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Iain Mansfield

@igmansfield.bsky.social
6.2K followers 840 following 3.5K posts

Current affairs, politics, education and miscellany. All views my own. Substack at edrith.co.uk

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Reposted by Iain Mansfield
Iain Mansfield @igmansfield.bsky.social · 4h
Is the UK facing a sovereign debt crisis? Should we be doing more about climate change? What would make me consider emigrating? I answer readers' questions. www.edrith.co.uk/p/answers-to...
edrith.co.uk
Answers to Readers’ Questions
Debt, Climate Change, AI, Emigration and Blogging
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Ben Ansell @benansell.bsky.social · 59m
I am really pleased to see this. Both main parties much tougher on this foul turn in British politics than they were a year ago.
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Iain Mansfield @igmansfield.bsky.social · 1h
Clear dividing lines.
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Jim Pickard @pickardje.bsky.social · 1h
Kemi Badenoch attacks Reform UK: “I remember back in the day when Ian Wright and John Barnes were playing. Nobody was questioning whether they were English. We certainly didn't have sitting MPs question whether they were English. We must not let these people take us backwards.”
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Iain Mansfield @igmansfield.bsky.social · 4h
Is the UK facing a sovereign debt crisis? Should we be doing more about climate change? What would make me consider emigrating? I answer readers' questions. www.edrith.co.uk/p/answers-to...
edrith.co.uk
Answers to Readers’ Questions
Debt, Climate Change, AI, Emigration and Blogging
121
Iain Mansfield @igmansfield.bsky.social · 15h
These delays (and the rising polls) make me think an early election is more likely. Put back all the hard decisions, milquetoast Budget with a few give-aways and go while the right is most divided (and the Greens in turmoil). Because otherwise these difficult decisions are not going to go away.
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Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 16h
One thing I find endlessly funny about the rise of AI is that it has revealed that there is a large number of people who believe that the reason they wrote essays at school or university is their teachers were desperately waiting for them to provide a definite answer to “Lear: what’s up with him?”
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James O'Malley @jamesomalley.co.uk · 22h
This is essential viewing. Stop what you’re doing and watch:
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Times Higher Education (THE) @timeshighered.bsky.social · 21h
Many degree programmes do no more than “eat three years” of students’ lives, according to the shadow minister for work and pensions. Georgia Louise Luckhurst reports from #CPC26 #highered #education www.timeshighereducation.com/news/b…
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Iain Mansfield @igmansfield.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Brilliant obituary. Highly entertaining, no holds barred on his failings but also giving a real sense of who he was and his life, and not trying to play down his undeniable success as an author. www.thetimes.com/uk/obituarie...
thetimes.com
Verifying Device
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Iain Mansfield @igmansfield.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Yes, they won't win over die-hard Europhiles - or maybe many people on this site - but there are plenty of higher earners who are mildly progressive, not that politically engaged, but also would really like personally to pay less tax. The 'you will personally be better off under us' card has value!
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Duncan Robinson @duncanrobinson.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Tories did a load of incredibly unTory stuff, such as leaving behind an incredibly progressive tax system and a generous, not very strict welfare system, which is really not what Tory voters like...
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Ben Ansell @benansell.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
The shift to normal left-right politics continues apace as the Conservatives remember who voted for them between 1979 and 2015.
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Iain Mansfield @igmansfield.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
"Badenoch has got her party back on the pitch...but there is a long way to go yet before the Conservatives look like potential winners again." Good, honest analysis by @robfordmancs.bsky.social. news.sky.com/story/conser...
news.sky.com
Conservative Party: Badenoch has lifted Tories from all-time low - but can she turn this into votes?
There have been some bright points for the Conservatives this year, but uniting the right remains an obstacle to electoral success. This is the fifth in a series reviewing the polling and electoral pe...
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Iain Mansfield @igmansfield.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
'Labour goes wrong when it follows its principles; we go wrong when we fail to follow ours.' The Conservatives lost their way in Government - systematically increasing taxes, regulation, debt, 'woke' and immigration. 'The Right Way' goes a long way to showing they have changed.
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Iain Mansfield @igmansfield.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
I wish I could be more confident that @stephenkb.bsky.social is right about this. I hope he is. www.ft.com/content/31a0...
ft.com
Greens’ anti-Zionism motion narrows potential base of support
More extreme and divided party could pose problems for Labour and Conservatives if voters take a ‘whole bloc’ view of next election
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Iain Mansfield @igmansfield.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
I like that the 11th footnote in The Right Way is to The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. There is something about political documents not being endlessly manicured into technocratic bureaucratese. www.conservatives.com/the-right-way
conservatives.com
The Right Way
Under Labour people in Britain are struggling, we need a new approach.
