Alex Dean

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A graph of manufacturing growth broken down by subsector

America has lost 116k manufacturing jobs over the last year—that's the fastest pace of job loss since the early COVID era and worse than any period from 2011-2019.

Big drops in the transportation (-49k) & electronics (-32k) industries drive most of the decline

Good news for tractor production.

The continuation of the war in Gaza disgraces Israel It no longer has a military justification

"The inadequate provision of aid to civilians on terrain that is, in effect, under occupation is a war crime."

The Economist's leader on Gaza this week. The print headline is simply "Enough".

www.economist.com/leaders/2025...

Labour’s Ethics and Integrity Commission starts the process of rebuilding standards in public life | Institute for Government The system of upholding standards in public life remains an ongoing process.

So now we know what the government's Ethics and Integrity Commission will do!

I've had a look for @instituteforgovernment.org.uk - lots of positives here, but it's only one step along the way...

www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/labo...

How to solve the backlog in England’s courts Start with a proper look at what caused the problem

In England and Wales using technology better is a priority. More hearings could be virtual; creaking back-office IT should be upgraded

How to solve the backlog in England’s courts Start with a proper look at what caused the problem

Last week Sir Brian Leveson unveiled controversial proposals to reduce the courts backlog. But how did the backlog get so bad in the first place?

My analysis for The Economist: www.economist.com/britain/2025...

Checking Labour’s sums add up Helen Miller, new director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, on annoying politicians—and why we get growth wrong

"What if our growth rate stays this low for the next 20 years? How is that going to shape life in the UK?"

I spoke to Helen Miller, the new director of the IFS, about the UK's considerable fiscal challenges:

www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/views/people...

...
- Thinking we spend more on out of work benefits than pensions!
Just telling the public they're wrong doesn't work.
But how can we get to a rational conversation about where we need to put resources, cuts, taxes when this is what the public believes is currently happening?!!

It is so hard to get good policy-making or public debate when public views are so wildly out of step with reality:
- Massive over-estimation of spending on MPs expenses, migrant/asylum seeker costs & overseas aid.
- Massive under-estimation of spending on pensions
...1/2

Will bowing to Trump win Paramount its merger? Coercion and corporate expedience meet in a $16m settlement

This is a good summary of Paramount's decision to settle with Donald Trump - and put corporate expedience before editorial independence.

www.economist.com/united-state...

Why are people still so skeptical of the Haidt thesis about smartphones and social media? I’m open to all evidence pro and con, and please bring it. But it seems like by far the best explanation for so many things changing so quickly around the mid-teens.

Paid internship on The Economist’s Britain desk An opportunity to write for The Economist

We are seeking an intern to write about Britain for The Economist. The successful candidate will be given challenging, exciting work straight away. Interested? Apply by July 18th

Drowning Doesn’t Look Like Drowning Drowning is not the violent, splashing call for help that most people expect.

Thanks for the reminder @janemunday.bsky.social. Every summer, I repost this article DROWNING DOES NOT LOOK LIKE DROWNING. To date, I know of FOUR kids who were saved after someone who'd clicked on the link learnt how to spot actual drowning. Take time to read and pass on.

slate.com/technology/2...

Even as the Murdochs bitterly feud, their empire thrives Why are investors so keen on their legacy media companies?

Good, clear piece on the enduring commercial might of Murdoch inc:

Even as the Murdochs bitterly feud, their empire thrives
www.economist.com/business/202...
From The Economist

Shocking.

Excellent thread

The conditions that have led to what’s happening in the US today exist in democracies around the world.
They are an inevitable outcome of our collective failure to adapt to fundamental changes in the information ecosystem on which our democracies were originally built.

All pain, no gain: Labour’s odd strategy Britain’s governing party spends its political capital for little return

Good column on Lab's remarkable ability to pluck the minimum number of feathers from the goose with the maximum amount of hissing:

All pain, no gain: Labour’s odd strategy
www.economist.com/britain/2025...
From The Economist

The Washington Post Plans an Influx of Outside Opinion Writers A new program, known internally as Ripple, would open The Post to journalists at other publications and influential writers on Substack.

The Washington Post will sharply expand its opinion offerings, including with articles from other publications, according to people familiar with the plan. A final phase, allowing nonprofessionals to submit columns with help from an A.I. writing coach called Ember, could begin testing this fall.

Everything you need to know about the British voting public

Despite everything -- all those degrading accommodations the Post made to please Trump -- the president still lambasts the paper as fake news. Bending the knee doesn't work

Former PM Olmert tells BBC Israeli actions in Gaza ‘close to a war crime’ Comments criticizing war spark immediate backlash from right-wing politicians, who accuse him of 'stabbing soldiers in the back'

Former prime minister of Israel, Ehud Olmert, tells BBC Israeli actions in Gaza ‘close to a war crime’

www.timesofisrael.com/former-pm-ol...

This reminds me of my favourite Chatham House rule story 🧵

Way back in the pre-crash boom period, Gordon Brown as Chancellor hosted one of his big global investment conferences at the QEII in London.

Muggins here, a junior Treasury official, had a cheap seat as one of the organisers…1/

lol humans

Since I administered the WH emoluments rules, let me explain why this is forbidden

Trump expressed interest in it before it was offered

He is going to use & benefit from it a while in office

And he's going to keep using it after he leaves!

Functionally, it's a gift to him & so it's illegal

Amazing. Yes, that’s definitely the message that has produced victories for centre-left parties over the last week

Our cover this week.

quite wild that ten years ago saying "yeah I'd back myself to do a better job than most senior members of the US government" would have made you sound like one of those dweebs who reckon they could take on Serena Williams in a tennis court, but the answer now is "I mean yeah, duh?"

letter to America from @katie0martin.ft.com

www.ft.com/content/0d2d...