David Klemperer
@dmk1793.bsky.social
Historian, researcher, and co-editor of @renewaljournal.bsky.social
Pinned
David Klemperer
@dmk1793.bsky.social
· Oct 26
NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!
In today’s episode David & @dmk1793.bsky.social try to answer some of the hundreds of questions, comments and suggestions we have had about this series. How do we know if democracy is broken? Have we ever had a real democracy anyway?
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
In today’s episode David & @dmk1793.bsky.social try to answer some of the hundreds of questions, comments and suggestions we have had about this series. How do we know if democracy is broken? Have we ever had a real democracy anyway?
Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
Really enjoyed recording this discussion with David Runciman, covering threats to democracy, early 20thc theories of oligarchy, how algorithmic social media is changing politics, the problem with 19thc approaches to suffrage - and much, much more!
Reposted by David Klemperer
"Like so many MPs, he thinks he’s Francis Urquhart, when in fact he’s Baldrick" - @roberthutton.co.uk in his defection sketch
thecritic.co.uk/francis-urqu...
thecritic.co.uk/francis-urqu...
Francis Urquhart or Baldrick? | Robert Hutton | The Critic Magazine
I should begin with an apology. Last month, I described Robert Jenrick as “the most shameless man in parliament”. His office complained at the time, but I was stubborn and refused to back down. Well…
thecritic.co.uk
January 15, 2026 at 9:15 PM
"Like so many MPs, he thinks he’s Francis Urquhart, when in fact he’s Baldrick" - @roberthutton.co.uk in his defection sketch
thecritic.co.uk/francis-urqu...
thecritic.co.uk/francis-urqu...
Reposted by David Klemperer
So many members of the British Right right now are unmasking and telling us fairly clearly where they would've stood in 1938
January 17, 2026 at 12:58 PM
So many members of the British Right right now are unmasking and telling us fairly clearly where they would've stood in 1938
Reposted by David Klemperer
pretty sure he meant the other thing, grok, but very cool that those are your two things
January 16, 2026 at 4:55 PM
pretty sure he meant the other thing, grok, but very cool that those are your two things
A highly revealing profile, in really quite a few different ways:
The crisis whisperer: how Adam Tooze makes sense of our bewildering age
The long read: Whether it’s the financial crash, the climate emergency or the breakdown of the international order, historian Adam Tooze has become the go-to guide to the radical new world we’ve enter...
www.theguardian.com
January 16, 2026 at 5:10 PM
A highly revealing profile, in really quite a few different ways:
Reposted by David Klemperer
It's a shame that in these anti-political times, Jenrick doing extremely lucrative planning favours for mega-rich donors is not something anyone bothers to mention about him
January 15, 2026 at 2:58 PM
It's a shame that in these anti-political times, Jenrick doing extremely lucrative planning favours for mega-rich donors is not something anyone bothers to mention about him
Reposted by David Klemperer
Do you remember when there was lots of bloviation post Brexit about higher inflation in NI and it turned out to be due to hotel prices due to a Little Mix concert?
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Izzy Finkel · Short Cuts: In the Inflation Basket
Unlike GDP growth or trade imbalances, inflation gets close to measuring something that people can feel. It is easy to...
www.lrb.co.uk
January 16, 2026 at 10:07 AM
Do you remember when there was lots of bloviation post Brexit about higher inflation in NI and it turned out to be due to hotel prices due to a Little Mix concert?
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Reposted by David Klemperer
FT: Boost to British economic hopes as Tesco meal deal sold in Northampton; 'Just doing my bit,' said anonymous diner; No.10 hails £3.99 investment as 'a sign of continued confidence in UK PLC'
January 15, 2026 at 9:47 AM
FT: Boost to British economic hopes as Tesco meal deal sold in Northampton; 'Just doing my bit,' said anonymous diner; No.10 hails £3.99 investment as 'a sign of continued confidence in UK PLC'
Reposted by David Klemperer
US economic news: Resilient American economy adds 500k new healthcare workers and data centre security guards
UK economic news: Gilt markets on the brink as John Lewis CEO admits to opening phishing email
UK economic news: Gilt markets on the brink as John Lewis CEO admits to opening phishing email
January 15, 2026 at 9:09 AM
US economic news: Resilient American economy adds 500k new healthcare workers and data centre security guards
UK economic news: Gilt markets on the brink as John Lewis CEO admits to opening phishing email
UK economic news: Gilt markets on the brink as John Lewis CEO admits to opening phishing email
the decline of deference is everywhere for those with eyes to see
Once upon a time, a President of the United States saying "fuck you" and raising his middle finger to an American factory worker would be front page news around the world. Now it's a "colour lede" on a business analysis. www.ft.com/content/36ab...
