Tom Powdrill

The UK’s populist right parties -

Advance Reclaim Reform Restore

Reminds me of the Simian Mobile Disco album - Attack Decay Sustain Release

Interested to hear the type of task you use it for.
I use AI a lot for research where it 100% gives you a head start even if some of the leads are dud. In my work it does misunderstand things, but it’s not like I just accept what it offers up.
Definitely saves time spent on initial research trawl

Wrexham look like a pretty average championship team. I absolutely loathe all the “football fairytale” bollox about them. It’s like someone looked at the AFC Wimbledon story and made a shit corporate version of it that completely misses the point.

Care system in the UK promotes modern slavery writes the General Secretary @andreaegangs.bsky.social of Unison

And we recognise this exploitation of domestic migrant care workers in many European countries

They deserve respect, decent pay and to stay

@epsu.bsky.social
@labourstart.bsky.social

👀 Greens vs Lib Dems

Democratising Corporate Governance: How to Implement Shareholder... For over half a century, the doctrine of shareholder primacy has offered a simple moral compass for corporate executives: make as much money as possible. Popularised by Milton Friedman in his seminal ...

I think there is something in this as a way to counteract a) unbridled shareholder primacy and b) the concentration of power in the hands of a small number of US asset managers
wheelerblog.london.edu/democratisin...

A rare disagree! I genuinely don’t think this is really about seeking political influence. There’s quite a deep disengagement here.

I honestly would read this piece less as “you need to do more for us if you want us to pay affiliation fees” and more as “you really need to sort yourselves out”. I don’t think it’s coming from a place of perceived weakness in this relationship.

Obvs personally think Labour must survive and that helps unions (like the Employment Rights Act).
But I also share the view of folks in unions who think “we can’t expect politics to save us”. Unions first & foremost have to be very good at winning for members. IMHO that’s what Unite is trying to do.

Also (beware: niche view) my whole adult life unions seemed the weaker partner of two wings (industrial+political) of the labour movement. Also unions perceived by some as a drag on Labour.
I think the balance has shifted. Unions still weak but have a real base+legitimacy. Labour’s is evaporating.

Personally v much in favour of trade unionism overwhelmingly focused on industrial issues, and winning for members. That sounds stupidly obvious but it’s amazing how many people seem to perceive of unions as vehicles for other stuff.
Unite clearly shifting away from politics as a means for change.

The Labour Party has become devoid of purpose My union will chart its own course unless this government understands that ordinary people want real change

This is interesting. We kind of take for granted the structural nature of the TU-Labour relationship, but numerous countries have a looser alliance.
Also reminds me of SEIU/Change to Win thinking about politics (‘is this really the best use of our money?’)
www.ft.com/content/1f5c...

DP World boss leaves company after Epstein emails published Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem had transformed Dubai-based group into one of the world’s largest logistics operators

Good

www.ft.com/content/548f...

Bin strike could have been settled months ago. Such a stupid position for Labour to take

We need to listen to the legitimate concerns that the ‘left behind’ white working billionaires have about immigration

I was in Norfolk in Jan and got a couple of beers in for under a tenner. Here it’s routinely £15+ now

The expansive phase in train since the 90s is over (for now anyway). It’s going to be all about defence of what exists for the time being.

Schroders is one of the few “UK” names you see with really big positions in UK PLCs these days. Bit of a shame to see it get subsumed into a US manager.
No-one seems that bothered but UK corpgov is increasingly overseen by non-UK investors. It does/will have an impact on board priorities/behaviour.

Schroders agrees £9.9bn takeover by US investment manager Nuveen Deal would end independence of one of City of London’s most historic names

Wow didn’t see that coming
www.ft.com/content/17b8...

All the Moonbase Alpha stuff this week, like the Colonise Mars bollox, does bamboozle some people. “What an amazing visionary!”
This despite his somewhat chequered history of technological predictions.

Always liked this line in Homage to Catalonia, lately it has made me think of Elon Musk!
“I think we will come to see that Stalin's policy in Spain, which we now regard as so devilishly clever, was merely stupid and opportunistic.”
The repeated reading of depth and strategy in bombast and stupidity.

And £6.45 is cheap

I don’t think it’s the workplace rights stuff that is making them unpopular though

Usually these stories put a value or % on the size of the position even if built with derivatives. This one is unusual for not even having that.

I love the FT but have mixed feelings about the way it reports this type of stuff. Elliott has been repeatedly mischaracterised as a shareholder in target company, and my gut says they get outsized coverage for building a position. But obviously activists do seek change, so it clearly is news.

Elliott Management builds stake in London Stock Exchange Group Activist fund pushes for turnaround after shares in financial data group tumble

Currently I can’t see a TR1 for LSEG showing Elliott with a notifiable position so it’s below the threshold or does not yet involve acquisition of voting rights (meaning it’s a derivative position)
www.ft.com/content/6282...

👀

Canadian pension giant halts deals with DP World over chief’s Jeffrey Epstein ties La Caisse to suspend future ventures with the Dubai-based logistics group over Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem’s messages

👀
Canadian pension giant halts deals with DP World over chief’s Jeffrey Epstein ties
www.ft.com/content/c813...

Just my basic theory but looks like the increased cost of borrowing transferred to PE-owned firms results in them holding back adding to payroll & wages. If so that’s clearly tied to the way the firms are owned and controlled.
Why is this not characterised as a drag on hiring (growth!) the same way

Random thought: it’s a very common to hear assertions about the Employment Rights Bill having a negative impact on hiring. But we don’t hear the same point made about private equity ownership even though in recent years PE owned firms lagged the rest of the private sector in jobs & pay growth.