Colm Murphy
@colmpm.bsky.social
Historian of UK and ROI politics and political economy. Senior Lecturer at QMUL and Deputy Director of Mile End Institute (https://www.qmul.ac.uk/politics/staff/profiles/murphycolm.html). Book on Labour and 'modernisation' (https://tinyurl.com/37tzatvk).
I looked this up for a paper. Crossrail (as I still call it) was approved in parliament in 2005, when I was in primary school, and opened in 2022, as I began a lectureship.
November 11, 2025 at 7:32 AM
I looked this up for a paper. Crossrail (as I still call it) was approved in parliament in 2005, when I was in primary school, and opened in 2022, as I began a lectureship.
They are needed because the ordinary tax payer also needs to pay more. Here, some old fashioned social-democratic arguments need to be made much more forcefully.
November 10, 2025 at 7:48 AM
They are needed because the ordinary tax payer also needs to pay more. Here, some old fashioned social-democratic arguments need to be made much more forcefully.
A "wealth tax" is a quagmire and probably won't solve the revenue problem. But better and higher taxes on the wealthy are absolutely essential for political as well as policy reasons.
November 10, 2025 at 7:48 AM
A "wealth tax" is a quagmire and probably won't solve the revenue problem. But better and higher taxes on the wealthy are absolutely essential for political as well as policy reasons.
Secondly, we shouldn't exaggerate the threat or misdiagnose the problem, but Reeves is right to care about the fiscal and bond market context.
But that is not a political argument that will fly. Nor will just blaming the last lot.
But that is not a political argument that will fly. Nor will just blaming the last lot.
November 10, 2025 at 7:42 AM
Secondly, we shouldn't exaggerate the threat or misdiagnose the problem, but Reeves is right to care about the fiscal and bond market context.
But that is not a political argument that will fly. Nor will just blaming the last lot.
But that is not a political argument that will fly. Nor will just blaming the last lot.
Firstly, if you have to break it, go hard or go home
November 10, 2025 at 7:42 AM
Firstly, if you have to break it, go hard or go home
Reposted by Colm Murphy
For anyone who is interested in an extensive discussion of what “social democracy” means, we asked the current & former editors of @renewaljournal.bsky.social to proffer their definitions & thoughts:
renewal.org.uk/blog/renewal...
renewal.org.uk/blog/renewal...
Renewal editors reflect on the meaning of social democracy
Renewal is a journal of social democracy, but social democracy has always been a contested concept - and one understood variously as an ideology, a movement, a historical phenomenon, or even a desired...
renewal.org.uk
November 6, 2025 at 1:47 PM
For anyone who is interested in an extensive discussion of what “social democracy” means, we asked the current & former editors of @renewaljournal.bsky.social to proffer their definitions & thoughts:
renewal.org.uk/blog/renewal...
renewal.org.uk/blog/renewal...
Rhetorically, Gary Stevenson and Zack Polanski are on to something though. No question about it.
November 6, 2025 at 1:41 PM
Rhetorically, Gary Stevenson and Zack Polanski are on to something though. No question about it.