  The Hubble tension has proven to be stubbornly persistent, despite widespread
efforts to relax it. As a possible resolution of this problem we propose a
radical alternative to the way in which cosmological models are viewed.
Specifically, we consider building cosmological models from spaces that exhibit
intrinsic symmetries, rather than as space-times with explicit symmetry. This
change in perspective allows statistical homogeneity and isotropy to be
maintained, while relaxing some strong mathematical constraints that the
standard approach imposes. We show that a Hubble tension arises naturally in
our new approach, and that (as a corollary) a prediction can be made for the
radial component of the Baryon Acoustic Oscillations. Our prediction appears to
be consistent with the DESI first-year data release, which has otherwise been
interpreted as evidence for dynamical dark energy.
