I don't know who needs to hear this, but an economy controlled by a handful of oligarchs isn't a "free market."

This is great, well worth reading through to the end.

Gillian's consistent message of focusing on policy is incredibly important. Too often, actual policy gets lost under a sea of sound bites. That lets politicians away with forgetting manifesto commitments after election day and slipping damaging policies through under the radar.

"I would also make a point of providing support and solidarity to those too frequently at the sharp end of unacceptable behaviour... We have lost far too many great volunteers, particularly women, as a result of this atmosphere of negativity. That cycle needs to be broken." This. Thank you.

Did you spot JD Vance in the background HATING every minute of progress being made? ~AA

This is important for Starmer & Europe to get right. Holding Trump to a process which respects & stands with Ukraine & is not appeasement of Putin & reward for his aggression.

UBI would be a catalyst for economic changes that would benefit so many people. UBI would empower communities and individuals to get involved in politics, in art, in volunteering, in starting new businesses. It would fix the broken tax system, cut inequality, reduce rents, and boost economic growth.

We have to ask why such misconceptions are still so common? I suspect it's because a Citizen's Income would empower poor people to make choices that would threaten the interests of those who extract most profit from the current system. So silly. Everyone could live well if everyone worked together.

I love this. Modern economics feels more and more like an exercise in extraction. Corporations extract money from the country's economy in the form of profits, incentives, and tax breaks, and are allowed to do so on the false premise that the money is trickling down, rather than flowing up and out.

"By offering solutions rather than solely highlighting problems, we can transform how we do politics." ~Gillian MacKay MSP. So many good things here from @gillianmacmsp.bsky.social and @ross-greer.bsky.social. Not just good lines, but a lot of solid, clear, ambitious, actionable policy direction.

Voters are poorly-served when elected representatives oversimplify complex arguments and amplify reactionary, inaccurate narratives. But complex problems require complex solutions, and communicating complexity in a way that people can get behind is more challenging than just getting people wound up.

Collaboration and communication are the most important tools we have available to us if we want to challange the terrible norms of global politics.

I was excited about the Your Party project at the beginning, but watching @gillianmacmsp.bsky.social and @ross-greer.bsky.social campaigning for the Scottish Greens leadership recently, I see that the SGP already stands for much of what I want from YP should do. Scotland needs Greens in 2026.

Unregulated market capitalism has caused massive and increasing income inequality. Capitalism is predatory; one group's riches can only exist in the context of another's poverty. There are enough resources for all to live well. The problems come from an economic system that incentivises inequality.

This is spot on. Fear and division thrive on scapegoat politics and simplistic narratives that have nothing to do with the complexities of real world challenges. Organising around hope is much harder, but that's what we need. What are we for? What can we do? What will we build?

This podcast is really something @neweconomics.bsky.social I'd not heard of Marshall Ganz before. This guy just has so many good, clear ideas, so many great lines as well. NEF's podcast is one of my best discoveries in recent weeks.

Something to remember always 👇

📌

"...a robust policy, grounded in plausible revenue estimates and implemented without theatrics, can survive scare stories."

My latest article is out in the a Journal of Medieval History (open access). It examines depictions of viking activity in the Sagas of Icelanders and the perceived moral implications of raiding in pre-/post-conversion settings. Quickest proofs turnaround ever...

@bsky.app is really pretty good, in the sense that using it has actively added value to my life in various ways. In comparison to other platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and the hellsite, Bluesky has genuinely allowed me to connect with people of interest to me and to learn new things.

This is fucking obscene. Thank you @jeffhorwitz.bsky.social for this article. It hurt to read it, but it's so important. This is what I call journalism. www.reuters.com/investigates...

Though I'm sure it's not the first time it's happened, this is the first time I've seen a politician in such a high-profile position state clear support for universal basic income in the press. Thank you and well done @gillianmacmsp.bsky.social, good luck to you and @ross-greer.bsky.social today.

Thread:🧵Every time someone follows me on Bluesky, I have a quick look at their profile and make a call. Do I think they are a real person? If so, do I feel their intentions in following me are good? If the answer to either of those questions is no, I block them. My profile shows 176 followers...

Looking forward to hearing the results of the Scottish Greens leadership election. @patrickharvie.bsky.social has been a force for good in Scottish politics during most of my adult life. I'm hopeful that the new co-leaders will continue to increase the SGP's reach and influence for good in Scotland.

