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Stuart Mills

@stuartmills.bsky.social
222 followers 121 following 105 posts

Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Leeds. Visiting Fellow of Behavioural Science at the LSE. Interested in Digital Economy + Behaviour + Political Economy. All views are my own. Website: siu2lh.com

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Stuart Mills @stuartmills.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
On everyday anarchism, community canteens, and why we should stop worrying too much about the future, and ask what is already totally possible. siu2lh.com/articles/the...
siu2lh.com
The Post-Kitchen Society
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Stuart Mills @stuartmills.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
People assume there is a linear relationship between a decision's cost, and the time/thought put into it. In reality, time/thought plateau's pretty quickly. Does a $10bn decision really receive 10x more attention than a $1bn one? No, because they're both just big numbers.
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Stuart Mills @stuartmills.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
This lecture series from @digitaluom.bsky.social looks very interesting. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/meat-the-m...
eventbrite.co.uk
Meat the Machine or the Hidden History of Cybernetics &the Possible Futures
Explore a series of interconnected studies that examine human behavior and decision-making processes within social networks
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Stuart Mills @stuartmills.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
The British economy is mostly financial chicanery, higher education, Games Workshop, and Rockstar Games. And loathe are many to admit it.
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David Spencer @davidaspencer.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
I mean the numbers are tiny and the data probably unreliable but why let this get in the way of a catchy AI-focused headline? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
UK economy sees surprise growth in July helped by AI boom
The economy expanded by 0.4%, official figures show, whereas analysts had predicted no growth.
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Stuart Mills @stuartmills.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Things Infinite Jest got right: - Netflix - Gross hyperconsumerism - Dumb Presidential administration Things Infinite Jest might *still* get right: - Quebecois terrorism
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Stuart Mills @stuartmills.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
3. Start grooming the next Green candidate for mayor now! Start elevating them as a local figure. Make them the spokesperson for the Green's in GMCA. Try to set the agenda. Burnham was very good at having a story in the MEN every week. The Greens need a response to this strategy.
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Stuart Mills @stuartmills.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
2. Show that you're there when the cameras are not! The mayor will have much more power under a Burnham PM. Someone needs to be Manchester's 'official opposition.' I doubt Reform will do this effectively, and the Greens shouldn't let them. Which brings me to...
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Stuart Mills @stuartmills.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
Well done to @geraldinecoggins.bsky.social for a good effort. Some immediate thoughts: 1. Poor turnout means campaigns must focus on reaching non-voters. More out-of-cycle voter registration drives are needed. In an era of hyperpolitics, campaigning can't stop. Similarly...
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Stuart Mills @stuartmills.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
A short post about how cybernetics and feedback loops could realise cybernetic art, and a more rhizomic approach to predictive algorithms. siu2lh.com/articles/cyb...
siu2lh.com
Cybernetic Cinema
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Stuart Mills @stuartmills.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Got into an argument at the pub. So, here's why lowering speed limits would actually reduce journey times, and generally make the world a much better place for everyone. siu2lh.com/articles/low...
siu2lh.com
Lowering Speed Limits Speeds Up Journeys
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Stuart Mills @stuartmills.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Reading the Green manifesto for Greater Manchester, why does every other page involve 'calling on Westminster' to do something? Yes, you need permission to do certain things. But talk about *demanding* stuff. Talk about how you'll do it if Westminster *doesn't* support you.
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Stuart Mills @stuartmills.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Hearing @geraldinecoggins.bsky.social has been nominated as the Green's candidate for GM mayor. Last month, I posted some policy ideas for the region. It'd be great to see some of these taken forward in a campaign.
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Stuart Mills @stuartmills.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
I have a new working paper on the role behavioural science plays in pushing algorithms and AI onto the state, and (drawing on Lewontin) the political implications therein entailed. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
papers.ssrn.com
Algorithms, Administration, and (Behavioural) Science as Ideology
<div> Public administrators, like doctors and judges, often exhibit biases in their decision-making. However, algorithms can avoid these biases. Therefore, som
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Stuart Mills @stuartmills.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
I have a paper on this (in review for nearly 6 months) that will hopefully be coming out soon. Happy to share with anyone interested, though.
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Stuart Mills @stuartmills.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Something missing here is that loss making platform businesses, with near-zero scaling costs, can establish monopolies and raise prices (e.g., Uber). There's a path to profit. The market is treating AI companies like platform companies, but the cost economics of these firms are totally different!
