Emeritus Prof. Christopher May

Retired Professor of Political Economy; now enjoying the fediverse.

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Last Notes

2026-10-07 05:36:20 GMT

For those of you suspecting that weak enforcement at Companies House was a direct route for fraudulent economic entities to prosper will likely see the failure of over 30,000 firms to confirm (under the new identity verification requirement) one or more directors' legal identity as an indicator of the range of shadow ownership & potential money laundering activity.
Currently 55% of UK directors *have* confirmed their identity... those other 45%, not so much.
#fraud #business #politics
h/t FT

2026-10-03 07:17:10 GMT

My favourite paintings, no.62
Harmonia Rosales, The Harvest (1984)
Like many artists of African decent, Afro-Cuban Harmonia Rosales has been exploring the absence (or marginalisation) of black people from paintings across centuries of art history. This has led her to reinterpret classic art subjects substituting people from different ethnicities for the usual white subjects. This example is a powerful reimagining of a common renaissance composition. Wonderful.
#art #TodaysPainting #racism
https://mastodon.me.uk/system/media_attachments/files/117/375/742/479/023/204/original/8a22bc3da1e7c43a.png

2026-10-01 05:04:18 GMT

You'll see a lot of media coverage of strikes by university academic staff in the next weeks; so, whatever the immediate/local causes of industrial action, the underlying (albeit linked) factors are these:
1. the Govt. & political class no longer really value a strong university sector & treat it merely as a unprofitable personal service;
2. Universities' senior management have lost sight of the fact that their academic staff are vital to their institutions success.
#universities #politics

2026-09-30 21:26:23 GMT

Wow, so Andy Burnham's plan for a National Care Service has already managed to move back further, now to the late 2030s.... i.e. not in the next Parliament, but the one after.
I think there has been enough reviews & prevarication around reforming social care; what we need is acton, not more pious words, reviews & plans; what we needs is for action(s) to start;
no-one thinks social care can e sorted out in a year, but the sooner reform is started, the sooner we get there.
#politics
h/t FT

2026-09-22 06:00:31 GMT

If you want an example of the weakness of the arguments for ending the triple-lock here's Gaby Hinsliff making the usual rubbish arguments:
the state pension is about to reach the income tax threshold; yes, but because fiscal drag has kept it from rising with inflation;
state pensions benefit rich & poor; yes that's why pension income is *taxed*!
we need the money; fiscal problems are not caused by pensioners, but more by the UK's debt servicing costs.
#pensions
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/sep/22/britain-pensions-triple-lock-andy-burnham

2026-08-29 10:29:34 GMT

An interesting point from @nprofile…ve08:
Is the widespread move towards fascism & its acceptance by the political class actually 'all in preparation for extensive crop failure or complete climate collapse'.
Rather than denying climate change are the elites positioning themselves to have control of society unencumbered by democracy when disaster strikes & they need the institutions of the state to protect them (and their enclaves) from populations impacted by climate change?
#politics #ClimateChange

2026-08-28 17:11:50 GMT

Climate Change Denial (cont'd):
The coverage of the flooding on the China/Nepal border on the BBC News at Six this evening (lasting over ten minutes) failed to mention the term 'climate change' in the coverage at all.... the weather is just treated as a fact, the thawing permafrost that led to the collapse of the Glacier, not mentioned at all.
So, that's our national broadcaster doing the work of the climate change deniers for them.
#ClimateChange #politics #media #Nepal

2026-08-28 06:00:04 GMT

Unsurprisingly new providers of ADHD assessments & services are responding to ballooning demand by raising prices; and new 'market' entrants have scant experience or established expertise.
The problem is that the private sector is focussed on short-term earning opportunities, while the long-term solutions (mostly delivered by the NHS) are being underfunded & overwhelmed.
The mental health crisis around ADHD is becoming ever more serious!
#ADHD #MentalHealth #politics
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy4zgpynwdjo

2026-08-28 05:53:19 GMT

Serial rapist policeman Alan Greer managed to be cleared to join Strathclyde Police in 2009, despite the staff undertaking the pre-job vetting being aware of his previous offending against women.
This is the problem of the police & sexual assault in a nutshell; the early signs of offenders who are likely to intensify their assaults, when their crimes are treated lightly, are missed, or more seriously, just discounted.
#SexualAssault #police #politics
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvgyl64l5nro

2026-08-28 05:27:45 GMT

As the share of US national income flowing to employees continues to decline (stoking inequality), Abiel Reinhart (JPMorgan) observes:
'Regardless of what measure you look at, workers, in terms of employee compensation, have been receiving an increasingly small share of national income over time... And the flip side of that is: where is that income going? It’s got to go somewhere. And a good chunk of it is showing up in corporate profit margins'.
#inequality #politics #USPol #workers
h/t FT

2026-08-27 06:02:01 GMT

Aditya Chakrabortty points out anti-Faragists are split between Leftists & those who think he is not right-wing enough... suggesting that there is unlikely to be single strategy to defeat the Fascist Frog & ReformUK Ltd.
But, as Chakrabortty concludes: 'if Labour’s strategy is essentially to do what Starmer did, but with better comms and more social-media dopamine, it will get the same result as he did: a disaster, not just for Labour, but for the rest of us'
#politics
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/aug/27/does-nigel-farage-know-what-people-really-think-of-him-i-do-and-he-wont-like-it

2026-08-27 05:12:19 GMT

What differentiates a major successful infrastructure project (Thames Tideway Tunnel) from other failing or failed projects (i.e. HS2); Harry Beck (on LinkedIn) argues the key things is the 'super sewer' had long term political commitment behind it.
Well, that may very weil be true... but from the North of England, the real distinction is its location (like Crossrail, another completed infrastructure project) it serves London.
Things that benefit London somehow go better!
#politics #London

