Emeritus Prof Christopher May

Retired Professor of Political Economy
(Lancaster University, UK - retired 2021)
(also #ProfDJ across the Lune Valley)
Contributor: North West Bylines #NoBridge

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Last Notes

2026-05-09 07:20:08 UTC

Two obvious trends from Thursday's elections:
The Fascist Frog & ReformUK Ltd have gained most in areas where the Brexit vote was most evident;
The Green Party of England & Wales has done best where voters are younger.
(Given that the Brexit vote itself was quite strongly age-determined a decade ago, we might conclude that the GPEW is in a better demographic position than Reform?)
#politics #Brexit
https://cdn.masto.host/zirkus/media_attachments/files/116/543/382/374/226/447/original/1f2e02ecd5d7195d.png
https://cdn.masto.host/zirkus/media_attachments/files/116/543/385/804/522/544/original/95838f2624d63fe2.png

2026-05-06 21:26:22 UTC

The Trustees Savings Bank started out helping workers manage their wages & survived as a form of community-based banking even after a range independent (regional) networks merged into a single TSB in the 1980s.
But then the rot set in with a share listing in 1985, merger with Lloyds in 1995 and then being spun off as a 'normal' bank to fulfil an EU requirement; leaving it to be picked up by Santander who are now dumping the brand!
RIP TSB... once a workers' bank!
#banking #workers
h/t FT

2026-05-06 17:50:44 UTC

Here's Aditya Chakrabortty on why the claim that the Govt. are the 'adults in the room' has proved as vacuous & corrosive as many of us always thought it was.... its the sort of political (and technocratic) 'leadership' that condescends to voters & patronises them, while failing to appreciate what is actually happening outside the Westminster Village, assuming that our political class knows the answers & we should leave them to get on with it...
#politics
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/may/06/labour-wipeout-adults-in-the-room-con-job-keir-starmer-elections
https://cdn.masto.host/zirkus/media_attachments/files/116/528/880/177/549/869/original/3b315f3279294b5c.png

2026-05-06 13:41:32 UTC

For those of us who have been arguing that the UK's (pretty clear) economic decline *is* reversible, here is @nprofile…3yrk examining some of the key arguments that are made for recent economic decline.
He concludes that while there may be weak (but still evident) reasons to agree with Andy Burnham's four horsemen of UK decline: deindustrialisation, privatisation, austerity & Brexit, it is the latter where the evidence is most clear cut!
#Brexit #economics #UK #politics
https://mainlymacro.blogspot.com/2026/05/uk-decline-and-stylised-empirical-facts.html

2026-05-05 07:12:38 UTC

Q. is the condoning housing crisis, with in quantity & quality dimensions behind the falling (albeit self-reported) healthy years of life data?
Certainly, the UK's housing stock is often doing little for physical health while the ability to secure reasonable housing is having a major impact on many people's mental health.
Sorting out the housing problem(s) would like have massive positive knock on effects on health & social wellbeing.
#housing #politics
https://theconversation.com/how-britains-housing-crisis-contributes-to-its-declining-healthy-life-expectancy-281605

2026-05-03 08:57:59 UTC

Any Iranians (still) hoping that the Tangerine Tyrant might 'save' them, need only look at how the US recent involvement has played out in Venezuela to know that the only people likely to be 'saved' are the ruling elite (who will likely stay in power) whose control is needed to ensure that the oil business can be captures & exploited by allies of the President.
Trump has explicitly said he wants to repeat his Venezuelan 'model'...
#Iran #Venezuela #oil #trump

2026-05-03 07:25:48 UTC

The Tangerine Tyrant has decided to punish the Germans for their (lack of) support for the US/Israeli attacks on Iran by (over the next 12 months) removing 5,000 US military personal from Germany and cancelling a Biden-era planned deployment of defensive weapon systems.
While the trop removals may be made up by new arrivals should Trump waver, but the cancelled deployment looks more like one more aspect of the US withdrawal from NATO commitments & involvement.
#Trump #NATO
h/t FT

2026-05-02 17:24:33 UTC

We're often told that the public debt ratio to GDP, and its breaching of 100% of GDP is a major political issue; the sort of signal that suggest fiscal management is not going well for a Govt.
So what if we know that such debt levels are (of course) subject to revisions as better data arrives, and that actually UK public debt has remained in the region of 95% for the last four years even if initial estimates sometimes have it as over 100%.
Perhaps we should be less concerned?
#PublicFinances
https://cdn.masto.host/zirkus/media_attachments/files/116/506/123/892/064/025/original/a7c5c9f068225c2e.png

2026-05-02 09:42:39 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…84ur
OK, we can disagree; but his record in national politics is not that great... but I guess we'll find out one way or the other

2026-05-02 07:27:54 UTC

Zack Polanski may be learning a lesson on why, as a leader of a popular challenger party, retweeting 'in haste' is not the best approach to buttressing his political profile.
Certainly, the Labour Party (Keir Starmer in particular) are looking for excuses to criticise Polanski, so he needs to not make unforced errors like this (although who cannot also say they've never re-posted in haste?).
For the GPEW the political environment is becoming less forgiving.
#politics
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/may/01/keir-starmer-condemns-zack-polanski-sharing-post-criticising-police-golders-green-stabbings

