Elon Musk is boosting the British right - and this shows how

Looking forward to presenting one of my recent papers at this!

“For right-wing populists, the cost of living crisis is the gift that keeps on giving, allowing them to blame the experience of declining living standards on migrants and perceived ‘outsiders’.” Our Director @mathewlawrence.bsky.social in @theguardian.com 🔗👇 www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

"Where non-aligned countries wanted a seat at the capitalist table in order to flip it, today's polyaligned countries want something different: a larger slice of the pie on the way to a green capitalist future." Everyone should be reading @iliasalami.bsky.social! www.break-down.org/a-green-cold...

The even more unbelievable crime fact (which I learned relatively recently) is that burglary has fallen by more than 90% since the 1990s. Did anyone notice? Nope. Does anyone believe it? Nope. But is is true? It is!

The US-UK 'Tech Prosperity Deal' exemplifies how not to structure tech investment. £31bn from US firms like OpenAI, Microsoft and Nvidia comes with public sector AI outsourcing and potential scrapping of the Digital Services Tax. Latest piece in @guardian ➡️ buff.ly/jXuANv5

Who owns Britain? How does privatisation of essentials services like energy & water shape your life? How does it impact the cost-of-living crisis? We’ve been digging into the data — what we’ve found will shock you. 🧵 

Today, it’s the defenders of privatisation who are clinging to an out-of-date ideology. They’re out of touch & out of time. Let’s end the rip-off & take back our future. Explore our new project — Who Owns Britain? — at the link below. www.common-wealth.org/interactive/...

US has made an all-in bet on AI and Fossil Fuels. China on green tech. @katemac.bsky.social & I @parismarx.com podcast on how China's bet made Solar+batteries+EVs turn into business models of Coke cans-everywhere, cheap, accessible, satisfy the thirst for freedom. techwontsave.us/episode/291_...

The IRA was surprisingly effective at spurring investment in green energy. Where it failed was making it *politically* sustainable by delivering immediate tangible benefits to the public. In that sense, the Green New Deal was, in retrospect, the more prudent and realistic approach. on.ft.com/4n4Ayra

I think it's time to give up the idea that Capital only thrives under liberal institutions.

‘Our genocide’: Israeli rights groups abandon their restraint on Gaza After months of hesitation, B'Tselem & Physicians for Human Rights-Israel assert that Israel's assault on Gaza is intended to erase Palestinian life — both now and in the future. www.972mag.com/btselem-phri...

This article on on NYC landlords unable to pay their expenses gives a foretaste of what I suspect the pushback to a rent freeze is going to look like. www.thecity.nyc/2025/08/07/b...

Thousands of company directors are reported to have left the UK after Labour's #nondom tax changes. If this is indeed true (& the methods to calculate this are patchy at best), then from my perspective, good riddance. 1/ www.ft.com/content/a3fc...

Good to see the beginning of efforts to address the economic causes of why many turn to the far-right rather than a) joining in the culture war politics or b) chastising them for being 'ignorant racists'. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Insatiable appetite for war crimes www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Looking forward to another financial crisis in a few years.

BREAKING: Zohran Mamdani is on track to become Dems' candidate for NYC mayor — toppling Andrew Cuomo's comeback dreams and putting incumbent Eric Adams on notice. Cuomo has conceded and said he called to congratulate Mamdani. ow.ly/SHE050WfR0C

While almost everyone has fallen for Netanyahu's ploy of focusing on Iranian-US-Israeli air strikes, Israel has been intensifying its genocide. For the sake of humanity, ALL EYES ON GAZA! www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/6/...

Super happy to be back in Bolivia for the next few weeks! 🇧🇴

Fascists wanna watch the world burn🔥

Every single day. on.ft.com/409SaZx

The government has failed to listen. Despite widespread concern it is pressing ahead with cuts to health and disability benefits. These cuts will leave over three million disabled people worse off by the end of this parliament, and the government must be clear and honest about their scale.

This may not be an austerity #SpendingReview, but it certainly isn't the start of a decade of renewal. Departmental spending will be increasing at its lowest rate since the 2015 spending review from George Osbourne. 1/2

It might not be enough £'s, but great to see a move in this direction. Those, like Blair & right-wing press, who think it's an either/or between growth and the green transition, are either funded by big oil or don't understand how to economy. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Concerns remain (e.g. benefit cuts, spending on military, etc.), but after 15+ years of dismal neoliberal misery, it's quite refreshing to have a UK government that remembers that capital investment is actually pretty useful for an economy. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Which state is next?