2026-08-26 17:21:53 GMT

Hmmm... things could now get even more difficult for Palestine Action, as the USA designates PA a 'transnational terror group'....
Whatever you think of PA, the shifting of the bar for such a designation suggests the USA is working up for a major move against left-isn protestors.
Moreover, the sanction regime this puts in place, given the UK's widespread reliance on US communications technology may be a lot more impactful on PA than the UK proscription!
#politics.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/aug/26/us-issues-sanctions-uk-based-palestine-action

2026-08-25 17:06:34 GMT

In the face of cyber attacks & prospects of climate change driven severe weather events, the UK looks to be getting a C21st version of the (infamous) Protect & Survive booklet...
But its going to be more tinned food & bottled water, rather than diving under a table or avoid looking at the blast.
Unlike many countries the UK is late to this game (the usual British complacency?) ;many European countries already have disaster plans in place & citizens' advice enacted.
#security #politics
h/t FT

2026-08-25 06:03:11 GMT

Q. is the move to give Mayors the ability to over-rule local councils on some planning decisions, a welcome devolution (to mayors, from Ministers) or a centralisation of planning powers, removing them from local councils & shifting them up to Mayors?
Andy Burnham says the former, the Green Party of England & Wales says the latter.... you can make your own decision on whose interpretation you prefer.
#devolution #planning #politics
https://greenparty.org.uk/2026/08/23/increased-mayoral-powers-the-very-opposite-of-devolution-say-greens/

2026-08-25 05:19:20 GMT

As the world shortages of refined oil products (especially diesel) continue, it seems China has spare refining capacity that could ease these shortages.
But, the Chinese Govt. isn't allowing refiners to expand diesel refining for export, rather its rebuilding strategic oil reserves it has recently relied on to reduce its imports (which eased earlier world shortages).
Is China just prioritising domestic needs or manipulating global markets for geopolitical reasons?
#China #politics
h/t FT

2026-08-24 05:46:23 GMT

In China, Tesla & other electric car manufacturers have ben forced to recall millions of vehicles after the Govt. required some ameliorative acton(s) on the danger (in crashes & other emergencies) caused by both rescuers being unable to find and/or operate 'hidden' door handles.
This is not an unknown problem, but China is the first (but likely not last) to require changes both to design & car-software to reduce the danger(s) from these handles.
#ElectricCars #politics
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g6ggdg030o

2026-08-24 05:39:47 GMT

The ultra-low emission zone, introduced by London’s mayor Sadiq Khan in 2019 (expanded in 2021 & 2023) has proved to a major success in combating the general pollution & air quality levels in central London & has had a direct impact on children's health.
Khan stuck to his policy & weathered some extreme criticism & threats, but has been vindicated by its success.... this is the sort of political leadership we need for the Green Transition!
#GreenTransition #politics
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/aug/23/london-low-emission-zone-working-other-cities-cautious-clean-air

2026-08-23 20:23:28 GMT

So, the suspicion that the Tangerine Tyrant might declare a state of emergency to pre-empt a Republican beating in the US midterms seems to have moved from the margins (and expressions of the idea here in a more sensible register, of course) to the mainstream.
Given how polarised between the MAGA crowd & the rest, the US has become, the next step is for the prediction of a civil war to hit mainstream commentators.
#USPol #Trump #democracy
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/23/trump-sowing-election-distrust

2026-08-23 08:10:32 GMT

One of the defining beliefs of the political class is that what's good for business is (by extension) good for society.
As water privatisation, the Horizon IT scandal, the Grenfell fire & numerous other corporate actions from water depleting data centres to the impact of the supermarket oligopoly on the UK's food system attest, this is not (likely never was) true.
Only when Govt.'s are more sceptical of the business interest will we be able to build a good & just society!
#politics #business

2026-08-23 07:53:16 GMT

Sometimes there *is* a simple answer:
Born in Bradford discovered that a third of pupils diagnosed with poor eyesight in Bradford didn't get to the opticians; the resulting new policy of providing glasses to those pupils through their schools has halved (in less than a decade) the literacy gap in Bradford schools, suggesting sometimes its just not being to see the page that is the problem.
This looks like it would be an easy national literacy win!
#schools #literacy #politics
h/t Observer

2026-08-23 07:25:29 GMT

I don't know about you but I was completely unaware that around 2,500 people a year are still being subjected to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in the UK (around a million across the world).
Not only are there massive regional disparities in its use (as a last resort, according to NHS guidelines) after around 80 years of use there remains no consensus on the efficacy of the procedure.
Is this the next medical scandal to hit the NHS, we might wonder?
#MentalHealth #NHS #politics
h/t Observer

2026-08-23 07:12:09 GMT

In another test of the political sensibilities of Andy Burnham's (new) administration, we can wonder if he may quietly step in to halt the prosecution Rajiv Menon KC who is being prosecuted for contempt of court for reminding a jury of the legal principle of its independence.
This is another Palestine Action linked case of a Judge seeming to be acting on a political not a judicial agenda, to punish protest/dissent.
This attack on the Rule of Law needs to be stopped.
#politics
h/t Observer

2026-08-22 16:48:07 GMT

In the end the Water industry crisis & scandal is a perfect memorial for Thatcherism:
A falsified bill of goods, sold on the promise of an answer to the UK's economic problems but delivering a major opportunity for financial services to rob normal people whilst wrecking the environment. And unwinding over a sufficiently long period that those who've robbed the country have either fled or died, handing on their ill-gotten gains to others who now deny any knowledge or responsibility!
#politics

2026-08-22 09:16:28 GMT

- reply

@nprofile…v2v2 @nprofile…rc8f
Yes, I'd agree (and boosted)

2026-08-22 08:17:27 GMT

As (some) UK MPs continue to harvest a range of gifts & freebies, two obvious things can be said:
a. no-one gives you something for nothing; each of these gifts is invented to influence an MP is some (perhaps subtle, perhaps obvious) way;
b. its one more way in which our political class is detached from the everyday; for the rest of us not only do we seldom get offered complimentary *anything*, but we would struggle to get the access/seats MPs get offered!
#politics
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/aug/21/mps-failing-to-learn-lesson-over-freebies-after-accepting-400000-of-hospitality

