ABSTRACT Artificial intelligence could significantly disrupt the political economy of the UK labour market. An economy where labour demand changes rapidly and unpredictably would require a new approach to employment support and skills development, but the UK's system of employment and retraining support is poorly equipped to handle a high level of disruption. This article proposes a policy solution called ‘portable benefits’, a new system of entitlements, savings and training rights based on the French Compte Personnel de Formation and emerging US pilots. Portable benefits would give workers flexible entitlements across jobs, including training credits, income security, legal support and access to worker organisations. The author argues it should be paired with higher expectations from employers to train, consult and redeploy their workforce and a stronger [Correction added on 11 September 2026, after first online publication: Typo correction “stronger stronger” has been corrected to “stronger” in this version.] system of cooperative labour market institutions.
ABSTRACT This article discusses the ways in which different sections of the UK media cover and discuss by‐elections and other similar regional political events. It argues that this coverage has a warping effect on political realities as it necessitates stressing difference between places and the voters in them, and in doing so elides equally – or more – important similarities between voters in different regions.
ABSTRACT This article argues that tackling the greatest political challenges will require change to the political system itself, particularly to institutions that too often leave people feeling that their vote and voice do not matter. It makes the case for proportional representation (PR) as crucial step towards building a politics that is more open, fair, and representative of voters' interests, rather than one that rewards tactical calculation over genuine public support. Under PR, voters would matter everywhere, smaller parties could become genuine collaborators, and politicians would be encouraged to build broader coalitions and speak to more people. The article argues that this could help create a more plural, accountable, and stable political culture, while reducing the incentives for division and exclusion.
ABSTRACT Drawing on Plato's warning that regimes decay when institutions fail to deliver, Josh MacAlister MP contends that state dysfunction ‐ visible in stalled infrastructure projects, an inability to build nuclear power at the pace of previous generations, and an overly risk‐averse children's social care system ‐ is corroding public trust and creating space for demagogic politics. Labour's founding commitment to collective action is undermined by bureaucratic sclerosis, dispersed accountability, and excessive veto points across government. The article calls for radical structural reform, including creating “sandboxes” that consolidate decision‐making authority across agencies to unblock stuck projects, empowering frontline teams to operate outside conventional bureaucratic constraints.
ABSTRACT Many problems in public policy and delivery which are otherwise difficult to understand, make much more sense when viewed as strategies for the management of legal risk. Civil servants, infrastructure developers and other parties who are subject to the risk of legal review often act as if there was a “judge over their shoulder”, taking pre‐emptive action to mitigate the risk despite the fact that doing so increases the cost and delay to important projects. It might be possible to improve outcomes significantly by moving more contentious issues out of the scope of litigation and improving consultation.