Sanctioning individuals in the Israeli government and 'strong words' are pointless while active military, economic, and financial support like this continues.

Fascism www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Great work by @cmmonwealth.bsky.social on this. It is such an indictment of the failures of privatised public infrastructure in the UK that when the biggest water company in the country is close to collapse... 1/ www.theguardian.com/business/202...

Beyond the catastrophic impacts of destroying nature, a state that pushes to open new sites for development when there are millions already available to be built on, but developers are just sitting on these to inflate prices, is remarkably stupid... 1/ www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Techno-fascists getting stroppy www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

As the UK opts for 'military Keynesianism' in an age of escalating conflict and geopolitical insecurity, there are significant reasons for concern: yes, some form of security apparatus is needed, but in what form and what are the risks? 1/ www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

The privatisation of key public services, such as water, has been a catastrophic failure. Any nationalisation must be permanent - it's the only way to guarantee fair returns and decent services for citizens of the UK. www.theguardian.com/business/202...

It'll be interesting to see the details of this - how much, where, what - but in principle, this is promising for the UK: a way to scale much-needed investment to tackle the triple threat of the climate crisis, inequalities, & the far-right. 1/ www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Just 2 years on from its nationalisation, TransPennine Express has seen: Cancellations down 75%. Passenger numbers up 42%. £1.4 BILLION generated in “economic value”. Public ownership isn’t nostalgia. It’s the future — and it works. www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/2519658...

Really pleased that the first of my publications with @cmmonwealth.bsky.social is now out. It examines lithium development in Cornwall and proposals to establish a public mineral development fund, part-owned by the state & local communities. Read below: www.common-wealth.org/publications...

Are rail services getting back on track? This week marks a historic shift. South Western Railway has been renationalised — a crucial step toward affordable, reliable services that put communities first. 🧵 Here’s what needs to happen next. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

When even the arch-institutions of neoliberalism, like the IMF, are saying you can change your fiscal rules to avoid austerity measures, it probably means it's time for a rethink... www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

For all the rhetoric of 'pro-growth', Starmer's government is caught in a bind of its own making: imposing neoliberal austerity that creates socio-econ harm, ratcheting up right-wing populism to deflect from that discontent, & that together only further harm jobs, living standards and growth 1/

In my latest article, I look at the bind the Labour Party has put itself in: caught between neoliberal logics of fiscal rules, the urgency of addressing the climate crisis & stagnant growth, & a rising Reform UK party that offers a voice for far-right populism. substack.com/home/post/p-...

Under Labour’s welfare cuts, 1.3 million people with cancer, arthritis and other diseases could lose PIP. They could have just made the very wealthiest pay their fair share. What an absolute disgrace that they are choosing to make life harder for disabled people instead.

What strategies has the far-right used to gain power—and how can we resist? TNI seeks ideas that help movements sharpen their tactics. Call for essays, deadline for pitches: 2 June www.tni.org/en/article/c...

🚨 What if the BBC *actually* belonged to the British public? Our new proposal says it can — and should. We can convert the BBC into something called a public service mutual — owned & governed by you. 🧵Here’s how. 🖊️ Dan Hind, Tom Mills and Tom Chivers www.common-wealth.org/publications...

in 2023, I warned that the derisking state is not a reliable regime of decarbonisation since it relies on tweaking the price signal to mobilise private investment, without considering other macro forces acting on that signal. ahem. www.theguardian.com/business/202...

Remarkable in its stupidity

This is an official plan for ethnic cleansing. If you supported Israel for the past 18 months or so under the assumption that this was about the hostages you were taken for a ride. If you still support Israel's assault on Gaza, you support ethnic cleansing. It's that simple.

Recent elections in UK such a clear illustration of how pseudo-centrist neoliberal politics create the conditions for a lurch to the far-right. Next: will Labour change self-imposed fiscal rules or play culture war to distract? Hope the former, odds the latter. www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...

voters say 'stop austerity for the most vulnerable', Blue-dominated Labour will hear stop the migrants and eviscerate academia.