2026-08-22 07:34:43 GMT

One of the 'legitimate concerns' about immigration is that foreign nationals are 'taking our jobs';
but actually what is mostly happening is that skilled immigrants are replacing skilled emigrants; skilled younger workers are leaving & their 'places' are being taken by skilled immigrants.
Of course, many unskilled jobs are also being taken by migrants, but the key issue isn't really the level(s) of migration but the range & type of jobs that are on offer in the UK!
#workers #politics
h/t FT

2026-08-22 07:13:59 GMT

The triple-lock on UK state-pensions was always intended to be a response to international comparisons of pensioner poverty... and so, that is how it should be judges as a policy.
A comparison of UK pensioner poverty (still standing at 15% of all state pensioners) with other OECD countries suggests not only should the triple-lock stay, but that especially against European comparators it's yet to achieve a comparable level of financial security for the post-67s.
#pensions #politics #inequality
https://mastodon.me.uk/system/media_attachments/files/117/137/910/111/987/400/original/5e67fb9c33b221a1.webp

2026-08-21 05:18:51 GMT

As Christopher Wood (Work Foundation) argues:
'Instead of succumbing to pressure & rowing back on key employment rights reforms, the [Govt.'s] focus must be on rebuilding the household spending power upon which foundational services rely on to grow';
instead of seeing workers as a cost to be reduced the Govt. need to embrace the notion that a well-paid workforce with 'good' jobs (better terms & conditions) can stoke the required 'effective demand'!
#workers #economics
https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/work-foundation/news/blog/shaky-foundations-where-will-the-new-job-opportunities-come-from

2026-08-20 21:31:46 GMT

The Green Party of England & Wales is arguing for a windfall tax on banks who have enjoyed excessive profits from hikes in interest rates, and using that tax 'windfall' to fund support for small & medium sized business.
Its an interesting move: few people like the banks, but small & medium sized firms have been looking for a political champion for some time.... this could be one more astute move from the reinvigorated GPEW.
#economics #business
https://greenparty.org.uk/2026/08/19/greens-announce-windfall-tax-on-the-profits-of-big-banks/

2026-08-20 06:12:19 GMT

As a welcome counterweight to the waves of negative commentary on Jason Arday before his death (and indeed in some quarters after his death), here is a testament to 'Everything Good About Jason Arday' put together by his students & others....
If nothing else this is a humane & compassionate response to a human tragedy....
#JasonArday #politics #universities #racism
https://leilacancode.github.io/everythinggood-about-jasonarday/

2026-08-20 05:04:12 GMT

As I've said before despite the claims we live in a 'weightless' political economy, physical trade (in goods) across the world is still a major part of the global system... and that continued growth of that trade has been largely facilitated by a single complex of technologies, centred on the standardised shipping container.
So, here is a great graphic from the FT on the growth of the container vessel (which may now have reached its 'natural' limits in terms of size?).
#shipping #containers
https://mastodon.me.uk/system/media_attachments/files/117/126/076/939/434/868/original/bb096ca81580fab8.png

2026-08-19 20:16:29 GMT

The problem with the influence of financial services on the political class (and by extension their journalistic familiars) is that despite inflation remaining below 3% (against a Bank of England target of 2%) we have headlines about inflation 'surging' or 'accelerating' - really its oscillating within a 2-3% range.
But scaremongering around inflation normalises the notion that the BoE needs to keep economic activity held down... to the detriment of workers.
#workers #inflation #politics
https://mastodon.me.uk/system/media_attachments/files/117/123/999/465/844/989/original/b4d96303d707ffa5.png

2026-08-19 05:33:13 GMT

The appeal of the retail park (often not 'out of town' but suburban) is often down to two factors:
free & easy parking; the difficulties of town centre parking are notorious. While good public transport can help our continued dependance on the car works against high streets.
built environment; with single landlords, retail parks are designed for ease of access (especially for the disabled).
Andy Burnham's support for high streets will need to deal with these issues.
#retail #politics
h/t FT

2026-08-19 05:20:59 GMT

Rumours are starting to emerge from Iran that if the Tangerine Tyrant continues to escalate the conflict (in Iran's eyes) then they are considering hitting US assets in SE Europe....
but as you can see from the diagram below the Iranians look to have the capacity to reach much further into Europe should they wish.
I'm not sure we should be conducting air raid drills quiet yet, but this offers a potentially major shift in European security. So, how will this play out?
#Iran #security #Europe
https://mastodon.me.uk/system/media_attachments/files/117/120/480/252/074/100/original/9f77bd440ac0de2d.png

2026-08-18 20:52:13 GMT

If the Green Transition is not the Govt.'s priority, then this merely confirms our political class are more concerned with the vested interests that might lose out from such a transition than with the welfare of the country.
Ironically, a full commitment to a Green Transition would actually be a Green Keynesian stimulus to the economy, and as such would help realign the economy with a more sustainable model (sustainable in both environmental & economic terms).
#GreenTransition #politics

2026-08-18 20:29:14 GMT

The FT offers a useful summary of twenty years of decline in the UK's high streets.... if Andy Burnham thinks he can change the plight of the high street then he needs to both understand this complex of issues (and how they interact) and then find an alternative path for retail that will encourage people to visit high streets & spend there - a difficult talks that has defeated a range of people over the last decade!
#politics #HighStreets #retail
https://mastodon.me.uk/system/media_attachments/files/117/118/396/472/093/856/original/827edd4455a70321.png

