There's a liberal solution to the UK's current predicament, which starts by reversing the damage that Brexit and tight migration policies have done to the public finances. Thus far, there is no sign of Andy Burnham taking that path.

Sunder Katwala (sundersays)@sundersays.bsky.social · 2w ago

The government will take a £12 billion hit on the public finances if/when it belatedly reduces the current [unrealistically high] OBR projection of net migration averaging 235k for next 3 years to about 130-150k. (But it could double that cost if it wants to stay closer to zero net migration).

Fair play to John Healey, who managed to time his 5.5-week break from government to coincide exactly with the World Cup

England's half of the World Cup bracket contains no EU member states. By my count, there are 9 in the other half

We have a rare and exciting opportunity to join our team as Director of Churchill Archives Centre at Churchill College. Application deadline is 9am on 29th June 2026. Please share this with people you think would be interested.

Director of the Churchill Archives Centre | Churchill College, Cambridge

Application deadline: 09:00 am BST on Monday 29th June

buff.ly

It's early days yet, but it looks like Burnham has decided to resolve this conundrum by adopting most of Starmer's positions. (Would he be saying the same things if he was fighting Withington?)

Peter Sloman@pjsloman.bsky.social · 10mo ago

The Starmer/Burnham struggle within Labour has quite big implications for the Lib Dems. Starmer’s old Labour right positioning gives the LDs acres of political space but is hostile to cooperation; the two parties' social and geographical bases are quite distinct. 1/2

There's a damaging tendency in British politics to treat party crises, leadership changes, and other forms of instability as failures of politics, rather than part of the political process. (I know it's not only a British phenomenon, but our majoritarian political culture makes it worse.)

Will Cooling@willcooling.bsky.social · 3mo ago

I think the use of the word psychodrama is starting to obscure more than it reveals. Yes it's ridiculous to be about to have our 7th PM in 10 years, but each PM ran into a problem that they couldn't resolve. Getting rid of them really was necessary to solve the immediate problem and move on

I think this is probably true, but the context for Milibandism (or predistribution) has also got much less propitious since 2015: the UK is out of the EU, energy costs are up, and corporation tax and the minimum wage are higher.

Duncan Weldon@duncanweldon.bsky.social · 3mo ago

I think Labour thinking here has gone backwards since 2015. The Ed M ‘responsible capitalism’ agenda was a genuinely interesting engagement with the varieties of capitalism literature and how to change institutions to get different outcomes. The agenda since 2024 has been “make companies do things”.

He's right - terrific stuff. 'You cannot “live within the lie” of mutual benefit through integration when integration becomes the source of your subordination.'

Stephen Bush@stephenkb.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Mark Carney's speech really is terrific: full text is here and very much worth your time.

It's a pleasure to contribute to Renewal's special issue on Labour in power (though unfortunately it's behind a paywall)

Renewal@renewaljournal.bsky.social · 7mo ago

SUBSCRIBERS ONLY: with the Labour government facing increasingly painful trade-offs on taxes and spending, Peter Sloman (@pjsloman.bsky.social) discusses the sources and limitations of the Starmer-Reeves approach to fiscal policy

This is a great opportunity to join the Churchill College community for a term and carry out research on our wonderful C20th history collections. Apply now for 2026/27!

Churchill Archives Centre@chuarchives.bsky.social · 11mo ago

📚 Whether you're an undergraduate, postgraduate, academic, or independent researcher, our research grants and By-Fellowships are designed to support work using our collections here at Churchill Archives Centre. 🔗 Click the link to find out more & apply: buff.ly/JGsTtHK

📝 Don't miss this article from the current issue of #BJPIR - Volume 27, Issue 4 (November 2025) 'Why do parties (not) support Universal Basic Income? The case of the UK Liberal Democrats' by @pjsloman.bsky.social 🔗 buff.ly/roRneC3 @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social

I've published a new (short) article on 'John Maynard Keynes and Universal Basic Income', which might be of interest to those working on these debates: www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...

John Maynard Keynes on Universal Basic Income

John Maynard Keynes has not normally been seen as a basic income supporter, but two letters written by Keynes during the Second World War suggest that he had thought seriously about the idea and was a...

degruyterbrill.com

Close watchers of political language and the links between British Labour and the ALP might note that Albanese was saying 'our policy stands' about a tax change last week, just days before his government revised it: www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

‘Our policy stands’: PM downplays Treasury advice on doubling tax rate for superannuation over $3m

Albanese reiterates policy despite reports his government was reconsidering changes to address criticisms of taxing ‘unrealised gains’

theguardian.com

On the Conservatives' £47bn of spending cuts, this feels like a very early stage in the Parliament to be setting out specifics, but I suppose the point is to allow Badenoch and Stride to oppose the tax rises coming in the November budget.

The Starmer/Burnham struggle within Labour has quite big implications for the Lib Dems. Starmer’s old Labour right positioning gives the LDs acres of political space but is hostile to cooperation; the two parties' social and geographical bases are quite distinct. 1/2

First trip to Southampton, and a well-deserved point. Still top!

