New research! Austerity and the labour market in the UK. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.... Headline result: austerity reduced wages, increased employment rates, and contributed to weak productivity. 1/n

“The way US empire is being restructured adds to the existential threat of climate crisis — militarisation, a new Cold War and the formation of power blocs are carbon intensive undertakings.” Read the introduction to our new series — Two Transitions transitionsecurity.org/two-transiti...

This event is today. Sign up! Very happy to say that I'll be a fellow of the new centre @TransitionSec, which investigates military industrial complexes as economic, climate and geopolitical threats. If you're concerned about both UK arms exports and the climate emergency, this is for you.

🚨 ONLINE EVENT Join us for a free panel on the war economy, the climate impacts of war & the geopolitics of the climate transition. Speakers: @stephensemler.bsky.social, @triofrancos.bsky.social & @iliasalami.bsky.social, chaired by @lalehkhalili.bsky.social 📅 16 Oct 6PM BST 🔗 shorturl.at/NwJCL

We’re collaborating with @cplusc.bsky.social to launch @transitionsec.bsky.social — a new research centre on the military economy and industrial alternatives, the climate impacts of war and the threats that US empire poses to a safe climate transition. Sign up to attend the online launch event. 👇

Using a triple-differences model, we show that the biggest negative effect of turning right was among the party’s own supporters

Radical right accommodation really does not work. New paper out with this exceptionally talented team @katharinalawall.bsky.social @robjohns75.bsky.social @drjennings.bsky.social @sarahobolt.bsky.social @zachdickson.bsky.social @danjdevine.bsky.social & @jack-bailey.co.uk doi.org/10.31235/osf...

📣Hot off the press! Taking Stock: A foundation for future housing strategy. We challenge persistent myths about the housing crisis and highlight ways to meet housing need within environmental limits. First output for 🏠Homes that Don’t Cost the Earth🌍. Read a 10 min summary: tinyurl.com/mu59kb29

We need public institutions that steer finance toward the public good. Roosevelt Senior Fellow @stomarova.bsky.social reminds us the financial system isn’t neutral—it’s a powerful engine that can either entrench inequality or help build a fairer economy. fortune.com/asia/2025/06...

"the same factory worker left behind by globalisation can be an investor, too" (sic)

The Pensions Review is a great opportunity to boost the UK economy & help savers — but it's being missed. The state must use its fiscal might to enable better outcomes for both the economy & the public, while policymakers must be innovative & take risks. www.common-wealth.org/publications...

4 NEW pieces, with @cornelban.bsky.social + @jhasselbalch.bsky.social on state planning, @rosiecollington.bsky.social on planet-critical sectors, @shayaksengupta.bsky.social + Abhinav Jindal on multilateralism, and @brusselermel.bsky.social + @chrismwhayes.bsky.social on derisking (Links below)

“Public development of renewable capacity ... isn't a suspension of the profit imperative but its subordination to social need” @brusselermel.bsky.social @chrismwhayes.bsky.social on the UK’s CfD scheme & derisking energy. 🔗 @phenomenalworld.bsky.social www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/nod...

🚨 NEW: The gas sector is holding the country to ransom during peak demand. Here’s why taking the sector into public ownership can put a stop to sky high bills. 🧵 www.theguardian.com/business/202...

LAUNCHING…. The first issue of our new journal – now available to pre-order on The BREAK—DOWN website 👇 linktr.ee/breakdownradio

First edition of the eagerly awaited @newjawnfades.bsky.social and Samir Sonti newsletter on the political economy of pensions and finance in the US. A little topic of utmost, global, economic and political importance. Amen to this:

What sort of owner might KKR be? The following (from Our Lives in their Portfolios) is what happened when KKR took over the municipal water network of Bayonne New Jersey.....

After a little delay, we finally got moving with this thing. The first post -- a short intro -- is up now. substack.com/home/post/p-...

The aggregate differences in portfolios for PE-backed insurers vs non-PE-backed insurers (from a Moody's note yesterday). The former hold less corporate debt, less government debt, more affiliate debt, more CLOs, more other ABS, and more MBS. Fund financing (loans to PE funds) is gaining steam.

🚨 What connects Thames Water, Panama Canal and the UK's power networks? The Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing. 🧵 See our thread to find out just how of Britain he owns.

"KKR Is Said to Make £4 Billion Equity Bid for Thames Water" Time to once again refer the Labour government to @chrismwhayes.bsky.social's detailed diagram. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Important report on the planning system from @msingerhobbs.bsky.social Too many homes are being built that lack good transport links and lock in costly car dependence. We need more and better planning to guide development and ensure homes and infrastructure are built in the right places.

We don't need to rip up the planning system to build 1.5 million new homes. Thousands of homes are granted planning permission every year but never get built. The gov should consider measures to force developers to build, or face sanctions. Read more: www.ippr.org/articles/str...

Part of what makes the UK a fundamentally unserious country these days is we're incapable of choosing strategic objectives and committing to them to shape the future, rather than attempting to optimise a vision of an ever-lasting present. 3/3

in which, I diagnose the real problem of British building - it's not NIMBYs, it's NOMFUPs open.substack.com/pub/backofmi...

🌟We're recruiting!🌟 We're looking for a Digital Strategy Officer to join our growing team. If you've got an eye for impactful social media content and are passionate about climate and ecological crisis, we'd love to hear from you! Deadline: February 26th. www.common-wealth.org/vacancies/di...

Modern Bricklayer Theory makes it clear that the goverment is not constrained by "labour" or "physical resources", this is just nimby austerity.

Pleased to share the news that the publisher proofs for The Political Economy of Megaprojects in Asia: State Power, Land Control, Financial Flows, and Dispossession were checked, and the edited book (w/ Dong-Wan Gimm) is coming soon in Feb 2025. More details here: urbancommune.net?p=3145

Happy new year! 2024 was a transformative year for our EU Tax Observatory @taxobservatory.bsky.social Here’s an overview of the research we published last year. All papers and databases are available online on taxobservatory.eu 🧵

Are Piketty, Saez and @gabrielzucman.bsky.social ever going to update their US DINA micro-files? So many contested questions about the last four years that it would inform.

Genocide. Israel should be banned from all international forums, events, sporting competitions. Trade with Israel should be embargoed. Anyone associated with the IDF should be denied visas.

My thoughts on the essay Foundations. ‘Fixing planning’ is no silver bullet. open.substack.com/pub/energyne...