Thomas Sampson

Nice piece. Do you think your reasons explain Ofcom's reluctance to act?

Why does regulation often feel so toothless? It has become a common complaint that regulators in the UK are toothless and ineffective. Unable to keep up with the pace of the internet…

New personal piece: Why does regulation often feel so toothless?

The news is full of businesses behaving badly and seeming to get off very lightly. Why? As someone who used to work for a regulator, I wanted to set out some of the very simple reasons regulators struggle…

Usually UK companies base operations in other countries to get over barriers *their* governments impose, not ours.

Recommended reading on the future of world trade I LSE Research Drawing on expertise from across LSE, this collaborative reading list with the LSE Review of Books highlights key works for understanding today’s upheavals in world trade and how they may shape the…

The new LSE Research for the World has a reading list on the workings & future of world trade, chosen by @sjrickard.bsky.social @lsegovernment.bsky.social @thomsampson.bsky.social @cep-lse.bsky.social @lsepublicpolicy.bsky.social & researchers @lselaw.bsky.social @africaatlse.bsky.social & more 📚👇

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Minnesota’s Biggest Companies Call for ‘De-escalation’ of Tensions

More profiles in cowardice:
Target, Best Buy, General Mills, Cargill and roughly four dozen other large MN companies issued a public letter calling for an “immediate de-escalation of tensions” in the state. Stops short of condemning the killings or who is responsible for them.

Will student loans be the next mis-selling scandal? [FREE TO READ] Graduates are in uproar about Budget changes to loan repayment terms, and they have a point

This country's ability to rinse the young and then berate them as lazy avocado addicts is ridiculous.

They're so up against it, it's madness.

- as.ft.com/r/094f3968-1...

There’s always a post..

Prioritising balance over objectivity is the most cowardly exercise that a news outlet or journalist can engage in.

'The evidence shows X, but the regime says Y - so it's impossible to know the truth.'

Lies should not be afforded the same respect and credibility as the evidence that exposes them.

I’m really quite surprised at the BBC website today. ‘Here is a video, some people say it does not show what it very obviously shows’ is not how you report this.

I just spoke with the White House after another horrific shooting by federal agents this morning. Minnesota has had it. This is sickening.

The President must end this operation. Pull the thousands of violent, untrained officers out of Minnesota. Now.

We owe an incredible debt to the Minnesotans who are on the streets protesting and documenting what is happening.

Immigration policy is complex, full of trade-offs—but we can do better.

Join Alan Manning, former chair of the UK Migration Advisory Committee, for 3 free lectures using evidence to rethink how immigration affects jobs, services and communities.

https://ow.ly/Vpeg50Y0IlI

YouTube video by Frankly Fukuyama Europe: Don't Back Down

Fukuyama: “As an American, I say to my European friends: do not back down. Appeasing Trump with flattery has failed and must stop. Europeans think conceding Greenland will mollify Trump. It won’t. He will come back for more later.”
youtu.be/SS5Ep3LTqnE

Trump tariffs: US president announces plan to hit UK, Denmark and other European countries with tariffs over Greenland The US president says the countries will be charged a

Donald Trump just falls back on this behaviour every time he doesn't get what he wants.

Greenland is not for sale and it is high time for the PM to stop pandering and work with our European friends to stand up the bully in the White House.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c1...

Just how unhinged does Trump have to become before Congress or his Cabinet intervene to stop him? If he wants to impose more taxes on US consumers by raising tariffs, Europe (incl the UK) can't stop him, but it definitely can't compromise on principles of territorial integrity & self determination.

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Terre a Terre in Brighton is excellent. Tendril in central London. I also like Tofu Vegan. I haven't been to Plates yet, but am excited to try it.

How Veganism Got Cooked Plant-based eating was supposed to be the future. Then meat came roaring back.

This is a fairly miserable assessment of the economics of vegan restaurants in New York
www.grubstreet.com/article/vega...

To cheer me up - what are people's favourite vegan/ veggie/ veg-friendly places in the UK?

It would be good to see UK HE withdrawing from X/twitter. There really is no need to be there - plenty of other platforms that many already use, and it would send a signal. Perhaps @lseblogs.bsky.social @lsegovernment.bsky.social and other sites could take a lead …

Not so sure @elpais.com is correct. I could think of software, internet companies, IP rights, movies from Hollywood and tv, energy as major areas where EU sanctions could really bite.

The real question is why sitting members of the UK Parliament are allowed to take on second jobs that run contrary to the stated national interest.

If this episode, with failings evident for all to see, doesn’t force reform of the system, nothing ever will.

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That seems a fair read of their mindset, but I think they're making a mistake. Even if you agree the US needs to be placated, the aim should be to do it with shiny baubles (state visits, golf, the Tony Blair peace prize) rather than actions that are costly to the UK (not seeking a customs union)

If that's the goal then there are less costly ways of doing it

But the economics of this position don't add up. Gains from a customs union would dwarf any benefits of US or India trade deals. Bit of a concern if Starmer doesn't realise this

One of Starmer and his team's weaknesses is an ability to read many moves ahead. Everything is reactive. You only become at the mercy of events if you do not anticipate them. The UK needs to rethink its whole approach to relations with the US (and how the politics could benefit the government too).

Elon Musk's Grok apologizes after generating sexual images of young girls The incident has renewed concerns about sexualized images being made of women with their consent.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭 𝐗/𝐓𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐨𝐰.

Musk’s platform is proving itself a vile cesspit: its AI generating sexually explicit images of children is horrifying.

Every day we tolerate this, we weaken our democracies and endanger our future.

www.newsweek.com/grok-apology...

Any statement from the UK government on Venezuela yet? Can someone get them on the record.

Every American should be ashamed of who we are and what we have become as a nation today. We have a long history of military misadventures and even crimes but the attacks we have been conducting on Venezuela are among the most wanton, egregious and least defensible acts we’ve ever conducted.