We're looking for a dynamic leader to join the senior leadership team. The postholder will teach on postgraduate courses & contribute to research, research leadership, & policy engagement. We welcome applicants from different disciplinary backgrounds. Apply by 9 February: bit.ly/4qRkQlb

Couldn't resist this unwitting echo of 'it's time for some game theory'

There are early signs of a zombie apocalypse 🧟 Low-productivity 'zombie firms' appear to be perishing, with the share of jobs destroyed by closing firms at its highest level since 2011. This could indicate some short-term pain, but ultimately bodes well for future productivity growth.

New substack: why politicians should not be like newspaper columnists: chrisdillow.substack.com/p/more-than-...

Completely right from @jburnmurdoch.ft.com that we are increasingly in an age of zero-sum politics. In the latest edition of @renewaljournal.bsky.social, @paulmason.bsky.social wrote about what this means for social democrats: renewal.org.uk/articles/soc...

Reforms to Scottish disability payments imply the system can be kinder w/o being costlier. The Scottish benefit is paid at the same rate, but delivered with greater dignity and empathy (according to claimants). Fewer enhanced awards have been paid in Scotland ⤵️ buff.ly/IHtIJrE

Clear and concise. @drodrik.bsky.social is always important to read.

“15,000 university jobs are up for the chop. This is a national crisis in higher education and it is being allowed to happen.” Jo Grady on BBC politics live today.

Policy makers need to focus on forgotten driver of Britain’s jobs downturn – rising unemployment. Read our latest Labour Market Outlook 👉 buff.ly/I7Rng5S

Applications are still open to join the IFS for a two-year Postdoctoral Fellowship in collaboration with the Administrative Fairness Lab. 📊 Find out more and apply here by midnight, Sunday 4 January 2026: econjobmarket.org/positions/12...

A graph that tells you everything you need to know about why British politics is in the state it is in.

Good news - DWP has finally published UC Health data, splitting out those who have migrated over from legacy benefits (ESA). What does the data tell us? ESA migration accounts for most of the rise in UC Health claims over the past year - but new claims explain more of the rise since the pandemic.

Definitely worth a read.

🚨New research published today🚨 Reforms to Scottish disability payments suggest that the system can be kinder without being costlier. Full story 👉 buff.ly/OAMzq06

Oxford Brookes University has a huge raft of AHRC-funded PhD studentships in the Arts, Humanities and allied subjects! Both fees and a stipend covered. Take a look at the ad below - the closing date is 30th January 2026. Anyone interested at all, get in touch! www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPM937/p...

Not a drill - there's a Britain-focused lectureship (FT, permanent) available. www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPQ588/l...

Increasingly obvious yet usually badly discussed. The 1960s / 70s was the ending of the post-war European industrial growth era, 2010s the breakdown of its free market replacement together with the fraying of 1940s rules indirectly by 21st century technology.

Just before that OBR document dropped, I wrote this about why sluggish household spending is part of the grim plan open.substack.com/pub/gileswil...

The flat fee of £925 is a 6% levy on fees of £15,419 - a higher rate on lower costs, a lower rate on higher cost degrees. This will have a smaller impact than a 6% levy on the 19 institutions who thought it could cost them > £10m as their average international fees are above £15k

Yeah. The correct 'reform' of the OBR is it should be Parliament's creature first and foremost. It's good for HMT to have its own forecasts and for the Chancellor's ideology to be a partial driver to them!

Much to agree with here, notably on Labour's bewildering lack of interest in what 2010-24 governments actually did in policy terms. But this - something we have known for well over a century! - just cannot be repeated too often.

Job Alert! DH postdoc at Edinburgh - Post-Doctoral Research Fellow to work on the AHRC-funded project "Voices in Slavery’s Archive: Law, Place and Testimony in British Guiana", which will build a digital archive out of the recorded words of enslaved people. www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPN147/p...

It's great to see the @socialpolicyblog.bsky.social is now on BlueSky! Follow for insightful #SocialPolicy analysis from @socialpolicyuk.bsky.social authors and more!

New @resolutionfoundation.org @safety-nets.bsky.social report on the localisation of social security since 2013: Support delivered by local authorities isn't well understood but is an increasingly important part of the social security system: real spending on it is now 122 times higher than 2010-11

Reposting, just in case you don't yet know - next week, in Edinburgh, Prof Mark Findlay is talking on his book, Governing the Metaverse. Tell your friends, tell your students, tell it to that enigmatic stranger sitting in the corner... #Law #Regulation #Cyberspace #Metaverse

Historic shift in Copenhagen. After a century of Social Democratic rule, the city have elected its first ever left-wing mayor. www.dr.dk/nyheder/poli...