2026-08-18 17:31:26 GMT

And the Grenfell disaster still has the power to shock:
The cladding company Arconic paid more to shareholders for the financial damage caused by their role in the fire than they paid to the actual victims....
Given that the insurers paid out most of the money, it makes it all the clearer that investors' economic welfare is regarded as more costly than the loss of real lives.
This is capitalism at its sociopathic worse!
#capitalism #Grenfell #FinancialServices
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/aug/18/grenfell-cladding-firm-arconic-paid-shareholders-more-compensation-than-fire-victims

2026-08-17 17:21:06 GMT

So despite Labour's claim it would cut the spending on consultants, Andy Burnham's Govt. has concluded a £456mn deal with KPMG & EY to train civil servants for two years (the largest Big Four contract for a decade).
Quite apart from the cost (these firms over-charge for facile training), the problem is the consultancy, data-driven economics mindset is *exactly* what has produced the callous inhumanity of parts of the civil service.
We do not need more of that!
#CivilService #politics
h/t FT

2026-08-17 17:08:28 GMT

Here's Carole Cadwalladr on the hounding (to death) of Jason Arday... as she points out she has direct experience of this sort of social media attrition.
Perhaps most importantly she includes at the bottom of the post a guide on what to do for for those not caught up in the onslaught, but who have sympathy for (social) media's victims. You'll want to (whatever the digital parallel is for) 'cut out & keep'!
#JasonArday #politics #SocialMedia
https://broligarchy.substack.com/p/a-digital-lynching

2026-08-17 05:19:37 GMT

Climate Change 2:
People treating this summer's heatwaves as anomalous have their heads buried in (hot) sand;
Those declaring there is nothing we can now do to change course, having previously denied climate change at all, must be ignored
With political will we *can* engineer a Green Transition; we have the technologies, we can find the money, but what we lack is a political class who will show sustained climate leadership!
#ClimateChange #politics
h/t Khory Hancock (LinkedIn) for chart
https://mastodon.me.uk/system/media_attachments/files/117/109/136/007/805/318/original/bdc91b77f6c1db91.jpeg

2026-08-17 05:12:57 GMT

Climate Change 1:
We're going to be seeing more & more evidence of 'climateflation' across the food system, but the Central Banks will likely continue to struggle to escape a mind-set that wants to blame wage demands for inflation.
Only when Govt.s grasp the nettle to shift decisively towards the Green Transition will we see the policy environment properly reflect the difficulties which we are (and will be) having across agriculture & society.
#ClimateChange #food
https://www.forbes.com/sites/we-dont-have-time/2026/08/01/why-climateflation-will-drive-food-prices-more-than-war/

2026-08-16 17:22:42 GMT

So now OFWAT is now looking at allowing stare companies to impose surge pricing as a way of trying to reduce use during droughts.... I mean there is regulatory capture & then there its *regulatory-capture*.
Forget all the bogus narrative about rationing water usage, this is yet one more way of profiting from their own failure while draining cash from the system to pay their (inflated) executive wages & dividends.
OFWAT is not fit for purpose!
#water #politics
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/aug/16/water-companies-england-and-wales-explore-surge-pricing-bills-drought

2026-08-16 08:26:22 GMT

The (new?) ideas around social rehabilitation in prison - now referred to as the Scandi model - look like just one more case of us forgetting (or our political class wilfully ignoring) social innovations of our past....
As Anne Owers points out English prison governor, Ian Dunbar was a innovator on rehabilitation, acknowledged by the Norwegian Prison Authorities, but whose work has been buried by the subsequent agenda of prison solely as punishment.
#prisons #politics
h/t Observer letters
https://mastodon.me.uk/system/media_attachments/files/117/104/219/707/754/323/original/86d8d0d1be0dccbd.png

2026-08-16 08:03:13 GMT

Peter Hain (writing in the Observer) neatly sums up the hypocrisy of the Fascist From & his supporters, who
'don’t apply the standards to him that they demand of opponents, seeing the official inquiry into his personal finances as a witch-hunt. Yet they demand that their opponents are pristine. One rule for them, another for the rest'!
The problem is the media has until recently, been too willing to play along & even now skews towards the Frog rather than against him.
#NigelFarage #politics

2026-08-15 08:38:31 GMT

Here's a Q. to ponder;
given our political class' obsession with the utility of AI & associated technologies & giving Big Tech what it wants... how long will in be before anti-data-centre groups find themselves proscribed as terrorists, once they move to forms of direct action?
The police in Scotland are already citing the issue of direct action & I'm sure Shabana Mahmood will not need that much encouragement to declare data centres vital security assets & damage, terrorism!??
#politics #AI

2026-08-14 17:27:16 GMT

If you've ever wondered whether spoilt ballots really express anything... in Clacton one voter was pretty clear, when they spoilt their ballot, why there were doing it
#politics #Clacton
h/t Guardian
https://mastodon.me.uk/system/media_attachments/files/117/095/031/110/797/610/original/6fd7ed082c3d087b.png

2026-08-14 05:26:47 GMT

Away from the frenzy over US Big Tech stocks & the 'promise' of AI & associated technologies, the valuations of Chinese tech companies working in the AI sector have risen even faster & further than their US counterparts.... as in the US this reflects (albeit in a different form) support from the state & investor FOMO as the 'boom' continues.
When the AI bust comes (as it surely will) the contagion may be a lot quicker across Asia than we might have expected?
#AI #China #politics
h/t FT

2026-08-14 05:16:45 GMT

So (sadly) the Fascist Frog has won the Clacton by election polling 22,239 votes but Count Binface came a respectable second poling 9,455 votes.
The Frog did no attend the declaration in person citing police advice that its dangerous (advice the BBC says Essex police have given no candidate); good way to start his next period as an MP, with a lie.
The protest vote was split, but would not have been sufficient to unseat the Frog; turnout (44%) for a by-election.
#politics #Clacton #NigelFarage
https://mastodon.me.uk/system/media_attachments/files/117/092/149/535/887/522/original/c632ee57f1428348.png

