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Last Notes

2026-06-01 06:03:30 UTC

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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 UTC

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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 05:28:09 UTC

In another hint of the slow but sure pivot away from the US engineered by the Tangerine Tyrant, it looks like the Norwegians, having rejected membership of the EU twice, are again (seriously) considering a move to join the EU in light of the changing global political environment.
There is of course 'many a slip twixt cup & lip' but even the serious consideration of such a move tells us much about how the USA's position in the global political economy is changing!
#EU #Norway #politics
h/t FT

2026-06-01 05:24:14 UTC

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 17:14:23 UTC

More criticism is coming Zack Polanski's way; mostly its statement he made which (shall we say) were optimistic about his interactions & practice with various people & organisations.
but nothing has appeared coming even near the sorts of scandalous behaviour revealed about the Fascist Frog or others from the Westminster Village.
This underpins an argument that he's no better than those he criticises which may account for a dip in his opinion poll ratings.
The Q. is: does it matter?
#Greens

2026-05-31 11:25:40 UTC

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The key issue here is how the creation of credit impacts on asset values & their treatment in the recording of inflation.... so, we are sometimes told that QE (a massive creation of credit) didn't really cause any inflation, but actually it did in asset markets (and continues to do so) but these (housing & shares especially) are not included fully in inflation measures, hence obscuring the role of credit creation (I'm not a monetarist but the effects are also not trivial)

2026-05-31 07:39:39 UTC

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 UTC

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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 11:56:11 UTC

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 08:30:18 UTC

Is the precarious character of contemporary work & economic life fort many the driver of political change?
Guy Standing has been saying this for a while in various ways, but you'll still find his latest for @npub1me6…lgcf a clear statement of a plausible analysis.
#workers #politics
https://www.opendemocracy.net/the-precariat-election-ignoring-class-and-insecurity-imperils-labour/?ref=weekly-newsletter

2026-05-30 06:53:26 UTC

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

2026-05-29 09:33:39 UTC

RE: https://zirk.us/@ChrisMayLA6/116654332856789077
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
#note1ryr…fgg7

2026-05-29 05:15:18 UTC

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 05:55:24 UTC

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Good morning, Alex, and thanks as always for your attentive eye - typo now corrected

2026-05-28 05:49:04 UTC

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 UTC

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

2026-05-27 21:24:23 UTC

Andy Burnham has accused Tony Blair of not understanding the role of inequality in politics, but actually for the Blairites (and Blue Labour & other Right Labour factions), inequality is a key economic lever or incentive, albeit differing by class.
Blair & his familiars are fully paid up believers in a model of economic motivation where the rich need more money to motivate the, but the poor music have less to force them into economic activity.
He's Thatcher's child!
#politics #economics

2026-05-27 17:32:36 UTC

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

2026-05-26 17:19:02 UTC

To no-one's surprise, given the (justified) uproar about the sentencing in the Hampshire juvenile rape trial are now to be officially reviewed....
Certainly the boys themselves may have their problems, but these cannot outweigh the life changing damage & harm done to the victims.
For the Rule of Law to work justice has to be seen to be done, and in this case the Judge came nowhere near....
#politics #RuleOfLaw
https://www.theguardian.com/law/2026/may/26/court-of-appeal-to-review-sentences-of-teenage-boys

2026-05-26 08:45:06 UTC

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But it also represents a specific technocratic approach to Govt. - tax policy is seen as a series of micro-levers than can be applied in different ways - I'm not for a flat tax (that has all sorts of other problems), but I'd really like to see a major move away from the socio-political economic engineering stance of much tax policy in the UK (which of course is supported by those who want to use it for tax planning).

