Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Giles Wilkes

@gilesyb.bsky.social

19K followers 1.2K following 4.2K posts

Former politico, comment writer, spread betting dealer, editor, now think tanker, consultant, former baker of overly dense loaves.

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Giles Wilkes @gilesyb.bsky.social · Jul 15

In an effort that will no doubt torch my follower base, I have laid out some basic numbers around our fiscal situation. Obvious, but still a little sobering for me.

freethinkecon.wordpress.com/2025/07/15/t...

There really is no getting out of this fiscal corner

It is something of a cliche to argue that Britain is running out of money, living beyond its means, wandering through a fiscal fool’s paradise – but no less true for that. The trend of …

freethinkecon.wordpress.com

70 110 400

Reposted by Giles Wilkes

Tony Tassell @tonytassell.bsky.social · 3h

The flawed Silicon Valley consensus on AI - excellent column by @johnthornhill.bsky.social. "Instead of hyperventilating about AI ushering in a new era of abundance, wouldn’t it be better to drop the rhetoric and build AI systems for more defined, realisable goals?" www.ft.com/content/3474...

The flawed Silicon Valley consensus on AI

Serious questions remain about what will happen if we do — and don’t — replicate human intelligence

www.ft.com

3 5 20

Reposted by Giles Wilkes

all hallows eve-run enjoyer @rickywlmsbong.bsky.social · 3h

the biggest story out of silicon valley in the last 15 years is dunning-kruger syndrome, especially in the realm of economics. they thinkovated goldbuggery but somehow made it dumber

Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 5h

ANDREESSEN: Even if AI ends up destroying all the jobs, “the result would be hyper-deflation of prices, which is the thing that people miss. .. Things that today cost a lot of money will all of a sudden be cheap or free.”

@fortune.com
fortune.com/2025/10/08/b...

10 46 290

Reposted by Giles Wilkes

Dan Davies @dsquareddigest.bsky.social · 6h

in which, I continue to plead for systems thinking in planning, reprising last night's bluesky rant, so people who read that can be excused. backofmind.substack.com/p/canaries-a...

canaries and islands

the indicator species in the system

backofmind.substack.com

2 7 15

Giles Wilkes @gilesyb.bsky.social · 6h

fetch me a map

Reposted by Giles Wilkes

Ben Ansell @benansell.bsky.social · 7h

If I were the leader of the opposition a year after an election, facing an unpopular government, I would simply focus my energy on criticising the current government's policy record rather than constantly bemoaning the last fifteen years of policymaking, in which I was intimately involved.

6 53 280

Giles Wilkes @gilesyb.bsky.social · 7h

not going to stop laughing all day

Reposted by Giles Wilkes

Ken Tindell @kentindell.bsky.social · 7h

Archive photograph after the landing. It’s not clear which are the Habsburgs.

3 3 17

Reposted by Giles Wilkes

Paul McNamara @mpaulmcnamara.bsky.social · 8h

I mean

6 9 59

Giles Wilkes @gilesyb.bsky.social · 7h

tbf I remember the meeting. We were all sat down preparing a plan for three nukes. There were maps and everything; someone had just asked where Angelsey was. Then a voice piped up, "hold it a mo, what is a woman?"

Cue pandemonium. When we had got through it, everyone had forgotten the nukes.

Rachel Cunliffe @rmcunliffe.bsky.social · 10h

"While Britain was redefining what a woman is, China was building five nuclear reactors," says Kemi Badenoch.

I cannot be the only person curious about how these two things are related

2 6 34

Giles Wilkes @gilesyb.bsky.social · 9h

"Jenrick says that he is not talking about “skin colour”. But he clearly is, because he cannot tell just by looking at people during a 90-minute stay somewhere whether or not they speak English, if they participate in the labour market, and so on"
www.ft.com/content/f588...

Thank the Tories for keeping Robert Jenrick out of high office

Shadow justice secretary’s comment about not seeing a ‘white face’ shows he does not understand integration

www.ft.com

3 9 34

Giles Wilkes @gilesyb.bsky.social · 9h

Leader of the Opposition just after your party has been immolated at the polls, and with the country in a terrible state, is the worst job in politics. Every attack can be turned into an admission of culpability and failure. Like these:

2 5

Giles Wilkes @gilesyb.bsky.social · 9h

I would just rewrite it to target a level of NGDP growth.

