So no need for a contentious windfall tax on the banks. Remove this absurd interest payment as the EU and even the uber banker friendly Swiss have done, also remove the triple lock to therefore finance defence 3% pledge and proper social care. Time for bold but logical moves from Burnham.

Prem Sikka@premnsikka.bsky.social · yesterday

Neoliberals want to cut social security, silent on subsidies to banks. Since 2006, Bank of England has paid interest on central bank reserve deposits to commercial banks. The EU & the Swiss stopped similar practice in 2023. UK still paying, £100bn in last 3 yrs. There are better uses of £100bn.

So a 10% chance AI could kill all humans. 1,300 staff of AI firms call for international technical/governance tools to pace automated AI development. But in the race with China, it seems unlikely the US will cooperate with anyone. Could it be responsible for unintended catastrophe? It’s plausible.

This feels significant. At best it signals that flagrant unresearched blame dressed up as journalism won’t be tolerated. At worst it’s a symbolic ticking off- but no bad thing for an industry which has too long led public opinion through misinformation, repetition of untruths and self “regulation”.

Peter Jukes@peterjukes.bsky.social · 7d ago

Burnham will be the first national leader since Labour’s James Callaghan in the 1970s to not co-operate with the Sun newspaper, and its former managing editor David Dinsmore is leaving Government observer.co.uk/news/politic...

GB News and Talk TV firmly in the « Don’t look up » zone on climate change. Their fossil fuel donors must be delighted with their verbose rebuttal of global science based evidence.

Karl Popper (1902-1994) wrote, "Nationalism appeals to our tribal instincts, to passion and to prejudice, and to our nostalgic desire to be relieved from the strain of individual responsibility." Yep, that’s the far right in a nutshell.

So who is doing the research to demonstrate the link between social media usage and teenage violence? Third murder charge over Brent Council HQ stabbing

Instead of criticising, what would you propose? Much of government is about getting mundane basics right. Interesting to see whether MTD materially closes the tax take gap.

Oh good, so no need for a referendum to rejoin the EU then.

No other growth initiative has the impact of Brejoin; negotiate a 5 yr FoMovement brake offered to Blair, launch US style EU CBT + 5 yr offshore tax haven ext. to placate the 1%; initiate big Airbus like projects for lockin. Stop fiddling MAKE A DIFFERENCE! www.thelondoneconomic.com/politics/bre...

'£30 billion lost': Six major studies confirm Brexit's HUGE toll on UK economy

In 10 days' time, MPs will be summoned to debate the economic impact of Brexit. Let's hope they all have a good read of this...

thelondoneconomic.com

Serious results based policy in action from Labour, unlike Regorm’s bish bash bosh “its front page on the Express so it must be true” huckster speak.

Sam Freedman@samfr.bsky.social · 2w ago

New immigration stats show that the numbers of asylum seekers in hotels is down to 16k - falling 50% in a year. Small boat crossings down 23% in the year to June. Numbers waiting for initial decision down from almost 180k to 40k.

Oh good- and now for Meta’s considerable business in the rest of the world? Meta to pay up to $18bn to settle claims its platforms harm children

Well let’s see if Andy is more than a gesture politician and grasps the metal to 1. Increase HMRC resources and assess leadership on reducing the uncollected tax owed 2. Close tax avoidance loopholes that don’t contribute to our economy (I would argue that venture capital trusts do contribute).

Prem Sikka@premnsikka.bsky.social · 3w ago

The number of known UK enablers of tax avoidance schemes up by 34%. HMRC didn't collect £59bn last yr, £500bn since 2010. 5 enablers prosecuted in 2023-24. In 2025, one firm charged with failing to prevent facilitation of tax evasion, result awaited. Make enablers personally liable for lost taxes

Excellent news- grifters and rats devouring each other. And all because Johnson got rid of the intelligent Tories so he could railroad through his (and Farage’s) great big failing Brexit.

Roland Smith@rolandmcs.bsky.social · 3w ago

With each passing day, there's more and more fighting and bad blood among the parties of the Right. They are starting to hate each other more than they hate the Left.

That would be Ranjit Singh Boparan’s private investment vehicle.

Prem Sikka@premnsikka.bsky.social · 3w ago

Bernard Matthews confirms factory closure. Never recovered from private equity devouring. Private equity bought BM in 2013. Asset-stripped, cut staff/wages, low investment; assets (not whole business) sold-off in 2016. Trade creditors, employees ripped-off. New owners struggled.

Ashamed and in jail: their gross lies, arrogantly rejecting an impact assessment knowing it would blast a hole in the economy, their lack of a plan for how to implement Brexit, their likely receipt of covert funding from Russia and knowingly protecting the wealthy at the expense of everyone else.

South-East London for Europe (Selfe)@selfe.bsky.social · 3w ago

Johnson, Farage, Gove and Cummings are firmly in the former deputy PM’s firing line. #Heseltine #BrexitCon

GB News is massively loss making, because not enough Brits like their far right messaging. Are Paul Marshall and Christopher Chandler influencing Robbie Gibb to direct the BBC to support for Regorm, so they can quietly close GB N, save some cash and preserve what is left of their reputations?