2026-04-26 07:49:49 UTC

There are at least two problems with calls for Keir Starmer to make rejoining the EU a priority:
1. its not just us deciding the UK wants to rejoin, we have to negotiate that with an EU that remains sceptical/unconvinced of the UK's commitment to the EU mission;
2. its framed as a way of combating the surge in support for the Green Party of England & Wales; but this repeats the problem of Brexit - seeing EU membership through the lens of domestic political rivalries.
#politics #EU Brexit

2026-04-26 06:42:27 UTC

Many of us here have been recently speculating on the medium-term (and on-going) political economic pivot away from the USA (in part prompted by the actions of the Court of the Tangerine Tyrant).
This, implicitly also included a decline in importance of the US dollar as the world's reserve currency.... but, looking at 'eurodollars' - dollars created off-shore by non-US banks' credit creation operations - what we see is little sign of a decline... (as yet) interesting?
#economics #currencies
https://cdn.masto.host/zirkus/media_attachments/files/116/469/623/255/243/116/original/e6d2ea9309054393.png

2026-04-24 14:51:10 UTC

You'll have read (or heard) today a lot of invective about the House of Lords role in obstructing the Assisted Dying Bill; certainly, many people are concerned that the un-elected element of our governing structure has obstructed a legal measure passed by the democratic lower house.
However, as Prof. Mark Elliott argues its not quite as simple as that (not least due to the character of the original bill).
His balanced view is worth a read.
#AssistedDying #politics
https://publiclawforeveryone.com/2026/04/24/the-fall-of-the-terminally-ill-adults-end-of-life-bill-a-constitutional-outrage/

2026-04-24 05:52:28 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…l5m6
Its a good Q; primary I'd say, workers are being sacrificed on the altar of (claimed) productivity gains.... and this reflects (as indicated by an earlier posts today) that Govt.s misunderstand where the productivity problems lie - not with workers, but with management & the deficiencies of the 'care economy'

2026-04-24 05:24:51 UTC

Both Meta & Microsoft have said they're shedding staff explicitly to free up cash flow to invest in AI;
on one level this is unemployment linked to technology, but its a bit different from *actual* technological unemployment - the latter sees people losing jobs due to the deployment of technology to do their jobs. Microsoft & Meta on the other hand are sacking people to take a (bigger) punt on a business strategy that is yet to prove its transformation of productivity.
#AI #workers
h/t FT

2026-04-23 05:23:23 UTC

Will the current (and ongoing) economic impact of the US/Israeli attacks on Iran, undermine China's export strategy?
There's already some evidence of re-direction of exports as part of the ongoing pivot away from US markets, but if rising energy prices continue to dampen demand China may start to have major problem exporting its 'overproduction'.
If so, deflationary pressure(s) in China may worsen compounding low domestic consumption & shifting China nearer to recession?
#China
h/t FT

2026-04-22 20:28:15 UTC

It increasingly looks like the UK is about to have a PM without moral authority & unable to coral MPs into supporting his (and party's) legislative agenda (such as it is) while remaining in post because no-one seems willing to challenge for the party leadership in the current circumstances...
I'm not sure whether its a good advert for democracy (because he *is* being held to account despite scapegoating others), or a bad one (as the mechanisms of governance are clogged up)?
#politics #UK

2026-04-22 05:10:56 UTC

Here' some context to the slight drop in UK unemployment reported yesterday. Across the OECD the UK's unemployment rate is just above the overall (aggregated) rate for the whole of the OECD.
So, while the unemployment rate remains too high (from a welfare standpoint) given the international context the UK is hardly an outlier on this indicator, even if in other areas from productivity to investment the UK's is a lot further from commonplace performance.
#workers #unemployment #economics
https://cdn.masto.host/zirkus/media_attachments/files/116/446/607/915/204/065/original/493fc2a89bddadf3.jpeg

2026-04-21 06:13:31 UTC

Hmmm.... reading this account of 'poly-employment' I started to wonder whether at least part of the issue of economic inactivity is linked to (lets call it) 'job hoarding' by some younger workers as a strategy to deal with the continuing cost of living crisis (and astronomical rent/accommodation costs).
Its hardly their fault, but suggests why there may be less young people in work than there are jobs.... and why young workers are often stressed!
#economics #workers
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn89n9exl11o

2026-04-21 06:05:40 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…0qnq
Yes, I think the analogy is instructive if not comprehensive - but O'Connor's powerful point I think is on the link between regulatory action & social norms - which has been vey evident in the realm of smoking

2026-04-21 05:36:21 UTC

Sarah O'Connor (FT) suggests the best way of framing the uses, danger & regulation of social media may be to look at the history of smoking; a gradual tightening of regulatory limits on smoking has (especially among the middle-class) led to radical reductions of tobacco use.
We're already seeing the start of such moves with the interest in banning young people from using social media due to the (increasingly recognised) harms it causes; Will be interesting to see if she's right.
#SocialMedia

2026-04-21 05:24:31 UTC

Today Ed Miliband will set out how he's going to shift the way renewable energy enters the wholesale markets as a way fo trying to reduce the impact of the gas price on the UK's energy market.... not least to reduce overall prices.
However, in a fudge that will be unwelcome by many, rather than formally severing the link to gas prices, he's looking to encourage renewable generators to take out 'contracts for difference' in competition with gas suppliers...
Q. is: will it work?
#energy
h/t FT

2026-04-20 05:22:35 UTC

And so the Strait of Hormuz is once again 'closed' as the US fires on, boards & seizes an Iranian vessel... marking another step that seems to be aimed at getting the Iranians to accept the 'deal' offered by the Tangerine Tyrant and not really a prompt to any sort of negotiation.
This is (as one might expect) the diplomacy of the bully & hardly like to end with a long-tern & sustained peace in the region.
Its unlikely to be a good week....
#Iran #MiddleEast
h/t FT

