Today I’m in Coventry to see this play which is inspired by some work I & did with @OratoryPolitics & @DASHARTS It’s going to be in Sheffield, Cornwall & London later this month. You should go see it. You’ll like it. belgrade.co.uk/events/our-pu…

Again, an awful lot of gaslighting re: "neoliberalism", denying the existence of a ~50yr policy/governance agenda on the basis of "the state spends a lot of money". Public spending as %-of-GDP isn't high because we've had a period of Leftwing hegemony. (Outside of the arts, the academy & the social/cultural policy sphere, that's obvious nonsense). Rather, it's high because: 👉Demographic pressures have pushed up the 2 massive spending outlays, health & pensions – a problem common to the vast majority of Western democracies 👉UK growth/productivity has been stagnant for ~18yrs, since The City of London collapsed under the weight of its own poor investments, while spending pressures have continued to grow apace 👉We have a growing (& expensive) debt pile as a result of the taxpayer twice being forced to bail out the private sector to the tune of several hundred £BN – 1st during GFC, 2nd during Covid lockdown 👉We have huge revenue pressures from "sticking plaster" subsidies covering up the underlying issue of chronic low investment, e.g. housing benefits ballooning while municipal capex on housebuilding shrinks; or tax credits/UC top-ups disguising stagnant real wages; or increasing day-to-day NHS spending after years of squeezed capital budgets/social care sector collapse Neoliberalism is defined by privatisation, the embrace of globalisation/free trade, monetarist central banking, the emasculation of the labour movement, & the transformation of the state from a prime actor in national production/investment into a post-hoc fiscal distributor. It has been consciously driven by market-liberal true believers (some even self-identifying as "neoliberals") – on the Right by Hayekian/Friedmanite think tanks, business groups & various Conservative ideologues, and on the Left by Third Way modernisers (see Blair) and their intellectual forebears in Marxism Today's revisionism, the Democratic Left etc. etc. Pretending none of this happened (because 'muh the state still spends £££') is pure sophistry. They want us to believe they didn't sell off airlines, steelmakers, coal mines, energy generators, water companies, car manufacturers, banks, bus/train contracts & millions of council houses. That they didn't deregulate financial services to get their 'Big Bang'. That they didn't abolish rent controls, or capital/exchange controls, or wage boards, or price commissions. That they didn't outsource core services and state capacity to corporate providers. That they didn't impose some of the most draconian/restrictive trade union laws in the democratic West. That they didn't cede monetary policy to an independent central bank, or cede trade/migration policy to an unelected, supranational, continental bureaucracy. That they didn't squeeze public investment or prioritise tax cuts over infrastructure spending. That they didn't eschew industrial policy and take a lax approach to deindustrialisation because the future was services & the "knowledge economy". This isn't simpy an accumulation of random policy titbits, but is the outcome of a coherent intellectual project that has consistently rebalanced the labour/capital relationship in the latter's favour. These people are conning you.

Forum 2029 will be back next week with our attention on the UK's insurgent new right 🔎 We'll be joined by @ProfAFinlayson, @liandersson and Anki Deo 📢 Weds 3rd June, 18:30 Oxford House, Bethnal Green Sign-up 👇 buff.ly/jwYHJUU

Forum 2029 returns next week with our attention on the UK's insurgent new right 🔎 We'll be joined by @ProfAFinlayson, @liandersson and Anki Deo 📢 Weds 3rd June, 18:30 Oxford House, Bethnal Green Sign-up 👇 buff.ly/jwYHJUU

Emergency Podcast Live! It's free, it's online, it's tomorrow, it's me and @ProfAFinlayson talking about all this stuff that's going on: eventbrite.com/e/emergency-p…

On Wednesday we're recording a live episode of the Culture, Power, Politics podcast to make sense of last week's historic election results! 🎙️ 📍 Oxford House, London E2 🗓️ Wed 13 May, 6:30pm w/ @ProfAFinlayson & @jemgilbert actionnetwork.org/events/for…

I've got a new piece for the @NewStatesman on something that has been bugging me for a while... 1/

NEW EVENT – After the local and devolved elections: the debrief 🗳️ Live recording of the Culture, Power, Politics podcast with hosts @jemgilbert & @ProfAFinlayson 🚨 Weds 13th May, 18:30 This will be busy – don't miss out on a space 👇 actionnetwork.org/events/for…

EXC: .@GoodwinMJ’s new book “Suicide of a Nation: Immigration, Islam, Identity” is out now, and I’m only 5 chapters in and have found a huge amount of what appears to be false quotes and basic misinterpretations of data, that appear to be AI hallucinations. Matthew, can you explain the claims you made in the book that I’ve outlined in the below thread?

And here’s FT with a whole raft of talking heads declaring the unpopularity of Starmer & Reeves to be an unfathomable mystery: ft.com/content/19958c3d-62e2… ‘There’s a real dislike, even loathing’: why voters hate Starmer and Reeves. (Only @johnmcternan comes close to explaining).

It’s a Christmas miracle.

Looking for a book for the music lover in your life? With a wide selection of music writing, we’ll have the perfect gift Browse more: mngbookshop.co.uk/christmas-… @DukePress @UNC_Press @IllinoisPress @countrymusichof @McGillQueensUP @OskarCoxJensen @ProfAFinlayson @angela_mcshane

Q: Are you affirming that you think President Trump is a fascist? MAMDANI: I've spoken about-- TRUMP: That's okay. You can just say yes. I don't mind.

What explains the growing ideological #polarisation in many Western societies? What are the consequences & how can we build a less polarised future? #economicsfest conversation tmrw, 18 Nov, with: @MehreenKhn @moseshayo @TerriGivens @ProfAFinlayson economicsobservatory.com/div…

Of course it can do both. The problem is the comforting fiction that Downing Street clings to - that it can outsource political arguments and party management to a fictional construct they call the “bond markets”. It’s their version of TINA and there really are alternatives.

The State of Political Leadership in Britain Roundtable with Charles Clarke, Tim Bale, Emmanuelle Avril and Patrick Diamond Tuesday 25th November 1pm-2.30pm The registration link is: forms.office.com/e/dnX1qZ4pV…. We will send a join link 24 hours before the event

This is a traditional BBC crisis, which NR can live with. But it arrives in the middle of a much bigger crisis, which everyone in power is desperate to keep quiet about: the media are becoming decisively digital & the Thatcherite consensus is collapsing: that's the context here.

This is right. Also 6. Spend time, using what digital media affords, to present your argument and approach at length; don’t be afraid to empower others to carry that argument further for you.

RT @johnmcternan: The lessons for progressives 1. Tell compelling stories 2. Identify clear enemies 3. Create policies that address voter…