Emeritus Prof. Christopher May

Oh dear, the wealth advisors claiming that David Reuben (billionaire) had 'left' the UK due to Labour's tax changes, have been caught out... he's been domiciled in Monaco for tax purposes by his own admission for over a decade. And given other evidence of a lack of 'exodus' by the super-rich, it would be nice if the media started reporting real news not making up things that are convenient to their owners.... Not holding my breath, though #tax #politics #inequalityhttps://www.theguardian.com/news/2026/oct/07/billionaire-quit-uk-wealth-tax-resident-monaco-super-rich-exodus

A favourite trope of the small-state crowd is to attack taxes by saying 'make work pay' as if taxes had prompted a low-wage economy. The *real* issue is the share of national Gross Value Added that accrues to capital & to labour (in aggregated terms). In 1975 workers' share of GVA was 71.9%.. fifty years later that has dropped to 59.7%. So, while the UK's economy has largely stagnated, capital has increased its capture of value from economic activity. #economics #inequality h/t Prem Sikka

Whatever went on around the permitter of RAF Farirford it has spooked the USAF, who this weekend 'moved' their heavy B-1 Lancer bombers elsewhere.... Depending on your perspective this could be a panic response to a miss-reported criminal incident, an accusation the UK cannot provide security for airfields, or a bit of political theatre designed to hide something else (although what might be being hidden is not clear). #RAFFairford #politics #securityhttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ck87z09xe82qo

My favourite paintings, no.62 Harmonia Rosales, The Harvest (1984) Like many artists of African decent, Afro-Cuban Harmonia Rosales has been exploring the absence (or marginalisation) of black people from paintings across centuries of art history. This has led her to reinterpret classic art subjects substituting people from different ethnicities for the usual white subjects. This example is a powerful reimagining of a common renaissance composition. Wonderful. #art #TodaysPainting #racism

I love a cartoon that sums up a line of argument I have often made as a political economist, so here's a great example from the (recently deceased) P.C.Vey - whose work appeared in the New Yorker & elsewhere. #economics #regulation #politics h/t Loren Fox/LinkedIn

I know, you know I've said this before but today's headline in the Guardian 'live' section just (as always) makes me grind my teeth... housing price rises are not 'growth'... they are, let's be clear: ASSET PRICE INFLATION.... and as such *not* a good thing that needs to be maintained or worried about when it such inflation is 'weak'. Until we end this mind set we will be unlikely to solve our housing problems #housing #media #politics

Vaughan Tomlinson (Guardian cartoons) on the abiding truth of the super rich.... #inequality #wealth #politics

A note on the political claim that the state pension triple lock is 'unsustainable'. Isn't odd that: lower taxes on capital gains are never 'unsustainable', as aren't in-work benefits that subsidise low-wage employers; subsidies for industry are never 'unsustainable', as isn't the still small range of estates subject to inheritance tax each year... all of these can be sustained, but keeping old people from poverty (only just) is 'unsustainable'???? Yeah, right #politics #pensions

The report/review ordered by Wes Streeting to (implicitly) back up the notion that young people's mental health problems were 'over-diagnosed' seems actually likely to come to the exact opposite conclusion; life for the young has become harder & more stressful, and the range of mental health difficulties & challenges they face is the result of that, not some failure of reliance on their part! Which seems about right! Now we need to do something about it! #MentalHealthhttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cqzrz0z4plk1o

Business groups are warning John Healey against raising the minimum wage too far; but we've heard such warnings so often & the disaster they proclaim doesn't come to pass Better if business leaders showed some *actual* leadership & limited top managers' pay too (or better, commit to a lower multiple between staff & managers' pay). There may be a point where the minimum wage does have the effects warned of, but right now its the manager who cried wolf! #workers #inequality #politics h/t FT