January 16, 2026 at 1:05 PM
the decline of deference is everywhere for those with eyes to see
Reposted by David Klemperer
Was he wrong though?
Oh god horrible memories of the conference I went to early in the days of crypto, when the guy on the panel with me was an American who just kept on saying "it's a nonce-generating machine", "every transaction has a nonce at both ends" etc and I had to keep a straight face.
January 16, 2026 at 11:16 AM
Was he wrong though?
Reposted by David Klemperer
It is really important to understand that the asylum hotel chaos of 2022-24 is a *failed experiment in closed borders* (in contrast to the liberal visa policy)
The hotel chaos comes from passing multiple laws that all claims will be refused & to stop processing claims
bsky.app/profile/pete...
The hotel chaos comes from passing multiple laws that all claims will be refused & to stop processing claims
bsky.app/profile/pete...
“Robert Jenrick is the man who as Immigration Minister oversaw the open borders experiment that led to the biggest increase in illegal immigration in our country”
Labour's Steve Reed reacts to Robert Jenrick's decision to defect from the Conservatives to Reform UK
Labour's Steve Reed reacts to Robert Jenrick's decision to defect from the Conservatives to Reform UK
January 16, 2026 at 8:23 AM
It is really important to understand that the asylum hotel chaos of 2022-24 is a *failed experiment in closed borders* (in contrast to the liberal visa policy)
The hotel chaos comes from passing multiple laws that all claims will be refused & to stop processing claims
bsky.app/profile/pete...
The hotel chaos comes from passing multiple laws that all claims will be refused & to stop processing claims
bsky.app/profile/pete...
Reposted by David Klemperer
every month features a headline saying "Boost/Blow to Rachel Reeves as GDP SURGES/COLLAPSES 0.1%" and then you read on and it's entirely dependent on whether Jaguar Land Rover have managed to turn on their computers
January 15, 2026 at 8:35 AM
every month features a headline saying "Boost/Blow to Rachel Reeves as GDP SURGES/COLLAPSES 0.1%" and then you read on and it's entirely dependent on whether Jaguar Land Rover have managed to turn on their computers
Reposted by David Klemperer
Apologies for being self-referential but
January 15, 2026 at 12:57 PM
Apologies for being self-referential but
Reposted by David Klemperer
Starmer keeps using this line, & it's bonkers.
Most importantly, it's untrue: the party that ended Free Movement, ran the "hostile environment" & made Suella Braverman Home Sec did not run "an experiment in open borders".
It's also politically mad. Voters who believe this will not vote for Starmer
Most importantly, it's untrue: the party that ended Free Movement, ran the "hostile environment" & made Suella Braverman Home Sec did not run "an experiment in open borders".
It's also politically mad. Voters who believe this will not vote for Starmer
!["And this is what Keir Starmer’s press secretary has said about Robert Jenrick at the lobby briefing this morning.
[Highlighted] Robert Jenrick was the immigration minister in a government that presided over an open borders experiment [Highlighted], a health minister who left people stuck on waiting lists, and a Treasury minister during the worst decline in living standards on record.”
While Reform continues to welcome failed Tory retreads, this Labor government is putting the country back on track."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cixgmtrg7nzy4gkmyfeosaox/bafkreibe3jczrmbmzfnhj2adl4qe432lbpmcbn6m6qrentwih7vxj4fu7y@jpeg)
January 15, 2026 at 2:14 PM
Starmer keeps using this line, & it's bonkers.
Most importantly, it's untrue: the party that ended Free Movement, ran the "hostile environment" & made Suella Braverman Home Sec did not run "an experiment in open borders".
It's also politically mad. Voters who believe this will not vote for Starmer
Most importantly, it's untrue: the party that ended Free Movement, ran the "hostile environment" & made Suella Braverman Home Sec did not run "an experiment in open borders".
It's also politically mad. Voters who believe this will not vote for Starmer
Reposted by David Klemperer
wikipedia turns 25 today! the last unenshittified major website! backbone of online info! triumph of humanity! powered by urge of unpaid randos to correct each other! somehow mostly reliable! "good thing wikipedia works in practice, because it sure doesn't work in theory" - old wiki adage
January 15, 2026 at 1:47 PM
wikipedia turns 25 today! the last unenshittified major website! backbone of online info! triumph of humanity! powered by urge of unpaid randos to correct each other! somehow mostly reliable! "good thing wikipedia works in practice, because it sure doesn't work in theory" - old wiki adage
Reposted by David Klemperer
"It's a morbid symptom, Anglo-futurism, and that's where British politics is, it is stuck with the fantasies of world leadership and renewal through deregulation. I mean, it's tragic. That's where we are."
