleagues builds the muscle of social connection. e.g If I'm at work I'm more likely to a) go out after b) not be daunted by reaching out to friends

That and the "algorithms"... Although I think like @dmk1793.bsky.social I'm talking less about Labour and how it's met by MSM when it tries to talk about the good life and more about outriders more broadly. Think the former is absolutely a dead end barring some very well-respected local politicians.

Which I think points to a question of whether the soc dems weakness is more in the 'how' of talking about the good life that resonates, rather than the 'what'

Oh definitely agreed there's a genuine disconnect. But there's a genuine disconnect between the public and the conservative lifestyle influencers too. But they confidently keep going regardless and those ideas find purchase and the public doesn't seem to react as badly to them.