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Last Notes

2026-06-01 11:30:19 GMT

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@nprofile…ly79
ha ha, great comment

2026-06-01 07:42:23 GMT

Friends & colleagues, I have been advised that my instance has been over-run with Russian chatbots & so this afternoon will be transferring to a new instance.
As a result later today (and possibly into tomorrow) there will be a hiatus in posting while I work my way through the transfer protocol.
I will post from the new instance when the transfer is complete - you should find there is no need for you to do anything if you want to continue following my posts.
More on this later
#mastodon

2026-06-01 06:03:30 GMT

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Bite Size Economics No. 3
'markets are never free'
The idea that in some ideal world markets can be free misunderstands how markets work; they are dependent on property & contract laws shaped by the state (or in earlier times the local political authority).
Historically markets have operated without formal laws, but even then community trust & local authority set the norms for market interactions.
All markets are regulated the issue is how & by whom?
#BiteSizeEconomics #economics #markets

2026-06-01 05:42:17 GMT

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@nprofile…vv3x
As noted at the bottom of the post, its a story in the FT... if you can get behind the paywall here's a link to the article.
https://www.ft.com/content/5c8a871f-9a49-45f4-9ac0-543a608a5a9d?syn-25a6b1a6=1

2026-06-01 05:24:14 GMT

For all its reputation as a country of rampant free market capitalism, the USA's corporate profitability may be in part (by some reckoning 50%) dependent on the deficit funding of the state;
which is to say that the US is actually a massive corporate welfare machine, pumping public money raised on international bond markets (through sales & holding of so-called T-bills across the world) into the private sector.
If so, US capitalism *does* look rather different!
#capitalism #USA
h/t FT

2026-05-31 08:02:23 GMT

While many of us are critical of the lack of custodial sentence for sexual assault by young perpetrators (given the seriousness of the crimes & the impact on the victims), this is not to argue that imprisonment of young offenders is working... it clearly isn't.
The care, offence, prison, reoffending cycle suggests that for a key group of young people whose circumstances are already dysfunctional, society is failing to extricate them from an environment that encourages criminality.
#politics

2026-05-31 07:39:39 GMT

Q. as Tony Blair says the public would back a 'rethinking of healthcare', we might ask why whenever a 'rethinking' of healthcare is proposed its always about how the private sector involvement can be expanded, not how we might better fund & support both existing public provision & the woefully underfunded preventative aspects of public health?
Its almost like politicians talking about health had already been bought up by private health care providers.... oh, hold on.
#NHS #health #healthcare

2026-05-31 07:15:28 GMT

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Bite Size Economics No. 2
'Money is trust'
Money is usually seen as a store of value or a means of exchange but these functions depend on its manifestation of trust.
We trust money is acceptable to others (in the form we want to use from paper money to digital payments); we trust its value is (at least in the medium term) relatively stable.
When our trust declines so does money's stability (inflation, barter exchange). So, without our trust money cannot work!
#BiteSizeEconomics #economics

2026-05-30 21:23:33 GMT

The Green Parry of England & Wales is being urged by its current & past leader(s) to listen to what those who are considering voting for ReformUK Ltd. are concerned about; as Zack Polanski says, its inequality, so the GPEW will stress
'when multimillionaires & billionaires are taking more money than ever before, the problem is not someone who is fleeing for their lives & might be travelling by small boat. The problem is flying above our head by private jet'!
#politics
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/may/30/green-leaders-warn-party-it-must-listen-to-reform-voters-concerns-to-tackle-inequality

2026-05-30 11:56:11 GMT

Bite Sized Economics No. 1 (remix)
'interest is the price of risk'!
If a higher interest rate is being changed there is more risk of non-repayment.
This is why some people are charged more for loans & why some 'investments' are offered with higher interest rates.
Knowing this helps make sense of loans & investments; and is a useful scam warning
If an interest rate is out of line, ask yourself, why?
#BiteSizedEconomics #economics

2026-05-30 07:26:06 GMT

Just in case you thought the lamentable case of teenage rapists escaping prison was an isolated case of apparent disregard for the (lifetime of) harm done to their victims; The Guardian has found three more cases in the North East of England.
This emphasis (again) that there is something wrong in how the justice system tis weighing the plight of the victims in rapes against the 'damage' to the future of the young male attackers!
#SexualAssault #politics
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/may/29/teenage-boys-rape-sentencing-youth-courts

2026-05-30 07:17:07 GMT

As we ponder the implications of Alan Milburn's report on youth employment & education, might the Dutch have a better way.
One of its key elements is the value put on technical education; of course, the UK has a perfectly workable technical & vocational education sector, but Further Education has been starved of funds for decades reducing it to a shadow of what it could be.
Certainly the UK's higher Education crisis is clear, but its FE crisis is even worse!
#workers
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/may/29/netherlands-britain-youth-jobs-crisis

2026-05-30 06:53:26 GMT

Although he subsequently apologised for the phrasing, Bill Winters (CEO, Standard Chartered), has introduced the phrase 'lower-value human capital' in to public discourse....
If you ever wanted an example of the contempt that our executive business class have for ordinary workers, this would be it... in just four words, Winters summed up the way the top table in most firms seem to see their workforce.
The inhumanity of the capitalist class is not new, but increasingly brazen!
#workers
h/t FT

