Chris Dillow
@chrisdillow.bsky.social
Bourgeois interests, proletarian instincts.
There was a time when this would have been seen as a case for relaxing fiscal policy.
A surprisingly bad set of labour market stats this morning. The story I was prepared for was "some weakening, but the shake out from the early part of the year is behind us". But it's worse than that - payroll jobs falling again, unemployment now up at 5%.
Here is our PN
Here is our PN
November 11, 2025 at 9:35 AM
There was a time when this would have been seen as a case for relaxing fiscal policy.
The big problem with the BBC isn't so much a bias against left or right, but a bias against understanding: chrisdillow.substack.com/p/being-a-ne... There's little chance that a change of DG will remedy this.
Being a news avoider
Even with the best journalists, the news gives us a distorted picture of the world.
chrisdillow.substack.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:32 AM
The big problem with the BBC isn't so much a bias against left or right, but a bias against understanding: chrisdillow.substack.com/p/being-a-ne... There's little chance that a change of DG will remedy this.
Tesla is a meme stock & Musk is key to it remaining so, just as Kim Kardashian is key to the appeal of the Kardashians. So he's got a lot of bargaining power. This has less to do with car-making than with the economics of superstars. See eg Moshe Adler: pdodds.w3.uvm.edu/files/papers...
pdodds.w3.uvm.edu
November 7, 2025 at 8:55 AM
Tesla is a meme stock & Musk is key to it remaining so, just as Kim Kardashian is key to the appeal of the Kardashians. So he's got a lot of bargaining power. This has less to do with car-making than with the economics of superstars. See eg Moshe Adler: pdodds.w3.uvm.edu/files/papers...
New substack: why governments cannot offer competence alone: chrisdillow.substack.com/p/on-compete...
On competenciness
Centrists don't offer actual competence, but merely a false illusion of it.
chrisdillow.substack.com
November 6, 2025 at 12:26 PM
New substack: why governments cannot offer competence alone: chrisdillow.substack.com/p/on-compete...
Reposted by Chris Dillow
Salami slicing your way to fiscal headroom introduces more tax complexity, likely means poorly targeted measures increasing deadweight costs, raises uncertainty (where might they look to tax next?), and reduces flexibility going forward (pulling all but the obvious levers sends a signal in itself).
November 6, 2025 at 10:47 AM
Salami slicing your way to fiscal headroom introduces more tax complexity, likely means poorly targeted measures increasing deadweight costs, raises uncertainty (where might they look to tax next?), and reduces flexibility going forward (pulling all but the obvious levers sends a signal in itself).
On average, more than one prisoner a week has been wrongly released in the last ten years (data.justice.gov.uk/prisons/addi...) Strange how the buck stops with Lammy but not with any of his predecessors. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Chris Mason: The justice system is failing and the buck stops with Lammy
Problems in the prisons and the courts are not new but they are growing and the government doesn't have a grip on them.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 6, 2025 at 8:03 AM
On average, more than one prisoner a week has been wrongly released in the last ten years (data.justice.gov.uk/prisons/addi...) Strange how the buck stops with Lammy but not with any of his predecessors. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Chris Dillow
NEW: Today I co-published a report with think tanks from across the political spectrum. We disagree on many issues, but share common ground on the basics of UK tax reform.
Our tax system is riddled with loopholes and irrationalities, holding back growth. This means that..(1/3)
Our tax system is riddled with loopholes and irrationalities, holding back growth. This means that..(1/3)
November 5, 2025 at 1:38 PM
NEW: Today I co-published a report with think tanks from across the political spectrum. We disagree on many issues, but share common ground on the basics of UK tax reform.
Our tax system is riddled with loopholes and irrationalities, holding back growth. This means that..(1/3)
Our tax system is riddled with loopholes and irrationalities, holding back growth. This means that..(1/3)
The case for tax rises is stronger & clearer than Reeves pretends. It's that, given our lack of productive capacity, we have an inflation problem, which means that the alternative to tax rises is either infeasible cuts in public spending or higher mortgage rates.
November 4, 2025 at 1:19 PM
The case for tax rises is stronger & clearer than Reeves pretends. It's that, given our lack of productive capacity, we have an inflation problem, which means that the alternative to tax rises is either infeasible cuts in public spending or higher mortgage rates.
Of all the things that are holding back the economy, the national debt is not one. That Reeves thinks she should focus on this shows that she's taking her agenda from the Tories, not from reality. www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...
Reeves refuses to say she will stick to manifesto pledge on tax rises and insists she must face world ‘as it is’ – UK politics live
Chancellor says she is focused on priorities for British people in pre-budget speech laying ground for expected tax rises
www.theguardian.com
November 4, 2025 at 8:57 AM
Of all the things that are holding back the economy, the national debt is not one. That Reeves thinks she should focus on this shows that she's taking her agenda from the Tories, not from reality. www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...
