Alex Hern
@hern.bsky.social
AI writer at the Economist. I write about it, that is. I’m still human. One of literally dozens of people online who is not American.
Greens down is really interesting here.
Westminster Voting Intention [London]:
LAB: 32% (=)
RFM: 23% (+8)
CON: 20% (-1)
LDM: 11% (-2)
GRN: 10% (-3)
Via @savanta.bsky.social, 30 Oct - 7 Nov.
Changes w/ 29 Apr - 21 May.
LAB: 32% (=)
RFM: 23% (+8)
CON: 20% (-1)
LDM: 11% (-2)
GRN: 10% (-3)
Via @savanta.bsky.social, 30 Oct - 7 Nov.
Changes w/ 29 Apr - 21 May.
November 25, 2025 at 8:05 PM
Greens down is really interesting here.
Reposted by Alex Hern
I reckon I could survive an Isaac Chotiner interview
September 23, 2025 at 7:18 PM
I reckon I could survive an Isaac Chotiner interview
Nice relaxing seven hour flight, glad nothing happened while I was offline
November 24, 2025 at 8:10 PM
Nice relaxing seven hour flight, glad nothing happened while I was offline
My modest proposal: every year the government should auction 10,000 special visas that are identical to student visas but without the requirement to attend classes. The price that auction settles at is the amount every university has to pay the state per foreign student admitted.
i: Reeves to unveil £600m raid on foreign student
university fees #TomorrowsPapersToday
university fees #TomorrowsPapersToday
November 23, 2025 at 10:28 PM
My modest proposal: every year the government should auction 10,000 special visas that are identical to student visas but without the requirement to attend classes. The price that auction settles at is the amount every university has to pay the state per foreign student admitted.
Miliband as next PM continues to be really under-priced
Nov 18th - Nov 20th polling of Labour members on hypothetical leader contests if Starmer stood
Current leader loses by 26%, ties, and wins by 16-18% & even 34%
Starmer does best (+34) 50-16 against his new Home Secretary in a poll held as her asylum reforms were leading the news on Nov 17th
Current leader loses by 26%, ties, and wins by 16-18% & even 34%
Starmer does best (+34) 50-16 against his new Home Secretary in a poll held as her asylum reforms were leading the news on Nov 17th
November 23, 2025 at 8:46 AM
Miliband as next PM continues to be really under-priced
a phenomenon that we've not seen before but will be experiencing soon is what happens when meme stock sentiment turns bearish
November 21, 2025 at 10:06 AM
a phenomenon that we've not seen before but will be experiencing soon is what happens when meme stock sentiment turns bearish
Weird thing: the UK minimum wage has risen against inflation for years. It's now really high. Millions of people are earning more than they were as a direct result of this policy. And the impact on the vibes of the country is… entirely absent?
November 19, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Weird thing: the UK minimum wage has risen against inflation for years. It's now really high. Millions of people are earning more than they were as a direct result of this policy. And the impact on the vibes of the country is… entirely absent?
ONS is so bad. (This is about specifically British nationals.) www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopula...
November 18, 2025 at 11:26 AM
ONS is so bad. (This is about specifically British nationals.) www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopula...
I've deleted a viral post because everyone was misreading it. Gonna post it again with an actual explanation.
November 18, 2025 at 11:24 AM
I've deleted a viral post because everyone was misreading it. Gonna post it again with an actual explanation.
Reposted by Alex Hern
Apparently we have Black Friday sale, too.
The Economist for 9.96 GBP a month. I mean, *surely* our stuff is worth 10 quid a month. There a pubs in London where you pay that much for a pint. subscribenow.economist.com
The Economist for 9.96 GBP a month. I mean, *surely* our stuff is worth 10 quid a month. There a pubs in London where you pay that much for a pint. subscribenow.economist.com
Black Friday Offer | Subscribe to The Economist
Subscribe today and save on The Economist. Understand global change for less.
subscribenow.economist.com
November 18, 2025 at 10:25 AM
Apparently we have Black Friday sale, too.
The Economist for 9.96 GBP a month. I mean, *surely* our stuff is worth 10 quid a month. There a pubs in London where you pay that much for a pint. subscribenow.economist.com
The Economist for 9.96 GBP a month. I mean, *surely* our stuff is worth 10 quid a month. There a pubs in London where you pay that much for a pint. subscribenow.economist.com
one thing i think is important to understand about labour's approach to small boats is that they are very clearly going for "be less appealing than just staying in france", which is not an easy policy to delivery but fundamentally different than "be less appealing than just staying in Sudan"
November 17, 2025 at 9:51 AM
one thing i think is important to understand about labour's approach to small boats is that they are very clearly going for "be less appealing than just staying in france", which is not an easy policy to delivery but fundamentally different than "be less appealing than just staying in Sudan"
One of my more deeply held insane beliefs is that most of the cost of a service charge in a new build development is just intergenerational warfare wearing a mask
November 16, 2025 at 8:55 PM
One of my more deeply held insane beliefs is that most of the cost of a service charge in a new build development is just intergenerational warfare wearing a mask
David olusoga villain arc
FYI: The BBC has revealed the charities #TheCelebrityTraitors were all competing for, with links so that you can donate.