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Iain Mansfield @igmansfield.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Friday Follow: Five Substacks that deserve to be better known. - notes.archie-hall.com - @archiehall.bsky.social - writing.ersatzben.com - Ben Johnson - soumayakeynes.substack.com - @soumayakeynes.ft.com - www.neilobrien.co.uk - Neil O'Brien - willorrewing.substack.com - Will Orr-Ewing
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Iain Mansfield @igmansfield.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Friday Follow: Five Substacks that deserve to be better known. - notes.archie-hall.com - @archiehall.bsky.social - writing.ersatzben.com - Ben Johnson - soumayakeynes.substack.com - @soumayakeynes.ft.com - www.neilobrien.co.uk - Neil O'Brien - willorrewing.substack.com - Will Orr-Ewing
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Iain Mansfield @igmansfield.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
It's inherently unstable for a redistributive party to draw the bulk of its support from the wealthy professional classes. How might it deal with this tension? Answer: by 'middle class socialism' - i.e. universal FSM, student loan forgiveness, luxury 'fixes' and social care.
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Iain Mansfield @igmansfield.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Events like this are terrible, but we can still take heart at the way they showcase the heroism of those caught up in them - in this case, the pilot and passengers who saved 170 lives.
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Iain Mansfield @igmansfield.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Burnham's tweaks to the triple lock will not come close to covering the cost of a new National Care Service. Higher taxes are coming – with the £18bn cost equivalent to more than a 2p in the pound increase in the base rate of income tax. www.cityam.com/dont-celebra...
cityam.com
Don't celebrate the demise of the triple lock, higher taxes are coming
Andy Burnham's tweak to the triple lock won't save money, in fact a national social care service represents the biggest non-crisis expansion of the state in decades
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Iain Mansfield @igmansfield.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
"No one can quite figure out how Burnham keeps the hope vibe going for three more years with relatively little visible progress...at some point, he is going to need to show us the map and the real destination." This is rather good by @samfr.bsky.social. samf.substack.com/p/a-journey-...
samf.substack.com
A journey without a map
Burnham has given Labour a sense of purpose, but what does it really mean?
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Iain Mansfield @igmansfield.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
"The main beneficiaries of making social care free would be affluent home owners, mainly in the south of England, and the main losers...would be poor pensioners concentrated in the north of England." Astutely observed by David Goodhart. davidgoodhart.substack.com/p/one-quite-...
davidgoodhart.substack.com
One (quite big) Cheer for Burnham
Linking reform of social care to ending the triple lock makes both more possible. Social care reform is overdue but an odd priority for the left. Plus, how Andy stops the boats and wins the election
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Iain Mansfield @igmansfield.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
As I wrote earlier this year, private schools have long-since lost the middle classes. And it will take a concerted effort to regain them. www.edrith.co.uk/p/why-privat...
edrith.co.uk
Why private schools lost the middle classes
And ten ways in which they could regain them
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Iain Mansfield @igmansfield.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
If you want business to provide more workplace-based training, you have to pay for it. Good the Government has started to recognise this. www.gov.uk/government/n...
gov.uk
£2,000 boost for small businesses who take on young apprentices
Smaller businesses backing the next generation will receive £2,000 for every new young apprentice they take on, opening more doors for young people into skilled careers across the country.
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Iain Mansfield @igmansfield.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
When private schools lose the Spectator... The fact this article could be published in this publication shows why - whatever one thinks of the merits - Labour's VAT policy was a political free hit. spectator.com/article/bewa...
spectator.com
Beware the private school con
It’s out with the poor scholars, and in with a tiny elite of gazillionaires.
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Iain Mansfield @igmansfield.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
When private schools lose the Spectator... The fact this article could be published in this publication shows why - whatever one thinks of the merits - Labour's VAT policy was a political free hit. spectator.com/article/bewa...
spectator.com
Beware the private school con
It’s out with the poor scholars, and in with a tiny elite of gazillionaires.
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John Rentoul @rentouljohn.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Andy Burnham is not really interested in growth, says Janan Ganesh www.ft.com/content/3b92...
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Iain Mansfield @igmansfield.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
When government tries to do too much, it fails. Absolutely spot on by Danny Finkelstein. www.thetimes.com/article/f16d...
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Iain Mansfield @igmansfield.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
"The dangers of AI are real, including bioterrorism, cyber-sabotage, and unconstrained agents...I’m just sceptical of the prophecy that AI will murder every last human." This is excellent by Steven Pinker. quillette.com/2026/09/26/a...
quillette.com
An Open Letter to Scott Alexander
The dangers of AI are real, but doomerism may be counterproductive.