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSxc...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSxc...
January 15, 2026 at 9:02 AM
"It's a morbid symptom, Anglo-futurism, and that's where British politics is, it is stuck with the fantasies of world leadership and renewal through deregulation. I mean, it's tragic. That's where we are."
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSxc...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSxc...
Reposted by David Klemperer
Welcome to Reform, Robert Jenrick
January 15, 2026 at 11:57 AM
Welcome to Reform, Robert Jenrick
Reposted by David Klemperer
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.
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.
January 15, 2026 at 10:28 AM
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.
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.
Reposted by David Klemperer
Something in the latest LRB. It's not the cheeriest of pieces but I hope some find it worthwhile. Thanks for reading.
‘Politics and political life require not only a future, but a future in which what we do today can matter. Questions of meaning and mattering are unavoidable in a life lived in the shadow of end times.’
@geoffmann.bsky.social on how we think about the end of the world:
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
@geoffmann.bsky.social on how we think about the end of the world:
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Geoff Mann · Good Failures: With a Whimper
Does anything matter if we’re done for? We are not the first to wonder. Contemporary fictions are preoccupied with...
www.lrb.co.uk
January 15, 2026 at 1:44 AM
Something in the latest LRB. It's not the cheeriest of pieces but I hope some find it worthwhile. Thanks for reading.
Sabotaging public goods in the service of private interests.
January 15, 2026 at 10:21 AM
Sabotaging public goods in the service of private interests.
Reposted by David Klemperer
Reposted by David Klemperer
Gratifying to see that some Labour MPs are now engaging with the bloc politics argument that @profjanegreen.bsky.social @psurridge.bsky.social @drjennings.bsky.social @joxley.jmoxley.co.uk @robfordmancs.bsky.social @timbale.bsky.social and I have all been making.
labourlist.org/2026/01/avoi...
labourlist.org/2026/01/avoi...
'Avoiding the iceberg' - LabourList
Labour’s polling crisis isn’t about Reform voters but losing progressives. To avoid electoral collapse, the party must clarify its values and unite its bloc.
labourlist.org
January 14, 2026 at 12:55 PM
Gratifying to see that some Labour MPs are now engaging with the bloc politics argument that @profjanegreen.bsky.social @psurridge.bsky.social @drjennings.bsky.social @joxley.jmoxley.co.uk @robfordmancs.bsky.social @timbale.bsky.social and I have all been making.
labourlist.org/2026/01/avoi...
labourlist.org/2026/01/avoi...
Reposted by David Klemperer
PM Starmer tells Emily Darlington MP he has been informed this morning that "X is now acting to to ensure full compliance with UK law". He welcomes this, if true,
That may/may not turn out to be true re Grok stripping women without consent.
This is demonstrably untrue on racist hate crimes on X
That may/may not turn out to be true re Grok stripping women without consent.
This is demonstrably untrue on racist hate crimes on X
January 14, 2026 at 12:44 PM
PM Starmer tells Emily Darlington MP he has been informed this morning that "X is now acting to to ensure full compliance with UK law". He welcomes this, if true,
That may/may not turn out to be true re Grok stripping women without consent.
This is demonstrably untrue on racist hate crimes on X
That may/may not turn out to be true re Grok stripping women without consent.
This is demonstrably untrue on racist hate crimes on X
Reposted by David Klemperer
Do have a read of my Substack today if you have time, it makes a convincing case for why going to the pub might not be good for "you" but it is good for "us"
and then you can send to your friends and maybe they'll go the pub with you as well
and then you can send to your friends and maybe they'll go the pub with you as well
Been thinking a lot about how we are talking about health and society so I wrote down some thoughts about what happens when self-care replaces collective care, and why joy, connection, and shared spaces are as essential to a nation’s wellbeing as any diet
zoegrunewald.substack.com/p/when-whats...
zoegrunewald.substack.com/p/when-whats...
When “what’s good for us” stops meaning "us"
Wellness culture promises control and self-care — but what happens when it starts to hollow out our shared collective lives?
zoegrunewald.substack.com
January 14, 2026 at 11:44 AM
Do have a read of my Substack today if you have time, it makes a convincing case for why going to the pub might not be good for "you" but it is good for "us"
and then you can send to your friends and maybe they'll go the pub with you as well
and then you can send to your friends and maybe they'll go the pub with you as well
Reposted by David Klemperer
Everything is gender all the time
Fox News' Will Cain: “There's a weird kind of smugness... in the way that some of these liberal white women interact with authority”
January 14, 2026 at 11:27 AM
Everything is gender all the time