2026-05-30 06:49:26 GMT

The problem the Tangerine Tyrant has in extricating the US from his ill-advised attacks (in consort with Israel) on Iran, is whatever deal he offers (and the current one looks on one level quite 'generous') is that the leadership in Tehran just does not trust the US (and to be fair, with good historically based reason).
What the world may be about to encounter is the very real impact of the decline of residual trust in diplomacy that the Orange one has engineered.
#politics #Iran
h/t FT

2026-05-29 11:20:55 GMT

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@nprofile…udtr
yes, leaving 'battered' in, i think 😀

2026-05-29 10:47:55 GMT

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@nprofile…udtr
That may be the case; its a long time since the mainstream media battered with a straight bat on these sort of political issues - as it is I think I'm right in saying the local party will make the decision, I assume on the local political merits?

2026-05-29 09:33:39 GMT

I'm playing round with re-purposing the post below (and re-posting it) as the first in a series of posts called 'bite-sized economics' where I take an idea & give a thumbnail sketch of why its useful for our thinking about the political economy of the UK (and the wider world).
I'd be interested if you think you'd value that... I have an initial list of about ten posts & of course expect some to spark difference & debate....
let me know what you think
#economics #PoliticalEconomy

2026-05-29 09:28:17 GMT

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@nprofile…x0jx @nprofile…8ks6
Here it is (I don't normally offer links to the FT in posts as there is a paywall):
https://www.ft.com/content/2205e2d0-50dc-4e80-9bf7-78d0272276c0?syn-25a6b1a6=1

2026-05-29 07:20:23 GMT

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@nprofile…8ks6
Well, the rise of the hybrid working solution (two days WfH, three in the office) looks to be taking hold, so WfH is only in decline in the sense of full remote working... and yes, to some extent the current research shows correlate rather than causation, so we might expect to involve other issues as well, but the data cited in the FT article seems pretty clear

2026-05-29 05:38:08 GMT

We've been discussing whether the Green Party of England & Wales should actively campaign in Makerfield or merely have a candidate for voters but focus their efforts elsewhere (giving Andy Burnham an easier ride for anti-ReformUK votes); so here's Ben Smoke's contribution to that debate concluding that:
'supporting the status quo won’t beat rightwing populism. History tells us that only by standing up & offering a genuine alternative will the fight be won'!
#politics
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/may/28/green-party-run-makerfield-labour-demands-reform-uk

2026-05-29 05:15:18 GMT

John Burn-Murdoch (FT) suggests rather than AI being the cause of a decline in entry level jobs, actually it may be the rise of remote working (working from home) that has made employing new starters less attractive.
New hires require more supervision & need to be inculcated into the ways of their employer, all of which is more difficult remotely.
This also may explain why younger workers are less keen on WfH than those with more established careers.
#WorkingFromHome #workers #AI #employment

2026-05-28 21:30:58 GMT

I was asked to day what I thought was the one bit of economic knowledge anyone should know..... and I said this:
'interest is the price of risk'!
so if a higher interest rate is being changed there is more risk of non-repayment.
If you know this, you can recognise why some people are charged more for loans & why some 'investments' are offered with higher interest rates.
This simple piece of knowledge helps make sense of loans & investments.... and is a useful scam warning
#economics

2026-05-28 21:21:13 GMT

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@nprofile…7rt6
Although as I've noted, the comply focus on education for work undermines the humanistic value of education itself - I'm not saying ignore vocational issues, but they cannot (shouldn't) be the be all & end all of higher education

2026-05-28 17:12:35 GMT

Ever greater numbers of young people are no longer seeking work according to ONS data.
Before we blame the benefits system or education.... perhaps we should think of this differently.
If we see employment as a 'service' to workers (which it sort of is, as well as being of benefit to employers!), then we should look at what sort of work is on offer.
In a market if demand declines the product (here jobs) is unappealing!
Look at the jobs on offer, not the prospective workers!
#workers

2026-05-28 05:49:04 GMT

There's been a lot of coverage of the forthcoming report by Alan Milburn on young people's work prospects, but what is refreshing is that he seems to be rejecting the usual victim blaming & rather focussing on the dysfunctional structures & systems that young people confront when trying to find their way into the workforce.
This change of emphasis is very welcome, but whether it will find its way into any policy responses is a different matter.
#workers #politics
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy026x9jpd0o

2026-05-28 05:41:23 GMT

Disappointingly, but all to predictably Jonathan Liew exercise a long critique of X (formally Twitter), but concludes that the 'utopian idea of the digital town square is dead for ever' without even mentioning Mastodon, which while not perfect (seem to me) to get quite a long way towards that ideal....
We've noted before how (wilfully?) blind to Mastodon mainstream journalists are, so we shouldn't be surprised, just disappointed (again).
#mastodon #SocialMedia
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/may/28/still-on-x-ask-yourself-why-platform-twitter-malign-actors-misinformation

