This is one of those things where yeah, I reckon there might be a bit of a problem, but it would be a very long way down my list of things I want government to spend its time on.

Historically I've always thought the key challenge was getting people going, building momentum and managing risk. Once people get started they solve problems. But only up to a point.

I like this because a lot of councils get stuck in a loop. We know what we need to do, but we've tried before and it never goes anywhere, so what's different this time? Maybe the answer is we go straight for the thing that's blocking it, and bust that first.

Just read fail fast defined as tackling the biggest problem first... and maybe I've been doing it all wrong?

And the really depressing thing is we keep looking for piggy banks we can smash to solve everything. Immigrants! Benefits! The rich! And none actually exists. There are only choices.

Economic discussion in the UK is mostly reheated Thatcher or Wilson, which is really quite timid and vastly underestimates the changing demands on the state.

I do! He's very refreshing.

"Under my leadership we will be a Government that will go further than just not doing things that are bad." (dramatic pause) "In fact, Conference, I can pledge this to you now - we will instead do things that are *good*" (rapturous applause, shot of Liz Kendall nodding approvingly)

Actual change happens when politicians are prepared to shift economic structures to create new patterns of winners and losers. That's probably what needs to happen now.

This is my problem with the sensible centrists. By definition they are saying that things would more-or-less work if we could just stop being polarised. But what if it's the other way round?

I suppose they're playing to the view that real men minimise their tax bill. Which is fine but even if he overpaid on something else he still has to declare his income properly.

It's astonishing that no one else has thought of rewarding hard work and addressing profiteering.

You often see boxes like this near chargers. I assume they contain wires and electricity.

EV charging?

The properly rich don't have salaries.

Also it's quite something to bothsides Andrew Tate and Gaza, and the very attempt to do so is part of the problem here.

See this is what drives me crazy... people who claim to love technology and progress will say EVs are too expensive and completely forget that the cost of any decent new technology always comes down over time.

Peter mandelsons entire career is like a cursed pharaohs amulet that kills everyone that tries to use its power and every other week some Labour party idiot picks up and goes have we tried using the pharaohs amulet

So what was it? I want to say it came down to domestic political positioning (we are serious, grown up politicians who aren't scared to appoint shop soiled right wingers) but surely the motivation was less cruddy than that?

What's your read on why they did actually want Mandelson John? He was obviously risky. Does it come down to them genuinely believing he could dark arts Trump?

い・け・な・い ルージュマジック / 忌野清志郎 + 坂本龍一 【))STEREO((】 YouTube video by The Great RC Succession Ⅲ

I accidentally discovered an early 80s Ryuichi Sakamoto banger on Spotify this morning. This performance is absolutely bonkers. I especially like the bit where Kiyoshiro starts licking Ryuichi's face. www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HIb...

Want any nylons love?

It's the Prices, Stupid Consumer sentiment is at an all-time low because prices are at an all-time high. Consumer sentiment isn't broken, popular government data is just incomplete

The index of consumer sentiment isn't broken; models that try to predict it just don't have the right input variables. I fix that and find that, yes, high nominal price levels explain why the vibes are so off. It's the prices, stupid
www.gelliottmorris.com/p/2026-04-14...

I like the bit where they point out that the Pope isn't just some bloke with an opinion on Catholic theology.

Blimey the Viz has gone a bit highbrow. Not as good as it used to be.

Not my world at all so will bow to those with more expertise.

Just encountered my first example of Jevons Paradox when it comes to AI - I am asking my teams to do many more fishing expeditions on management data to see if we can find anything interesting. Previously I would have a limited number of goes. Now I can ask many questions, many ways.

Yeah ok. So maybe that's the bit you have to be good at, and build a team for the rest.

I am struggling with both bits of this. Starmer's whole career was making legal arguments. He can't be *that* deficient. And also I think really good leaders actually do focus on what they're best at - the key thing is to surround yourself with a team that compensates for where you're weaker.