2026-05-26 08:40:27 UTC

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

2026-05-26 05:51:02 UTC

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 UTC

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 UTC

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 UTC

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 05:16:04 UTC

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 21:13:28 UTC

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Well, of course the gain from migrants in the long-term disappears in the data as they & their families become naturalised....
However, where we agree is on the role of the state, and here what we need is a state that recognises with an ageing population, we will need more young people, for a wide range of work (eventually)
Migration isn't the core problem the UK's dysfunctional capitalist model is (see a range of posts in my timeline focussing on the role of financial services)

2026-05-25 17:23:24 UTC

Good sense on benefits & work from Sam Tims (Joseph Rowntree Foundation):
'government should focus on the root causes of economic insecurity. These are the underlying economic failures that drive social security need – like the decent jobs that need to be created, the affordable homes we need & better health'....
Rather than continuing a broken economic incentives model (reducing benefits forces people into work), lets be clear on why they are out of work!
#politics
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2026/may/25/jobs-not-benefits-cut-welfare-bill-joseph-rowntree-foundation

2026-05-25 11:14:43 UTC

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Hmmm... I can see the self-interest in migration, but are you saying the receiving country gains no benefit (the data for the UK would argue otherwise)?

2026-05-25 08:34:53 UTC

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 07:22:47 UTC

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Thanks, but currently I'm fully invested as far as available funds - but will keep this in mind for the future

2026-05-25 06:04:26 UTC

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Agreed; as a user of community broadband (in which I am in investor of long-standing) & someone about to underwrite a micro-business locally for friends, my generation (with our pension post from professional careers) may end up being much more involved through personal networks in business investment than in the recent past

2026-05-25 05:59:07 UTC

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 11:16:39 UTC

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Hmmm.... isn't your point an extension of the initial one, explaining the why of the what summarised?
Incidentally I also think you are right, they are being paid to be inly interested in point scoring while the media is paid to make the point scoring seem like 'real' politics.

2026-05-24 11:05:14 UTC

@npub10ev…rjez sums up the problem with much of UK politics:
'They are only interest in scoring points. Not representing'!
#politics

2026-05-24 08:38:04 UTC

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 07:17:12 UTC

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 17:09:50 UTC

The Labour Party has presided over a rise in political prisoners in the UK (what else would you call people imprisoned for protesting about environmental issues or the situation in Gaza?).
When we wonder whether the Labour Party is the bulwark against the right that it still wants to present itself as, we might wonder how this differs from what a ReformUK Ltd Govt. might do?
And if you defend Labour as the better of two evils, then we really are lost!
#politics
https://www.theguardian.com/law/2026/may/23/anti-protest-sentences-rise-england-wales-political-prisoners

2026-05-23 17:03:37 UTC

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 UTC

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 08:41:26 UTC

How do we now that Wes Streeting is delusional?
Because he has implied in an interview with the Guardian that he can win over the left (in fairness their gloss on his remarks not what he actually said explicitly, although his discussion of policies led them to gloss it that way).
If he thinks he will be judged on his leadership contest pronounce, emts & not what many see as his disastrous period as Health Secretary, he is going to be a bit disappointed...
#politics
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/may/22/wes-streeting-insists-he-can-win-labour-leadership-race-despite-underdog-status

2026-05-23 07:08:10 UTC

There's been a fair amount (but not enough) commentary of the Fascist Frog's gift of £5mn from a Thailand-based Crypto-billionaire, but what you really need to have a look at is The Nerve's deep-dive into the issue (included a timeline) that strongly indicates that th Frog's declaration that he couldn't be bought (like so many of his claims) really doesn't hold water.
The Frog (not just because of this) is a real & present danger to democracy!
#NigelFarage #politics
https://www.thenerve.news/p/investigation-billionaire-christopher-harborne-30m-farage-boris-johnson-reform-brexit-pro-crypto

2026-05-22 14:55:26 UTC

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Not the UK, for pensions; the UK state pension is funded out of current tax receipts & is not an investment system at all... The cviv service scheme & quasi public bodies (like universities) on the other hand have such schemes (I am a member of the USS, university scheme) which *do* invest on such a basis, and may (although I cannot recall the exact level for recent years) have such investment growth targets....