2026-05-28 05:20:02 GMT

A key element of the crisis engulfing universities is the breakdown in community between the academic staff & the managerial cadre (badly) running their institutions.
As Stefan Collini says: 'Members of the academic staff cease to be regarded as colleagues whose co-operation should be solicited; instead, they are treated as a disaffected workforce liable to make trouble if given a hint of the cuts being prepared by the senior management team'!
#universities #politics
https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v48/n10/stefan-collini/squadrons-of-pigs

2026-05-27 17:32:36 GMT

The reform of university financing & specifically the student loan system will only come when we reject the notion that most (or indeed all) the benefits of attending university are captured by graduates (the business model that sees them pick up the entire headline cost of tuition).
A university educated cohort is a major pubic good in many ways & so the Govt. *should* take on a significant proportion (if not all) the cost(s)....
#politics #universities
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2026/may/27/tax-on-ambition-graduates-tell-all-to-student-loans-inquiry

2026-05-27 05:39:53 GMT

Tony Blair has intervened in the (prospective) Labour leadership election to warn against moving the party left & arguing the UK should have backed the Tangerine Tyrant's attack on Iran (a further move to the right?).
Given Blair's current standing (of which he seems unaware), the implicit criticism of Andy Burnham's (supposed) leftism, may well play well for Burnham.
But as so often its Blair's lack of appreciation of how history now sees his Premiership that's the problem.
#politics

2026-05-26 20:49:11 GMT

Yup, the state is contemptuous of normal people... (a theme of some recent posts here).
The team investigating the Post Office Horizon IT scandal is significantly under-resourced, leading its chief to suggest there will be further delays in bringing the perpetrators to justice - and lets not forget for some postmasters their exposure to Fujitsu's software was a fatal experience.
So once again justice by being delayed & so is being denied.
#Horizon #politics
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2422y4ldymo

2026-05-26 17:26:18 GMT

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@nprofile…jnnp
I know... its almost like in the C19th we had some idea how to manage civil engineering projects...

2026-05-26 17:13:52 GMT

As its is announced that HS2 spent £65mn on consultants in 2025 to figure out it 'reset', the most expensive railway in the world has become a classic example of what is wrong with the UK.
Mangers don't know what they're doing so hire consultant who will say whatever they think will maximise their fee;
The idea of the public good is evacuated of meaning & is only measured using monetised cost-benefit analysis;
the political cycle destroys everything it touches.
#HS2 #politics
h/t FT

2026-05-26 08:40:27 GMT

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@nprofile…ay7w
Yes, but for the EU, its only a relatively small issue, they have much bigger fish to fry

2026-05-26 07:17:04 GMT

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@nprofile…8ks6
Indeed, great (and important) point - boosted!

2026-05-26 05:51:02 GMT

RIP Sonny Rollins
For jazz fans a towering colossus of the saxophone, Rollins work spanned be-bop to fusion, with his distinctive sound always taking the lead.
Famous for practicing on Brooklyn Bridge & memorialising it in music as well as providing the soundtrack for Alfie (a landmark British film), Rollins was one of those musicians who was alway there, always playing & always interesting.
A genius has left the stage
#jazz #music

2026-05-26 05:43:47 GMT

The (continuing) problem for the uk/EU 'reset' and for (prospective) Labour leadership contenders pushing re-engaging with the EU, is these position(s) presume a neutral & permissive stance from the European Commission.
However, looking at the popularity & stance on Europe of ReformUK Ltd, little is going to happen before the next election, because of the likelihood of any (possible) ReformUK Govt immediately reversing any agreement.
The EU can wait, even if we cannot!
#EU #Brexit #politics

2026-05-26 05:38:21 GMT

Markets are premised on the idea of perfect information (in economic theories).... but are actually patterned by information asymmetries.
Sometimes these help customers who know more about their needs & priories than sellers, but increasingly (as in 'surveillance pricing') firms use AI & associated technologies to ascertain whether prospective (online) customers comparison shop regularly & then offer (variable) prices;
given 'surge pricing' is unpopular, will this be too?
#economics
h/t FT

2026-05-26 05:29:29 GMT

Jonathan Portes (KCL) is correct, a major priority for Govt, in the UK must be tax reform (we have the most complex tax code in the world, and it does us no real good).
we need to;
remove the tax advantages accruing to unearned income;
reform housing taxation & council tax to be more progressive;
remove a range of cliff-edges for medium to higher earners that are unjust;
to which I would add: simplify the whole code to remove the proliferating special allowances!
#tax #politics
h/t FT

2026-05-26 05:21:06 GMT

While the Tangerine Tyrant is 'demanding' that Iran 're-open' the Strait of Hormuz, it looks like the Iranians toll system is working to some extent with three ships (two LNG, one oil) passing through the Strait safely - one assumes having paid some sort of toll - over the weekend.
As this demonstrates, one result of the US/Israeli attacks on Iran may be to have turned the Straits into a naval turnpike.
Not the result we were told to expect, is it?
#StraitOfHormuz #Iran #politics
h/t FT

2026-05-26 05:16:04 GMT

As a policy its never really seems to work, but Rachel Reeves has joined a procession of past politicians declaring that we should Buy British.
A well managed Buy British public procurement policy can have good Keynesian multiplier effects, but without a stronger legislative & incentive structure such invocations are usually largely ineffective due to other (cost, capacity & technological) considerations.... it also requires a stronger & funded surrounding industrial policy!
#economics
h/t FT