In the last week OpenAI's software has been revealed (confirmed might be better) as a rogue agent, hacking IT systems around the world, prompting legal cases for damages. Might OpenAI's future not be one of growth but of decline under the growing weight of legal claims against it. The key issue will be Courts' view of the ability to assign responsibility to OpenAI. Whichever jurisdiction *does* establish legal responsibility will quickly become the place to sue OpenAI! #AI #RuleOfLaw h/t FT

When I worked for Charter 88 (in the early 1990s) on constitutional reform, a frequent argument against abandoning first past the post elections was only FPTP would deliver strong Govt.s, while forms of proportional representation would slow down governance & require the building of consensus - all too slow for modern politics. By argument then, as it is now; is look around us, this is the country so-called strong & quick Govt. has wrought; lets try something slower & consensual! #politics

For those of us/you waiting for the (inevitable?) crash related to AI & related technologies, the late economist Rüdiger Dornbusch, observed: 'crises take longer to arrive than you can possibly imagine, but when they do come, they happen faster than you can possibly imagine'! #AI #FinancialCrisis h/t FT

Our US friends likely know this but on this side of the Atlantic, all had gone pretty quiet on ICE & the continuing round-up of people suspected of being illegal immigrants (whether they actually are or not).... And this likely reflects a change in approach that has seen the agency take a quieter (but as it happens ever more active) stance on arrests & detentions. So, here is a long piece from the Guardian detailing what is actually going on.... shocking! #ICE #USPolhttps://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/sep/28/ice-us-immigration-new-tactics

My favourite paintings no.56 Beryl Cook, Shopping Mall (1995) The art world has long dismissed Beryl Cook, although recently she has been 'rediscovered'. One of the UK's most popular painters her work offers both entertainment but often also subtle social commentary. Here the everyday life of a shopping mall is depicted as also saying something about our everyday interactions *and* distances. There is a strong sense of consumerism as an isolating social practice. #art #TodaysPainting

Despite the housing crisis being in a large part caused by the high price of housing (stoked by the lax availability of credit, pushing up prices), Andy Burnham is now looking to revive the 'Help-to-Buy' scheme for first-time buyers. Once again a short term solution to a problem that doesn't exist (a lack of 'demand' for expensive houses) is being proposed, instead of the better solution of building more social housing to shift the logic of the hosing market! Nuts! #housing #politics h/t FT

RE: https://mastodon.me.uk/@ChrisMayLA6/117336467223964993 If you're considering a hybrid car, then the debate in the thread after my post (below) this morning is fascinating, surfaces some interesting data & research and certainly should be read (not least due to owners' experience being set out) before you go the the dealership to test drive a hybrid. Thanks to everyone who has contributed (so far) to this thread - its been fascinating & a good example of the socialisation of information. #ElectricVehicles #ElectricCares #politics #GreenTransition

My favourite paintings, no.57 Stanley Spencer, Swan Upping at Cookham (no date) Stanley Spencer painted Cookham a lot (setting biblical scenes there as well as painting everyday life), but this painting is one of the best, offering a narrative (of swan upping, whatever that might be?), as well as a strong sense of pattern & colour. The slightly mysterious subject is part of its charm, and the tension between stillness and movement is just lovely. Something to savour. #art #TodaysPainting

The impact on free speech & the right to protest of the proscription of Palestine Action seems to be growing as voters report growing concerns about Labour's policy. While hardly likely to encourage voters to shift rightwards, it could easily contribute to voters 'sitting on their hands' or shifting votes to the Green Party of England & Wales or others. One more own goal by Blue Labour. #politics #protest #democracy #PalestineActionhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/28/protect-free-speech-labour-liberty-poll

My favourite paintings, no.58 Lavinia Fontana, Portrait of a Pregnant Woman (no date, late C16th). Lavinia Fontana is generally regarded as the first woman to earn her living as a professional painter. This possible self-portrait therefore may have been a statement about her pregnancy not being an impediment to her ongoing production of paintings. Pregnant self-portraits are also rare & so this may also be the first. A female artist taking command of her own image?! #art #TodaysPainting

You'll see a lot of media coverage of strikes by university academic staff in the next weeks; so, whatever the immediate/local causes of industrial action, the underlying (albeit linked) factors are these:

1. the Govt. & political class no longer really value a strong university sector & treat it merely as a unprofitable personal service;

2. Universities' senior management have lost sight of the fact that their academic staff are vital to their institutions success.

