Om🏴🇬🇧↙️↙️↙️
@chakravartin.bsky.social
23|He/They|Autistic|Bi🩷💜💙|NB|Hindu🕉️
Democratic Socialist🌹🚩🇪🇺
🇺🇦🇵🇸🇦🇲🇹🇼
Democratic Socialist🌹🚩🇪🇺
🇺🇦🇵🇸🇦🇲🇹🇼
Reposted by Om🏴🇬🇧↙️↙️↙️
fuck you
the memories of a generation lost because of Reagan's homophobia will not be erased
i think we should do something in DC that would make david wojnarowicz proud tbh
the memories of a generation lost because of Reagan's homophobia will not be erased
i think we should do something in DC that would make david wojnarowicz proud tbh
November 26, 2025 at 7:27 PM
fuck you
the memories of a generation lost because of Reagan's homophobia will not be erased
i think we should do something in DC that would make david wojnarowicz proud tbh
the memories of a generation lost because of Reagan's homophobia will not be erased
i think we should do something in DC that would make david wojnarowicz proud tbh
Reposted by Om🏴🇬🇧↙️↙️↙️
More relevant now than when it was written I think - this re-assessment of George's "Protection or Free Trade", about the real value of free trade and the ways the 21st century capitalism has undercut its appeal
Applying the Lessons of George’s Protection or Free Trade
For decades after World War Two, the signing of the Bretton Woods agreement, and the creation of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, systematic removal of barriers to trade dramatically increa...
www.liberalcurrents.com
November 26, 2025 at 6:10 AM
More relevant now than when it was written I think - this re-assessment of George's "Protection or Free Trade", about the real value of free trade and the ways the 21st century capitalism has undercut its appeal
Reposted by Om🏴🇬🇧↙️↙️↙️
Sensible decision. The Bonapartist menace still stalks the continent.
Big news, income tax is being charged this year.
(It has to be renewed each year or it ceases to apply. Because it's a temporary tax, introduced to fund the Napoleonic wars)
(It has to be renewed each year or it ceases to apply. Because it's a temporary tax, introduced to fund the Napoleonic wars)
November 26, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Sensible decision. The Bonapartist menace still stalks the continent.
Reposted by Om🏴🇬🇧↙️↙️↙️
The second year of magical thinking: this evening's newsletter on the Budget:
Rachel Reeves doubles down on wishful thinking
A government that can’t make tough choices now is unlikely to do so on the eve of an election
www.ft.com
November 26, 2025 at 5:25 PM
The second year of magical thinking: this evening's newsletter on the Budget:
Reposted by Om🏴🇬🇧↙️↙️↙️
Reposted by Om🏴🇬🇧↙️↙️↙️
Many claim this is post-2019 opportunism. But I felt there was something a bit out there with Goodwin when he started commenting on European affairs in the mid-2010s, and in some of his earlier work there is a tendency to be a bit of a racism-versteher.
I don't think this stuff came out of nowhere
I don't think this stuff came out of nowhere
Reflections on the budget from the head of Students4Reform
November 26, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Many claim this is post-2019 opportunism. But I felt there was something a bit out there with Goodwin when he started commenting on European affairs in the mid-2010s, and in some of his earlier work there is a tendency to be a bit of a racism-versteher.
I don't think this stuff came out of nowhere
I don't think this stuff came out of nowhere
Reposted by Om🏴🇬🇧↙️↙️↙️
Really really ugly stuff. And where there is more progressive stuff announced, the lingering taste of bile now ruins the moment.
“The Motability scheme was set up to protect the most vulnerable. Not to subsidise the lease on a Mercedes Benz,” Reeves says.
Misleading and nasty in equal measure.
Misleading and nasty in equal measure.
November 26, 2025 at 1:29 PM
Really really ugly stuff. And where there is more progressive stuff announced, the lingering taste of bile now ruins the moment.
Reposted by Om🏴🇬🇧↙️↙️↙️
Was always VERY sceptical about this: dropping the idea of an income tax rise was a political, not an economic decision.
Minor point. But this is the OBR saying that the briefing about income tax being dropped because of improved forecasts is bollocks.
November 26, 2025 at 1:19 PM
Was always VERY sceptical about this: dropping the idea of an income tax rise was a political, not an economic decision.
Reposted by Om🏴🇬🇧↙️↙️↙️
This is something that really bothers me in so much talk about benefits including from some policy wonks.
Not everyone who is given something from the state is Oliver Twist, nor should they be.
The state should provide help to all sorts of people in different circs, not just gruel for the needy
Not everyone who is given something from the state is Oliver Twist, nor should they be.
The state should provide help to all sorts of people in different circs, not just gruel for the needy
Sorry, no, Motability was not about 'helping the most vulnerable' - it was about providing people who need modified vehicles modified vehicles!
November 26, 2025 at 1:19 PM
This is something that really bothers me in so much talk about benefits including from some policy wonks.
Not everyone who is given something from the state is Oliver Twist, nor should they be.
The state should provide help to all sorts of people in different circs, not just gruel for the needy
Not everyone who is given something from the state is Oliver Twist, nor should they be.
The state should provide help to all sorts of people in different circs, not just gruel for the needy
Reposted by Om🏴🇬🇧↙️↙️↙️
Scrapping the two-child limit in full is a monumental decision. Well done to all involved in the Child Poverty Strategy, and everyone who has made the case against the policy.
OBR says scrapping costs £3 billion in 2029-30 and will lift 450,000 out of poverty
OBR says scrapping costs £3 billion in 2029-30 and will lift 450,000 out of poverty
November 26, 2025 at 12:57 PM
Scrapping the two-child limit in full is a monumental decision. Well done to all involved in the Child Poverty Strategy, and everyone who has made the case against the policy.