2026-05-25 17:13:46 GMT

To the sceptics among us the rash of prospective Initial Public Offerings from AI-related enterprises reflect not so much confidence in the future of AI & related technologies bit rather the actions of a group of promoters looking to cash out while the market is booming, searching for the fools to buy them....
(its said every speculative market needs fools; if you don't know who they are then its likely you; but watch out, booms only run until the last fool has invested!)
#AI #investment

2026-05-25 17:09:22 GMT

When the continuing negotiations produce something to look at, there is growing suspicion that by using their leverage over the Straits of Hormuz (and threats to US clients/allies around the Middle East), the Iranians may walk away with a pretty good deal (for the regime, that is), leaving the Tangerine Tyrant some vacuous claims to make but essentially a material loss.
If so, this will be yet one more marker of the geopolitical decline of the US; so much for the Art of the Deal, huh?
#Iran

2026-05-25 08:34:53 GMT

The Bear sums up the great Right wing hypocrisy in their 'discussion' of migration - its not the issue of migration that's the underlying problem, its who the migrants are... and of course we knew this, but good to have ti so summarily laid out!
(one might also see this instructive on why right wing 'ex-pats' who voted for Brexit, then were surprised to discover the EU was no longer quite so welcoming to their residency preferences).
#migration #politics #brexit
https://www.bearlypolitics.co.uk/p/the-great-migration-fannywobble
https://cdn.masto.host/zirkus/media_attachments/files/116/634/286/338/774/147/original/466a745cb376b495.png

2026-05-25 05:59:07 GMT

Small & medium size enterprises develop of new jobs & innovation (as has been demonstrated by decades of research), so the news that UK-based banks are moving away from loans to SMEs (the proportion of lending to SMEs has halved in a decade) & where it continues is increasingly going to property-focussed firms, is yet more concerning news as regards the UK's ability to reinvigorate its economy.
But banks prefer the *easier* job of lending to big firms, of course
#banking #business
h/t FT

2026-05-24 08:38:04 GMT

Why do (some) people find ReformUK Ltd appealing?
Well, we might focus on the state's contempt of ordinary people, exhibited from the Grenfell fire, to the Post Office scandal, from Windrush to the infected blood scandal.
The Fascist Frog is a charlatan, but his appeal to ordinary people ('I'm like you') despite being demonstrably) false is key... and this is why Zack Polanski's videos have seen the Green Party of England & Wales' support rise.
People are fed up with the contempt!
#politics

2026-05-24 08:26:42 GMT

Meanwhile in the Straits of Hormuz, the Iranians have established a toll system that sees payment in Renminbi and/or in kind (in various forms), despite the bluster of the Tangerine Tyrant.
In the end the US/Israeli attacks on Iran, will likely have raised the costs to shipping in the area (to Iran's benefit) & also revealed the leverage control of the Straits' can give... although as other routes/methods are developed for shipping oil out of the region, such leverage may not last.
#politics

2026-05-24 07:20:52 GMT

Is the latest Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA) current playing out in the Ukraine?
RMAs are when a new technology, be it spurs for riding, or machine guns, so changes the balance of power on the battlefield that all sides have to completely rethink their strategy & practices of warfare.
The deployment of masses of cheap but deadly drones by the Ukrainians against the Russians has so overpowered the latter that this looks like such a moment!
#military #war
h/t John Naughton/Observer

2026-05-24 07:17:12 GMT

As Chase Foster & Jeff Frieden conclude:
'Economic insecurity remains a powerful driver of political discontent. The design of social policy therefore matters'...
When the protection of communities from the disruption of the global market & swift technological changes to work, is regarded as 'too expensive' or economically inefficient, then Right populism (and its mis-directed blame game) can prosper.
The welfare state remains a bulwark against the Right.
#politics
https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2026/05/18/welfare-spending-reduces-populism-support/
https://cdn.masto.host/zirkus/media_attachments/files/116/628/312/590/456/099/original/fb110847943fc615.png

2026-05-23 17:03:37 GMT

One of the periodic issues in the retail fuel market is how prices 'go up like a rocket & come down like feather' in response to energy crises.
But, fuel companies likely make little (extra) profit as prices rise as they are under scrutiny & many consumers shop around for lower prices.... however, as prices come down more slowly, fuel suppliers are under less scrutiny & consumers less worried about prices, so this is when the super-profits are quietly made.
#politics
h/t Tim Hardford/FT

2026-05-23 09:25:41 GMT

The bond market, or more accurately bond traders are often treated as oracles of the future impact of fiscal polices, so its worth noting that according to Lipper LESG data (quoted by Stuart Kirk/FT) over the last 20 years, around 80% of European Bond funds underperformed their market indices;
in other words, investing directly in bonds would have four times out of five led to higher returns than by using a bond market trader's aggregation fund.
So much for prescience!
#economics #BondMarkets

2026-05-23 08:09:32 GMT

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@nprofile…jutx
Indeed, and (in theory) Rachel Reeves' (new) fiscal rules wold support such an investment as being over & above the current fiscal limitations she has imposed upon herself (and the Treasury)... but don't hold your breath

