For all of the whining about the triple lock the reality remains that British state pensions are both less generous and accordingly more ’affordable’ than most peer nations. Which is why the triple lock was brought in in the first place.

Delighted to have published this brilliant and important collection

Fascinating piece, check it out. The materialist in me is a little bummed that easing resource competition does not seem to help (the results are interesting to read in tandem with my paper on Austria with J. Ferwerda). On the other hand, suggests a fascinating research agenda on welfare chauvinism.

Do we understand the politics of this kind of cost-shock inflation (and the policies that might help address it)? I think not so much: www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...

Very informative deep dive into the voters that have abandoned Labour for more progressive parties. Debunking some myths around who these people are and what they want.

1. A short thread on a Bluesky phenomenon that might be described as "They are a dead-eyed cultist who must be cast out lest the heresy take root!" OP has blocked me for mocking them - I'd usually obscure their name but since they themselves were quote-dunking to demand someone else be blocked ...

Our paper is out in PNAS. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

🚨Happy to finally see this out in the @ejprjournal.bsky.social (with @leonardocarella.bsky.social) ⁉️ Does growing up when immigration is salient make people vote for parties they agree with on immigration *for the rest of their lives*? doi.org/10.1017/S147...

Minneapolitans are gathering on every block tonight at 7pm to hold a vigil for someone killed by our own government, for doing nothing but helping someone up off the ground. What would you say if you saw this in other country? What would you expect to happen to those responsible and accountable?

genuinely stunning image

It’s -9 degrees. Downtown Minneapolis is packed for the anti-ICE rally and the crowd keeps growing

Having seen several abductions up close, it is really hard to convey how much the thing they’re doing is roaming in military convoys until they see someone who is alone and isn’t white, and then jumping out in large numbers, pulling them into a van, and screeching off, all in 90 seconds or so.

ICE has escalated from Arresting undocumented migrants with criminal records to Arresting undocumented migrants without criminal records to Arresting legal migrants to Arresting US citizens who 'look' like migrants to Arresting US citizens protesting ICE to Arresting random bystanders. Who's next?

EVENT: Blavatnik Book Launch: Billionaire Backlash Join Vice Dean Prof Pepper Culpepper for a conversation on the surprising story of how corporate scandals can change the way the world works for the better. 📆 29 Jan, 5:30pm Register ⬇️ https://ow.ly/jaQo50XRQzv

“Who would move to here from the US, Canada, Europe, South Korea or Australia for potentially lower wages, exorbitant visa fees and no certainty of being able to stay very long?” asks @benansell.bsky.social.

As someone who criticised the government back in January for not having a clear growth strategy it is good to see Torsten set out in plain language what the govt’s strategy is and how it hangs together. This is much better and clearer communication.

With the Progressive Politics Research Network, we have published 8 new research briefs on the politics of housing. What does a progressive agenda on housing look like? Which elements are important? What the hurdles are and how can they be overcome? politicscentre.nuffield.ox.ac.uk/progressive-...

For the Guardian, @jonhenley.bsky.social reports on our new research briefs on the politics of housing. Current policies too often treat housing as an asset. Housing as a social right has nearly disappeared from the agenda of even progressive parties. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...

The abolition of the two-child benefit cap, which punishes children for their parents' circumstances, is the best part of the budget, potentially lifting almost half a million children out of poverty. It may also be the part that comes under fiercest attack. So it needs celebrating and defending.

THE SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS WIN THE 112TH GREY CUP! 🏆 #GreyCup

BREAKING: Colorado voters approved a ballot measure that would raise state income taxes on higher-earning households to fund free meals for all public school students. Follow AP for live updates.

Fully repealing the two-child limit is by far the best way to ensure fewer children are growing up in poverty. Half measures have been mooted, but our modelling reveals that they would all still lead to an increase in child poverty by the end of the decade. Learn more ⤵️ buff.ly/qVc9CWs

Louise Murphy starts her presentation by noting that the number of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) has risen by 195,000 over the past two years to reach 940,000. It is on track to hit one million for the first time since the aftermath of the financial crisis.