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Stuart Mills @stuartmills.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
10/ Communitiy Allocation Pots. Give every ward in GMCA an annual grant, which local people control and can choose to spend on whatever they want. Decisions should be taken through ward-level citizens' assemblies. Give people control, cut out bureaucracy, and spread democracy.
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Stuart Mills @stuartmills.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
9/ Create a 'University of California' style system for GMCA universities, and specialise. Achieve cost savings for centralisation. Create a local student subsidiary, reducing (or scrapping) fees for GMCA students attending a GMCA university. Prioritse places for GMCA students.
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Stuart Mills @stuartmills.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
8/ Centralise adult social care in GMCA, and remove the burden from LAs. Adult social care is the biggest cost to LAs. We need a national care service, but that's not happening nationally, so let's do it regionally. Centralise care provision, achieve economies of scale, return savings to the LA.
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Stuart Mills @stuartmills.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
7/ Develop a plan for publicly owned supermarkets, prioritising cost and food quality. Food should be seen as a public good, and eating should not be a luxury for anyone in GMCA. Prioritise opening supermarkets in the most deprived areas first, then expand.
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Stuart Mills @stuartmills.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
6/ Take an ownership stake in all major sporting franchises in GMCA. Give the voting rights to the various fan associations that are based in the city region. Use a share of income earnt to smaller local clubs, youth programmes, etc. These clubs are part of the community, and must stay that way.
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Stuart Mills @stuartmills.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
5/ Work with other NW mayors/councils to nationalise (or, I guess, regionalise) United Utilities. Water is a powerful resource, and with climate change, we cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of private energy infrastructure with water.
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Stuart Mills @stuartmills.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
4/ No building on the greenbelt. Sprawl erodes natural spaces, places long-run costs on infrastructure, and robs us of our natural environment. Prioritise density, not expansion.
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Stuart Mills @stuartmills.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
3/ An anti-gentrification tax. A tax on the value of a sold property when someone moves into GMCA. Use the money to build more council houses. Prioritise densification of towns to drive more highstreet footfall, and thus support local living and local business.
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Stuart Mills @stuartmills.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
2/ A second car tax. A progressive tax on every additional vehicle registered at a given property, premiums based on vehicle size/weight. Use the money to subsidise public transport, expand the Metrolink. Invest in social (e.g. trams) and convivial (e.g. bikes) infrastructure, not anti-social.
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Stuart Mills @stuartmills.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
1/ Rent controls and a landlord tax. Cap rents, and then impose the tax on rental income. Exploire how it could be collected through things like council tax. Use the money to lower business rates and raise the minimum wage. Moe money from non-productive to productive parts of the economy.
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Stuart Mills @stuartmills.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
There's going to be a byelection for the mayor of Greater Manchester. I get teased in the pub that I'm going to run. As a bit of fun, here are some policy ideas for what I'm calling 'radical regionalism':
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Stuart Mills @stuartmills.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
My blog is evolving into a place where I just criticise books: siu2lh.com/articles/tho...
siu2lh.com
Thoughts on Books, Q1'26
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Stuart Mills @stuartmills.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
The go-to seat for Burnham is Manchester Withington. Anyone who lives in this neck of the woods knows that while it's going Green on paper, it would fall in massively behind Burnham. Everyone saying 'there is no safe seat' just shows how they never leave London.
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Stuart Mills @stuartmills.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
Just heard about Robert Skidelsky's death. I never had the privilege to meet the him, but his work on Keynes taught me so much, not the least, the beauty of deep scholarship. His later work on economic philosophy retained subtle and subversive ideas that are sadly missing in so much economics.
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Maria Sobolewska @profsob.bsky.social · 11/04/2026
They make EVERYTHING worse. Ban, tax, whatever, but acknowledge it already
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Stuart Mills @stuartmills.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
Starmer doing a Starmerism of broadly identifying the problem, and then addressing it with vague platitudes. A dash of populist rhetoric, too. It won't work. Managerialism =/= Leadership. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
The Iran war is a warning: Britain must build resilience – at home and with our allies in Europe | Keir Starmer
We should not be at the mercy of events abroad. That’s why, from energy to defence to key social policies, we aim to remake our country, says UK prime minister Keir Starmer
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Timothy Snyder @timothysnyder.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.” -Trump Article III The following acts shall be punishable: (a) Genocide; (b) Conspiracy to commit genocide; (c) Direct and public incitement to commit genocide; (d) Attempt to commit genocide; (e) Complicity in genocide.