Mike D London@mikedlondon.bsky.social · 3w ago

Panic at GB 'News' as they scramble to put a negative spin on falling Channel crossing numbers under the Labour Govt... What purpose does this overseas-funded faketriot channel serve, as it pumps toxic disinfotainment into the UK 24/7? (Except as a home for otherwise unemployable 'journalists').

Facebook joins Monsanto, Exxon, Phillip Morris and others with zero ethics who pursue maximum profits while being fully aware of the harm their products do to society. Without regulations business runs amok- goodness knows how their leaders sleep at night.

@alexvonwitzleben.bsky.social · 3w ago

#ArturoBéjar, a former #Meta safety engineer, told the jury that the company was aware of the harm its products caused children, which included its recommendations pushing content from sexual predators and violent and graphic images. www.theguardian.com/technology/2... #MarkZuckerberg #DonaldTrump

It’s clear there are absolutely NO guardrails over social media. Meta is on trial over claims it deliberately designed its platforms to be addictive to young people because Zuck and techbros are mankids who make Doctor Strangelove look positively grown up.

Mark T. Sneed@marktsneed.bsky.social · 4w ago

Yikes. Now tell me again how these data centers are going to usher in a great awakening and help humanity.

It is not the role of the BBC to “win over” any voters- it is their (political) role to inform. Regorm reporting will be in the satire section? There must be a lot of US far right money and the threat of Trump’s financial damages case influencing this. www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/bbc-pla...

BBC planning to change news output to 'win over Reform voters'

BBC bosses have drawn up plans to win over Reform UK voters to address "low trust issues" they have with the broadcaster.

thelondoneconomic.com

Just unbelievable. Who at the BBC, apart from Robbie Gibb (who still has almost 2 years left on his contract), would even think this was a good idea?

Tony Dexter@timbleman.bsky.social · 4w ago

And whatever happened to that Mone and the Barroman couple? Their £60m profit seems to have vanished.

Mike D London@mikedlondon.bsky.social · last mo.

Did Tory and Refuk donor Bamford ever sort out his tax bill?

Useful input from Polanski to take more media attention away from Regorm during the summer news lull in the holiday season, which Farage dominated last year.

Byline Times@bylinetimes.bsky.social · last mo.

📌 ICYMI — Zack Polanski Promotes Radical Plan to Break Up Britain’s ‘Billionaire Media’ — @josiahmortimer.bsky.social Green leader throws weight behind Media Sovereignty Act campaign to stop press barons "literally buying democracy"

He doesn’t need to but I sincerely hope the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs are working nights on a national plan to avoid the major catastrophes caused by next year’s drought. That’s what governments do right?

Adam Bienkov@adambienkov.bsky.social · last mo.

Very weird to be living for weeks through what has so far been the worst UK drought since records began and for the Prime Minister to have still said absolutely nothing about it

The British public could never stomach the idea that Brexit was only ever about the “posh boys” maintaining their overseas tax havens. “Taking back control”wrapped in the threat of being “overwhelmed” by immigrants was the emotive threat sold through a brilliantly (I hate to admit) executed campaign

Nolan Jazimreg@nolanjazimreg.bsky.social · last mo.

Why did the BBC devote so little attention to the EU Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive during the Brexit debate, when understanding its implications could have helped British voters better assess what leaving the EU meant for tax policy? Like I Read I Share I Read www.amazon.co.uk/BREXIT-Great...

“A public nuisance akin to air pollution” - precisely. Meta fined $567mn in largest child safety ruling against social media giant - BBC News

Burnham’s joined up thinking meets massive role duplication (who misses NHS England or can understand interrelationships between our public finance institutions), vested organisational interests and the always touted “local democracy”. Time to clean up and do stuff. www.arguably.uk/p/the-incohe...

The Incoherent State is holding England back

For devolution to succeed, Burnham needs to end the dizzying array of boundaries

arguably.uk

“Oil and gas is the future, planetary warming a hoax, possible evacuation of Bordeaux a communist plot, net zero a devil’s tax on Regorm, oilco profits of $90b on Iran ok” oh and China has captured 75%+ global renewables spend. US strikes $1.2bn deal to pay German firm to halt offshore wind projects

Paul Marshall and Christopher Chandler continue to pump out right wing sensationalism which has little basis in truth. Losses of over £120m since 2021 suggest the British public are not interested in their scam. Do the decent thing and kill it or risk yet more reputational loss.

Mike D London@mikedlondon.bsky.social · last mo.

The 'gun battle' reported by disinfotainment channel GB 'News', involved one numpty van driver shooting an air rifle at a CCTV camera, fatally wounding it before it had a chance to fight back. 🤦‍♂️

Is the Telegraph shifting to the centre right under its new German owner? First, finally! exhorting the right to get real about climate change (hard to ignore with massive wildfires dominating the news across Europe, unless you’re a fossil fuel boss). And now their poster child forsaken?

richard mortimer@richardmortimer.bsky.social · last mo.

Excellent! If even the raging right-wing Telegraph is turning against Farage his days really could be numbered. Stick the bloody boot in!

Good and not before time.

Luca Migo@victinibcn.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Jewish leaders are speaking out: Netanyahu DOES NOT speak for all Jewish people or our values! Standing up against crimes against humanity and occupation is NOT antisemitism—it’s a moral duty. We demand international law, peace, and real accountability NOW! 🎥 statuscoup