OBR says scrapping costs £3 billion in 2029-30 and will lift 450,000 out of poverty
OBR says scrapping costs £3 billion in 2029-30 and will lift 450,000 out of poverty
Reposted by Om🏴🇬🇧↙️↙️↙️
and again - literally just the hobby horse of some random anonymous Twitter accounts, enraging how quickly they managed to turn their horrid posting into actual government policy and rhetoric
“The Motability scheme was set up to protect the most vulnerable. Not to subsidise the lease on a Mercedes Benz,” Reeves says.
Misleading and nasty in equal measure.
Misleading and nasty in equal measure.
November 26, 2025 at 1:20 PM
and again - literally just the hobby horse of some random anonymous Twitter accounts, enraging how quickly they managed to turn their horrid posting into actual government policy and rhetoric
Reposted by Om🏴🇬🇧↙️↙️↙️
I think there's an assumption that people will not notice that more of their real income keeps getting taxed and they're taking home less of their payrise because there isn't a month to month drop, and I just don't think that works unless you're getting a chunkier payrise, which they aren't.
I think that far too much weight is being placed on 'can you rules-lawyer your way through an interview about how you've put people's taxes up' and 'what will people actually experience' - if you're raising my taxes (you are), just raise them by enough to get out of the v tight 27-9 spending rounds!
November 26, 2025 at 12:50 PM
I think there's an assumption that people will not notice that more of their real income keeps getting taxed and they're taking home less of their payrise because there isn't a month to month drop, and I just don't think that works unless you're getting a chunkier payrise, which they aren't.
Reposted by Om🏴🇬🇧↙️↙️↙️
OBR documents (somehow!) published ahead of the Budget announcement say all SEND provision costs are to fall within DfE spending limits by 2028-29 and warn that if this is fully funded within the core schools budget, this implies a 1.7 per cent fall in mainstream school spending per pupil.
November 26, 2025 at 12:38 PM
OBR documents (somehow!) published ahead of the Budget announcement say all SEND provision costs are to fall within DfE spending limits by 2028-29 and warn that if this is fully funded within the core schools budget, this implies a 1.7 per cent fall in mainstream school spending per pupil.
Reposted by Om🏴🇬🇧↙️↙️↙️
From now on, when discussing the budget, please use “is this measure bigger than the cost to the exchequer of gen Z drinking less” as your metric for assessing whether something actually raises or costs a significant sum
November 26, 2025 at 12:28 PM
From now on, when discussing the budget, please use “is this measure bigger than the cost to the exchequer of gen Z drinking less” as your metric for assessing whether something actually raises or costs a significant sum
Reposted by Om🏴🇬🇧↙️↙️↙️
Reposted by Om🏴🇬🇧↙️↙️↙️
OBR says lower net migration will hurt overall productivity
November 26, 2025 at 12:31 PM
OBR says lower net migration will hurt overall productivity
Reposted by Om🏴🇬🇧↙️↙️↙️
Growth forecasts downgraded, real disposable income forecasts downgraded bsky.app/profile/dunc...
November 26, 2025 at 12:17 PM
Growth forecasts downgraded, real disposable income forecasts downgraded bsky.app/profile/dunc...
Reposted by Om🏴🇬🇧↙️↙️↙️
So, so glad we've decided to make council tax even more complicated. This definitely won't go weird.
November 26, 2025 at 12:20 PM
So, so glad we've decided to make council tax even more complicated. This definitely won't go weird.
Reposted by Om🏴🇬🇧↙️↙️↙️
Every single person in Britain: "the chippy" or, if we're being fancy, "the chip shop"
The New York Times: "the french fry restaurant"
The New York Times: "the french fry restaurant"
new favourite New York Times term for a British thing just dropped
November 26, 2025 at 10:33 AM
Every single person in Britain: "the chippy" or, if we're being fancy, "the chip shop"
The New York Times: "the french fry restaurant"
The New York Times: "the french fry restaurant"
Reposted by Om🏴🇬🇧↙️↙️↙️
guys, guys, it's fine. the obr has taken the pdf offline. damage completely controlled
November 26, 2025 at 12:11 PM
guys, guys, it's fine. the obr has taken the pdf offline. damage completely controlled
Reposted by Om🏴🇬🇧↙️↙️↙️
At least they didn't publish the one from last week with the basic rate up 2p.
November 26, 2025 at 12:16 PM
At least they didn't publish the one from last week with the basic rate up 2p.
Reposted by Om🏴🇬🇧↙️↙️↙️
Government's employment support scheme will not make any difference to growth, says the OBR.
November 26, 2025 at 12:16 PM
Government's employment support scheme will not make any difference to growth, says the OBR.
Reposted by Om🏴🇬🇧↙️↙️↙️
Wow. First day doing IT for the OBR has been pretty hectic. Time to check Bluesky while I take a well-earned lunch break
November 26, 2025 at 12:15 PM
Wow. First day doing IT for the OBR has been pretty hectic. Time to check Bluesky while I take a well-earned lunch break
Reposted by Om🏴🇬🇧↙️↙️↙️
OBR budget forecasts leak, gilts go parabolic
[FREE TO READ] Not so responsible, in retrospect
on.ft.com
November 26, 2025 at 12:14 PM
Reposted by Om🏴🇬🇧↙️↙️↙️
However bad your current working day, someone in the OBR is having a *much* worse one.
November 26, 2025 at 12:13 PM
However bad your current working day, someone in the OBR is having a *much* worse one.