2026-08-13 21:38:13 GMT

And so the polls have closed in Clacton & tomorrow morning we'll find out exactly how difficult the Fascist Frog found it to out-run a comedy bin.... if he has!
While I think the Frog will have won on a (very) low turnout, I so hope Count Binface has got a significant (protest) vote...
see you in the morning for news on Bib vs. Frog
#Clacton #politics
https://mastodon.me.uk/system/media_attachments/files/117/090/355/478/486/950/original/c59bf9f35071fc20.jpeg

2026-08-13 05:37:50 GMT

Here are the ten policies that the Guardian favours to respond to the climate crisis... its a good list:
Of course, some of these are easier than others, but that is politics... perhaps more importantly, vested interests will (do) resist each of these - its time for our political class to lead us towards a better prepared future not look to protect who has profited from the past....
#NetZero #ClimateCrisis #GreenTransition #politics
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/aug/12/urgent-climate-policies-uk-should-implement-now

2026-08-12 20:41:21 GMT

As an anonymous teacher points out in a letter to the Guardian, how would those parents taking their children out of school for a (cheaper) term-time holiday feel if the teachers (who also have families) also decided to take a holiday during term-time...
the real problem, of course, is the manner in which travel companies take advantage of the concentration of demand in school holidays.
Another issue for Andy Burnham on his tour of the country (or maybe not)?
#schools #holidays #politics
https://mastodon.me.uk/system/media_attachments/files/117/084/458/282/385/837/original/5b2be4a03c39253e.png

2026-08-12 09:31:30 GMT

Meanwhile in the USA, while Francesca Hong narrowly fails to win the primary for Democratic candidate for Wisconsin Governor, David Axelrod (Barack Obama's campaign manger) calls her views 'zany liberal, faculty lounge exotica', to which Hong responded that *his* views were the
'perfect example of why the consultant class keeps losing elections... They’re totally clueless & they’re hell-bent on keeping working-class people out of politics'... a view many will have sympathy with.
#USPol
h/t FT

2026-08-12 06:13:25 GMT

My favourite paintings, No.10
Catharina van Hemessen. Self Portrait (1548)
This is the first (known) self portrait of an artist at an easel, and is likely a political statement by Catharina van Hemessen, asserting her right to be seen as an artist in C16th, when such employment was very much not regarded as suitable for a woman. Looking out at us across the centuries she requires our respect, not least for establshing the default artists' pose for a self-portrait.
#art #TodaysPainting
https://mastodon.me.uk/system/media_attachments/files/117/081/046/854/822/985/original/e03264e9a6dc22a5.jpg

2026-08-12 05:26:45 GMT

The Chinese strategy of expanding use of its currency, the renminbi, in the global economy took another step this week with Deutsche being the first non-Chinese bank in Europe to be permitted to clear transactions (and settle) transactions in the currency.
Its not surprising the Chinese chose Deutsche as it is the biggest issues of so-called 'Panda Bonds' (the renminbi equivalent of Eurodollar bonds), but is indicative of Chinese seriousness around currency politics.
#China #politics
h/t FT

2026-08-11 20:35:09 GMT

As Steve Lindsay (DurhamU) points out the water companies were warned by the Met Office nearly thirty years ago that droughts would become more likely & frequent...
but, of course in the intervening years, they were too busy draining the utilities of all their available cash to actually act on that knowledge... or even now recall what the were told.
#water #politics #heatwave #ClimateChange
h/t Guardian letters
https://mastodon.me.uk/system/media_attachments/files/117/078/784/017/687/044/original/e7aad58d56e3bf57.png

2026-08-11 20:26:31 GMT

For a very long time people used to refer to the UK as 'our green & pleasant land'....
well, its not been pleasant for some time, but now (this summer) its not green either, well south of a line around the Manchester Ship Canal, at least.
Climate change & rubbish political economy have put an end to the phrase.... but we have to move on, I suppose.
#politics #ClimateChange #Heatwave #corruption

2026-08-10 17:19:34 GMT

Thames Water is now such a basket case that it needed (it claims) to pay its new finance director a £1m bonus to *join* the firm as a 'necessary incentive'.... so, if it cannot get senior managers to join without bribing them, perhaps customers should stop paying their bills as a 'necessary incentive' for TW to actually do the job its customers thought they were paying their bills for.... clearly financial incentives 'work'!
#ThamesWater #water #sewage #politics
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9d841yexe0o

2026-08-10 05:59:21 GMT

I'm not really surprised that over half of the accounts posting on X about social disruption(s) in Southampton & Belfast were based outside the UK; after all we in the UK often post about what is happening in the USA or the Middle East.
The real issue is whether these accounts are individuals or actually organised Far Right accounts... and here the evidence is more mixed, but still enough to suggest interference in the UK's politics?
#SocialMedia #politics #ElonMusk
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/09/x-accounts-posts-belfast-southampton-riots-june-2026-analysis

2026-08-10 05:46:48 GMT

Can you believe the UK's Foreign & Commonwealth Office is complaining about a 'hardline' approach to post-Brexit residency rules by Sweden; have they no idea what the Home Office is doing with EU citizens?
Its a classic case of the UK's diplomatic problem; a skewed politics that looks like hypocrisy to anyone outside the UK's entitled political class who think the UK should just be allowed to act as it sees fit.
But the Guardian makes *this* link!
#politics #Brexit
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/10/british-widow-78-told-to-leave-sweden-under-brexit-rules-after-living-there-for-21-years

2026-08-10 05:25:59 GMT

Palantir are ripping off the NHS:
Using revised estimates on the benefits to the NHS of Palantir's software (which you recall NHSE misrepresented) the benefits are lower than the (now revised & higher) costs of deploying the technology.
In other words the use of Palantir's software imposes a cost on the health service (costs are now projected at over £1bn, while projected benefits have fallen to less that £900m) leaving a clear logic for ending the contract!
#Palantir #NHS #politics
h/t FT