2026-04-19 21:26:13 UTC

So another mass shooting in the USA (in Louisiana) and no doubt we'll hear a range of US politicians saying their hearts & prayers go out to the victims, but offering nothing in the way of a resolution for this problem.... because they claim no-one has found a way to limit gun use while not impeding political freedoms.... that is, apart from most other developed countries.
Gun violence in the USA is not a natural phenomenon, its the result of political choice(s)!
#GunViolence #USPol
h/t FT

2026-04-19 08:18:46 UTC

Gaining a lot less coverage than the World Economic Foundation's annual shindig in Davos, next week in Oxford the annual Skoll World Forum focusses on the idea of social entrepreneurship (not least the B-Corp movement) to look at how capitalism might be done differently.
While this will be of little interest to those of you who think capitalism is the problem, for reformists who see a range of capitalist models, this might be something to look at?
#capitalism
https://skoll.org/skoll-world-forum/

2026-04-18 08:34:30 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…rc8f
Agreed, and this is where he seems to lack the skills (interest?) required

2026-04-18 07:42:23 UTC

Another week, another story of the callousness of the British state; the already failing e-Visa system seems to be corrupting & dismissing people's right to stay in the UK, has this week halted a mother's return to be with her child, while stranding her in Germany with another.
As so often the Home Office is quick to make mistakes but slow to rectify them with (seemingly) no regard to the human costs.
The state's runs rough shod over normal people (again).
#politics
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/apr/17/woman-dusseldorf-uk-home-office-return-flight-blocked

2026-04-17 05:28:19 UTC

The Luddites get a bad rap... yes, they broke specific machines & resisted automaton, but they did so because they clearly recognised the key (and enduring) aspect of technological change.
The immediate impact is local & impoverishing - those who leave their jobs seldom regain their standard of living... while the quick gains (surpluses) are hoarded by the owners of the machines.
In the long run employment may improve (or expand) but not in the lifetimes of its 'victims'!
#technology #AI

2026-04-16 21:22:19 UTC

So Rachel Reeves has confirmed the austerity mindset continues in Govt., by announcing that the increase of defence budgets warranted (to be fair) by the current situation in the Middle East & the continuing threat(s) for Russia, will be paid for by cuts elsewhere in the public sector...
Given over a decade of cuts this will be brutal, and prompts the Q. if the country continues to devastated by austerity what exactly are our armed forces protecting?
#defence #politics
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/apr/16/rachel-reeves-warns-other-budgets-may-be-cut-to-lift-defence-spending

2026-04-16 07:39:26 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…7nlh
Interestingly, next week my wife is visiting a minor surges centre that specialises in dermatology (in Kendal).... the first time we've been so directed by the NHS

2026-04-16 06:12:07 UTC

Here' a vital point often missed from the consideration of health care & prevention of illness.... public health is more than the NHS, its all about the social environment in which we live, which has become ever more unhealthy!
#PublicHealth #NHS

2026-04-16 06:05:01 UTC

The row over 'wrongly' paid student loans (and their claw back) which revolves around the designation of sandwich courses (taught at weekends) as 'distance learning' looks like it will end up in court as the universities worst impacted by the clawback of funds from students (often from poorer backgrounds) have decided to sue the Govt. over the issue.
Again, a measure intended to help the less privileged in society, has become a stick to beat them with!
#university
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cnv884qveyqo

2026-04-16 05:51:24 UTC

While accidents (almost by definition) are to some extent random... the structural causes (from social context to the lived environment) actually skew people's actual propensity to die in an accident.
New data suggests people in the North East are most likely to die in an accident while the population in London is least likely.
However, the highest level of accidental deaths is in Blackpool, an area of heightened depravation....
Make of this what you will
#politics
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/apr/16/people-in-north-of-england-twice-as-likely-to-be-killed-in-accidents-as-londoners-report-finds

2026-04-16 05:30:29 UTC

Ten years after Brexit vote what's been particularly notable is that after an early flurry of other members flirting with their own 'exit' movements, as the disaster of Brexit has become clearer the appetite of politicians in existing EU members to engineer their own exit has quietly disappeared
Brexiters told us we would be first of many, but what has actually happened is Brexit has served as a telling example of political folly - an unexpected political service to the EU?
#Brexit #politics

2026-04-16 05:23:55 UTC

This map of land use (and the origin of food imports) while intended to give a picture of the UK's food system is also of more general interest for debates about land-use (and access) in the UK... most especially what is suggests is that the UK remains a country dominated by farmland, whatever our perceptions are.
How this then refracts into debates about land for housing and access rights for those seeking rural pursuits is another matter.
#LandUse
h/t Paul Behrens (British Academy)/LinkedIn
https://cdn.masto.host/zirkus/media_attachments/files/116/412/704/803/743/507/original/462261d4ef3506f0.jpeg

2026-04-14 07:30:57 UTC

A new report from the IPPR think tank emphasises there is no evidence that moving to an insurance based model (a form of semi-privatisation) would have any actual health benefits, despite it being a key talking point for Blue Labour & Wes Streeting's cabal.
Rather, as so often emphasised; making the NHS work better & (re)emphasising prevention is the way forward; tinkering/changing the funding model is essentially ideologically (paid-for) nonsense.
#health #NHS
https://www.ippr.org/media-office/changing-nhs-funding-model-would-be-a-pointless-distraction-finds-ippr
https://cdn.masto.host/zirkus/media_attachments/files/116/401/882/454/642/744/original/62867e2a5c6c00b7.png

