I’m not sure “centre Right” is really an analytically useful label. Blairites were economic and social liberals. To the extent Blue Labour ever really was a thing it would be left of Blairites on economics but Right of them on social issues. But most would say they’re both on the Right of Labour?

For seven blighted years since its foul stench was let loose in the world this tweet has slowly, remorselessly extinguished all named in it. Onward the horror slithers, setting no store by title: back bencher, party leader, prime minister, bloke who walked around a lot trying to become London mayor

Wayne Rooney on Andy Burnham’s speech… the best part was the end.

It's a mystery why people think Elon Musk platforms racism.

Won a bunch of disputes, won extra pay for members, but (BUT!!) has spent money supporting members on strike. This is an easy vote, the GS is focused on the right things, keep going.

Someone else (ME, IT WAS ME!!!) made this point last March tompowdrill.substack.com/p/social-fac...

Aha... there's a bit on The Economist looking at the argument from Hirschman's the Passions and Interests and how Musk reverses it.

I don't find the Binface stuff remotely funny. Lots of people in / around politics seem to spend so much time talking about dull stuff that they apparently find any break in the clouds hilarious. Like basically all politicians' 'jokes' it's painfully unfunny. 👇You're laughing at this guy you dweebs👇

Funnily enough I heard someone use the “there’s no need for a union if you own the company” line about a month ago. www.ft.com/content/2f53...

Remembering this from @steveakehurst.bsky.social last year It suggests why the £5m donation/gift/security/noneofyourbusiness & being a paid influencer for a gold bullion business could be genuinely bad news for Farage and Reform. These stories hit a weak point.

I felt this sort of outcome was inevitable after Reform took control of several administering authorities for LGPS funds last year. US-style anti-ESG politics now making an impact in UK pension funds. (LAPFF is a membership body for LGPS funds to work collectively on Responsible Investment issues)

Here's a great comparison from the Economic Policy Institute on how long it takes companies to complete the legals on a merger versus complete a CBA.

Found this quite interesting, from a book on financial regulation

errr

If I read this right BTPS write off of its Thames Water stake is equivalent to a bit under 1% of its AUM. www.ft.com/content/078d...

This is over-simplified to make a point (!) but intended to get at how (I think) priorities have shifted in policy and politics around institutional investment.

I should have read this years ago. So interesting

IMHO this is the big hole in Labour's approach to pension fund investment. Far more focused on scaling pools of capital than thinking about how it gets deployed even when in infratsructure.

send not to know for whom the tweet tweets... it tweets for thee

The perceptions and expectations of bond investors are just one of the various constraints a PM faces. IMHO a failure of the current leadership & those around it has been to *emphasise* this particular one. The Nick MacPherson quote is much more sensible than “can’t do X because bond markets” drivel

Just my own take, but there is a big difference between acknowledging a constraint in your strategy and letting a particular constraint determine your strategy. Voters who have faith in Burnham (in Makerfield or nationally) won’t expect him to prioritise building a relationship with bond investors.

Use the same headline structure but with weather instead. “Rain falls after Andy Burnham by-election victory” “Cloudy sky after Andy Burnham by-election victory” This type of story never claims X was *caused by* Y, just that they happened around the same time. It’s pure hocus pocus.

A couple of excerpts. In the first, if you switch 'banks' for 'US asset managers' we are not in a dissimilar position now. In the latter the see anti-trust enforcement as a remedy for the risk of privatised political power. Current govt would say that's bad for growth though...

I’m just a Thames Water customer and UK citizen so my interests rank much lower than the need for the infrastructure I rely on to be investable www.ft.com/content/9d9c...

Countdown to the first blog from a finance academic arguing that shareholders have a self interest in only paying what is necessary and therefore this is all fine actually

A very original, thoughtful and rarely articulated point here about the need for politicians to keep the bond markets onside. Burnham at real risk of losing the bond markets vote in the Makerfield by-election and the likely forthcoming Labour leadership election. Let alone a general election!

Interesting to see a well-known finance academic do the “well, actually, I think you’ll find….” bit on LinkedIn in response to Polanski

Odd description of private credit funds in The Times. Doesn’t capture what they do or, really, what their investor base is.

I would simply...