2026-08-09 09:18:19 GMT

When the 'feelings' of financial insecurity of the relatively well-off middle classes are seen as a more important shaper of economic policy than the actual financial insecurity of the poor.... then we know we are in a class-defined political environment.
#class #politics #economics

2026-08-09 08:13:33 GMT

Plagiarism has been in the news (due to the case of Jason Arday).... so its worth noting:
Much academic work is mostly 'inter-textual', it builds on & responds to previous academic work (published in the area of research).
So, apparent plagiarism is often just referencing failure! Missing or incomplete references end up looking like unattributed use.
This is why when I taught undergraduates I was very hard on bad referencing; my view is you *cannot* over reference.
#universities #plagiarism

2026-08-09 07:35:13 GMT

For book lovers, another sin to lay at the feet of AI & its associated technologies; the physical destruction of books.
To avoid the feedback of machine learning from online resources composed *by* AI/LLMs etc. Big Tech is digitising pre-2022 written resources.
It does this by buying books, breaking them up & feeding the sheets into fast, efficient scanners, before pulping the books remains.
Its a small scale sin in some respects but for book lovers, sacrilege!
#books #AI
h/t Observer

2026-08-08 17:24:07 GMT

As you will know I seldom ever post of football (or sport more generally for that matter), but I know I'm not the only person who has wondered whether the similarity between Gianni Infantino of FIFA & the Hood from Thunderbirds might indicate something of consequence for world football?
#football #Thunderbirds # GianniInfantino #FIFA #politics
https://mastodon.me.uk/system/media_attachments/files/117/061/036/441/564/894/original/017138a7d787a551.png
https://mastodon.me.uk/system/media_attachments/files/117/061/041/315/192/131/original/e25c8eb943442cab.png

2026-08-08 09:54:29 GMT

Given post-Glasnost Russia, under the guidance of a cabal of US economist descended into a system run by & for oligarchs, we shouldn't be surprised that while the US has always had that tendency, now the shackles are off the oligarchs have really completely taken over the US political culture.
Of course this is nothing new, but what is, is the failure of what JK Galbraith once called, the countervailing forces of democracy... countering power has failed (in the US & elsewhere)
#politics

2026-08-08 07:26:08 GMT

There are many ways the university system is failing, but one (almost mandated by Govt. it sometimes seems) is to make 'widening participation' harder while proclaiming it as a policy aim.
Many parents expect to & do help finance students years at university, topping up student loans to pay for food, rent & other living expenses;
for poorer families in society this isn't just hard, its impossible - once agin limiting their children's educational opportunities.
#universities #politics
h/t FT

2026-08-08 07:19:45 GMT

Taking their prompt from the tangerine Tyrant's playbook, I see the Fascist Frog & his familiar Richard Tice (for ReformUK Ltd) are suing the National Crime ASghency for damages for revealing (leaking?) details of their finances during an ongoing investigation....
Hilariously, their claim for damage is only £25k, a drop in the ocean given the donations coming the Frog's way... this looks more like an attempt to browbeat the NCA rather than a serous legal case.
#politics #NigelFarage
h/t FT

2026-08-08 07:12:39 GMT

Much of there debate on the UK's continuing housing crisis focusses on either planning - we 'need' to build more homes (especially 'affordable housing') - or under-used housing (we have enough bedrooms but they'r empty); both arguments identify issues that need resolving, but miss they key & continuing driver of the crisis;
the role of financial services in driving housing price inflation through credit provision (mortgages). Until that is resolved the crisis will continue!
#housing #politics

2026-08-08 07:04:21 GMT

BP's infamous focus on the 'carbon footprint' to switch focus on to individuals rather than the climate impact of fossil fuels, continues to shape climate politics:
'rather than asking whether climate change caused a heatwave, we should be explaining that greenhouse gases released by burning fossil fuels are accumulating in the atmosphere, trapping heat & amplifying extreme weather. This makes all heatwaves hotter, more likely & more dangerous'
#ClimateChange #politics
https://theconversation.com/was-this-heatwave-caused-by-climate-change-were-asking-the-wrong-question-288637

2026-08-06 05:34:41 GMT

One would think that given the UK's high levels of recidivism, reducing the prison population would focus on repeat offenders, specifically:
youth work to try & reduce the number of young people embarking on a 'life of crime' (from which few escape);
rehabilitation & education in prison to help the convicted change their post-release opportunities.
But, the political 'logic' remains build more prisons, underfund youth work & cut prison education staff.
#crime #prisons #politics

2026-08-06 05:13:37 GMT

Its a popular rhetoric of business representatives that extending better conditions to workers reduces economic activity (increases unemployment); our political class often repeat this argument;
But, 35 years (up to 2018) of labour market research across Europe offers no support for this conclusion; revealing it to be once more about managers seeking maintain their power dynamic over workers.
Andy Burnham should (must) resist such rhetoric.
#workers #politics
https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/andy-burnham-should-make-the-case-for-good-work/

2026-08-04 06:04:06 GMT

While we might think that anti-vaxxers on social media are behind falls in vaccine take-up for small children, medical experts think the bigger issue is a decline in regular interactions between parents & medical staff & the issue of convenience for two-earner, time-poor parenting households.
So rather than blame social media we should look at the changes wrought by shifts in the UK's political economy driven by (continuing) austerity.
#politics #health #SocialMedia
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0qvlw2dd0no

2026-08-03 21:28:27 GMT

In an implicit acceptance that it has been (shall we say) misleading in its presentation of data on the 'success' of the roll-out of Palantir's technology to speed up NHS patent discharges, NHSEngland is now 'revising' the manner in which such data is both reported and collected.
To be blunter: NHSE were lying about Palantir's success for corrupt reasons & have now been required to publish unbiased data on the technology's capacity to aid NHS Trusts.
#Palantir #NHS
h/t FT