2026-04-14 05:59:21 UTC

European countries have (partly) resisting being drawn into the US/Israeli untied conflict with Iran by the Tangerine Tyrant, so now the Iranians are now seeking to exploit that reticence by seeking to establish the reasonableness of their position with European leaders (so far with the French & Germans).
Its an interesting development & a sensible move by the Iranians, again showing they are playing a limited political hand rather well.
#Iran #MiddleEast #politics
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/14/iran-cosy-up-europe-increase-pressure-us

2026-04-13 06:01:33 UTC

How serious are Govt. efforts to sort out the problems of DWP's callous & inhumane treatment of unpaid carers' 'overpayments'?
well it *is* reviewing historic cases of claw backs, but while that is going on the DWP will continue to initiate new cases & continue to demand repayments under a scheme that is widely recognised as a major problem for carers.
So the answer is not as serious as it might pretend - disgraceful - claw backs must stop immediately!
#politics
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/apr/13/unpaid-carers-allowance-dwp-benefit-repayment-demands

2026-04-12 14:26:02 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…nl0g
Really, I guess he has a lot of experience to share?

2026-04-12 12:51:07 UTC

Happy Birthday Herbie Hancock
There are few jazz musicians who have had such a long career & contributed to so many different aspects of jazz music, from his work with Miles, to his towering achievements in jazz-fusion, from his acoustic playing (just brilliant) to his electric forays (finding ways to push the frontier of what jazz might be).
No jazz collection is complete without a fair few albums by Hancock - a great, great musician!
#HerbieHancock #jazz #music
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9bfskX7sM8

2026-04-12 11:34:39 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…z2cj
hmmm... odd, not sure what's happening there (although on reflection I think I may be registered with the website if not paying, so they *are* harvesting minimal personal details?)

2026-04-12 08:57:37 UTC

Almost the defining mindset of the Right is the desire (or perhaps practice) of being both the oppressor/attacker & wanting to play the victim at the very same time.
Currently: US & Israeli attacks on Iran prompt self-defensive counter attacks that are then treated as an 'escalation'.
Or in the UK, after years of bad-mouthing Europe & finally engineering Brexit, claims the EU is being 'unreasonable' when failing to agree to the UK's desired 'reset' on the UK's terms!
#politics
h/t The Bear

2026-04-12 07:47:13 UTC

The madness of the UK's energy system is summed up in the £55m paid to wind farm operators in the last couple of months to cease generation (temporarily) because the energy interconnection (distribution) system was unable to handle the electricity transfer from generation to use; at the same time £217m was paid (mainly to gas-based generators) to make up the shortfall in renewable energy the congested network caused.
The network build-out needs to be accelerated!
#energy
h/t Observer

2026-04-12 07:00:41 UTC

You'll likely be unsurprised that yesterday's talks in Pakistan failed to reach any sort of conclusion on a putative peace deal between the US & Iran (not least as the talks were, as the Iranians put it, full of 'mistrust & suspicion').
The Q. is where from here? Pakistan is urging both sides to maintain the ceasefire, but you can bet Netanyahu will be working hard on the Tangerine Tyrant to re-start attacks to 'encourage' Iran to accept the conditions on the table.
#Iran #MiddleEast
h/t FT

2026-04-11 09:09:17 UTC

Its a classic collective action problem... across the UK potholes ion thread are getting worse, at least in part due to the continued rise of ever bigger & heavier SUV's.... but one of the reasons people are buying these SUVs is because of the conditions of the roads.
Of course, its exactly this sort of collective action problem that the state is supposed to resolve... but there seems little hope of that.
#roads #SUV #politics
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/apr/11/suv-britain-potholes-worse-scientists-heavier-cars

2026-04-11 08:43:24 UTC

Ha, ha.
The Guardian reports that JD Vance on his way to Pakistan for 'peace talks' with Iran, wanted the Iranians not to 'try & play' the US.... this from an administration that has pretty clearly been played by the Israeli Govt. over the course of the attacks on Iran.
Given, one might argue that the Iranian's have played a pretty bad hand better than the US has played their's, this warning looks like a demonstration of Vance's political shallowness.
#Iran #politics #USPol

2026-04-10 05:36:59 UTC

RIP Afrika Bambaataa
Afrika Bambaataa was one of the early leaders & innovators of hip hop and is perhaps best known for taking Kraftwerk's electronic pulse & reshaping it into the global (and early) hip hop hit Planet Rock (I still have my original Tommy Boy 12" bought on a trip to the States); just genius.
A classic case of the power of the DJ/producer to push innovation then & subsequently.
He'll be missed.
#HipHop #music #RIPAfrikaBambaataa
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2evppm30p7o

2026-04-10 05:06:31 UTC

Well, as always when a Govt. & top managers have lost trust of a public sector work-force, and fail to settle a long running industrial dispute, the next step is pretty much always the consideration of a ban on striking altogether.
So, you'll be unsurprised that NHS senior managers, after three years of on-off conflict with Resident Doctors, are asking Wes Streeting to consider a legal ban on strikes by doctors. Streeting has so far demurred but how much longer?
#NHS #doctors #politics
h/t FT

2026-04-08 06:09:49 UTC

Some great music from the 80s, no.50
Madonna. La Isla Bonita
And so 80s classics comes to an end where is started with Madonna. This stone cold latin-disco classic is one of my favourite 80s records. The lilting shuffle rhythm, the latin tinge, the modulation in the vocals & its nicely sparse production all make for a wonderful & atmospheric track, which evokes a steamy summer.
(There will now, as usual, be a post-series pause before I restart with something different)
#music #80sClassics

2026-04-08 05:40:35 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…2acj
Its a distinct possibility....