2026-05-22 05:52:51 UTC

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

2026-05-21 17:14:29 UTC

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 13:37:01 UTC

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It works to some extent (imperfectly).... as to 'kingdoms' - not sure what you're getting at? The Uk is a constitutional monarchy & so has a king but his power (while not insignificant) are also limited in many aspect of the political settlement - if you are thinking of the devolution to the four 'nations' sometimes referred to a kingdoms, then that is not a significant issue in the way you suggest, although highly significant in the realm of competitive democratic politics

2026-05-21 05:45:48 UTC

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 UTC

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 UTC

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

2026-05-19 20:34:24 UTC

In the slow moving programme to hold someone (anyone!) to account for the death at the Grenfell Tower fire, the police have reached the stage of passing CPS charges against 77 companies (and individuals) for potential wrongdoing.
However, trials are some time off & so once again we are left with justice still being delayed meaning justice is still being denied.
#Grenfell #politics
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/may/19/grenfell-fire-police-criminal-charges-companies-individuals

2026-05-19 20:25:45 UTC

And as more questions emerge about the Fascist Frog's finances, he seems to have gone to ground, leading one to feel the necessity of yelling ar ReformUK ltd 'members' & supporters....
WHERE THE F**K IS NIGEL????
To which the answer might be that for once the publicity seeking Frog finds himself not wanting to seek out the media.
#politics #NigelFarage #ReformUK
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/may/19/nigel-farage-reform-uk-disappearance-politics

2026-05-19 17:41:09 UTC

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 17:16:40 UTC

(perhaps following the Scottish Nationalist Party's lead) the Treasury is suggesting a deal with supermarkets where in return for limiting, delaying or (perhaps even) scrapping a range of measures that the supermarkets say will add to their costs (from healthy food initiatives to new packaging policies), the supermarkets will cap the price of certain essentials to reduce the impact of inflation on the cost of living.
The supermarkets see this as undue interference....
#economics #food
h/t FT

2026-05-19 10:09:50 UTC

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Yes, that does seem to be likely scenario; while organising more recent generations to blame the boomers for everything no doubt

2026-05-19 09:37:32 UTC

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Exactly, even I was taking my mostly final salary pension when I took early retirement, it was rolling up behind me for my younger colleagues.... they are all now on majority or completely DC pensions with the USS, thereby now covering all their own pension income risk

2026-05-19 06:12:21 UTC

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Quite the opposite; never a member & has worked hard over the years to diminish its ability to act against international crimes

2026-05-19 06:03:38 UTC

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 05:48:03 UTC

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But the Q.is whether that is the ICC's problem or it has been constrained but he US & other major power from doing its job?

2026-05-19 05:43:07 UTC

You'll not be surprised the Pension Commission has concluded that low & medium paid workers are not saving enough for a 'comfortable' retirement;
Its no use telling them about the consequences of not paying into pensions if they haven't enough money to make a choice in any case.
The push of workers into self-employment has also reduced pension saving as the self-employed seldom (now) have made pension provision(s).
Low pay & precarious work has a long shadow.
#pensions #politics
h/t FT

2026-05-19 05:19:46 UTC

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

2026-05-19 05:14:49 UTC

It now seems that in the last couple of years international university student registrations in the USA have declined by 20%....
Given that UK universities have been forced into a business model that emphasises the recruitment of foreign students this would have been a great opportunity..... but, of course, the Govt. is also doing its best to dissuade foreign students from coming to the UK, thereby undermining the very business model universities have been pushed into.
#universities #politics

2026-05-18 17:30:26 UTC

'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 UTC

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

2026-05-18 05:27:58 UTC

Why are investors in UK Gilts (public debt) particularly skittish about shifts in UK politics?
The usual answer is they're tightly focussed on the impact of Govt. changes on the UK's fiscal stance & inflationary potential.
But, given that around a third of Gilts are held abroad, we might also conclude its a lack of detailed (local) material knowledge about the UK's economic plight, leading to a dependence on secondary (media) sources?
More UK investors needed?
#PublicDebt #politics
h/t FT