2026-08-03 11:50:07 GMT

How serious is the drought that is currently being experienced across Britain (for the most part)?
well, here is a Met Office map that pretty graphically shows the problem.
If this is the future we will be needing to be thinking a lot more carefully about water management & (likely) nationalise the industry as the private utilities have demonstrated a lack of serious intent to actually manage the water courses, being only interested in *draining* the system of cash
#water #drought #politics
https://mastodon.me.uk/system/media_attachments/files/117/031/412/534/641/901/original/9063d14aa17dd934.jpeg

2026-07-30 17:21:30 GMT

A key divide in UK politics is the perception of Margaret Thatcher's Govt.
a. Did she help galvanise the UK's economy after the prior political consensus had produced an unwieldy & expensive state crowding out private enterprise, or;
b. did her Govt. lay the foundations for a wide range of problems that now contribute to the social political & economic dysfunction of the UK in the 2020s?
You'll be unsurprised I subscribe to b. but those who think a. are not as rare as you'd hope!
#politics

2026-07-19 08:15:38 GMT

The madness of NHS workforce planning continues;
newly qualified nurses (having graduated) are finding it increasingly difficult (or impossible) to get jobs as nurses as the NHS has a recruitment freeze on; it also reflects some good news in that nurse retention (another focus of planning) is rising reducing vacancies in a workforce constrained by budget limitations.
But, to train nurses & not be able to employ them when there's a shortage of nurses is madness!
#NHS #nurses #politics
h/t FT

2026-06-28 08:30:16 GMT

Some data (from private health providers) suggests young people are more willing to use private health care when the NHS fails to provide swift solutions to their health concerns/conditions.
On one hand, the source of the data is hardly disinterested & as such may also be a form of propaganda.... but on the other hand if the trend is at least partially correct, then the political engineers of the NHS crisis *are* seeing their work pay dividends (to private healthcare)
#health #politics
h/t FT

2026-06-27 07:19:38 GMT

The British problem with short-termism underlies much more than just our economic problems:
Why is the weather the most common topic of causal conversations? Because we forget we've had similar before;
Why do we not value the social contribution of universities? it takes to long to materialise;
Why were we ill-prepared for Covid? We abandoned prevention planning because we'd not had a pandemic recently.
Why are weak on preventative medicine? It requires a long-term view of health.
#UK

2026-06-23 06:11:23 GMT

Bite Size Economics - examples No.2
Economic incentives (BSE No.16)
Economists have difficulty understanding voluntary work. Why would people work for free?
This is why un-paid carers' work in the UK's economy is under-valued; there's little monetary award (other than minimal benefits) so its value is hard for economics to see.
Sometimes it might be modelled as 'opportunity cost'; what paid work are they not doing but mostly its just unseen, leaving a policy vacuum!
#BiteSizeEconomics

2026-06-21 17:08:44 GMT

I'm imagining many of you may agree with the implied criticism of Andy Burnham in this cartoon from Stephen Lillie (Guardian).
#politics #AndyBurnham #KeirStarmer
https://mastodon.me.uk/system/media_attachments/files/116/789/188/712/867/845/original/92b11fabc7f9f41a.png

2026-06-18 05:36:25 GMT

The ten year anniversary of the Brexit vote continues to prompt reflection; new research suggests one often cited remedy (an application to rejoin the customs union) would make up little of the extensive economic damage wrought by exiting the single market.
As Makerfield goes to the polls, its worth saying one of the reasons for the UK's current economic malaise is the previous actions of the Fascist Frog, & people shouldn't be allowed to forget that.
#Brexit #politics
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/jun/18/brexit-customs-union-exports-single-market-research

2026-06-17 06:01:07 GMT

As the Eden Project in Morecambe gathers pace, with it associated community garden breaking ground in July, we're also getting a better idea of what its external appearance will look like.
Its been a long (long) time coming but as Eden Project North nears construction, the transformation of Morecambe's prospects also approaches.
Although seldom mentioned this was the result of one person's vision: Ian Hughes! Without him, no Eden in Morecambe!
#Morecambe #politics
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3dyk9775xko

2026-06-16 06:03:53 GMT

Reuters Institute research suggests a further decline in trust in mainstream news, with online news sources an ever bigger part of how people find out what is going on.
While mainstream news has certainly declined in its reliability & veracity, are on-line sources any better, or just engineered to seem more personal (and designed to confirm viewers prejudices)?
It seems to me we've entered a fog of news which can only benefit the powerful!
#SocialMedia #politics
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvgq1py92eko

2026-06-16 05:54:32 GMT

I'm with Frances Ryan, there is a false distinction drawn by our political class between threats to security that emanate from the global system & those that stem from how UK society is organised.
The argument that we necessarily need to choose between military expenditure & welfare spending (wilfully) misunderstands the *real* threats to the UK population.
Rather we should see the UK's 'security' as including the plight of the population.
#security #politics #welfare
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jun/16/warfare-v-welfare-britain-spend-benefits-defence-safe
https://mastodon.me.uk/system/media_attachments/files/116/758/207/525/118/288/original/f4950931c9315bde.png

2026-06-16 05:39:25 GMT

The claim is Palantir's technology allows major improvements in NHS performance.
But, having crunched the numbers the FT has concluded this relies mostly on results from *one* hospital (Chelsea & Westminster Royal United) with only a further four hospitals showing any significant gains at all.
A third of all hospital trusts have actually seen a *decline* in performance after deploying Palantir's tech.
But of course the successful hospital is near Westminster, odd that!
#NHS #Palantir

2026-06-15 17:14:13 GMT

The first official portrait of President Barack Obama & Michelle Obama, by Njideka Akunyilil Crosby has been unveiled at the Obama Presidential Centre in Chicago.
I think Crosby is one the greatest visual artists working anywhere in the world right now & its great to see this being recognised by such a prestigious commission....
(beats wrestling at the Whitehouse for a political moment, doesn't it).
#Art #painting #politics
https://mastodon.me.uk/system/media_attachments/files/116/755/226/987/141/059/original/d384571c147d7143.png

