Towards a (Minority) Shareholder State? The Labour Government's Fiscal Framework This article explores the politics of the fiscal framework launched by the Labour government in October 2024. Relative to the trajectory of fiscal frameworks in the UK since fiscal rules were first i...

On the war in Iran, energy prices, gilt yields, and the UK government's "ironclad fiscal rules": Sadly, it seems that "setting [fiscal] rules for sunny days in the mid-2020s" was "painfully naïve" after all. 👇 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

JOB

Assistant Professor of Political Theory
University of Cambridge
@thecambridgeschool.bsky.social

www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/univers...

✍️The 2026 RA Butler Prize essay questions are now available.

The RA Butler Prize is an annual essay competition in politics and international studies, open to students in Year 12 or the Lower 6th.

www.polis.cam.ac.uk/about-us/pri...

If Arsenal do win the Premier League this season, they'll need to have the parade in the Cardiac Care unit because that's where everyone will be.

Strategic repoliticisation: inflation, blame, and the fracturing of democratic accountability in the United States When inflation returned to the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic after decades of price stability, it created a critical test for the accountability mechanisms underpinning the system of d...

Did Congress forget the Fed controls inflation, or was forgetting the point?

My paper in New Political Economy shows Congress engaged in strategic repoliticisation, where political conflict serves electoral interests and preserves the Fed's technocratic autonomy www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Congratulations to our PhD Francisca Valenzuela for passing her viva this Wednesday for her thesis "A comparative history of land telegraphy in nineteenth century South America." And many thanks to her examiners, Richard Noakes and Ana María Otero.

Poster advertising the for applications to Hans Rausing Scholarship 2026/2027 at the Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine at King’s College London. Indicates the call closes by 17 April 2026.

Applications are open until 17 April to our Hans Rausing Scholarship to enter an MA+PhD or PhD-only to study the history of science and/or technology
from October 2026.
Contact a prospective supervisor and find out more about the schemes here: tinyurl.com/mw84w7py

A chart of 10 year U.K. gilt yields showing a recent fall to under 4.4%

Chunky falls in 10 year gilt yields going a bit under the radar given all else going on. Good news for fiscal headroom.

Would be different if move had been in the other direction; accusations would be levelled (mostly unfairly) at Reeves.

Gilt market moves are mostly not driven by fiscal policy.

Why do #Venezuela and #Greenland matter to U.S. power? Professor Helen Thompson shares her analysis.

Helen Thompson is Professor of Political Economy at @campolis.bsky.social and a Fellow at Clare College.

The Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine at @kingshistory.bsky.social is inviting applications for prospective students to pursue a PhD in the History of Science and Technology. For more information, click here: tinyurl.com/mw84w7py

People should know that foreign student fees cross-subsidise inadequate home student funding very heavily. There are no free lunches in British Higher Ed.

New book, coming soon!

Duncan Bell & Douglas Mao, Utopia (Oxford UP, 2026)

It's a short interdisciplinary volume in the recently launched OUP Literature and Politics series.

global.oup.com/academic/pro...

Blaming the OBR for the Budget maths is a waste of time The government must explain why tax reform is necessary and desirable for fiscal sustainability

"The government needs to take ownership of the Budget and use it to construct a convincing narrative. That means not blaming the OBR or HMT but explaining why tax reform is necessary, why it will be good for growth and public services and how pain will be fairly shared.

www.ft.com/content/a06d...

"The Tiny Desk has witnessed some pretty legendary guitar solos. Shrouded in fog, this one opens with some shred played by a puppet. Only the deeply beloved 31 Minutos could pull off such a dramatic feat, even at the Desk." youtu.be/UEqTIwRrWvA?...

I really think it is an excellent piece. It tells the specific story of CEPG (relevant in itself as it is) while also situating it within its broader context and discussing wider implications. Congrats!! I'm glad I finally got to read it properly.

This truly is an excellent article. 👇

"Los hombres y los pueblos sin memoria de nada sirven, ya que ellos no saben rendir culto a los hechos del pasado que tienen trascendencia y significación; por esto son incapaces de combatir y crear nada grande para el futuro".

Salvador Allende, C Diputados, 1939.

Allende vive.

👏👏👏 Congrats, Ilias!

Rachel Reeves rejects claims of £50bn ‘black hole’ in finances The chancellor hit back at the idea that the government faces so large a gap between spending and tax income.

As far as I can tell, and as you would expect, NIESR do not mention a "50bn black hole" anywhere in their report or commentary. Who is the BBC quoting here? No indication of where the phrase has come from, or what it refers to. Nor is there a link to the interview. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Three things to note on Gilts:

i. The 30yr yield is historically quite elevated at 5.6%, the 10yr at 4.7-4.8% is a bit more normal - levels that were typical in the 2000s. What's (possibly) different is it was also normal for the economy to grow at 2.5% real, 5% nominal back then.

Abstract for article

I have a new article out on wage-earner funds, a famous attempt at economic democracy in Sweden in the 70s & 80s. It explores the funds' defeat, emphasising the issue's stronger resonance with businesses compared to workers & the Social Democratic Party
journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

The US’ Polycentric Innovation State Abstract. This paper analyses US innovation policymaking since the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, as prevailing political economy accounts, such as the Vari

How do federal and state governments drive innovation in the US? My new paper @cjres.bsky.social shows how the 'Polycentric Innovation State' with multi-level, place-based policies is reshaping regional growth in places like Michigan and Maine

academic.oup.com/cjres/advanc...

What a game. And what a legend Mo is. On and off the pitch.

Rachel Reeves to announce billions in regional spending after Treasury rule changes Extra investment lined up for schemes such as energy projects, roads and rails outside London and south-east

Great. As ever, this actually isn't about 'Green Book reforms' but much more about 'clearly stated strategic policy objectives *as set set by ministers* that form the basis for any objective appraisal of projects'.

But, granted, that's much less catchy.

I had to read this several times as “prioritise growth” and “hit universities over the head” are so mutually contradictory

The Telegraph has deleted the seemingly made-up article titled “We earn £345k but soaring private school fees mean we can’t go on five holidays” featuring “Al & Alexandra Moy” from its website... but, if interested, you can access an archived version here. h/t @alanrew.bsky.social

archive.is/s1GPF

The early evaluations of Sure Start were rather negative - it took a long time for benefits to appear. Sometimes government has to do the right thing whatever Treasury assessment says, as there’s enough broad evidence about early years interventions

🏭💪💲 We have a few spaces left for this week's lecture on carbon politics, American power, and the almighty dollar with Mark Blyth, a political economist and Professor at Brown University, in this upcoming event titled "Burning Down the House".

Register now: www.eventbrite.com/e/burning-do...

This is such a great book. Highly recommended! 👏👏👏 @jonathanpjwhite.bsky.social