Important work. The UK faces real threats, but there’s also a real risk that in rushing to meet arbitrary targets we fail to apply the same level of scrutiny to defence that we do to the rest of government spending. With other capital budgets already being cut to fund the DIP, that can’t continue.

Transition Security Project@transitionsec.bsky.social · 2w ago

NEW: Keir Starmer declared last year that the “peace dividend” was over, promoting the myth that Britain’s military spending has declined since the end of the Cold War.   Our latest report shows this simply isn’t true. 🧵

🚨JOIN COLA IN WESTMINSTER 🚨 On Day One, Andy Burnham declared this the “cost of living government”. That statement faces its first big test, as we are weeks away from his first Budget. Join us to give tell MPs what we need to see, in Westminster on 13th October. actionnetwork.org/events/cost-...

🚨NEW🚨: Ten unions call for Andy Burnham to oppose the war on Iran & stop British bases being used to launch US air strikes. The unions argue that the “devastating, illegal war” is a catastrophe for the Middle East & that it directly undermines Burnham’s cost of living agenda.

"A closed country will be poorer. A country that underinvests will not grow. A state that refuses to reform tax will ration ambition. And a Labour government afraid to say these things will discover once again that caution, too, has costs." www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Burnham must learn from Starmer’s mistakes: Labour was elected to transform the economy, not just stabilise it | Jonathan Portes

Devolution, tax, the EU and immigration: these are all opportunities for growth if Burnham abandons the excessive caution of the past few years, says economist Jonathan Portes

theguardian.com

Bit late to this but great work as always from Persuasion. Yet more evidence that bold action on cost of living reaps political rewards as well as making life better for millions. @costoflivingaction.bsky.social has a clear blueprint for where to start, including many of the policies tested here.

Steve Akehurst@steveakehurst.bsky.social · 4mo ago

What might a ‘cost of living populism’ look like & how would it do electorally for Labour/Burnham? Some new research via @persuasionuk.bsky.social TL;DR such a platform boosts Lab’s vote share by 15ppt (!) to 34% in our MRP experiment. This & anti-Reform squeeze is prob their best hope 🧵

Investing in essentials like education, health, energy and housing should be a top priority, according to our new Investability Index. We assessed 11 sectors of the UK economy to identify where more public investment would have the biggest impact: investinbritain.org.uk/investabilit...

Responding to Andy Burnham's speech at the People's History Museum in Manchester today, campaign director @louiswillis.bsky.social said:

Andy Burnham isn’t going to do a Truss. He isn’t going to sack the permanent secretary of HMT or do a major fiscal event with no OBR forecast. He isn’t going to attempt the largest borrowing-funded tax cuts in years.

NEW: What exactly happened in the local and devolved elections in England, Scotland and Wales last week? @persuasionuk.bsky.social has some new polling out today which offers a first glimpse. Thread here on top line findings from each nation. 🧵

Labour MPs and the public disagree on the government's handling of the cost of living crisis, our polling finds. The public expects more on the cost of living, but MPs don't see how out of step they are with what we need. @alb-toth.bsky.social www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...

Labour MPs massively out of step with public on cost of living, survey reveals

Exclusive: Cost of living is the nation’s top concern, government warned

independent.co.uk

The cost of living crisis and our low growth are two symptoms of the same problem: an economic structure that hasn’t been working for a long time. We need to take on the root causes of those costs.

Putting the political drama to one side for a moment, it's great to see so many ideas emerging today for how this government can do better in tackling the fundamental challenges facing our economy - low productivity growth, a lack of resilience and a rising cost of living. /1

Responding to the Chancellor's Spring Forecast, Louis Willis, Director of the Invest in Britain campaign, said:

The fiscal framework should be a tool to help the government achieve its growth objectives and ensure fiscal sustainability. It's time for a proper conversation about reforming it. Here's what our director Louis Willis had to say ⬇️

We’re pleased to be part of a group of thinktanks including @goodgrowthfdn.bsky.social, Progress, @neweconomics.bsky.social, @womensbudgetgrp.bsky.social and others, calling on the Chancellor to reform the fiscal framework to allow for more public investment. www.theguardian.com/business/202...