November 14, 2025 at 4:31 PM
David olusoga villain arc
Reposted by Alex Hern
Come work with me
November 14, 2025 at 2:14 PM
Come work with me
AI-written cover letters mean employers find it harder to spot good candidates, so offer lower pay across the board www.economist.com/finance-and-...
How AI is breaking cover letters
And leading to lower pay
www.economist.com
November 14, 2025 at 10:49 AM
AI-written cover letters mean employers find it harder to spot good candidates, so offer lower pay across the board www.economist.com/finance-and-...
raising taxes is just another shit sandwich that doubles in size every week you don't eat it
November 14, 2025 at 10:04 AM
raising taxes is just another shit sandwich that doubles in size every week you don't eat it
An important reminder that Lib Dems don’t believe in good things they believe in opposition.
London Liberal Democrats are opposing the increase, describing the news as “a hammer blow to already hard-pressed Londoners” and the EV charges a “total betrayal of those who did the right thing and invested in going green".
November 13, 2025 at 9:46 PM
An important reminder that Lib Dems don’t believe in good things they believe in opposition.
Yesssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
From 2 January 2026, London's daily Congestion Charge will jump from £15 to £18. TfL says it's necessary to tackle increasing traffic.
Electric vehicles will be affected too, though with a 50 per cent discount for electric vans, HGVs and quadricycles and a 25 per cent discount for electric cars.
Electric vehicles will be affected too, though with a 50 per cent discount for electric vans, HGVs and quadricycles and a 25 per cent discount for electric cars.
November 13, 2025 at 9:46 PM
Yesssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
Sort of OK in principle with this even though it will likely cost me £2k when I get round to buying a cargo bike but fucking HELL it’ll be grating if the EV salary sacrifice scheme survives
Rachel Reeves is setting the Cycle to Work scheme on fire as part of the war on salary sacrifice policies! on.ft.com/4oKXNrC
Rachel Reeves to curb bike purchases through salary sacrifice in Budget
Introduction of new cap comes after retailers warned some higher-rate taxpayers were exploiting the perk
on.ft.com
November 13, 2025 at 9:19 AM
Sort of OK in principle with this even though it will likely cost me £2k when I get round to buying a cargo bike but fucking HELL it’ll be grating if the EV salary sacrifice scheme survives
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... would be quite funny to go "OK, OK, we're going to compensate the waspi women, and we're very sorry but it means we're going to have to charge national insurance on pensions to pay for it"
Government to rethink rejection of Waspi compensation
Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden says that the rethink does not mean that payouts will necessarily follow.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 11, 2025 at 5:25 PM
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... would be quite funny to go "OK, OK, we're going to compensate the waspi women, and we're very sorry but it means we're going to have to charge national insurance on pensions to pay for it"
planting a pretty big flag in the AI culture wars here. the review reads incredibly positively; the final score is seemingly entirely down to AI-powered text to speech
For Arc Raiders to ride the wave of human sociability all the way to the bank, while also being so contemptuous of the thing that makes us social animals in its own workflow demonstrates a lack of artistic integrity that I find impossible to ignore.
Our review: https://bit.ly/49bVn01
Our review: https://bit.ly/49bVn01
November 11, 2025 at 4:09 PM
planting a pretty big flag in the AI culture wars here. the review reads incredibly positively; the final score is seemingly entirely down to AI-powered text to speech
while I'm on Noah Smith, one of my favourite quirks of his is that he loves Japan and hates the UK and has to practice an incredible doublethink to ignore the fact that the two countries have much more in common with each other than they do with America
November 11, 2025 at 4:02 PM
while I'm on Noah Smith, one of my favourite quirks of his is that he loves Japan and hates the UK and has to practice an incredible doublethink to ignore the fact that the two countries have much more in common with each other than they do with America
have we all seen Noah Smith managing to book a flight from Dublin to Paris with a 90 minute layover in London and concluding this demonstrates Britain is doomed
November 11, 2025 at 3:29 PM
have we all seen Noah Smith managing to book a flight from Dublin to Paris with a 90 minute layover in London and concluding this demonstrates Britain is doomed
Unzoomed #663 2/6 🟡🟢⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️
unzoomed.com even reloading the page, looking at the first zoom level, and _knowing what city it was_ I still couldn't spot anything that would have given it away
unzoomed.com even reloading the page, looking at the first zoom level, and _knowing what city it was_ I still couldn't spot anything that would have given it away
November 11, 2025 at 11:14 AM
Unzoomed #663 2/6 🟡🟢⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️
unzoomed.com even reloading the page, looking at the first zoom level, and _knowing what city it was_ I still couldn't spot anything that would have given it away
unzoomed.com even reloading the page, looking at the first zoom level, and _knowing what city it was_ I still couldn't spot anything that would have given it away