Sol Hallam

If you want to understand the troubles of British Steel and the solutions to them, read this article by @mazzucatoM @annapick_ and @AnnaHopeEmerson in Substack. It makes clear both the proper role of the State and the harm done by some financialised actors

@LaraMerling @IIPP_UCL @MazzucatoM @FinanceInCommon Can’t wait! Really enjoyed your piece in @devex about this important work: devex.com/news/why-the-w…

Looking forward to presenting our new @IIPP_UCL paper with @MazzucatoM, at the 2026 @FinanceInCommon GRN Conference. The World Bank’s industrial policy turn is welcome. But moving from ambition to delivery requires shifting the economic foundations of its operations. Our paper maps how. Read our paper: ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/publi… Conference and live stream details: grn-2026.sciencesconf.org/resource/page/…

HOW TO BEAT REFORM: BY @dai_alectic Nigel Farage’s Reform succeeds because it gives words and ideas to people, which they can use to feel they better understand what is happening to them and the country, and can plan action to make it better: the elite did it, because they are stupid lefties who don’t understand the traditions which have served us well; stand by them, raise a flag, vote Reform and do your duty as part of the resistance. That political argument has been developed and propagated online for years, and applied by hundreds of thousands of people to all kinds of issues and local experiences. For me the twin issues are understanding Reform’s base and understanding why said people are voting for Reform. Labour seem to understand neither. Firstly, the Morgan McSweeney strategy of winning over the working class (in the abstract) seems to have alienated Labour’s new progressive base while also not winning over said “working class”. Tony Blair and Margaret Thatcher understood that the “hero voters” are not the working class but the petty bourgeoisie: the lower middle classes who are being squeezed and broken by the current economic settlement. Labour have thus far totally alienated this group through minimum wage hikes, the national insurance burden, and increasing bureaucracy across the board. Nigel Farage understands this and much of Reform’s pitch is to this group. Labour have to win that group back over. newstatesman.com/symposium/2026…

Nationalising utilities and banning VAR––are these the core tenets of the so-called Manchester-ism?

Why do governments use consultants and why has that weakened businesses and economies? University College London Professor Mariana Mazzucato joins @tracyalloway and @TheStalwart on the Odd Lots podcast to discuss why governments' use of consultants often leads to inefficiencies and civic failures apple.co/4lTgFT6

For too long, economic policy has rested on assumptions treated as facts: that markets self-correct, that governments should stand back, that growth will trickle down. Today in Barcelona with Deputy Prime Minister of Spain @Carlos_Cuerpo and the Government of Spain we are launching the Global Council for a Common Good Economy: an international council of leading economists to challenge these assumptions and set out the economic thinking that progressive governments need.

To defeat the extreme right an economics for the common people is indispensable. Honored to be part of a new Global Council for a progressive economics under the leadership of @MazzucatoM and Spain‘s Minister of the Economy @carlos_cuerpo. Spain’s success is showing the way.

Today, alongside Mariana Mazzucato @MazzucatoM, we launch the Global Council for a Common Good Economy. The old playbook has failed. We need growth with purpose — one that protects people, invests in education, and accelerates the green transition.

Inspiring stuff from @IsabellaMWeber. Serious thinking on how to build an anti-fascist economics and policy proposals to go with it. Great piece with @GregorSemieniuk in @ProSyn on creating a Buyer's Club for oil to keep energy bills down: project-syndicate.org/commentary/oil…

Procurement isn't sexy. But £341 billion spent strategically? That can transform an economy. Great piece by @MazzucatoM and @annapick_ on UK procurement changes this week and next steps This isn't yet another comms reset, but maybe a sign of a more interventionist Labour govt?

Thanks James, looks interesting. ‘DOGE of the left’ - provocative!

Efficiency as a left-wing virtue - as it should be. Verdant's report advocates for UK government-wide Chief Savings Officer, along the lines Mamdani describes here: to promote effective spending and gaurd against negligent austerity. Report here: verdantthinking.org/publications/w…

@meadwaj Efficient comms! Whoever decided that Verdant should launch with it's first policy on efficiency savings in Government on the same day as Mamdani's announcement deserves some of the proceeds of any efficiency savings!

Thanks for the re-post @ZackPolanski -- glad you're enjoying our work at @IIPP_UCL.

Energy price spikes strengthen the case for green energy sovereignty. “Rosebank...if developed would provide just 1% of UK gas demand. Like all North Sea production, it would do nothing to lower our energy bills.” Great work @Cmmonwealth & @cashmank_! theguardian.com/environment/20…

@andrewjb_ @b_judah For good reason given the events of the last week! However, and our speakers would of course agree, questions of the UK’s positioning in a shifting global order are inextricable from state capacity in its broadest definition. Look forward to discussing at another @txp_io soon!

@SolHallam @b_judah Interesting, I care about all of those things and agree state capacity underpins them all, that just wasn't the focus here

Interesting conversation from @b_judah and others on state capacity. More interesting still that state capacity is so often interpreted only through the narrow prism of defence and foreign policy. Far less discussion of climate mitigation, service provision or market shaping!

Economics is an old boys club. Come join us @IIPP_UCL and work with us to change that, building a coalition for the inclusive economics and economy we need!

Great article in @NewStatesman by my (super smart) friend and colleague at @IIPP_UCL! As Reform and their anti-Net Zero agenda gain traction, it is more important than ever to sing the praises of Ed Miliband’s Clean Power Mission, and highlight where it can go further.