Hugh Pemberton
H-index:
14
by Nick Pearce — Reposted by: Hugh Pemberton
Are we witnessing the end of the One Nation tradition in the Conservative Party? What is that tradition? Here’s my article on Constructing Disraeli in Twentieth-Century Conservatism* url: academic.oup.com/ehr/article/...
Constructing Disraeli in Twentieth-Century Conservatism*
Abstract. Since the 1960s, when historians first dethroned the dominant view of Benjamin Disraeli as a Tory democrat and social reformer, his association w
academic.oup.com
We could get rid of half of aviation's global warming impact by eliminating contrails. You could achieve 80% of the reduction by rerouting just 3% of flights - so the cost would be relatively low. The impact would be almost immediate.
open.substack.com/pub/hannahri...
open.substack.com/pub/hannahri...
Eliminating contrails from flying could be incredibly cheap
Could we halve aviation's climate impact at a fraction of the cost of sustainable aviation fuels?
open.substack.com
Excellent Stephen Bush piece on why Robert Jenrick would be a disastrous Conservative leader, and why his racism is bad for the whole country
ep.ft.com/permalink/em...
ep.ft.com/permalink/em...
Reposted by: Hugh Pemberton, Ben H. Ansell, Steven Fielding
Latest YouGov Westminster voting intention (5-6 October 2025)
Reform UK: 27% (-2 from 28-29 Sept)
Labour: 20% (-2)
Conservatives: 17% (+1)
Lib Dems: 17% (+2)
Greens: 12% (+1)
SNP: 4% (+1)
yougov.co.uk/topics/polit...
Reform UK: 27% (-2 from 28-29 Sept)
Labour: 20% (-2)
Conservatives: 17% (+1)
Lib Dems: 17% (+2)
Greens: 12% (+1)
SNP: 4% (+1)
yougov.co.uk/topics/polit...
This piece from @peterhyman.bsky.social is very good on why political parties need to focus less on crafting policy-based sound bites and press releases and more on making the argument for change
open.substack.com/pub/peterhym...
open.substack.com/pub/peterhym...
Reposted by: Hugh Pemberton
For Labour, a party system in which its principal rival is Reform would be a much worse political outcome for everything the party cares about than if the Conservatives retained their position, argues Ben Jackson, co-editor of the Political Quarterly.
politicalquarterly.org.uk/blog/nigel-f...
politicalquarterly.org.uk/blog/nigel-f...
Nigel Farage is no Ramsay MacDonald: Comparing the Rise of Reform with the Rise of Labour
It is hard not to suspect that arresting the rise of Reform could be beyond the powers of both current party leaders.
politicalquarterly.org.uk
My thought too. Though I'd still hesitate to place an actual bet on that - the party has such a history of reinvention and such a ling track record of electoral success that it's hard to imagine them not coming back from this
It's hard to look at the rows of empty seats greeting Conservative "big hitters" addressing an unprecedentedly small conference hall and think the chances of Conservative survival as a major political force are anything but somewhere between low and zero
Do we actually need traditional taxis any more, though? Frankly, the best thing about Uber, Bolt etc is no longer having to sit in the back of black cabs with an angry driver forcing his opinions down your throat, and paying a small fortune for the privilege
Call to limit app driver numbers 'to protect London black cabs'
The number of black cab drivers has fallen by a third while private hire numbers double.
www.bbc.com
More evidence that Labour are losing fewer voters to Reform than they are to the Greens and Lib Dems. Also, interestingly, Labour defectors to Reform are less likely to return than are Conservative defectors
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/t...
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/t...
The story behind the polls
Who's changed their mind since the 2024 election and why?
open.substack.com
This fascinating, long and data-rich analysis from @benansell.bsky.social makes a simple point: Labour should be worrying a lot more about its loss of electoral support to the Lib Dems and Greens and a lot less about Reform
open.substack.com/pub/benansel...
open.substack.com/pub/benansel...
British Politics' Midlife Crisis
Why British Parties Can't Make Peace with Their Actual Voters
open.substack.com
They definitely have a very different approach to the integration issue to the UK - not so dissimilar to the UK approach of 50 years ago, of course. What's interesting about the Burn-Murdoch piece is that UK and other politicians are now so much further away from traditional views than their voters
This is a fascinating graph from @jburnmurdoch.ft.com , and it explains a lot about why immigration politics are the way they are in multiple countries
Am I imagining it or has something changed for the worse at the Economist recently?