2026-06-15 08:39:40 GMT

Q. given its practical difficulties & the growing realisation its actually a massive expansion of surveillance for the rest of the population, do we expect the Labour Govt. to deliver the social media ban for under 16s Keir Starmer has announced.
Or, is this just more declaratory politics that will see the 'ban' watered down as implementation difficulties become cleat, resistance on the basis of privacy & intrusion grows & the social media 'giants' pay for extensive lobbying?
#SocialMediaBan

2026-06-15 05:27:58 GMT

The ongoing crisis engulfing the university sector, as Glen O’Hara (OxfordBrookesU) argues, is a lot less visible to general public than it could be:
'No one is going to do more than shrug as the university sector as we have known it slips beneath the waves. It has come to seem inevitable.... [But] just because something is not a story, that does not mean it is not important'.
The public will not miss a vibrant university sector until its gone.
#universities #politics
https://www.arguably.uk/p/the-quiet-collapse-of-british-universities

2026-06-14 12:35:30 GMT

The world is full of dry stone walls.... you just need to look
A great celebration of humanity in the form of stone walls around the world.
#GlobalHistory #SundayRead
#nevent1q…s66c

2026-06-14 08:50:28 GMT

While the Govt. is lengthening the period before immigrants can gain indefinite leave to remain, it's also about to offer an 'invite only' programme by which leave to remain can be gained after only three years (two years less than current arrangements that stand, for now, at five years).
How do you get invited to go down that route? You need to invest a minimum of £5m in the UK (in a way acceptable to the Govt.).
Just to be clear:
we are selling UK residency rights to the rich.
#politics

2026-06-13 17:37:00 GMT

The modern condition
(well at least for those who can afford to fly, or indeed want to)
h/t Sam Lau/Guardian
https://mastodon.me.uk/system/media_attachments/files/116/743/998/036/793/692/original/ad72b0df8febfdd2.png

2026-06-13 17:28:41 GMT

Sometimes its worth remembering quite how much of advantage (that English is the world's most spoken language) the UK has managed to throw away through political economic mismanagement over the years...
We have (one might think) a home language advantage in trade & politics.... but our sense of entitlement, greed, contempt for others & all round petty mindedness has annoyed so many people over decades (if not centuries) that is all pissed into the wind.
[sorry, rant over]
#politics #language
https://mastodon.me.uk/system/media_attachments/files/116/743/941/180/170/331/original/72c157968a463ca6.webp

2026-06-13 08:46:47 GMT

The problem with having lawyers in the top tiers of politics (i.e. Keir Starmer) is by profession they're used to taking a brief & making the most of it, while pushing down (or even denying) any personal perspective(s) they may have...
But when you have a leader who is waiting to briefed on what direction to take, they become beholden to either the people who donate, or the people who speak the loudest (and/or exclude other speakers from the debate).
And that is where we are!
#politics

2026-06-13 07:16:01 GMT

And so it begins:
In Derbyshire a policeman has been discovered using AI * associated technologies to 'create evidential material in a number of cases'....
And you can bet across the UK's numerous police forces there are more cases of evidence manipulation & generation by AI that have gone un-noticed or been quietly ignored.
This may not be new (Police have fabricated evidence in the past) but AI makes it much easier & more difficult to detect!
#AI #politics
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jun/12/police-officer-under-criminal-investigation-over-alleged-use-of-ai

2026-06-13 07:03:46 GMT

Four Palestine Action activists have been sentenced not on the basis of the convictions for criminal damage (through a jury trial) but on the basis their crime *really* was terrorism (a subsequent decision by the presiding judge).
This not only violates the sanctity of jury trials (the jury was not informed of this possibility), it also is a retrospective legal decision, essentially violating the Rule of Law.
Its a direct attack on civil liberties!
#politics #protest
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce950111xk7o

2026-06-12 14:52:12 GMT

The UK is in many ways a rich country, but it seldom feels like that to most of us, rather our experiences of the UK's political economy are more that its a poor country with a concentration of very rich people.
Stewart Lansley agues that this is because there's been 'a shift from democratic & social control over the economy to elite & unaccountable financial institutions & individuals' who help shape the economy *for* that rich elite!
#economics #inequality #politics
https://progressiveeconomyforum.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/01-SteeringTheShip-DIGITAL.pdf

2026-06-12 10:05:54 GMT

RIP David Hockney
David Hockney has died aged 88 (smoking until the end no doubt).
Few artists have managed to bridge the art world & popular culture so well as Hockney; his work was often both innovative *and* popular.
He will be missed, but his work will live on and be enjoyed by future generations.
I salute a truly great experimental artist.
#art #painting #DavidHockney
https://mastodon.me.uk/system/media_attachments/files/116/736/564/579/523/654/original/6c508ddc0fe9bf46.webp

2026-06-12 06:16:38 GMT

Bite Size Economics No.11
'Transfer pricing is how global corporations avoid tax'
When corporations operate in two or more countries, the transfer of services & material between divisions allows profits to be moved to a lower tax country.
By overcharging, profits are transferred to the exporting division & reduced for the importing one. As 'internal' transactions they're often opaque & difficult to regulate, leading to tax 'losses' for high(er) tax states.
#BiteSizeEconomics #corporations

2026-06-12 05:57:02 GMT

A key element to the social sentiment(s) that keep capitalism working is a belief that hard work will be rewarded.... it also underpins consumer sentiments about spending (which drive 'effective demand').
But when young people increasingly don't believe this central (ideological) claim of the capitalist system, trouble for the economic status quo is coming!
If the young see no future for them in capitalism, then capitalism's future will change.
#capitalism #economics
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/jun/12/young-people-fear-long-term-unemployment-work