2026-04-08 05:37:41 UTC

And so the threat of a major war crime brought a (conditional) cease fire to the Middle East conflict (excepting actions in Lebanon by Israel); whether this was already in the works when the Tangerine Tyrant announced his threat is a different matter....
How this plays out will much depend on whether some element of practical trust can be engineered between the US administration & the Iranians (with the latter no doubt having one eye on historical betrayals).
#Iran #MiddleEast

2026-04-08 05:31:46 UTC

Not only is there a general problem in the way graduates' student debt is handled (hardly ameliorated yesterdays bounce interest rate cap at 6%), there is also a clear gendered dimension, perhaps most obviously demonstrated in the continued accrual of debt during maternity leave... once again raising the cost of motherhood.
Its a problem entirely the result of a (wilful) political misunderstanding of the social purpose of university education.
#graduates #politics
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/90000-later-what-student-debt-really-does-women-amy-brooker-hvcze/

2026-04-07 05:57:35 UTC

As Hettie O'Brien observes when capitalism seems stalled (especially in the UK), the rise of Private Equity's business model (of asset stripping & use of debt to extract cash from businesses) is just one more example of a zero-sum economics that now dominates the social relations of inequality & impoverishment.
The Q. is whether this is the end-stage of this form of capitalism or the final contradictions that will cause the entire edifice to collapse?
#capitalism
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/apr/07/capitalism-endgame-private-equity-captured-nurseries-care-homes

2026-04-06 05:47:24 UTC

Another 'benefit fraud' that is likely to drive more intrusive attention on the lives of disabled people (drivers & driving carers in this case) with little robust data on the extent of fraud & miss-use of blue badges for parking.
As always, something that is extremely helpful (I know, we have one) not least to use parking spots with more space for transfer to a wheelchair, is being presented as a potential fraud, based on suspicion not (much) evidence.
#disability
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2026/apr/06/blue-badge-permits-record-1-20-people-in-england

2026-04-06 05:38:40 UTC

I'm often critical of the current Labour Govt., but as the TUC point out today's shift in both eligibility & pace of statuary sick pay will help low-income households & specially is particularly beneficial to working women.
Despite considerable push-back from business lobbyists (as ever on anything that helps workers), the Govt. has for the most part held the line on this & that should be recognised.
But its not a political get-out-of-jail free card!
#workers #health
https://www.theguardian.com/law/2026/apr/06/sick-pay-rule-changes-benefit-uk-workers-tuc

2026-04-06 05:11:12 UTC

Last week Ed Miliband told MPs he was looking at de-coupling the UK energy markets from the price of gas (reflecting, or parallel to the position laid out by Dale Vince among others).
The rise in prices caused by the US/Israeli attacks on Iran is driving this consideration but it reflects a longer-term need, as renewable energy generation grows, to recognise the 'real' price of our energy.
This may involve a shift in energy risk management but it looks ever more needed.
#energy #politics

2026-04-06 05:06:59 UTC

Let's start the week with a simple message from UN Women.
Stop telling women how to live their life!
The continued focus of the media on telling women what to do reflects a wide-spread sexism in global societies.... it won't be stoped abruptly, but behind much prejudice is this assumed male right.
So, my friends, if you find yourself telling a women how to live their life ask yourself: have I the right to be offering unasked-for 'guidance' or 'advice'?
#women #politics #feminism
https://cdn.masto.host/zirkus/media_attachments/files/116/355/996/875/118/790/original/d5ca3044aba04b85.jpeg

2026-04-05 14:31:53 UTC

Those seeking to push the green transition, might thank the Tangerine Tyrant & his attack (with Israel) on Iran;
price signals are a powerful economic force & so a rise in energy prices should encourage further efficiencies (reductions in energy use) & also aid the (continued) expansion of the use of alternate energy sources.
The Govt. still needs to help with 'transition costs' but price rises help the transition to renewable energy!
But at an *awful* cost to Iranians!
#GreenTransition

2026-04-05 08:45:14 UTC

Its turn out that 'long-term sickness' as a cause of 'economic inactivity' among young people is often actually being sick of rubbish, precarious, low-paid work.
The UK's preference for low-wage work (subsidised via in-work benefits) & the managerial perception of workers as a cost it be managed (or reduced), has not gone un-noticed among the young, who just don't want any of it... and who can blame them.
British rubbish management strikes again!
#workers #economics
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/apr/03/young-people-more-likely-to-leave-for-health-reasons-when-in-low-paid-insecure-jobs

2026-04-05 07:52:09 UTC

In the run up to Easter Brexiter fury was aimed at the requirement for Marmalade to be renamed if we (re)align UK food labelling regulations with the EU; this would be for the addition of the word 'citrus' in a blow to UK sovereignty.
What, the hysteria ignored was that most brands already do this: 'Orange Marmalade' or 'Seville Orange Marmalade' & that is fine, as the EU allowed (and continues to allow) the word 'citrus' to be replaced by the actual fruit!
#brexit #politics
h/t Observer