The costs of the UK’s Global Talent Visa looks a trifle high in comparison to competitor countries - largely through the Immigration Health Surcharge (which critics say is a form of double taxation as they contribute to the NHS through normal tax on their earnings)

Apropos of nothing, I really do think UK journalists and politicians need some reminding that mass deportation of LEGAL immigrants, particularly those with permanent status, is far more extreme than even Trump's America and would basically place Britain completely on its own among democracies.

Last month I went to Global Progress Action, where I found the global centre left less moribund than its UK equivalent, and wrote about it for @lrb.co.uk. www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2025/oc...

"Since the wealthiest 10 per cent of the population own 85 per cent of US stocks, they enjoy the largest wealth effect when they go up... the latest data shows America’s consumer economy rests largely on ...[the spending of the] top 10 per cent" #AI #irrationalexuberance www.ft.com/content/6cc8...

JUST IN: The Republican Mayor of Fairbanks, Alaska’s second biggest city, lost re-election last night to a Democrat. Mayor David Pruhs is a conservative who fought protections for LGBTQ+ residents; he made comments this year drew condemnation this year from Alaska Natives. He lost to Mindy O'Neall.

One of the more incredible stories out of LA this year has been how a taco review blog became the best on-the-ground coverage of ICE raids in the city. They do a dispatch every day, follow-up on the kidnapped people (which almost no media outlet has done), and fact-check government claims.

Any Oxford students following me! A chance to win a prize for your college and my eternal gratitude for getting involved with our experimental social science lab.

Excellent thread by @abenewman.bsky.social . This particular point shows the dark side of Keck and Sikkink’s boomerang theory: transnational networks of democratic subversion. Coming soon to a polarized democracy near you!

Relative child poverty has remained stubbornly high over the last twenty years and has risen over the past decade. Without action, levels will soon break records. Scrapping the two-child limit in full would be the most targeted and cost-effective way of reducing child poverty.

In addition, I think also: politics is about argument! When I say 'the free movement of services, goods, capital and people is good for growth', I am not saying it because it is popular, but because it is true. It is in fact racist to say that mixed-race people should be deported!

Happy to publish today in the @ejprjournal.bsky.social Pop culture (think Netflix's Sex Education) make us think that emerging cohorts are happy to socially incorporate partners with sexually modern backgrounds and experiences 🏳️‍🌈 But is this really the case? doi.org/10.1017/S147...

Relative child poverty has remained stubbornly high over the last twenty years and has risen over the past decade. Without action, levels will soon break records. Scrapping the two-child limit in full would be the most targeted and cost-effective way of reducing child poverty.

Enough of the BS. It's not a 'crackdown' on academia. You 'crackdown' on criminals and villains. It's a wild assault and a desperate power grab. And that shouldn't be hard to say, regardless of ideological preferences. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/25/o...

I just…

I cannot think of a democracy anywhere in the world where this sort of thing could happen. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/17/b...

Fancy half an hour of me coming up with increasingly obscure ways of noting that Keir Starmer is not gifted with charisma? Listen or watch below.

Delighted to have the cover story this month on whether there is a left populist solution for Keir Starmer’s Labour. TLDR? Nah, it’s not too long - so read it…

❗Among their electoral potential, social democratic parties face very few strategic dilemmas. Left-progressive appeals resonate most strongly. New study in @worldpolitics.bsky.social with @tabouchadi.bsky.social , @indubioproreto.bsky.social, Nadja Mosimann, and @markuswagner.bsky.social Thread👇

I’m sure everybody needed yet another ‘Labour One Year In’ piece ;) But how many others draw on Jon Elster and the problem of ‘byproducts’?

I grew up in rural South Carolina with a single mom who worked multiple jobs. At times, we relied on Medicaid and SNAP—like so many others. My heart breaks for those now wondering if that help will still be there. Imagine having all that power and choosing to make people’s lives worse. Shameful.

I am excited to see my ARPS article reviewing the return of industrial policy with @dbreznitz.bsky.social is now published! www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...

Have written up some of my thoughts about the increasingly sinister use of 'non-UK born' and 'white British' in the British press. The obsession with 'white British' citizens over other British citizens harms all of us and needs to be called out. benansell.substack.com/p/who-counts

📌 What Poland’s razor-thin presidential election result tells about crisis for liberal democracy across the West, where centrist coalitions are eroding, and populist forces are gaining ground. My piece in Social Europe: www.socialeurope.eu/polands-pola...