The Backseat Policy Critic
@backseatpolicy.bsky.social
Reposted by The Backseat Policy Critic
"the definition of a consultant is someone who borrows your watch to tell you the time", well maybe, but if you had a watch and you were asking what the time was, that has to be at least partly on you.
February 4, 2026 at 3:26 PM
"the definition of a consultant is someone who borrows your watch to tell you the time", well maybe, but if you had a watch and you were asking what the time was, that has to be at least partly on you.
Is anyone able to explain to me why so many commentators seem obsessed with rejoining the Customs Union? All trade specialists I know cite CU membership without the Single Market or EU as quite possibly the absolute worst outcome for the UK of all the different Brexit possibilities
February 4, 2026 at 3:57 PM
Is anyone able to explain to me why so many commentators seem obsessed with rejoining the Customs Union? All trade specialists I know cite CU membership without the Single Market or EU as quite possibly the absolute worst outcome for the UK of all the different Brexit possibilities
On one level, I can very much get behind loosening borrowing restrictions for defence spending under the circumstances. Given the state of the MoD though, there’s probably already sufficient funding, it’ll just be being squandered on institutional dysfunction. www.ft.com/content/4458...
Keir Starmer seeks to push forward with delayed defence investment plan
Meeting convened by UK prime minister comes as officials examine ways of overriding multibillion-pound funding gap
www.ft.com
February 3, 2026 at 2:19 PM
On one level, I can very much get behind loosening borrowing restrictions for defence spending under the circumstances. Given the state of the MoD though, there’s probably already sufficient funding, it’ll just be being squandered on institutional dysfunction. www.ft.com/content/4458...
No surprises there - by all accounts he was superior candidate by far compared to the other contenders
Breaking news: Disney has named 28-year company veteran Josh D’Amaro as its next chief executive, bringing an end to an internal battle over who will succeed longtime boss Bob Iger. ft.trib.al/0mHI5co
February 3, 2026 at 2:11 PM
No surprises there - by all accounts he was superior candidate by far compared to the other contenders
Sincerely hope that the government sticks to its guns on this one - there is no reason why the UK should be subsidising the education of European students when universities already make effectively a loss on every domestic student. inews.co.uk/news/politic...
UK universities face £580m Brexit reset bill if EU students get discounted fees
Britain's top universities are urging Sir Keir Starmer to resist Brussels’ demands under the proposed youth visa scheme
inews.co.uk
February 2, 2026 at 12:58 PM
Sincerely hope that the government sticks to its guns on this one - there is no reason why the UK should be subsidising the education of European students when universities already make effectively a loss on every domestic student. inews.co.uk/news/politic...
One thing I find incredibly frustrating about the whole #Greenland debate is how little anyone seems to be paying any attention to the wishes of the Greenlanders themselves - everything is either framed as “the US buying it from Denmark” or “Denmark’s sovereignty being threatened“.
February 2, 2026 at 12:22 PM
One thing I find incredibly frustrating about the whole #Greenland debate is how little anyone seems to be paying any attention to the wishes of the Greenlanders themselves - everything is either framed as “the US buying it from Denmark” or “Denmark’s sovereignty being threatened“.
Interestingly enough, having spoken to various NATO staffers about it, not only do they think this antagonism is deliberate, but they also think it’s actually to both party’s benefit: backseatpolicycritic.substack.com/p/why-nato-s...
February 2, 2026 at 10:09 AM
Interestingly enough, having spoken to various NATO staffers about it, not only do they think this antagonism is deliberate, but they also think it’s actually to both party’s benefit: backseatpolicycritic.substack.com/p/why-nato-s...
For a long time, like most ’serious’ commentators, I was against Brexit. However, people are often surprised to know that since researching international trade and institutional functioning further, I have act changed my mind and become in favour of Brexit.
January 28, 2026 at 8:16 PM
For a long time, like most ’serious’ commentators, I was against Brexit. However, people are often surprised to know that since researching international trade and institutional functioning further, I have act changed my mind and become in favour of Brexit.
Reposted by The Backseat Policy Critic
The Telegraph’s political editor is saying, more subtly, what others are saying brutally.
January 27, 2026 at 12:55 PM
The Telegraph’s political editor is saying, more subtly, what others are saying brutally.
Reposted by The Backseat Policy Critic
One of so many reasons I could not cut it in politics: I would not be able to bring myself to go “sorry, you needed…how many years notice to know when you needed to retire?”
Gonna be honest, if the government did give in to this letter (I very much hope they won’t), I will become a Maoist
I’ve joined over 100 MPs calling on the Government to finally do the right thing for WASPI women. Women born in the 1950s were harmed by pension changes made without proper notice. Despite the Ombudsman’s findings, ministers are still delaying fair compensation.
I will keep pushing for justice.
I will keep pushing for justice.
January 26, 2026 at 11:31 PM
One of so many reasons I could not cut it in politics: I would not be able to bring myself to go “sorry, you needed…how many years notice to know when you needed to retire?”
I must admit, if you were seeking to boost taxes on alcohol consumption (which isn’t an unreasonable place to look), I’d have thought it would probably have made more sense to do it through supermarket bought stuff than pubs
Rachel Reeves is poised to unveil a bailout package for pubs as the industry warns of bankruptcies from rising business rates ⬇️
Rachel Reeves to announce £300m bailout for pubs
www.thetimes.com
January 27, 2026 at 12:32 AM
I must admit, if you were seeking to boost taxes on alcohol consumption (which isn’t an unreasonable place to look), I’d have thought it would probably have made more sense to do it through supermarket bought stuff than pubs
Must we really continue this trend of treating Truth Social posts as outright announcements? I feel like events have consistently shown that the pathway from Trump’s posts to actual policy is not always consistent or reliable, and tend to be more expressions of vibes than structured intent.
Breaking news: Donald Trump has said he will increase tariffs on South Korea to 25% in response to Seoul’s slow pace in passing the trade deal it struck with the US last year ft.trib.al/tAI8Kuc
January 27, 2026 at 12:24 AM
Must we really continue this trend of treating Truth Social posts as outright announcements? I feel like events have consistently shown that the pathway from Trump’s posts to actual policy is not always consistent or reliable, and tend to be more expressions of vibes than structured intent.
I must admit, I find it hard to take seriously when commentators claim that Trump’s aims are difficult to determine when from the outside they seem incredibly obvious: attain a footing to best combat the threats of Russia and China, and do so in a way that is maximally abrasive to Europeans.
January 26, 2026 at 1:53 PM
I must admit, I find it hard to take seriously when commentators claim that Trump’s aims are difficult to determine when from the outside they seem incredibly obvious: attain a footing to best combat the threats of Russia and China, and do so in a way that is maximally abrasive to Europeans.
Interesting article on the similarities of trading and LLMs, somewhat marred by the fact it was clearly written by ChatGPT 😬
A long read on the awfully exciting world of mystery boxes that work except when they don't.
www.ft.com/content/1831...
www.ft.com/content/1831...
The quant shop — AI lab convergence
Alpha 🤜 🤛 AGI
www.ft.com
January 26, 2026 at 10:04 AM
Interesting article on the similarities of trading and LLMs, somewhat marred by the fact it was clearly written by ChatGPT 😬