2026-04-05 07:36:39 UTC

As the Tangerine Tyrant continues to (occasionally) claim his mission is to help the Iranian people (rather than to help himself to their oil), its likely that many Iranians will be looking to Afghanistan & discounting any promises of salvation from the US....
While there is always an element of a resistance/opposition movement that will think 'this time its different' & hope they can lever US involvement into social change, much of this is the triumph of hope over experience.
#Iran #politics

2026-04-04 07:54:56 UTC

I have posted before about how men are complicit in toxic masculinity when they (we) don't call it out in casual or 'normal' social interactions.... well, imagine what its like to be a female teacher in schools where the social media impact of the mansophere is shaping young male minds.
I've been persuaded that a total social media ban is not the answer, but the Q. then is: what should we do about this social rupture?
#manosphere #schools #ToxicMasculinity
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2026/apr/04/masculinity-crisis-brewing-uk-schools-teachers-union

2026-04-04 07:12:13 UTC

Its interesting that Iran shooting down one (or possibly two) US aircraft in its airspace is being treated as an 'escalation'.... Given Iran is clearly under attack from US/Israeli forces, defending its airspace is not so much an escalation as a perfectly reasonable defensive response (and certainly legal as far as international law is concerned).
But the narrative remains, whatever the media may think its doing, one that privileges the US's positioning on the 'war'!
#Iran #InternationalLaw

2026-04-04 07:03:05 UTC

We know (the ever transactional) Tangerine Tyrant sees NATO as a cost to the US from which they derive little if any benefit... and we all now this is essentially nonsense.
But as Andrew Gawthorpe notes its not just historical ignorance (or lack of interest), it is also because a significant aspect of the value fo NATO to the US is really based on a counter-factual - things avoided because of NATO's existence & that is a much more difficult to see?
#security #politics
https://theconversation.com/donald-trump-says-the-us-doesnt-get-much-out-of-nato-membership-but-is-that-true-279798

2026-04-03 07:41:03 UTC

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@nprofile…07hu
Hmmm.... I know a lot of teachers & I think given the right support they can make a real difference, but equally I'm not disagreeing with or discounting your central point - perhaps I should have said 'one of the keys' not 'the key'.... I think broadly we're on the same page

2026-04-03 07:20:41 UTC

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@nprofile…07hu
Well, the research establishes an association between schools & the propensity to become a NEET; but they accept its is just an association - my feeling is that schools can be key to shifting that propensity, but you are right there are deeper social structural issues that feed into this too.... schools are a necessary area of action but not a necessarily a sufficient one

2026-04-03 06:04:05 UTC

Around a million young people in the UK (aged between 16-24) are not in education, employment or training (the so-called NEETs).
One key factor for the persistence of this marginalisation of young people from activities that have longer term impact on birth heir wellbeing & income, is the role of schools in surging such rejection of (or exclusion from) such early life opportunities.
Looking at how schools can help NEETs before they become NEETs is the key!
#education
https://theconversation.com/the-school-you-go-to-affects-whether-you-become-neet-new-research-279365

2026-04-03 05:02:53 UTC

Class casts a long shadow: graduates from disadvantaged backgrounds earn 13% less a decade after leaving university; a gap larger than headline gender pay gaps.
Controling for University & course choice this gap drops to around 7%, but when you compare graduates with the same degree, from the same university *and* the same employer, a gap remains. Around 5% lower pay persists; over £2,800 a year.
Think class is a thing of the past?
#class #education
h/t Nick Harrison/Sutton Trust/LinkedIn

2026-04-03 04:57:49 UTC

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@nprofile…cz6y
Yes, the shift into the (quasi) mainstream requires skills that they haven't bothered to develop, and now they're more exposed than they'd like.... the Q. is whether they *do* develop those skills in the next year or so, I suppose

2026-04-02 21:34:36 UTC

ReformUK Ltd's key problem is it is full of people who do not seem to understand that you can no longer say one thing to a group of people keen to see their prejudice reflected back at them, and then something else to a wider public you're trying to convince that you are a reasonable & mainstream political party.
Social media allows just too much cross (in both senses) messaging to get through.
Its almost as if they don't really understand the modern world?
#ReformUK #politics #SocialMedia

2026-04-02 17:16:04 UTC

So, the international meeting on the Strait of Hormuz, convened & (virtually) hosted by the UK considered 'every possible diplomatic, economic & co-ordinated measure' to convince Iran to 're-open' the Strait (well, not so much re-open as lift the threat of attacks on those ships not authorised by Iran to pass through).
Of course, the real 'solution' would be to halt US & Israeli attacks on Iran (to which Iran is responding)...but I'm sure that wasn't on the table!
#Iran #politics
h/t Guardian

2026-04-02 17:03:24 UTC

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@nprofile…0k7v
No, one of the reasons the Brexit referendum went the way it did is the link to Europe is weak (not just to the EU).... even though the UK has over the years become more European (especially with the younger generations), there is significant feeling that Europe is somewhere else... and indeed, this is partly due to the social orientation towards the US (partly due to the languages issue - speaking another language is not as common as one might hope).