If one side is talking sense and the other is talking rubbish, the job of journalism is to determine which side is true and interpret that for the public. It’s not to give both people equal airtime and then shrug and call it balance.

@sebmang.bsky.social just listened to your excellent conversation on @neweconomics.bsky.social podcast in February. I’ve had a crappy day, but the podcast cheered me right up. Really good to hear people talking sense.

But... but the thing... what's it... what about the free speech thing? It's meant to be freedom to offend and all that? I mean, if the guest had called him a wanker on the Today program then fair enough, pull the clip. But it's a very measured, polite, thoughtful segment. This is wrong.

So has Donald Trump invaded himself now, is that pretty much where we’re at?

I guess this is what we get when we decide we’re sick of experts.

In a world where we humans have greater numbers, greater tech, and greater understanding of ourselves and our reality than ever before in history, what could be beyond us if we collaborate instead of competing?

The technology and infrastructure exists to halt climate change, feed and clothe and educate and shelter all people. We can meet these challenges, but only if we abandon financial competition and collaborate on a species-wide scale.

As soon as we start looking, Your Party activists will find things on which we disagree. Our success will hinge on whether we can also find those things on which we agree, and cleave to them. All people are unique, but all people are also the same. We are all facing an existential challenge.

People getting big mad about trans people wanting to know if Your Party will support trans rights and not assuming they will Like i get you Want the party to be good, so do i, but i’m not gonna assume the best ive been burned too many times for that

We can still save so much.

Government should provide the vision, the direction of travel, the desired outcomes, representative of the desires of the population. But the route to those outcomes should always be the result of detailed work by people who truly understand the issues - experts and people with lived experience.

In developing all policy, including equality policy, I reject the idea that Britain is sick of experts. I want to work on embracing evidence based policy – that means embracing those who know the subjects inside out, being guided by expert knowledge and voices of those with lived experience.

Policy gets gutted through language drift all the time: “Affordable housing” → becomes unaffordable. “Green energy” → includes fossil gas. “Free trade” → is neither free nor fair. I am trying to prevent that from happening with UBI-UCI

I prosecute and defend the most serious sexual offences in our courts. The overwhelming majority of offenders are British-born. Overwhelmingly the victim is someone known to them, either a partner or relative. Anybody purporting to care about protecting women might start there.

Challenging the status quo and fighting for a principle can be seen as "divisive," because it does not rest on the pretence that everyone is acting in good faith.

@skembear.bsky.social Hi John, thanks for the follow back. I chose to follow you because I saw you expressing the same idea as I have been about Your Party - that it's a new venture whose future direction and policies are yet to be decided, and will be decided by us, the people who've signed up.

Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not some farcical aquatic ceremony!

"“Israel claims Jews as its national asset, and it weaponises us, as Jews... That claim, in turn, makes [us] the human shields of the state, as it assaults Palestinians under its settler-colonialist agenda, be it through ongoing ethnic cleansing, through siege or through seasonal massacres.”"

@michaelfakhri.bsky.social UN special rapporteur on the right to food, has called for UN peacekeepers to intervene to oversee aid distribution in Gaza. As usual, it is the UN and UN representatives talking sense and making a clear and unwavering case for humanity and international law.

Though largely unsaid, it's been clear for some time that humanitarian military intervention is necessary to halt the destruction of the Palestinian people in Gaza. Here, UN special rapporteur on the Right to Food, Michael Fakhri, calls for UN Peacekeepers to oversee aid deliveries in May this year.

"Military intervention ... is a mechanism built into the very structure of international law. Article I of the genocide convention requires states not only to punish genocide but to prevent it. ...other states are obligated to intervene, not encouraged, obligated."

This came out five months ago but new people keep discovering it every few weeks and make it go viral. That's nice and all but the unfortunate part is that we still have no idea whether this guy is still actively working for ICE because ICE won't say.

“More people in jobs means more prosperity, so why restrict access to the support that keeps youngsters in education? It makes no sense. It’s the kind of politics that is a gift to Reform UK Ltd, whose anti-scientific views about SEND mislead the public and stigmatise the vulnerable.”

@hassanghani.bsky.social Hi Hassan. Good to see you here. Been a long time, still going strong.

came across an email i sent a friend 2 years ago: "anytime i break form, i find there’s almost zero tolerance for anything different/innovative. i trust the audience enough that they’ll see what i’m trying to do, but the editors do not." cheers to breaking form and making shit happen your own way.