I'd bet on Alex Massie being right that this summer will prove to have been as good as it gets for Reform. Right too in his complaints about the unseriousness of a chunk of the PLP (and A. Burnham)
open.substack.com/pub/alexmass...
open.substack.com/pub/alexmass...
Weathervanes and Chancers
And why it's time to start loving the bond market
open.substack.com
We can build a COVID vaccine in a matter of months, invent AI, and create the smartphone but ... it seems impossible for anyone to manufacture a sofa bed that's actually comfortable to sit on. Weird
I agree. But we're now having a very different discussion than that implied by the headline!
Sure, the politics are an issue, but the headline seems OTT. Perhaps the fault lies with the sub-editor though?
Another excellent and thoughtful Substack post from @peterhyman.bsky.social, this one using Maslow's Theory of Human Motivation to illustrate the mistake that the left makes in spurning the politics of aspiration
open.substack.com/pub/peterhym...
open.substack.com/pub/peterhym...
The new centre-left project 'to put wind in our sails'
How a theory from eighty years ago can light the way to a new progressive politics of human potential.
open.substack.com
"Britain is slowly going bust" trumpets The Economist, ludicrously. On its own admission, "belt-tightening needed to stabilise debts is about 2% of gdp, some of which is already budgeted for... By historical standards, it is not a demanding target"
www.economist.com/leaders/2025...
www.economist.com/leaders/2025...
Britain is slowly going bust
Even with a huge majority and plenty of time, Labour is drifting towards a fiscal crisis
www.economist.com
by Hugh Pemberton — Reposted by: Christina Pagel
This @samfr.bsky.social post on the growing likelihood and possible implications of a Conservative implosion is fascinating - on the latter, as much for its discussion of the impact on the Lib Dems as on Reform and Labour
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/l...
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/l...
Last Rites
What happens if the Conservatives completely disintegrate?
open.substack.com
This is v good on China’s overwhelming role in the “opening of a new epoch of world economic history.” From @adamtooze.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/adamtooz...
open.substack.com/pub/adamtooz...
Chartbook 409 Beyond the "Marshall Plan": China's solar boom as world-changing industrial policy.
In the first six months of 2025 China installed more than 250GW of solar power capacity.
open.substack.com
This is very good on some of the many ways that our scandalous neglect of the 55% of British kids who don't want to go to university is coming back to bite us. From @peterhyman.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/peterhym...
open.substack.com/pub/peterhym...
The education divide that’s fuelling populism
Without high status career pathways for all, we will not heal a divided Britain
open.substack.com
This is something of a lost art in UK centre left/right politics - making an enemy of a person or group whose support you don't need but whose enmity helps define you in voters' eyes
Academic publishing is "a racket so audacious that if you pitched it as a business model, investors would laugh you out of the room. Yet for decades this scheme has siphoned billions from research budgets."
@wsj.com
@wsj.com
Opinion | Academic Publishing Has Become a Racket
Scientists write and review papers without getting paid, and their institutions have to pay for access.
www.wsj.com
Reposted by: Hugh Pemberton
Ed Davey has already got under Musk’s thin skin.
Ed Davey Mocks Elon Musk After He Calls Him 'A Craven Coward'
The pair's long-running feud continues.
www.huffingtonpost.co.uk
@peterhyman.bsky.social is good on successful politics in a superficial world - grab people's attention, tell stories that they can engage with, persuade people you can get things done (actually getting things done not so important). All bloody depressing but ...
open.substack.com/pub/peterhym...
open.substack.com/pub/peterhym...
Trump: the teacher we can’t ignore
The American President is pioneering a new form of political communications. We must swallow our pride and learn from him.
open.substack.com
A useful corrective to the present media framing from @philipstephens.bsky.social
One might also add that, below the horizon of an increasingly superficial media, Labour is actually getting a lot done -see this Full Fact policy tracker share.google/jDpSW6obgiHZ...
One might also add that, below the horizon of an increasingly superficial media, Labour is actually getting a lot done -see this Full Fact policy tracker share.google/jDpSW6obgiHZ...
Reports of Keir Starmer's demise are much exaggerated
One thing we should have learned during the tumult of recent years is not to project the present into the future.
open.substack.com
Across many advanced economies pampered pensioners are crushing the hopes of younger people - on.ft.com/46AUDjd via @FT
France and Britain are in thrall to pensioners
Mounting fiscal crises show how not to handle the demographic crunch
on.ft.com