2026-05-23 07:48:59 GMT

For some time the UK's energy market has managed to balance security of supply with under-investment by trading (via interconnecters), but now the UK's often quite volatile energy (electricity) needs has led to disquiet among continental suppliers as the UK's sudden demands have had knock-on effects for European domestic energy systems.
Until the end of the year, the UK will reduce its use of such energy trading & seek to increase use gas-powered generation to smooth supply.
#energy
h/t FT

2026-05-23 07:19:20 GMT

Timothy Garton Ash has been thinking & wiring about Russia for decades, so when he say he can think of eight different ways the West can defeat Vladimir Putin, its likely a good idea to read what he has to say (even if you don't agree with everything, TGA has a deep knowledge of the country & its politics on which his views are built).
Worth spending ten minutes digesting this morning.
#Russia #politics
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/may/23/defeat-vladimir-putin-russia-ukraine-nato-eu

2026-05-22 11:05:00 GMT

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@nprofile…xep3
How depressing is that.....

2026-05-22 09:14:37 GMT

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@nprofile…rdmk
Interesting; yes that may be the case....

2026-05-22 05:52:51 GMT

My problem with the argument that progressive voters & parties should get behind Andy Burnham to defeat ReformUK Ltd, is its just one more example of Labour's entitlement; their view that they remain the key opposition to the far right.
Rather, Labour has legitimised & normalised rightest views & policies, and has been antagonistic towards any notion of the development of a progressive alliance.
How much longer should/can we accept Labour's (now pretty clearly) empty promises?
#politics
https://cdn.masto.host/zirkus/media_attachments/files/116/616/657/445/059/732/original/58ab468457962104.png

2026-05-22 05:23:15 GMT

There seems to have been a major fall in net-migration into the UK over the last year but around half of voters think its still rising.
The news media have underplayed or ignored such reductions, but equally, given the data is estimated by the Office of National Statistics (whose reputation for accuracy has been severely damaged in the last years), media outlets may have a (half) plausible argument for discounting such figures.
The ONS' problems ripple outwards.
#migration #politics
h/t FT

2026-05-21 17:14:29 GMT

In 1990 UK billionaires had wealth equivalent to 4% of GDP, now they have wealth equivalent to 22% of GDP... and have hollowed out the UK's economy where the fruits of labours effort & innovation are captured by an elite who are getting richer & richer while the rest of us are trapped in an economy that fails to provide even a basic level of wellbeing & comfort for many.
The Labour Party no longer has an answer to this, if it ever did!
#inequality #politics #wealth
https://equalitytrust.org.uk/news/ghost-gdp-billionaire-britain-and-the-hollow-economy/

2026-05-21 08:44:15 GMT

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@nprofile…0crk
yes, no-one said such political choices would be easy....

2026-05-21 05:45:48 GMT

The Green Party of England & Wales looks like deciding not to make a major showing in Makerfield, to give Andy Burnham a better shot at winning the by-election.
A Green official told the FT:
'We do not want this one to go to Reform & to be quite frank we do not want Labour to be able to turn around and say ‘if you vote Green, you’re actually voting Reform’ because that will be used for the next three years...
[so] actually, this isn’t going to be a big priority or a Green target'
#politics

2026-05-21 05:30:43 GMT

We know the rise of the Greens & ReformUK Ltd has shifted voters away from supporting the Labour Party. The Economist used these results to match the age & work profile of workers to map this transition between 2021 & 2026.
The diagram below offer a (further) stark demonstration of why the Labour Party is wrong-headed in their aping of ReformUK, not least because their support from such wider base is moving to the Green Party of England & Wales.
#politics #Greens
h/t Andy Cotgreave/LinkedIn
https://cdn.masto.host/zirkus/media_attachments/files/116/610/894/740/573/915/original/663f9987c579afb1.jpeg

2026-05-20 17:31:55 GMT

Well, well, well, a housing provider that has been channelling state grants into its provision of social housing via a complex financial engineering model has (on going into administration) resulted in the potential privatisation of homes built with state grants.... while the grants look likely not be recovered.
Its not as if anyone could have predicted that involving private equity in social hosing might result in money flowing to 'investors' & not housing?
#housing
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/may/20/social-housing-investment-firms-heylo-administration

2026-05-20 17:15:17 GMT

The problem of trying to conduct policy by briefing the media is all too clear clear in the immediate reversal on a putative 'deal' to relax some supermarket regulations in return for voluntary procedures-capping;
Now, the Treasury now saying they were never going to announce such measure tomorrow anyway.....
Whatever one thinks of the policy itself this sort of cack-handedness does nothing to support confidence in the Govt.'s grip on economic policy!
#politics #supermarkets
h/t FT

2026-05-20 16:40:16 GMT

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@nprofile…dm53
Of course this would still have some clear political effect even if one held overall economic activity as fixed (i.e. no growth)

2026-05-20 05:52:33 GMT

If Xi Jinping really wanted to compound the growing pivot away from the US in the global political economy, he has one clear strategy available to him... he could cease Chinese repression of domestic demand.
US hegemony in the second half of C20th was partly built on being the market of last resort (sucking in imports from around the world). If China took up this role instead of resisting it, then the transformation of markets (and politics) would accelerate significantly!
#China #politics