2026-05-17 18:26:55 UTC

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 10:01:18 UTC

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Yes, I think there's a growing recognition that this 'long game' of conflation is a major contributor to the manner in which the two are now seen (politically) as interchangeable even when there are formal declarations that they are not;
its another case of patient engineered inculcation (which one might compare to the similar sorts of 'campaigns' in fiscal & public economics - see for instance the long-running critique developed by Simon Wren Lewis of 'media macro').

2026-05-17 08:45:38 UTC

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 UTC

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 UTC

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 UTC

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 08:38:14 UTC

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 08:34:36 UTC

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Might not C21st 'reindustrialisation' actually be the Green Transition?

2026-05-16 08:23:20 UTC

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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 UTC

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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 UTC

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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 UTC

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 UTC

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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 UTC

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 05:36:49 UTC

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

2026-05-14 21:10:32 UTC

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 17:27:07 UTC

The care system is broken & only continues to run in any way at all because of unpaid carers.... they (we) need to be better supported, better funded & resourced, and perhaps most importantly respected fro what we do not treated like criminals by the DWP.
Louise Casey may well recognise all this, but its hardly new; what is actually needed urgently is a strategy for a positive change across the many dimensions of care.
#care #politics
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/may/14/millions-of-unpaid-uk-carers-living-in-agony-says-louise-casey

2026-05-14 17:22:46 UTC

And so once again Labour's NEC get the chance to either block or allow Andy Burnham to take a run at returning to the House of Commons....
It will be interesting to see how this drama plays out.... especially now Wes Streeting claims he wants a wide field for the Labour Party to choose their next leader from.
#politics
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/may/14/labour-mp-to-stand-down-to-allow-burnham-run-for-byelection-amid-leadership-row

2026-05-14 17:13:04 UTC

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 UTC

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 UTC

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Yes the amateurism of British politics has long been evident

2026-05-14 06:05:36 UTC

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 05:31:52 UTC

As we wait for next weeks GDP data to drop (or perhaps we don't) Bloomberg is reporting (I have this second hadn't via LinkedIn, I'm not a Bloomberg subscriber) that people at the Bank of England doubt the veracity of the data (even on its own merits);
so we now seem to have the situation where the Office of National Statistics seems unable to produce data that convinces its neighbouring institutions.
The notion of the economy 'flying blind' will be becoming more common...
#economics

2026-05-13 20:22:14 UTC

Keir Starmer vs. Wes Streeting is about as politically interesting as two bald men fighting over a comb.... its a classic bit of change but no change, and suggests the Labour Party is clueless about why people are abandoning them.
Then the (more interesting) Q. is how would Andy Burnham vs. Wes Streeting play out, if Streeting gets past an increasingly truculent Starmer?
Or perhaps Burnham wouldn't have the appetite for a second leadership challenge in this Parliament?
#politics #LabourParty

2026-05-13 05:43:26 UTC

I'm not trying to keep up with the turmoil at the top of the Labour Party, but I think its safe to conclude two things:
1. Keir Starmer will be unlikely to lead the Labour Party into the next election;
2. But, he is unlikely to go quietly & may well cause even more damage to Labour's standing in his manoeuvring to stay in No.10.
Of course, for the Green Party of England & Wales the key strategy should be to allow the Labour Party to keep making mistakes unhindered.
#LabourParty #politics

2026-05-13 05:29:08 UTC

Is the Tangerine Tyrant about to abandon the US commitment to keep arms sales to Taiwan as an issue between Washington & Taipei?
On his way to China to meet Xi Jinping, Trump said he was happy to discuss with Xi China's desire for the US to pause sales to the island's defence forces.
This suggests, that the grifter is about to shake down Taiwan (and at least threaten to halt arms support).
More transactional politics looks to be coming for the Taiwanese.
#Taiwan #China #Trump
h/t FT

