Retired Professor of Political Economy
(Lancaster University, UK - retired 2021)
(also #ProfDJ across the Lune Valley)
Contributor: North West Bylines #NoBridge
The model of 'flexible' labour markets with few(er) protections for workers & curtailed unions was (mainstream economists predicted) going to delver innovation, spur entrepreneurship & lead to better-paid jobs... but we actually have got from it is an economy patterned by low-wage labour, inequality, falling real wages & labour exploitation (via precarious working).
As Larry Elliot suggests, its time to follow unions urging to try a different way!
Having learnt nothing from the previous disasters around PFI projects in the health service, OFWAT is pushing the model for getting investment in water infrastructure restarted....
So, the model to shift us from being exploited by renter firms who have taken our money & used it pay dividends rather than maintain the system, is to replicate that model in special purpose vehicles, running infrastructure projects on contract...
It will not go well, as history has already shown!
Britain's record on homelessness is world beating, just not in a good way.
We've the highest recorded levels of homelessness in the developed world; while other counties have seen (albeit slow) declines in homelessness, since 2010 the UK's rate has been accelerating away.
The housing crisis has many dimensions, but here there's a direct correlation between the arrival of the current Tory govt. & massive increases!
The party of landlords is working for them & doing nothing for us!
The world is undergoing a major health pivot as the majority of premature deaths swing from being caused by disease to being the result of 'metabolism-related risk factors' (high blood sugar & fat levels) which cause illnesses like heart disease, diabetes & cancer.
As health systems are already dealing with the results of ageing populations, this re-emphasises the urgent need for investment in public health & preventative policies.
#health
data: Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation/FT
Not only are the DWP causing pain & crisis in the lives of unpaid carers, three years ago they were told the approach they had adopted was doing this....
So even if it had been accidental (I 'm not sure it was) in 2020, for the last three years they have known the distress & problems their actions were causing but carried on blithely.
We should be cherishing & rewarding carers at home, not penalising them for minor infractions of unjust rules!
Despite Trudi Warner's case for contempt of court (for holding a placard reminding a jury of its ability to acquit on moral grounds in a climate protest case) being thrown out by the UK High Court because it was 'fanciful', the Tory Solicitor General Robert Courts has decided to appeal the decision.
Are we taking ourselves into further decline? Is John Bryson right & 'British political discourse is broken, rather than Britain itself'?
This is an interesting issue, nt least for how the idea of 'broken Britain' lay behind the 'logic' of austerity (and therefore much of the social damage wrought over the last decade).
The difficulty is we (the British) also are highly suspicious of anyone 'talking up' the country... a political dilemma for our times?
More callousness compounding the inequities of the housing crisis...
As other have remarked Thurrock's communication(s) with Heidi Dodson are remarkable for their inhumanity, but it sort of follows from declarations that the vulnerable & poor are making 'lifestyle choices'.
Cruelty & callousness come down from our politicians who are forever 'punching down'.
Sometimes I wonder how we have come to this, then I look at grinning Tories & I know all too well!
Three climate activists have been found guilty under the new law that seeks to repress protests that interfere with key national infrastructure.
With the jury instructed to ignore the defendants' reasoning behind their actions its perhaps unsurprising they were found guilty... all a bit ironic given the unseasonal heat in the court room.
Sentencing is to come & will show how serious an impact the law may have... but its not going to be good!
Martin Kettle (Guardian) suggests 'A change of government for Britain will be a big & fascinating process. It will affect – well, almost everything in some way'!
He thinks big/historic change(s) will come with the accession of Labour to power, but many here (on Mastodon) are not so sure.
Indeed, this is perhaps the biggest Q. in UK (domestic) politics right now... what will be the balance between continuity & change in 2025?
Behind Keir Starmer's many decisions lies the think-tank Labour Together; 18 moths ago they had one employee now they have 34 staff & a network of associates, all funded by personal donations which reached nearly £2mn in the year to March.
