David Spencer

Tony Harrison poem V to be performed in Holbeck Cemetery Tony Harrison's poem V will be read in Holbeck Cemetery in Leeds by five actors.

"As a working class teenager growing up in the 1980s much of what Harrison captures in V is a potent reminder of the world I had to navigate“ — words that resonate with me. And V remains powerful still today www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Rachel Reeves looks for extra headroom in budget to insulate UK economy against bond market Chancellor hopes to raise enough funds to stop damaging speculation about breaching fiscal rules

I understand the bond markets are influential but it is concerning to say the least that they can effectively dictate fiscal policy. There is a real question of democracy here. The economy should be managed for people not for bond traders www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Gen Z faces ‘job-pocalypse’ as global firms prioritise AI over new hires, report says British Standards Institution study across seven countries found quarter of bosses believe entry-level tasks could be automated to reduce costs

This result is hard to reconcile with persistently low investment levels in the UK - if jobs are in shorter supply, this is more likely due to old-fashioned cost-cutting than increases in business investment in AI www.theguardian.com/money/2025/o...

Without data centers, GDP growth was 0.1% in the first half of 2025, Harvard economist says | Fortune Is a U.S. without data centers a country without GDP growth?

Virtual growth (or a bubble set to burst) fortune.com/2025/10/07/d...

Nobel committee unable to reach prize winner who is ‘living his best life’ hiking off grid Fred Ramsdell was among those honoured with a 2025 Nobel Prize in Medicine but might not know because he is somewhere in Idaho and uncontactable

“living his best life” on holiday not doing research - a sobering message here for all academics (including the vast majority without Nobel prizes)
www.theguardian.com/science/2025...

‘Sweat equity’: homebuyers turn builders for £10k off their mortgage In exchange for 500 hours of work, the schemes can provide more than just a route to home ownership

Mixed feelings about this scheme: it creates opportunity to learn new skills and gain a discount on a house (cooperative housebuilding is the future) yet it also looks like a way to secure cheap labour (the going rate for a labourer is probably > £20 per hour) www.theguardian.com/money/2025/o...

Efficient Inefficiency: Organisational challenges of realising economic gains from AI Organisations are increasingly using artificial intelligence (AI). Where AI performs productive tasks more efficiently than humans, organisations will…

Simon called it the "Information Fallacy." We call it "efficient inefficiency"--more efficiently doing things which aren't worth doing:

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Labour to bring back maintenance grants for students on ‘priority’ courses Education secretary says means-tested grants for ‘those who need them most’ will be funded by new international student levy

A notion of a hierarchy of courses fits with a functional view of education (one in step with human capital theory) www.theguardian.com/education/20...

‘Moral hazard’ warning after £1.5bn government loan guarantee for JLR Carmaker receives official backing after cyber attack that has halted production

I guess it is equally morally hazardous to not intervene to protect jobs in the wider car sector www.ft.com/content/27e5...

Tony Harrison · Poem: ‘V.’

An influence on me growing up in Leeds and a poem that still resonates www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v0...

Tony Harrison's poem V is a timeless portrayal of working-class aspiration Anthony Clavane: V reflects the social divisions that seem to have hardened 25 years after the poem's Channel 4 appearance caused outrage

Tony Harrison RIP. He never forgot his roots in Leeds and wrote with great passion and force www.theguardian.com/books/2013/f...

the more you say it, the more likely it will happen

Government mulls financial support for JLR supply chain firms Fears are growing that some of the car maker's suppliers could go bust without support.

Not yet a furlough scheme but evidence of the active role that the state can and must play in managing shocks www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Northern Powerhouse Rail plans delayed again The BBC understands the prime minister will now not announce plans for a rail link between Manchester and Liverpool at the Labour Party conference.

Can we please retire the term Northern Powerhouse? It was and is largely meaningless www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

UK forecast to have highest inflation in G7 this year by OECD The influential policy group lifts its forecast for UK inflation, saying it will be 3.5% in 2025.

The UK has always been more inflation-prone than other countries - partly a product of its industrial relations system and partly an effect of its exposure to import inflation. Getting to grips with inflation entails reform beyond monetary policy www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

UK borrowing hits five-year high for August at £18bn Worsening public finances mean Rachel Reeves will almost certainly announce tax rises in November budget

To stress a point often missed, govt borrowing acts to offset gaps in private spending and offers a support to growth - worry less about it than an economy that systematically fails to sustain higher private sector investment www.theguardian.com/business/202...

Furloughing and COVID-19: assessing regulatory reform of the state Abstract. This article assesses regulatory reform of the state in the context of the move to furloughing in the UK. It establishes that furloughing was a s

On the case for a furlough scheme post-pandemic, see below @cjres.bsky.social: academic.oup.com/cjres/articl...

JLR supply chain staff told to apply for universal credit, union says Staff are being laid off with

The UK labour market is "too flexible" to cope with disruption like a cyber attack and it would be better if it had a furlough scheme to protect jobs and livelihoods www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

AI could boost UK economy by 10% in 5 years, says Microsoft boss Boss Satya Nadella said it was the biggest investment the firm had made outside of the US.

“could” and probably won’t if the aversion to business investment in the UK economy remains www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

UK labour market cools as pay growth slows and job losses rise ONS figures come as the government is under pressure to revive Britain’s economy before the budget

Forget the rise of the robots, the labour market is cooling on the back of increased uncertainty and continued weak investment www.theguardian.com/business/202...

UK economy flatlines in July in grim news for Rachel Reeves Official GDP figures confirm widely expected slowdown after strong expansion in first half of the year

Growth of the economy was once taken for granted. Now it appears as an increasingly forlorn hope - something policymakers talk about and wish for but which fails to materialise at least on a consistent basis www.theguardian.com/business/202...

Prime Minister of Norway shares his love for Leeds United with brilliant photo The leader of Norway has previously spoken about his passion for Leeds United

for context www.leeds-live.co.uk/sport/leeds-...

Tight vote in Norway to decide whether to stick with Labour or turn right Norwegians go to the polls on Sunday and Monday, with domestic issues expected to be at the forefront of voters' minds.

Jonas Gahr Støre has the support of all Leeds fans #lufc www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

RMT strikes expected to bring London tube to a halt for four days Buses and trains likely to be overcrowded as union members take action in row over pay and 32-hour week

A four day strike for a four day week. Striking symmetry www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

we're all (pro-growth) economists now...

Gold price hits record high as investors seek safety Experts say uncertainty resulting from US policy is making investors seek safer investments such as gold.

The high demand for gold merely but effectively demonstrates the irrationality of human behaviour www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

September is the cruelest month

Fears grow over impact of ONS data reliability on Rachel Reeves’s budget Troubles at UK statistics body are muddying economic picture for Treasury and spending watchdog, sources warn

Economic experiment: is policymaking more effective with or without reliable data? www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Tube strike: London Underground staff to walkout over pay RMT union members will strike from Friday 5 September for seven days.

Notable that the RMT are demanding a reduction in the working week www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Fewer People Are Reading for Fun, Study Finds

A fact widely known by most authors — the majority of books are rarely widely read www.nytimes.com/2025/08/20/w...