2026-05-13 05:22:15 UTC

The UK's political & social-economic elites are more often educated at private school than the rest of the population....
Given, the problems the UK finds itself in (and the demand for 'change') perhaps we might wonder whether the underlying issue isn't productivity or management but rather the educational background of our political & business classes?
Perhaps that's what needs to change?
#politics #inequality #education
For more data from the Sutton Trust see:
https://elitistbritain.suttontrust.com
https://cdn.masto.host/zirkus/media_attachments/files/116/565/567/446/597/980/original/a44d730c3d9ef73f.jpeg

2026-05-12 17:20:38 UTC

How worried is the Govt. that Palestine Action protestors have the sympathy of juries?
enough to hide from the jury the fact that they would e sentenced not as criminals (having been convicted of criminal damage) but rather as terrorists.
At best, its a grossly unjust manipulation of procedure, and at worst brings the justice system into disrepute as juries are being lied to (albeit by omission).
This Govt.'s 'respect' for the rule of law seems ever weaker!
#politics
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/may/12/palestine-action-activists-elbit-protest-terrorist-connection-ruling

2026-05-12 10:14:20 UTC

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Yes, chaotic & reactive nationalisation cannot ever be better than strategic & reasoned assessment of the shape & requirements of the state in such areas

2026-05-12 07:29:45 UTC

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but don't discount nostalgia as the driver for political positioning.... (see Brexit)

2026-05-12 06:08:17 UTC

For years there have been concerns that one or more English universities might fall into administration.
In the past when this has looked to be a real prospect, mergers & take-overs of vulnerable institutions have been stage managed by regulators;
but now, it would seem with so many institutions in various level of difficulty, the 24 institutions most at risk are more likely to close than to be rescued via consolidation.
Things are getting grim in HE!
#universities
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce3p93j3823o

2026-05-12 05:38:22 UTC

Since 1945, British Steel has been nationalised (1949), privatised (or had nationalisation 'reversed') (1952), nationalised (1967), privatised (1988), followed by a period of a succession of new owners from around the world... and now the Labour Party is going to (re)nationalise
To say, the UK has not got a clear idea how best to maintain a functioning steel industry is an understatement.... although the global commercial environment *doesn't* make it easy, to be fair.
#steel #economics

2026-05-12 05:27:08 UTC

The problem that Keir Starmer (as other challenged leaders always have) is when they commit to future actions that their critics have demanded previously, the Q. is always 'if you believed this was the way to go, why didn't you do it before?'.
While of course political pressure is intended to change politicians' direction, the suspicion must be when they commit to change under pressure that such a commitment will be jettisoned once things quiet down... and here Starmer has form.
#politics

2026-05-11 17:04:32 UTC

Hmmm.... the proposed rent cap floated by the IPPR think-tank is not so much a cap as a tie to inflation (i.e. halting above inflation rent increases), but given there are a range of exceptions (such as for the first 10 years of new builds & also for landlords who have made 'improvements'), I think its safe to say this will end up (if it ever appears) as yet one more example of regulatory failure.
However, we *do* need to something about rents, so....
#housing
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/may/11/ippr-thinktank-double-lock-england-private-rent-cap-living-costs

2026-05-11 16:53:57 UTC

The media seems relatively uninterested in the £5m in crypto-currency given tot he Facist Frog, but a lot more interested in the council tax affairs of Zack Polanski.
On one level this is a metric of how seriously the Right take the threat from Polanski & the Green Party of England & Wales.... on another level, given what happened to Jeremy Corbyn at the hands of an antagonistic media, we might have hoped he would have put his now house (boat) in order ahead of the game?
#Greens #politics

2026-05-11 12:47:37 UTC

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Yes, I'd agree with all of that