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Dr Abeba Birhane @abeba.blacksky.app · 26/03/2026
if Wikipedia, an org with a shoestring budget and volunteer workforce can ban use of llms, what excuse do large orgs and universities have
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Stuart Mills @stuartmills.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
Quite stark hearing how Bloomberg question @meadwaj.bsky.social when talking about wealth taxes and institutional reform, versus how they question hedge fund managers, central bankers, and investment bankers. Class interests are a powerful thing.
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Stuart Mills @stuartmills.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
Just finished teaching my last policy economics class of the year. We had a brilliant guest lecture from Professor Ben Clift on the OBR, and he even signed my copy of his book! Key takeaways: crisis is the new normal. Economics needs to keep up. An easy win: invest in renewables, keep bills down.
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Adam Smith @adamndsmith.com · 24/03/2026
> 17,400 businesses raided by UK ICE > car wash owner raided every three months, despite no illegal workers being found. > based on anonymous online tip-offs > former ICE officer says it’s often “competitors within the local area” filling out the forms www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
theguardian.com
‘They singled out non-white, foreign-born workers’: the restaurants raided by Britain’s version of ICE | Immigration and asylum | The Guardian
They’re not armed and they keep a relatively low profile. But the Home Office’s immigration compliance and enforcement officers have searched thousands of business in pursuit of illegal workers. Are they abusing their powers?
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Stuart Mills @stuartmills.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
It's very convenient to have a 5-day pause at the start of the 5-day trading week.
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Dez Fenton @butisitart.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
You know how in a library no one’s trying to sell you anything? That’s how the internet was.
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Charles de Dampierre @charlesdedampierre.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
Overall, our results suggest that sustained human development did not begin suddenly in the 19th century. Instead, it emerged earlier and gradually, across several civilizations, over many centuries. Industrialization appears as a late acceleration of longer processes.
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Common Wealth @cmmonwealth.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
“The ‘privatisation premium’, according to an analysis by the Common Wealth thinktank, sees almost a quarter of the average household energy bill – roughly £450 – flow today into corporate profits.” Our latest briefing covered in @theguardian.com 👇 www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
The Guardian view on EV charging: China took the right lessons from Britain’s past | Editorial
Editorial: Megawatt fast EV charging reflects a coordinated grid strategy the UK once used. Privatisation and fragmentation now make that infrastructure far harder to build
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Stuart Mills @stuartmills.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
There is definitely a strategic play here for China and Russia to exploit the fuel starved Asian tigers and weaken America's position in the Pacific. Russia must surely be mulling over how to exert pain on Europe and strengthen their Ukraine position, too. The long twentieth century is over.
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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
The UK's permission for the US to use its bases in attacking Iran amounts to complicity in the crime of aggression. It drags us into what could be an endless war, without democratic or even parliamentary consent.
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Jeremy Corbyn @jeremycorbyn.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
Allowing British bases to be used in an illegal war of aggression is a catastrophic and historic mistake. Britain has been dragged into another war because our Prime Minister would rather appease Donald Trump than stand up for international law.
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Stuart Mills @stuartmills.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
Why is everything now gambling? Because alternative ways of 'getting ahead' no longer exist. Why are public holidays now such big deals? Because there are fewer opportunities to achieve (and celebrate) personal successes. And yes, why do (some) people obsess about the gym? Well...
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Stuart Mills @stuartmills.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
Besides the obvious, horrible, systemic risk that embedding AI into critical systems demonstrates... ...dude, is organisaing your desktop really something you need AI to do? Really?
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David Spencer @davidaspencer.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
Higher house prices not only add to household debt but also increase the need to work for longer. We can’t imagine a future of less work while housing costs keep on rising www.theguardian.com/business/202...
theguardian.com
Price of average UK home passes £300,000 for first time, Halifax says
Property prices in January rose 0.7%, the fastest rate since November 2024 increase of 1.1%
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Stuart Mills @stuartmills.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
Ivan Illich's radical monopoly: You can buy the product from many different vendors, but you must buy it from someone.
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Henrik Skaug Sætra / [spillteori] @futuritas.eu · 04/02/2026
For those I've been discussing this with earlier - a new version of the AI/AGI and the social contract paper. Feedback very much appreciated. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
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