#universities #politics

One potential trigger for the much anticipated AI-related financial crash, might be the uptake across (non-Silicon Valley) corporate America of Chinese 'open' AI & related technologies, with so-called 'open weight' technologies (not all Chinese, of course) accounting for over half of token usage (but less than 15% of expenditure). For the large proprietary AI-firms the time of expanding demand for their services may already be over? If so, the investment over-hang may drive a crash? #AI

Meanwhile in the Southern Hemisphere, the peak of winter ice in Antartica has again falls to a record low level (as it has for the last there years). As Will Hobbs (UTasmania) says: 'How sensitive is the global climate system to this loss of sea ice? We are still working to put numbers on that. But the system is changing faster than we are understanding it'. My guess is its unlikely to be good news when we do find out for sure. #ClimateChange #Environment #Antarticahttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/30/antarctic-winter-sea-ice-falls-to-third-lowest-level-on-record-as-scientists-warn-of-now-problem

My favourite paintings No.52 Leonora Carrington, Portrait of the Late Mrs Partridge (1947) Leonora Carrington's work was often surreal, but what I like about this particular[painting is how it merges the requirements of portraiture with Carrington's other worldly surrealism. It exists on the cusp of dreams & life, and is both compelling and discomforting in its effects. Not sure I'd want it hanging on my walls, but is a fascinating painting to closely read. #art #TodaysPainting #surrealism

The problem the UK has had, again & again, after Brexit is the desire to leave the EU but to retain the advantages of being a member; unsurprisingly, the EU Commission has been unwilling to extend that sort of deal to the UK; so once again (this time in the UK's inability to see that leaving the EU's regime for product testing might cause some issues for exporters) the EU by merely enforcing the Bloc's rules is seen as obstructive. Err, no; we chose to leave! #Brexithttps://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/sep/24/uk-losing-billions-in-eu-trade-due-to-mismatched-product-rules

As over half the NHS Trusts that had originally 'encouraged' by NHS England to use Palantir's software have actually stopped doing so, the Statistics Regulator is renewing its investigation into the claims for success put about by NHSE. NHS Trusts have found the claims often to be unsubstantiated & as such the regulator now wants to know how & why NHSE made such claims in the first place. The answer is likely to be summed up by the phrase;' follow the money'! #Palantir #NHS h/t FT

Q, are hybrid cars really part of Green Transition? If drivers rely on the petrol element too much, then likely not really. as Shane Brennan (ChargeUK) put it: 'A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle that is never plugged in is a costly petrol car puling round a heavy battery'; as PHEV drivers often find mid-journey charging too time consuming (75% of popular PHEVs can't use fast charging), they rely (too much) on the petrol engine aspect of their cars. #ElectricCars #GreenTransition h/t Guardian

On Thursday Zack Polanski hopes to win the Holborn & St Pancras by-election, where currently the betting is he will fail to dislodge Labour. The key Q. will be whether the Green Party of England & Wales annual conference in the days before the vote will aid or hinder his local campaign. The next seven days may well be pivotal for the GPEW & its leader. We can expect a lot of far from disinterested political commentary & political spin, so be prepared for a fog of invective. #Greens #politics

As Cas Mudde notes, 'both the far right & “far left” threaten the established parties, only the far right threatens liberal democracy'; those who have 'legitimate concerns' about immigration are listened to while this who have other social concerns (which are much more legitimate) are ignored by the mainstream parties.... No wonder parties outside the democratic oligopoly of modern politics are picking up more votes; voters want change not more of the same! #politicshttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/sep/26/europe-election-trends-far-right-success-defeatist-narratives-germany