2026-04-02 11:41:09 UTC

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@nprofile…0k7v
yes, but also how willing the British are to accept they are *European*.... not an easy shift for some

2026-04-02 11:19:25 UTC

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@nprofile…0k7v
Quite a lot; if only the UK was better trusted in the EU (but we have, as we say our here: 'pissed in our chips')

2026-04-02 08:51:25 UTC

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@nprofile…0k7v
Well, that's an interesting point - while not completely self-sufficient our production is not insignificant - but of course controlled by a small numbers of MNCs

2026-04-02 06:10:16 UTC

Some great music from the 80s, no.46
Shalamar. A Night to Remember
This slice of LA-based pop-disco is a great bouncy eminently danceable party record. Driven by a strident drum sound typical of early 80s disco & a great bass line, its a classic pick-up record, enlivened by Shalamar's characteristic ensemble vocals. There's nothing particularly subtle going on here, but sometimes you just need to bounce on to the dance floor forgot it all (especially right now!).
#music #80sClassics #disco

2026-04-02 05:34:01 UTC

In case you thought things couldn't get worse in OfWat's 'regulation' of Thames Water... OfWat is proposing to give TW a period of four years where they would be immune from fines, in return for 'undertakings' related to service & investment....
As this is going out to public consultation, it will no doubt get a pretty hostile response, but as OfWat is so 'captured' its also likely they will discount such responses & continue to give TW the benefit of the doubt.
Disgraceful!
#water
h/t FT

2026-04-02 05:28:27 UTC

Having awarded a major contract to (controversial) data firm Palantir, a growing number of NHS staff are refusing to work with the firm's tools for ethical reasons, with wider passive resistance to its deployment.
One manger said: 'People are saying, ‘I refuse to work on this software. You have to find something else for me to do’... They’re calling it a workplace adjustment. [as] if you were disabled & needed a different desk, they’re literally treating it like that'!
#NHS #Palantir
h/t FT

2026-04-02 05:18:49 UTC

The FT reports 'Ofcom found that this social media use was “becoming more passive and circumspect”, with around half actively posting, sharing or commenting — down from 61% in 2024'.... and this might be something to do with 'the number of people who think the benefits of being online outweigh the risks had also dropped — to 59%, down from 72% last year'!
Is that finally we have passed peak social media?
Have people realised Big Tech are *not* our friends?
Hope so!
#SocialMedia #politics

2026-04-01 20:37:19 UTC

As Aditya Chakrabortty points out, as we head into a worsening economic crisis prompted by the US/Israeli attack(s) on Iran, we can also be sure that not everyone in the UK will be suffering to the same extent as the crisis deepens.
As always the key structural condition to understand our plight is the UK's character as an unequal political economy with a large sector of low paid precarious work impoverishing households (even in 'good times').
#inequality #politics
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/apr/01/inflationary-shock-pay-the-price-uk-energy-crisis-us-iran-war

2026-04-01 20:15:22 UTC

Why has NATO seemingly shifted its stance on getting involved in military deployments to (re)open the Strait of Hormuz?
Because, it now transpires that the Tangerine Tyrant threatened to withdraw support from Ukraine unless NATO members pitched into the US/Israeli initiated Iran conflict.
Obviously we shouldn't be surprised, the TT is always transactional, but this (to me) represents a new low even for him.... a complete disgrace as a human being!
#Iran #Ukraine #politics
h/t FT

2026-04-01 17:16:56 UTC

Today Keir Starmer said:
'It is increasingly clear, as the world continues down this volatile path, our long-term national interest requires closer partnership with our allies in Europe & with the EU'....
the problem is that until the UK understands that such a pivot requires a proper partnership, not the cherry picking (termed 'our red lines'), this statement will remain the usual declaratory politics (with little actual practical importance).
#EU #UK #politics #brexit
h/t FT

2026-04-01 10:59:24 UTC

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@nprofile…84ur @nprofile…dz8h
Well, I think that answer is an issue of magnitude... by all means hold him to account, but to the same level of other 'populists' - I think all politicians find themselves drawn into misleading statements, but I'd like to see them all held to account equally - that was more the point I was making about collusion

2026-04-01 05:51:08 UTC

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@nprofile…ty3t
yes fair comment... and last year coal imports fell, seemingly
https://thecoalhub.com/china-coal-imports-slide-in-2025-reshaping-demand-for-capesize-and-panamax-vessels.html

2026-04-01 05:40:49 UTC

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@nprofile…ty3t
Yes & as the chart indicates there is certainly an acceleration in the transition, but in a country the size of China, that's still a lot of cool being burned right now....

2026-04-01 05:36:10 UTC

There's lots of talk of the need to wrench Europe out of its dependence on US software & digital services/products.
In Schleswig-Holstein the local government has got on with it; over the last two years they've migrated a range of digital functions to free & open source alternatives
No-one is saying its easy, but equally as this small German state is proving, it is certainly possible!
My guess is a lot of public sector IT mangers are watching very closely!
#BigTech #OpenSource
h/t FT

2026-04-01 05:17:40 UTC

Much is made of China's accelerating green transition, and certainly the absolute levels of renewable energy acceleration have been impressive.... but, if we look at the overall picture, China remains a country were around half of all energy production remains coal-fired.
While, especially in the current global situation this has put China in an enviable position as regards energy sovereignty, as far as emissions & environmental impact this is a grim picture!
#emissions #climate #China
https://cdn.masto.host/zirkus/media_attachments/files/116/327/738/437/730/509/original/20298542c227dee7.png