"Libraries and archives are the labs of humanities and social science scholars, and history is not possible without them." 🔥

Here is a sneak peek from our forthcoming special issue on "social policy implementation in Southern Europe and Latin America" where Llorenç Soler-Buades and Francisco Ferraioli argue that rescaling of welfare can introduce additional burdens for claimants.

UK universities are becoming “very concerned” amid growing speculation that chancellor Rachel Reeves will use next week’s budget to cap tax-free pension contributions – a move that could cost the sector £50 million. @twilliamsthe.bsky.social reports

I know it’s always like this. But one striking thing from the budget kite flying and kite pulling back in, is how major policy decisions are constantly being buffeted around by iterative forecast changes. All feels a bit of a silly way to be making major economic policy & political decisions.

📻 Sunday listening 📻 - Alexander Gallas on popular support for the Thatcher governments of the 1980s, Thatcherism as a "two-nations hegemonic project" and the debates between Stuart Hall and Bob Jessop on how to make sense of Thatcherism:

If you care about the future of University of Edinburgh, call or email your local MSP on Monday: Monday, 17 November: Call your MSP. UCU has prepared a briefing here, but you can also simply call and tell your story. These cuts will affect the whole city. www.ucuedinburgh.org.uk/lobby-your-m...

My new article on everyone’s favourite PM, Liz Truss, is out in New Political Economy 🧵

New Universal Credit statistics today show the % of claimants in the ‘no work requirements’ conditionality group has continued to rise to 49%, and the proportion in work has fallen to 33%. This is likely to be written up as ‘a rise in claimants not required to work’, but context is very important! 🧵

Mayfield Review rightly highlights employer incentives for more evidence & then action. But this is the bit that's absolutely crucial and has been ducked by governments for a long time. That must change for better living standards, inclusion &growth. 3/n www.resolutionfoundation.org/comment/from...

What an utterly terrible thing for Edinburgh Council to do. It's bad enough sharing space with black cabs but private hires are just bad www.edinburghlive.co.uk/news/edinbur...

Looking forward to speaking here on Wednesday: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/spa-worksh...

We're hiring!💥 IPPR North are looking for a senior researcher who has big ideas for the future of our regions. Join us at this pivotal time for our economy and democracy. Based in Manchester, apply by 31st October. www.ippr.org/jobs/senior-...

Anyway, what the Government have done here on universities is put out a thinkpiece that's like a paper bag with 'policies' written on it - but with very little inside. All they've really done is press the button marked 'higher fees' without any sense of structural reform. (19/?)

Now available: www.e-elgar.com/shop/gbp/res... co-edited by policy group member Elke Heins, with contributions from policy group members: @haylesben.bsky.social, @chrisgrover.bsky.social @heejungchung.bsky.social @katyjones.bsky.social

This is just ridiculous.

I wrote about the stupid white paper. In summary, with these people in the driver's seat and apparently unbothered by consequences, we're so cooked.

Wow. Harvard nuking its PhD programs - Science PhD admissions reduced by more than 75% - Arts & Humanities reduced by about 60% - Social Sciences by 50–70% - History by 60% - Biology by 75% - The German department will lose all PhD seats - Sociology from six PhD students to zero

What a class act this government is. They're going to do a "task and finish" group on education cold spots while explicitly encouraging even more cold spots through policy incentives and funding changes! Genius. The work will never end for that Derby VC.

Edinburgh needs this!

If you know someone who is thinking about doing a PhD and who is interested in health then please share this advert with them. It is an ESRC funded PhD working on trade unions and health as part of a collaboration with me and the @tuc.org.uk @lsesociology.bsky.social www.lse.ac.uk/study-at-lse...

A much needed corrective by @chrisgiles.ft.com to the "welfare is out of control" narrative, drawing on research by my colleague @benbgeiger.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/ee67...

📣Upcoming event: "Immigration, Citizenship, and Social Policy in the UK" Hybrid, University of Edinburgh. Wednesday 29 October, 09:30 – 15:30. A one-day workshop on how immigration status shapes access to work, education, healthcare, housing, and safety. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/spa-worksh...

the Adeptus Mechanicus Tech-Priest whispers the final canticle to the LLM before pressing the polished plasteel enter key, invoking the Emperor's name while praying for a successful Generation