New substack: how the government can raise economic growth: chrisdillow.substack.com/p/increasing...
Increasing economic growth: some modest proposals
Commodify, enshittify, skillify.
chrisdillow.substack.com
November 3, 2025 at 9:50 AM
New substack: how the government can raise economic growth: chrisdillow.substack.com/p/increasing...
I see a lot of people on here saying what journalists should do. It's all pish. Journalism is just a job like another other, and an employee's duty is to their employer.
November 2, 2025 at 3:04 PM
I see a lot of people on here saying what journalists should do. It's all pish. Journalism is just a job like another other, and an employee's duty is to their employer.
Reposted by Chris Dillow
Updated thread on The Lost King film:
I’m digging over old ground but I have to challenge Steve Coogan's line. He claims it’s all true (as has Philippa Langley): Langley will be celebrated for her achievement, Richard Taylor & his personal gripes will be forgotten
So what’s the real story? 1/15
I’m digging over old ground but I have to challenge Steve Coogan's line. He claims it’s all true (as has Philippa Langley): Langley will be celebrated for her achievement, Richard Taylor & his personal gripes will be forgotten
So what’s the real story? 1/15
October 31, 2025 at 10:54 AM
Updated thread on The Lost King film:
I’m digging over old ground but I have to challenge Steve Coogan's line. He claims it’s all true (as has Philippa Langley): Langley will be celebrated for her achievement, Richard Taylor & his personal gripes will be forgotten
So what’s the real story? 1/15
I’m digging over old ground but I have to challenge Steve Coogan's line. He claims it’s all true (as has Philippa Langley): Langley will be celebrated for her achievement, Richard Taylor & his personal gripes will be forgotten
So what’s the real story? 1/15
Reposted by Chris Dillow
"Evil or Irrelevant: pick one." > I wrote up why I'd usually prefer to have an 'evil' company succeeding in Leeds than a good one succeeding in London. (But really it's about Stoke-on-Trent). tomforth.co.uk/evilorirrele...
Evil or irrelevant: pick one.
Why I’d probably rather have an evil tech company in Leeds than a good one in London.
tomforth.co.uk
October 30, 2025 at 8:18 PM
"Evil or Irrelevant: pick one." > I wrote up why I'd usually prefer to have an 'evil' company succeeding in Leeds than a good one succeeding in London. (But really it's about Stoke-on-Trent). tomforth.co.uk/evilorirrele...
Good thread this. For more, read Karl Hagstrom Miller's Segregating Sound.
just thought I'd expand on this (good thread!) slightly re rock and country and race. 1
Like even into the 90s, the only black artist who would be played on mainstream rock or alt rock radio was Lenny Kravitz. Not like "wow sometimes I feel like its only Lenny Kravitz" I mean he was literally the only guy
October 31, 2025 at 5:43 PM
Good thread this. For more, read Karl Hagstrom Miller's Segregating Sound.
Chris is right. Some of these (eg charging for medical appts) aren't cost cuts, but cost shifts. As I wrote here, there are no magic money trees: chrisdillow.substack.com/p/no-magic-m...
October 30, 2025 at 11:25 AM
Chris is right. Some of these (eg charging for medical appts) aren't cost cuts, but cost shifts. As I wrote here, there are no magic money trees: chrisdillow.substack.com/p/no-magic-m...
Reposted by Chris Dillow
Increasingly I think the point of a wealth tax is not to raise money but to create space for raising income tax. The lethal thing in politics is when the compliant middle class feels like they have been taken for mugs; if you want to get money out of them, someone else needs to pay more too.
October 29, 2025 at 10:51 AM
Increasingly I think the point of a wealth tax is not to raise money but to create space for raising income tax. The lethal thing in politics is when the compliant middle class feels like they have been taken for mugs; if you want to get money out of them, someone else needs to pay more too.
New substack: the government could pay a heavy cost for increasing military spending: chrisdillow.substack.com/p/some-costs...
Some costs of remilitarization
Raising military spending is economically and politically damaging
chrisdillow.substack.com
October 29, 2025 at 9:37 AM
New substack: the government could pay a heavy cost for increasing military spending: chrisdillow.substack.com/p/some-costs...
The asylum seekers issue could be reframed as one of corporate welfare for failing rentiers. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Home Office 'squandered billions' on asylum accommodation, MPs say
www.bbc.co.uk
October 27, 2025 at 7:30 AM
The asylum seekers issue could be reframed as one of corporate welfare for failing rentiers. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Chris Dillow
"Parkinson’s audience listens, laughs and understands. The exchange between Kenneth Williams and Jimmy Reid assumes a level of cultural literacy and curiosity that television rarely dares to credit its viewers with today."
thelionandunicorn.com/2025/10/23/l...
thelionandunicorn.com/2025/10/23/l...