2026-04-01 05:01:47 UTC

One of my ex-students, Gareth Bowden (Head of Development/FelxMR) posted this apposite note on LinkedIn:
'With global investment in AI now reaching into the trillions of pounds over recent years, it feels like it might be a good moment, both economically & socially, to step back and conduct an impact assessment (like any well-run business would at this stage)?'
#AI #economics #ImpactAssessment
https://cdn.masto.host/zirkus/media_attachments/files/116/327/687/063/785/449/original/37540f496abf690b.png

2026-03-31 21:00:49 UTC

Are underwater turbines the answer to how to harness the power of tides?
It certainly looks a lot less disruptive than the full scale tabla power plans/proposals for the Severn Estuary & Morecambe Bay.
Will be interested in what you make of this technology?
#TidalPower #energy #technology
https://theconversation.com/underwater-turbines-are-gaining-government-support-our-research-maps-their-global-potential-279509

2026-03-31 20:46:20 UTC

And so we are getting progressively sucked into the US/Israeli ignited war with Iran; and forget the idea these will only be used fro defensive deployments & flights.
Any addition to defensive capabilities frees up other military assets for further attacks.
The UK is now (whatever Keir Starmer says & the Tangerine Tyrant companies about) taking part in the war on Iran.
I'll be clear: NOT IN MY NAME
Whatever I may think about Iran this is not the way forward!
#iran
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c7vq76g45rvo

2026-03-31 17:12:16 UTC

The BMA is looking to expand the industrial action in the NHS;
whatever you think about the merits of their case, if they win the ballots of consultants & speciality medics what this will conclusively prove is the Wes Streeting has completely lost the confidence of the medical profession.
How long can a Minister of Health survive after such a profound breakdown of trust?
The answer may be tied up with whether Keir Starmer wants him to succeed or fail?
#NHS #politics
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/mar/31/bma-ballot-senior-doctors-england-strikes-pay-dispute-escalates

2026-03-31 17:02:52 UTC

As the Tangerine Tyrant lashes out at reticent allies, chaining the 'The USA will remember!!!' actually his bigger issue is that the allies he has insulted, tried to manipulate & then ignored, whose economies have been damaged by his reckless actions, yup, they're all going to remember too.
The TT may think the US can go it alone, but my guess is in the next couple of years that strategy is going to become unstuck with potentially very difficult consequences.
#USPolitics #Iran #Trump
h/t FT

2026-03-31 15:16:31 UTC

Our changing world:
In 1975: 31% of the global population lived in rural locations, and 31% lived in cities... the rest (38%) live in towns.
in 2025: 20% live in rural locations, 45% live in cities, and 35% are living in towns.
This suggest an exodus out of the country & into cities... which likely reflects the decline of agricultural employment & the clustering of work (and wealth) in cities.
Nothing you didn't know, but a pretty quick shift!
#cities #economics
h/t Delayed Gratification

2026-03-31 11:12:24 UTC

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@nprofile…dz8h
Only if they want to grow their membership.... ha ha - but then again we shouldn't collude with the media's attempts to discredit him?

2026-03-31 09:37:57 UTC

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@nprofile…60lh
yes, the issue of its impact on pricing & more vernally inflation is a key issue.... otherwise it would love the situation where we are (if it had to be topped up on a means tested basis)

2026-03-31 08:02:32 UTC

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@nprofile…5wme
Well, its mainly Roy Lilley's point.... but I did agree with him;
I may be missing your point, but if you are saying that its actually capitalism more widely that's the problem & its hierarchical structure is what is really behind worsening mental health, I'd agree up to a point.
As someone who thinks there are varieties of capitalism, I think there are some forms where the balance of between social benefit & harm is not as bad as it is in the UK's current settlement.

2026-03-31 07:13:37 UTC

As Roy Lilley (NHSManagers.net) argues:
'The real growth [in the problems of public health] is in the vast middle ground. Millions of people who are not acutely ill, but not entirely well.
People dealing with anxiety, stress, poor sleep, financial pressure, job insecurity, loneliness.
People functioning, coping, but steadily ground down'.
The increasingly precarious, insecure capitalism our political class has facilitated is taking its toll on our mental health.
#capitalism #MentalHealth

2026-03-31 05:43:23 UTC

Many in Big Tech argue that the 'answer' to AI's social disruption is Universal Basic Income; but the Q. is: if that's the case how would you fund it?
For followers of Modern Monetary Theory, this may be the wrong Q. as the state *could* choose to create the money/credit to do so....
For mainstream economists the answer would need to be higher taxation....
But Big Tech only insist its not their profits that should be used to pay for UBI; so just more sociopathic economics, then!
#AI #UBI

2026-03-31 05:06:50 UTC

As Sarah O'Connor (FT) argues, while Govt.s want to 'unleash' the potential(s) of AI & associated technologies, voters are more sceptical about the positive impact of such deployment, not least as historically technological change's immediate negative impacts hit workers hard(er).
as she sums it up:
'many people feel they are in a speeding car without either a seatbelt or their hands on the wheel. In those circumstances, nobody should be surprised if they vote to hit the brakes'
#AI #workers

2026-03-30 21:03:45 UTC

Zack Polanski is taking the GPEW's strategy of undermining Labour's residual claims to be a party of the left to it logical next step; trying to strip union support away from Labour and get them to commit to supporting the Green Party of England & Wales.
Whether he's successful or not, its a great way of causing Labour even more internal anxiety about the GPEW. Polanski is proving himself to be an astute player of party politics.... interesting times.
#unions #politics
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/mar/30/zack-polanski-meets-unions-in-attempt-to-get-them-to-switch-party-funding-to-greens