Useful reminder from Peter Kellner on the problems we refuse to acknowledge are getting better, and the politics of hopelessness that this breeds open.substack.com/pub/kellnerp...

At this stage, the closest parallel to the Starmer government is Tony Abbott in 2013-15: won a landslide on a 'change' platform, tightly bound by pledges, damaged by unpopular budget decisions and given little credit for promises delivered. Starmer and Reeves will hope to find a better way out.

David Marquand’s Intellectual & Political Legacy SI edited by @pjsloman.bsky.social Colin Crouch & Ben Jackson with @emilyrobinson.bsky.social Will Hutton @npjgarland.bsky.social @anthonybarnett.bsky.social Hilary Wainwright Andrew Gamble Jean Seaton & + politicalquarterly.org.uk/collections/...

David Marquand’s Intellectual and Political Legacy

David Marquand, who died in April 2024, was a prominent figure in late 20th century British politics. This collection is devoted to analysing, criticising and celebrating his political and academic co...

politicalquarterly.org.uk

I'm looking forward to taking part in the rebooted Liberal Summer School on 12 August - joining Stuart White, Frances Foley and Vicky Pryce to talk about economics and empowerment

John Stuart Mill Institute@jsmillinstitute.bsky.social · last yr.

We're thrilled to welcome @pjsloman.bsky.social to our online Summer School. Peter will explore the economic policy of the Liberal Party, & its commitment to worker co-ownership. What lessons can we learn for a world of tech giants & widening inequality? Sign up below: share.google/lAuP00z6RFpg...

Welsh Labour's decision to introduce closed-list PR for the Senedd looks more foolish with every week that passes. STV would have allowed Labour to benefit from incumbents' personal votes and attract anti-Reform preferences

The new Pensions Commission is an important move by the government - surely we need something similar on child poverty, once the ministerial taskforce has finished its work? www.ft.com/content/5208...

UK pensions overhaul looms as minister warns of slump in retirement income

Torsten Bell says government will ‘complete the job’ of Blair-era reforms

ft.com

New article: bringing two of my research interests together, I've explored what the Liberal Democrats' short-lived support for UBI in the early 1990s and early 2020s tells us about the politics of 'big ideas'. Available open access at @bjpir.bsky.social: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

It's great to see this paper by Ewan Robertson out in Political Studies - a rigorous and deeply-researched analysis of the drivers of in-work benefit reforms

Political Studies@polstudies.bsky.social · last yr.

Do ideas or political demand drive welfare reform? @ewanrobo.bsky.social shows how ideational power, not voter pressure, shaped in-work benefits in the UK and France. Read OPEN ACCESS: buff.ly/EGt2uCw @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social @uoypolitics.bsky.social @sagepub.com #polsky #polsci

The 1906, 1964 and 1997 governments all took several years to work out a coherent social security policy; some might ask if Wilson ever got there. If the Starmer government is serious about reducing poverty, this is a natural point for a reset and a proper review of the social safety-net.

It's great to see our special collection on 'Governing from the Centre-Left in the 2020s' out in the latest issue of Political Quarterly, including articles on Portugal, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, and the US: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/1467923x...

What would an anti-oligarchic, republican economy look like? UBI? Wealth tax? Workplace democracy? Strong trade unions? Investment democracy? I explore a radical republican economics in my new book, 'The Wealth of Freedom', which is now out online. academic.oup.com/book/60075

The Wealth of Freedom: Radical Republican Political Economy

Abstract. What is an economy for? The republican tradition in political thought offers a compelling way of exploring this question. The economy is for the

academic.oup.com

Governing from the Centre Left in the 2020s Collection featuring Portugal NZ US Australia & Germany @eunicegoes.bsky.social Grant Duncan @claire-ainsley.bsky.social @emilyrosefoley.bsky.social & Rob Manwaring Jörg Michael Dostal @pjsloman.bsky.social politicalquarterly.org.uk/collections/...

Governing from the Centre Left in the 2020s

The first half of the 2020s has been a turbulent period in global politics, with the Covid pandemic, surging inflation, wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, and the fall and return of Donald Trump. Th...

politicalquarterly.org.uk

I'm thrilled to have been published in Past & Present. Diving into the fractious politics of rich-country macroeconomics after 1973, I use the neglected case of protectionist Keynesians to rethink what happened, and why. I highlight statecraft, geopolitics, and Maier's 'territoriality'. (1/2)

Past and Present@pastpresentsoc.bsky.social · last yr.

New on advance access "The Political Crisis of British Keynesianism, 1973–1983" by @colmpm.bsky.social (‪@qmpoliticsir.bsky.social‬) #OpenAccess doi.org/10.1093/past...

This seems like a good time to highlight Rob Manwaring and Emily Foley's recent @politicalquarterly.bsky.social piece on the Albanese government's first term, though the conclusion now feels unduly pessimistic. What should British Labour learn from the ALP? onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

The Contradictions of the Albanese Labor Government in Australia: The Promise and Limits of ‘Thin’ Labourism

In 2022, after nearly a decade in opposition, the Australian Labor Party under the leadership of Anthony Albanese won office. The Albanese government faced a raft of challenges in government with tou...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com