They've run into trouble with the Electoral Commission about fund-raising, but continue to exercise considerable influence on the Labour Party.
The big Q. is what is the role of such outsourced policy advice look like if Labour with the election?
Meanwhile in Ghana, as proof that repatriation has finally really got under way, an exhibition opens of Asante artefacts stolen by the British.
While, there's massive institutional resistance to repatriation, we should celebrate when it does happen as part of the need to shame those who continue to justify (or try to obscure) historical acts of looting perpetrated by the British.
Given the world situation it my be a small thing, but it remains important
More evidence of greedflation & the maintenance & boosting of profits, as a driver of inflation.
But, the Q is whether the sado-monetarists care about such evidence or are happy to continue with the ideologically driven economic modelling that asserts greedy workers as the ket cause of inflation?
Oh we know the answer, the BoE will be quoting three month wage rise data not profits' trends across years, because that doesn't support disciplining the workforce.
Well, what do you do when you're in a polling hole, yes, you double down on attacking the poor & the vulnerable.... Jeremy Hunt & Mel Stride are portraying taking benefits as a 'lifestyle choice' that the Govt. should not support...
Have they got any idea about the world outside their Tory enclave; have they ever tried to survive on benefits; have they ever suffered ill health?
Hunt & Stride are vile, inhumane, people who care about no-one but themselves
The housing crisis is multidimensional - from renters being bankrupted by landlords, to home-owners finding owning a house is (as the saying goes) a 'money pit'.
Here are another (albeit relatively small group) that have been skewered by regulatory change & (now) high interest rates - the mortgage prisoners.
The UK's mode of residential property has so many problems, you can hardly think anyone would invent such a system... but then you look at who benefits!
meanwhile in there US, Boeing's troubles look to be about to get (even) worse.
After the two 737Max fatal crashes, the US Dept. of Justice agreed not to prosecute if it addressed the issues that had led to the engineering mistakes that causes the crashes... some saw that as letting Boeing off the hook.
Now the DoJ has decided that the agreement is off because Boeing had not honoured the 'deal'; might we now see major prosecution of Boeing?
Yes, I'm sure there will.... the Seatle establishment will be seeking to ensure that... but the Q. might be how far it goes publicly before its stamped on.... it may in the end prove fatal to Boeing, in its current form at least
Just in case you'd forgotten that the water utilities have been pumping sewage into our waterways on a regular basis, United Utilities have been found (again) pumping sewage into Windermere.
Not only that, strangely they did exactly the same thing the year before... its almost like they'd prefer to pay dividends & enhance executives' pay than actually fix the problems in their infrastructure.
Once again, the UK has the potential to be at the forefront of an innovative industry - the technologies that will foster/accelerate the move to net zero & underpin the green transition.
However, if you're familiar with the history of British technology enterprises over the last 100 years, you will (perhaps rightly) know to expect this advantage will be squandered by a lack of investment, short-termism & the preference of financial services to invest abroad.
More evidence that gender diversity is not only an issue of fairness but also an issue of efficacy.
Building on studies in other sectors that have shown diverse teams produce better results, new research into surgery show gender diverse teams in operating theatres enhance patient recovery from operations & reduce complications.
The more balanced the team, the better the result - suggesting gender parity in the (health) workplace has clear benefits!
when Brexit border checks, charges & subsequent import 'friction' met government IT procurement, the likelihood of further delays at the birder for perishable imports was always high; and so it has come to pass.
The Govt. is claiming these are teething problems, but we can assume it will only be a short time before they attempt to shift the blame to importers & freight firms claiming they were insufficiently prepared
The HoC Public Accounts Comm. has concluded the civil service lack both skills & capacity to property oversee infrastructure projects contributing both to the evident delays & budgeting problems.
Civil servants have become too reliant on outsourced expertise (consultants & the contractors) for evaluation, with the state no longer able to act as an 'intelligent client'.
The Tory attrition and politicisation of the civil service has (and is having) sigficant detrimental impact.