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Iain Mansfield @igmansfield.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
So what we're saying is I should give up writing about politics and instead stick to making click-baity lists of science-fiction books? 🤣🤣🤣
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Iain Mansfield @igmansfield.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
From the Hindenburg to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy, previous technologies have seen tragedies. I suspect, sadly, that it will take a mass casualty event to bring home our vulnerabilities to AI. www.edrith.co.uk/p/how-to-thi...
edrith.co.uk
How to think about AI’s impact
For good or ill, a new era is upon us
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Iain Mansfield @igmansfield.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
From the Hindenburg to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy, previous technologies have seen tragedies. I suspect, sadly, that it will take a mass casualty event to bring home our vulnerabilities to AI. www.edrith.co.uk/p/how-to-thi...
edrith.co.uk
How to think about AI’s impact
For good or ill, a new era is upon us
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Iain Mansfield @igmansfield.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
When it comes to AI, we should not let scepticism about the most apocalyptic scenarios blind us to the very real dangers: physical, economic, and to the essential nature of who we are. New piece on how to think about the impact of AI. www.edrith.co.uk/p/how-to-thi...
edrith.co.uk
How to think about AI’s impact
For good or ill, a new era is upon us
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Archie Hall @archiehall.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
New @economist.com leader from me on the perils of AI writing—and why readers, not writers, are the victims to worry most about. www.economist.com/leaders/2026...
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Iain Mansfield @igmansfield.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
When it comes to AI, we should not let scepticism about the most apocalyptic scenarios blind us to the very real dangers: physical, economic, and to the essential nature of who we are. New piece on how to think about the impact of AI. www.edrith.co.uk/p/how-to-thi...
edrith.co.uk
How to think about AI’s impact
For good or ill, a new era is upon us
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Iain Mansfield @igmansfield.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Powerful bit of research from Public First. Regardless of voting intention, voters want more technical education and apprenticeships, less emphasis on university pathways, and young people to be better prepared for adult working life. www.publicfirst.co.uk/the_cross_pa...
publicfirst.co.uk
The Cross-Party Consensus for Andy Burnham's Education Policy
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Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
I don't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater tho - MRPs like this are a very useful exercise for getting finer grained sense of current geography of support. Just don't get hung up on exact numbers. "Everything to play for" & "many close seats" are the big lessons here
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Jonathan Simons @jonathansimons.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
This man is not economically left wing.
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Iain Mansfield @igmansfield.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
This is fun! I got 40 which is...not great. MP Recall 🏛️ I named 40/649 current MPs in five minutes. 🟥 14/403 LAB 🟦 18/118 CON ⬜ 1/11 IND 🩵 4/8 REF 🟢 1/5 GRN 🟪 1/2 YP 🟫 1/1 RB Can you beat me? toys.jamesomalley.co.uk/mprecall/
toys.jamesomalley.co.uk
MP Recall — How many MPs can you remember?
Name as many current UK MPs as you can in five minutes.
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Iain Mansfield @igmansfield.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Fascinating piece of analysis by @danneidle.bsky.social on the political potency of inheritance tax. taxpolicy.org.uk/2026/09/19/i...
taxpolicy.org.uk
One in five pensioner households could face inheritance tax
Our model finds one in five pensioner households could face inheritance tax from April 2027. Explore the constituency map and its potential electoral impact.
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Iain Mansfield @igmansfield.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Great piece by @samfr.bsky.social on England's school success story. samf.substack.com/p/why-englan...
samf.substack.com
Why England’s schools are doing so well
And what we need to focus on next
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Iain Mansfield @igmansfield.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Reading recommendations with which to start your week. The 25 must-read science fiction novels of all time, ranked. (And six short story collections.) www.edrith.co.uk/p/the-25-sci...
edrith.co.uk
The 25 Science-Fiction Books You Must Read, Ranked
And six short story collections
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Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
I remain really uneasy about this.
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Ben Ansell @benansell.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
I like Iain’s list a lot and look forward to reading the ones I haven’t. I would add Banks’ Use of Weapons, Jemisin’s The Stone Sky, Mieville’s City and the City, and Tchaikovsky’s Children of Time. And can one also vote for Disco Elysium?
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Iain Mansfield @igmansfield.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
'What worries me about these current debates is that they are...trying to turn Britishness into a DNA test. It is possible to want both a much more robust approach to integration and a radical reduction in immigration, and still totally reject this argument.' 100%. www.thetimes.com/comment/colu...
thetimes.com
Rishi Sunak: Britishness must not be turned into a DNA test
I worry that the immigration debate is going far beyond arrival numbers
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Iain Mansfield @igmansfield.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Reading recommendations with which to start your week. The 25 must-read science fiction novels of all time, ranked. (And six short story collections.) www.edrith.co.uk/p/the-25-sci...
edrith.co.uk
The 25 Science-Fiction Books You Must Read, Ranked
And six short story collections
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Iain Mansfield @igmansfield.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Last day of the Ask me Anything. (Anyone can leave a question, not just paid subscribers). Leave the question as a comment on the substack: 🔽 www.edrith.co.uk/p/ask-me-any...
edrith.co.uk
Ask me Anything and Paid Subscription Sale
Four years of blogging edition
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