2026-05-19 17:41:09 GMT

Anyone who thinks the two stories related in the piece below about disabled people being marooned in hospital as their integrated home care package cannot be agreed, has nothing to do with budgeting is missing what is going on in the engineered crisis of the NHS & the care sector.
As always its vulnerable people who are trying to live their best lives (but needing support to do so) who are the target of spreadsheet wielding managers.
#disability #NHS #health
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2e2zvlyy38o

2026-05-19 17:11:44 GMT

So over the last couple of days electoral reform has come up a lot in my timeline and as an ex-employee of Charge 88 (the constitutional campaign group of the 80s/90s) of course I'm always happy t be talking about (and trying to) change the UK' voting system....
So here is Sean Danaher (following the Electoral Reform Society's logic) setting out why, if we are to change Single Transferable Vote is the best bet....
Enjoy
#politics #ElectoralReform #voting #UK
https://northeastbylines.co.uk/news/politics/towards-a-better-voting-system-why-we-need-stv/

2026-05-19 12:53:54 GMT

As @nprofile…udtr [puts it (in a discussion we've been having about pensions in my timeline):
'In hindsight it's easy to see that Thatcherism was basically a heist'.....
This observation, tells us a lot about both the roots of our current problems & the parallels with now more obvious right populist grifters.
#politics

2026-05-19 10:10:25 GMT

- reply

@nprofile…5pg3
But would you trust such a commitment (any more)?

2026-05-19 06:10:19 GMT

For Andrew Malkinson, whose life was ruined by (as finally proved) a wrongful conviction, the fight for compensation for this life changing damage continues.
It seems like the Inquiry into his wrongful conviction will find both Greater Manchester Police (first) and the Criminal Cases Review Commission (later) made crucial mistakes that caused him to lose 20 years of freedom, so his case for compensation should be strong.
But how do you compensate for that?
#politics
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c74r1x7dj8go

2026-05-19 06:03:38 GMT

Q. what should the Green Party of England & Wales do in the Makerfeld by-election?
Should they reign back to give Andy Burnham a better chance but demand action of electoral reform (perhaps)?
Should they fight the seat on the grounds they could win... and any 'splitting' of the Left vote is Labour's problem not their's?
There are no easy answers here, but the vey fact this *is* an issue, actually reflects the rising success of the GPEW!
#Makerfield #Greens #politics
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/may/18/greens-andy-burnham-makerfield-byelection-reform

2026-05-19 05:19:46 GMT

If you wanted an indication of why the world needs the International Criminal Court, it now seems that while in Beijing the Tangerine Tyrant suggested to Xi Jinping might help coordinate a joint move against the ICC with Russia, with the TT claiming that it was in all three leaders' interest to see the Court neutered.
The ICC may not be perfect but if Trump, Xi & Putin all think its dangerous then we might conclude its doing something right?
#ICC #politics #InternationalLaw
h/t FT

2026-05-18 21:25:14 GMT

Your regular reminder that while UK politicians can discuss whether we should seek to rejoin the EU & what sort of 'red-lines' we might hold to.... actually the only view(s) that matters is the EU Commission's & EU Leaders' - and as not infrequently pointed out there is little appetite to cut the UK a deal - no, if we want to rejoin, we rejoin as 'normal' new member....
It would still be a good deal, but reconfirms Brexit as political self-harming!
#EU #UK #Brexit
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/18/no-tailor-made-deal-uk-eu-brexit-officials-rejoin

2026-05-18 17:30:26 GMT

'A lot of working-class people, they don’t want a lot', says Martin a former miner. 'They want enough to get by & to have nicer things in life. To go on holiday & to have good food and things like that. They are not bothered about yachts and aeroplanes... They are just happy enough to get through in life with a job, a secure job to pay the mortgage & to look after their family'
And the problem is the UK *doesn't* achieve even that for many!
#inequality #politics
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/may/18/reform-voters-progressive-post-industrial-northern-england

2026-05-18 05:44:54 GMT

In Birmingham, ReformUK Ltd, the largest party has declined to form a local administration (there's no prospective coalition partners), while Labour (the previous administration) will not form any coalition, leaving the Green Party of England & Wales to the (impossible?) task of forming an administration for the largest local authority in Europe.
Might this be Reform looking to avoid any more mistakes in local Govt. while giving the Greens a 'fools errand' likely to fail?
#Birmingham
h/t FT

2026-05-17 18:26:55 GMT

Whatever you think about the levels of profitability in the UK's economy, one thing is clear voters are vastly over-estimating how much firms make in profits.... but perhaps most telling (in this misunderstanding of what is going on) is the apparent perception that the NHS makes a profit (although there is a chance respondents didn't properly understand the Q.?).
(And of course this was carried out by the right wing Inst. for Economic Affairs, no doubt to prove a point!)
#economics #business
https://cdn.masto.host/zirkus/media_attachments/files/116/591/318/023/277/570/original/8aa16f671765fac5.png