OBR a backseat driver with out-of-date maps, thinktanks tell Rachel Reeves

Chancellor urged to reform Office for Budget Responsibility to open way to more public investment

theguardian.com

I am pleased to be in @labourlist.bsky.social this morning outlining the stark reality of the UK’s cost of living crisis and the very real threat it poses this government. labourlist.org/2026/02/the-...

'The cost of living crisis is still Britain’s defining political challenge' - LabourList

The cost of living remains the public’s top concern – and voters across parties want bold action to bring bills down and living standards up.

labourlist.org

Almost two thirds of people in the UK have cut back on essentials due to the cost of living. The crisis isn’t over — it’s getting worse. Today we're launching the Cost of Living Action campaign, calling on the Government to end this crisis and ensure it never happens again.

This week’s New Economy Brief goes a little deeper than your usual post-Budget summaries and asks: why are we in this mess and how do we get out of it? neweconomybrief.net/the-digest/w...

A decade of national renewal? Not exactly. The chancellor's public investment plans don't come close to our historic investment levels. Underinvestment has left us with sewage in our rivers, constant railway disruptions, crumbling schools and a shortage of hospital beds.

Responding to the Autumn Budget, Louis Willis, Director of the Invest in Britain campaign, said:

We brought the voices of 68,749 people to Downing Street today📣 - thank you to @richardburgon.bsky.social and @simonforstroud.bsky.social for joining us! To everyone who signed, shared, or emailed their MP - thank you so much 💚 Fingers crossed for #TaxTheBanks in the Budget on Wednesday 🤞

NEW! How should Labour respond to the two key issues to voters of the economy and immigration and what are the electoral stakes this week of the budget? Read on for our answer... @nprcoxford.bsky.social @jrf-uk.bsky.social

Ramping up public investment is the best route out of the UK’s productivity crisis. Our new report finds increasing public investment by an additional 2% of GDP per year would kickstart growth, raise average earnings, and strengthen the public finances. inews.co.uk/news/politic...

This Budget move could put £1,800 in every worker's pocket, according to economists

A new report suggests that putting more money into public investment would boost growth and average earnings over the next decade

inews.co.uk

Scrapping the cap entirely is both good policy *and* good politics. Half measures will "save" some money short-term, but will piss *everybody* off and still leave very large numbers of children suffering from a policy designed to make them poorer. inews.co.uk/news/politic...

Food vouchers, free milk and two-child cap: Reeves weighs up help for families

Ministers' long-awaited child poverty strategy is due this month - and it's closely tied to the Chancellor's Budget

inews.co.uk

This was excellent. I’ve been trying to put my finger on what is making UK politics feel so airless at the moment and I think a big part of it is the futurelessness that Mulgan diagnoses here.

Dan Davies@dsquareddigest.bsky.social · 12mo ago

open.substack.com/pub/geoffmul... A lot of very important points in a short post

Late period Osborne: interest rates at zero and 50-80bn of headroom: and his priority was “don’t invest”.

Responding to the Chancellor's speech, Louis Willis, Director of the Invest in Britain campaign, said:

Government has published one of those quiet but important documents that might get overlooked as it is not 'newsy'. The headline finding is that £1 of public R&D investment generates £8 in net economic benefits for the UK over the long term www.gov.uk/government/p...

The value of public R&D

gov.uk

Enjoyed this wide-ranging discussion across fiscal + monetary policy and the links between them. Great to hear clarity and challenge on subjects that are too often mystified and naturalised.

James Butler@piercepenniless.bsky.social · 12mo ago

New @lrb.co.uk ON POLITICS: I speak with @danielagabor.bsky.social & Andy Haldane on bond markets, gilt vigilantes, and the role of Britain's central bank. Instructive and hugely illuminating conversation on finance, democracy, & how we get out of the doom loop. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/o...