@Di4na@hachyderm.io So around 15% of all pensioners are in poverty, the state pension remains lower than the average EU pension, but a significant proportion (including, as a full disclosure, me) have private pensions.... but that is *exactly* why pensions are taxed. If you're unhappy about rich pensioners, you're actually unhappy about the rich in general; and that's fine, I agree, lets tax them more... which is much more efficient than disrupting the already poor pension provision in the UK

As Jason Hickel argues:

'the tendency to equate capitalism with "markets and trade" naturalizes a system that is not natural, and prevents us from having a clear-eyed view of how it operates & how we might want to do things differently'...

he then offers a vg three part definition of capitalism:

1. Capitalism is built on enclosure & the construction of scarcity;

2. it requires perpetual expansion (growth);

3. economics decisions cannot be democratic.

#capitalism #economics h/t LinkedIn

So, who is Katie Lewis? Its becoming apparent that Lewis is the sherpa (or conduit) who facilitates closer (funding) links between the world of Crypto & ReformUK Ltd. She sits in the core team of Reform, but has no social media presence (all now seemingly deleted) and is seldom if ever in the spotlight. She once worked for Cameo (where the Fascist Frog's videos-for-hire appeared) but little else is known about her. Anyone know more? #ReformUK #Politics #crypto #NigelFarage h/t Observer

The ability of unions to gain recognition & members in (new) workplaces, though new measures to increase their ability to access workplaces is expanding. So, once again, here's a key economic hypocrisy: economists often decry unions as a collective action that undermines efficiency... but at the very same time they celebrate the collective acton of capital, via shareholding that supports businesses... If you want to see classist hypcrocsy, this is it! #unions #class #politics #economics

Writing in the FT, the presidents of Brazil, Kenya & the European Council and prime minister of Canada, argue that we need to revive & expand the politics of multilateralism in the face of increased polarisation & fragmentation. As the UN moves towards a new Secretary General, this may be a call for a new agenda of cooperation at the UN, but equally is also an expansion of Mark Carney's call for a new international politics. The Q. is can this move beyond rhetoric? #politics #UnitedNations

As Michael Basler argues (Observer letters), 'judging regional economies through tax receipts ignores the historical concentration of wealth, capital & corporate power in London'! Regional disparities have not been the accidental consequences of economic processes, but rather have been engineered by the City of London & financial services. Unless the new regionalism promised by Andy Burnham specifically seeks to rebalance the UK's economy, it will amount to little. #economics #politics

How does our political class defend itself? Well, one way is to get friendly commentators (here Janan Ganesh/FT) to argue that the world does not have a 'Leadership problem', it has a 'followership problem'; rather than the calibre of our leaders declining, what has changed, he asserts, is the rise of voters unwilling to pay for the police's they vote for... leading to climbing public debt & fiscal problems. Yup, its all out fault; those poor politicians, they're just helpless /s #politics

If you want to see how 'securitisation' works in politics (the reframing of political issues as issues of national security), the UK's report on El Niño is a classic example. This is not to say that the assessment of the likely (ongoing & future) impact of El Niño & climate change is wrong, nor that making clear(er) the wide(r) impact of the changing weather is unwelcome, but it does indicate how our the argument(s) around the environment are changing. #ClimateChangehttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/sep/23/uk-climate-crisis-national-security-report-suppressed-starmer-ed-miliband

The Labour Party is (once again & this time in the person of Lucy Powell) is calling for 'progressive vote coalition'... but as we know what this means is a coalition *within* the Labour Party, not a popular front that recognises in some constituencies the Labour Party no longer is seen as the progressives' choice. Only when Labour realises that its ability to dominate the field of choice for left voters has diminished will a real 'coalition' be possible. #politicshttps://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/sep/26/labour-must-reunite-progressive-voters-to-win-the-next-election-says-lucy-powell

The really dangerous 'wealthy men' arriving in 'small boats' don't land on the coast in Southern England, they sail perfectly easily into any number of marinas around the country.... and when they land people like Danny Kruger shimmy up to them hoping from the scraps from the Captain's table.... #migrants #politicshttps://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/sep/19/small-boats-wealthy-men-reform-danny-kruger