Last night on YouTube: Parkinson
FINLAY McLAREN watches Kenneth Williams and Jimmy Reid going at it (ooh matron).
thelionandunicorn.com
October 24, 2025 at 10:25 AM
"Parkinson’s audience listens, laughs and understands. The exchange between Kenneth Williams and Jimmy Reid assumes a level of cultural literacy and curiosity that television rarely dares to credit its viewers with today."
thelionandunicorn.com/2025/10/23/l...
thelionandunicorn.com/2025/10/23/l...
The mistake many in Labour are making is to think in tribal terms. What matters is a question of fact: can it fix the economy & public services? It should do whatever it takes to achieve these, & worry about factionalism later. Whether it can do this is another issue.
“There is a progressive majority available that can defeat Reform and Farage ... But I think the moral of the story is that until people feel change, and feel that we are delivering change with Labour values, [they] will not turn out and support us” - Health Secretary Wes Streeting, Sunday Times
![Last week’s result in Caerphilly brought its own grim record for Labour: a vote share of just 11 per cent, lower than even the most downbeat prediction. Streeting said the “stark message and warning” from the voters was to be bolder, and the worst thing the party could do would be to disrespect them by dismissing it.
“There is a progressive majority available that can defeat Reform and Farage,” he said. “The Labour Party needs to show, through our actions, not just through our words, that we are going to deliver the change people voted for. There are many examples of things moving in the right direction. But I think the moral of the story is that until people feel change, and feel that we are delivering change with Labour values, [they] will not turn out and support us.”](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:refbwihhzcqqfulwhcou44sr/bafkreieuliucwc6dyxmfuygoxgurxeclrmkjcve2fi7qdbkn2us6fbzqg4@jpeg)
October 26, 2025 at 2:00 PM
The mistake many in Labour are making is to think in tribal terms. What matters is a question of fact: can it fix the economy & public services? It should do whatever it takes to achieve these, & worry about factionalism later. Whether it can do this is another issue.
Basic economics. Same incentives = same behaviour.
October 26, 2025 at 11:25 AM
Basic economics. Same incentives = same behaviour.
Alternatively, learn enough social science to know selection bias when it stares you in the face.
A simple first step: No more vox pops in deserted midday high streets when the only people likely to have the time or inclination to speak to a camera crew are wholly untypical. Pensioners, in other words.
Focus groups get a bad rep but I have never once run one during normal working hours.
Focus groups get a bad rep but I have never once run one during normal working hours.
Broadcasters - especially the BBC - have been working hard to ensure they give a voice to the 25-35% of people willing to vote Reform (and harder groups within that, like anti-asylum protest and Tommy protest)
Need to pay as much attention to the unheard majority who fear that form of politics
Need to pay as much attention to the unheard majority who fear that form of politics
October 24, 2025 at 8:35 AM
Alternatively, learn enough social science to know selection bias when it stares you in the face.
This is a challenge to Marxist theories of the state. Yes, govt & state are different things, & relative autonomy etc. But even so, the state has not served the common interests of the bourgeoisie.
Judged by the last decade, British corporate lobbyists are the least effective in the rich world.
economist.com/britain/2025...
economist.com/britain/2025...
October 23, 2025 at 8:01 AM
This is a challenge to Marxist theories of the state. Yes, govt & state are different things, & relative autonomy etc. But even so, the state has not served the common interests of the bourgeoisie.
Even if we ignore the racism (not that we should!) this entails a massive loss of freedom, a hit to the economy & worse public services. That's a huge price to pay for "cultural cohesion". Which suggests these people are irrational fanatics.
The Conservatives have drafted the legislation.
ANY one of the conditions being met leads to ILR being revoked.
If annual income falls below £38,700 for six months (for any reason at all)
The Secretary of State would also have the powers add whatever further conditions they want.
ANY one of the conditions being met leads to ILR being revoked.
If annual income falls below £38,700 for six months (for any reason at all)
The Secretary of State would also have the powers add whatever further conditions they want.
October 22, 2025 at 9:39 AM
Even if we ignore the racism (not that we should!) this entails a massive loss of freedom, a hit to the economy & worse public services. That's a huge price to pay for "cultural cohesion". Which suggests these people are irrational fanatics.
It would help our blood pressure if we regarded journalists as mere peddlers of product and propaganda rather than as dedicated pursuers of truth. It's the exceptions to this we should note, not the countless examples.
October 21, 2025 at 8:34 AM
It would help our blood pressure if we regarded journalists as mere peddlers of product and propaganda rather than as dedicated pursuers of truth. It's the exceptions to this we should note, not the countless examples.