1 1

Giles Wilkes @gilesyb.bsky.social · 10h

Bravo

Giles Wilkes @gilesyb.bsky.social · 10h

First: they can rewrite the letter. The letter governs the Bank's behaviour.

Second: as I said, I'm assuming no such tradeoff exists, but if it did, then sure, they should do what they think is right

Reposted by Giles Wilkes

Henry Mance @henrymance.ft.com · 23h

I know this is uncomfortable to admit, but there is a small area in England's second city where people are just not integrated with the rest of society. Many of them hold views that arguably go against British values.

Yes, we need to talk about the Tory conference in Manchester.

50 310 1.7K

Giles Wilkes @gilesyb.bsky.social · 11h

I just don't accept the premise, Jim. There's no conflict between what the Bank is doing and what the government needs for growth. If there was, then there would be a fascinating political-economic conversation to be had

Giles Wilkes @gilesyb.bsky.social · 11h

The Conservatives' assault on what they see as worthless degrees sounds like an excellent answer to the question, if that question is "how can we possibly alienate young aspiring voters even more?"

4 5 28

Giles Wilkes @gilesyb.bsky.social · 13h

Needed that regular reminder that a sprint is always a good idea

Giles Wilkes @gilesyb.bsky.social · 13h

We'll try to send some over.

I find it useful to listen to podcasts of happier times from The Rest is History, such as episodes on the outbreak of the First World War, or the catastrophe year 1974

Reposted by Giles Wilkes

EconomicsInTen @economicsinten.bsky.social · 14h

This is an interesting read from @gilesyb.bsky.social with some interesting data and some thoughts from Milton Friedman. #EconSky

Giles Wilkes @gilesyb.bsky.social · 1d

I have written a quick response/critique to the very provocative "whatever it takes" column from @adamtooze.bsky.social in today's FT.

freethinkecon.wordpress.com/2025/10/07/i...

Is this really a BOE “whatever it takes” moment?

There is a striking column in the FT from Adam Tooze, the incredibly prolific Chartbook author , which as I see it boils down to this: prolonged stagnation has thrown the UK into a desperate positi…

freethinkecon.wordpress.com

1 5

Giles Wilkes @gilesyb.bsky.social · 14h

This is a reason to re-up my piece from yesterday

bsky.app/profile/gile...

Because there's no call for mad invasions of the Bank's territory

Giles Wilkes @gilesyb.bsky.social · 15h

Give Britain a break: its economy is dull, not disastrous - on.ft.com/4nGOKY9

God bless Lex, and I think they're right

Give Britain a break: its economy is dull, not disastrous

While broader growth is subdued, consumers feel optimistic about their own lot

on.ft.com

1 11

Giles Wilkes @gilesyb.bsky.social · 15h

Give Britain a break: its economy is dull, not disastrous - on.ft.com/4nGOKY9

God bless Lex, and I think they're right

Give Britain a break: its economy is dull, not disastrous

While broader growth is subdued, consumers feel optimistic about their own lot

on.ft.com

2 4 21

Reposted by Giles Wilkes

Dom White @domw.bsky.social · 1d

Hmmmmm. I'm certainly with Adam Tooze on the idea that central banks are ultimately (and should be) tools of the state. But the idea that QT/QE is the cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems is one of the great mistruths of our era.

www.ft.com/content/7615...

Britain needs a ‘whatever it takes’ moment

The Bank of England must acknowledge the priority of reviving investment-led growth and stop quantitative tightening

www.ft.com

4 10 56

Giles Wilkes @gilesyb.bsky.social · 23h

"As Molly Ivins said of Pat Buchanan, it probably sounded better in the original German"

Robert Hutton @roberthutton.co.uk · 1d

It's quite wrong to suggest Robert Jenrick is a racist. Racists believe in something. My SKETCH.

Rob whistle | Robert Hutton | The Critic Magazine

The day had begun with Robert Jenrick accused of racism. This is of course quite unfair. Racists believe in something. Some of us remember Jenrick as a chubby-cheeked fan of David Cameron fighting the…

thecritic.co.uk

Giles Wilkes @gilesyb.bsky.social · 1d

So much as people will like to think it is a Truss-overreaction, or Bank behaving in some sort of stubborn way, the objective conditions do not support the view.
And I think it is potentially dangerous to suggest so: it encourages people looking for easy answers 3/