Corporate welfare (from direct subsidies to 'tax holidays') are often offered to corporations, due to implicit & often explicit threats they will relocate without such 'support'. But, as Rana Foroohar (FT), notes: 'Research looking at business incentives between 1990 & 2015 [by US states] found that they tripled as a share of business “value added” during that time. But they changed the location, expansion or retention decision of 25% or less of firms receiving them'. Its a scam! #politics

In a neat rhetorical flourish, Audrey Tang (Civic AI) argues data is not the 'new oil' but rather is the 'new soil', and like soil, data needs to be husbanded, nurtured & cared for, not mined & exploited. It would be a good metaphor, if the impact of industrial farming had not been to do exactly the opposite, with soil being degraded & only maintaining its worth to farming through the ever increasingly use of chemical aids. Or perhaps that *is* the point #data #technology #AI h/t Observer

The LibDems are aiming (if they get near the lever of political power) to end the freeze on income tax thresholds (a policy shared with ReformUK Ltd).... and would aim to fund this through the 'dividends of growth' driven by re-joining of the EU by 2037. Leaving aside how this would be negotiated, they need a plan to make up the shortfall in tax income in the interim; so more borrowing? credit creation? or more austerity? Oh wait don't they have form on austerity? #politics #LibDems h/t FT

@Di4na@hachyderm.io well as the post suggested; I'd be more convinced if a range of other things were presented as unsustainable too, as that would be more indicative of the problems that we face; singling out the triple lock indicates something else going on....

Chris Phillipson's defence of the triple lock on the grounds that many more will need its guarantee by the time retirement arrives, is right the button. Attempts to suggest the triple-lock is unsustainable by pitting younger generations against pensioners, wilfully ignore that for most of the population the state pension will remain a key to any sort of poverty alleviation in old age. To those claiming it won't exist then; I'd say, then campaign *for* it not against it! #politics #pensions

Recent research suggests that Andy Burnham has managed to reduce the number of people saying they would now vote for the Green Party of England & Wales, having previously voted Labour. So far, for many of us, this looks like a triumph of rhetoric over actual policy changes, and so once the budget arrives (follow the money), Burnham's ability to reverse the Keir Starmer prompted shifts towards the GPEW may actually, itself, be reversed, if the budget goes how we expect. #politics h/t Observer

How does Palantir aim to deal with the widening criticism of its role in (and contracts with) various parts of the public sector? Yes, of course: hire Lord Tom Watson (once deputy leader of the Labour Party, and Labour insider) as a senior Vice President. We can be pretty sure his role will be to repair relations with the Govt,. and combat (bat away) criticisms of the efficacy & security of Palantir's technology. Its a classic move, and hardly a surprise! #politics #Palantir h/t Observer

@CppGuy@infosec.space @Di4na@hachyderm.io Yes, I recall the arse Russel Brand telling young people not to vote because it was waste of time, and thinking that that would be exactly what the Tories (as they were then) would have wanted him to say

After Next has established (in the courts) that discrimination between warehouse & shop-floor staff is based on market 'realities' (or workers' employment priorities) not gender, its likely a good time to review the continuing range of the gender pay difference across the UK. Perhaps the most notable thing is that financial services & a range of professions remain the worst performers on equalising gender pay... so is this because women don't *want* to join the professions? #workers #women

So as Andy Burnham heads to talks with the Tangerine Tyrant, what might he learn from the (unlikely but) relatively clam relations between the President & Zohran Mamdani (mayor of New York). Mamdani sticks to his guns, offering nothing other than civility (in person) to POTUS, and has a clear mandate & vision. Trump may disagree with him, but he recognises a 'winner' and acts accordingly. The Q.is whether Burnham (as an ex-Mayor) can mange something similar? #politics #Trump #AndyBurnham

@nini@oldbytes.space @alexadeswift@lgbtqia.space Yes, the corrosive (political) logic of the individual's 'carbon footprint' is a massive distraction from the real emitters