2026-05-17 10:24:50 GMT

Here are The Bear's musings on Saturday's Unite the Kingdom rally, in which he suggests it was all a bit sad (a damp squib), perhaps not quite the nationalistic uprising promised by Stephen Yaxley-Lennon & his associates....
the Bear suggests:
'The whole rally felt less like a protest & more like a networking event themed around “How to be Racist Online and Earn Money!'
So, does the Americanisation of the Far Right preface its failure or its renewal?
#politics
https://www.bearlypolitics.co.uk/p/the-far-right-has-become-a-bit-sad

2026-05-17 08:45:38 GMT

When Yvette Cooper rejected legal advice & wrote a column criticising Palestine Action, while activists were being tried, did she (as the defence alleged) interfere with the judicial process making a fair trial more difficult or as the Judge concluded only risk 'causing some prejudice to these proceedings, but that is different from deliberately flouting a reporting restriction order'?
I think the defence was right; it was an attempt to prejudice the trial!
#politics
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/may/17/yvette-cooper-palestine-action-article-despite-cps-warning-trial

2026-05-17 08:31:35 GMT

David Lloyd Owen (water policy consultant) says:
'You can classify the water companies into four groups: worst by a country mile are those owned by private equity, the not-for-profit companies are quite weak, the public limited companies are second best – but, intriguingly, the best are Wessex & Northumbria, which are owned by foreign companies that run utilities themselves'!
Yet more evidence the UK's real problem is its dysfunctional culture of management?
#water #managerment
h/t Observer

2026-05-17 08:03:56 GMT

This weekend is demonstrating an unwavering truth of political reporting...
Media commenters & analysts decry the chaotic psychodrama of leadership challenges & churn in the top job (with tales of its negative impact on UK politics & economics and the UK's international standing)... yet;
they find it hard to hide their glee at filling their papers (and online presence) with speculation, profiles of possible contenders & argument(s) around 'new starts' for the Govt.
[grinds teeth]
#politics

2026-05-16 21:46:42 GMT

Ahmed Najar argues:
'Criticism of Russia is not treated as hatred towards Russians. Opposition to American wars is not automatically framed as hostility towards Americans as a people. Protest against the Chinese government is not assumed to be anti-Chinese racism.
Only when it comes to Israel does this distinction repeatedly collapse.
That collapse carries consequences'
#politics
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2026/5/16/britain-is-losing-the-ability-to-tell-anti-semitism-from-dissent

2026-05-16 17:10:56 GMT

- reply

@nprofile…zyr9 @nprofile…7nlh
Its certainly contributing to the stagnation but it is not the only aspect to the problem - a lack of increase in productivity plus a major problem with financial resources being directed into property (which one might argue, I accept, is part of the distribution issue) alongside more amorphous problems like the UK's problem wth 'management' and the de-valuing of much productive education.... and so on - all of these compound or are compounded *by* maldistribution

2026-05-16 10:06:18 GMT

Make of this what you will, but it will be no surprise that politicians, journalists & business-people rank pretty low on those we expect to tell the truth....
Of course, the fact that nurses rank so highly is an echo of the secular religion that of the NHS that remains in place despite the engineered crisis of the last decade(s).
Overall, it indicates a major problem of trust with our political class; we think they are essentially a bunch of liars! It does little for democracy!
#politics
https://cdn.masto.host/zirkus/media_attachments/files/116/583/681/441/230/817/original/75ba8e23a13c3c2a.png

2026-05-16 08:38:14 GMT

And so we now have a Govt. defying the will of Parliament by denying access to key documents in the case of Peter Mandelson's (shall we say) mishandled vetting for his role in Washington.
While this may seem a technical issue around one (albeit quite consequential) political development, actually it demonstrates once again, how little interest those at the centre of the Labour Part actually have in democracy!
#politics
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/may/15/peter-mandelson-vetting-file-withheld-isc

2026-05-16 08:23:20 GMT

- reply

@nprofile…d8x0 @nprofile…kfcf
Well, certainly you can join campaigns for voting reform & shifts in the regulation of the media, perhaps support a political party that seems to challenge the preconceptions (perhaps the GPEW?)... but part of the problem with politics is individual acts seldom carry much weight unless as part of a coordinated more collective action (hence this answer focussing on existing campaigns)...

2026-05-16 08:05:57 GMT

- reply

@nprofile…7nlh
I agree up to a point; but while distribution is clearly an issue, if we look at GDP per capita (which doesn't factor in distribution, as many complain), we are down in the mid-20s (and slowly falling) rather than being the sixth (or seventh) largest economy in the world, which is how those using absolute GDP data present it.... better distribution might help the immediate issues of social depravation, but would not change the ongoing situation that I presented in the post

2026-05-16 08:01:16 GMT

- reply

@nprofile…kfcf @nprofile…d8x0
Yes, a really good book; sat on my recommendations for reading for my economics for non-economists UG course for sometime (before I retired)

2026-05-16 07:37:41 GMT

As predicted, Keir Starmer's position has weakened sufficiently & the resulting intra-party political calculations have shifted so that Labour's NEC having only three months ago blocked Andy Burnham from standing in a by-election for Labour, have now voted through his candidacy to confirmed through a swift (and likely unopposed) candidate selection during next week.
Now the Q. is: will have actually win the by-election? Or will the Greens (or perhaps ReformUK Ltd) steal it?
#politics
h/t FT

2026-05-16 07:21:31 GMT

- reply

@nprofile…d8x0
We essentially have two choices:
cut our cloth accordingly - accept our global position and organise our political economy accordingly; or,
seek out strategies that can underpin world class sectors (such as universities) while accelerating areas where we can be world class (green energy perhaps).
There is some move on the latter but the current plight of the university sector is indicative of the underlying problem with our political class' views on what matters.

2026-05-16 07:12:11 GMT

The key problem of British politics is how to manage a country where the population expects a higher standard of living than its increasingly second league status can provide.
In one way or another we all suffer from a form of post-imperial, post-industrial entitled hubris.
The world has moved on leaving the UK with pockets of excellence dwarfed by sectors are far from world class.
Few politicians understand this or have a good plan to escape our predicament (if there is one?).
#politics

2026-05-15 05:51:32 GMT

Having visited The Music is Black exhibition on a recent (rare) trip to London I completely agree with this positive & enthusiastic review - it is a great experience (anchored in, as I posted about a couple of weeks ago, an immersive soundscape that responds to where you are in the exhibition). Well worth the trip to Stratford.
#museums #music #London
https://theconversation.com/the-music-is-black-a-british-story-its-little-wonder-this-emotional-exhibition-took-over-four-years-to-complete-282780

2026-05-15 05:36:49 GMT

The BBC is reporting that many hotels in the USA are not seeing the demand for rooms during the FIFA World Cup that they expected, citing the political environment, rising costs associated with the conflict in the Middle East & transport costs.... but what is missing from this report is the rise in hotel prices associated with the World Cup that was reported earlier this year.
This looks like basic economics; hotels put up their prices, demand fell!
#football
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn0p2532xn4o

2026-05-15 05:05:41 GMT

I see Cranfield University is 'merging' with Kings College London, with a very positive spin about positive synergies being served up by the BBC....
However, I cannot but under whether this is actually a defensive move (on behalf of Cranfield) for some (here) unspecified economic/budgetary reason - given the current travails of the university sector.
Would be interested in any insider views on the 'merger'.
#universities #education #science
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cnvp7gpygq4o

2026-05-14 21:10:32 GMT

If the rich are the most dangerous minority, it also needs to be said (as Steve Keen does) that:
'The most dangerous sincere believers on this planet are not religious extremists, but mainstream economists. They will destroy capitalism, precisely because they falsely believe that it is indestructible'!
However, for those of us brought up on Karl Marx, the idea that capitalism has within it the seed(s) of its own destruction (here in the guise of economists) is hardly news.....
#economics

2026-05-14 17:13:04 GMT

If Robert Shrimsley (FT) is right (he is), and, 'Britain is not ungovernable. It has just been very badly governed. In particular, it has endured a decade of woefully inept leadership. An era of slogans in place of details'.... the bigger Q. (bigger that the travails of this current Govt.) is why is this the case?
Only by understanding why we have such a dysfunctional politics can we start to change it.
Many will point to media ownership... and that has to be a major factor!
#politics

2026-05-14 13:16:54 GMT

So, Wes Streeting has resigned as Health Secretary, which for many (whatever comes next) may be a good thing... he has also (as yet) not broken cover on a leadership challenge.
My guess is his team are seeking to Angela Rayner's team to see if they can buy her off with a senior post - perhaps even Chancellor (or maybe not)?
No doubt all will become clearer as the day(s) progresses.
#politics

2026-05-14 07:41:00 GMT

- reply

@nprofile…vt7u
Yes the amateurism of British politics has long been evident

2026-05-14 06:05:36 GMT

John Kampfner, suggests politicians fail to really deal with problems because:
'They worry about the markets (with reason); they fret about conventional media & social media (with less reason). They wait for bad things to happen, trying to anticipate what their critics might say of them in case they put a foot out of line. It’s a self-fulfilling spiral'!
There's more to it than this, but this seem to capture an important aspect of our political problem(s)!
#politics
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/may/14/europe-big-problems-japan-taiwan-care-systems

2026-05-14 05:45:30 GMT

By one measure the UK has among the highest (legal) minimum wage levels in the G7... but this is only if measured by its relation to median workers' wages.
What this really emphasises is that especially in some regional cities where the MW is an even higher proportion of local median wages, is that actually what we are seeing is an effective ceiling on wages in the UK - the spread of a low-wage/medium wage economy with a shrinking elite of the *very* well paid.
#workers #economics
https://cdn.masto.host/zirkus/media_attachments/files/116/571/331/307/388/978/original/25ea156534b22a3b.png

2026-05-13 20:36:31 GMT

While the mainstream media has been working to down play it, it seems the Fascist Frog *will* be investigated by the parliamentary standards commissioner for not declaring a £5mn gift from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne in the run-up to the 2024 general election.
The maximum sanction if found in breach of Parliamentary standards is, of course, suspension & a possible by-election in Clacton.
But, of course, there's many a slip twixt cup & lip....
#NigelFarage #politics
h/t FT