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Chris Clarke @warringfictions.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

All things, to a degree, which seem to already be beginning to happen under Andy Burnham. So it was great to talk to @willbarbertaylor.bsky.social about why the matter and how to get them right.

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Chris Clarke @warringfictions.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

The agendas are: 1) Regional inequality 2) The rights of the consumer 3) Restoring communal life post-COVID 4) Protecting against AI 5) Income over wealth 6) Repairing/ updating the cradle-to-grave ideal in four key places: mental health, early years, adult social care, non-grads aged 18-24

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Chris Clarke @warringfictions.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

The article it references can be found here: parables.substack.com/p/economic-z... It sets out six agendas which embrace the public’s desire for a more economically leftist government, but which avoid the pitfalls that often cause the public to shun left politics.

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Chris Clarke @warringfictions.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

It was lovely, as always, to talk to @willbarbertaylor.bsky.social on the @debatedpodcast.bsky.social We went through the six economic arguments I had outlined, which I argue have the capacity to unite the liberal and non-liberal 'blocs'. You can listen here: shorturl.at/pbTyw

shorturl.at

Economic Zeitgeists w/ Chris Clarke

Podcast Episode · Debated Podcast · 2 October · 36min

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Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

This week on Origin Story: The life & ideas of John Rawls, the most celebrated liberal philosopher of the post-war period. These are some of the most beautiful arguments in progressive thought. We do it as a one hour crash course. Everything you need to know. podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/j...

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Chris Clarke @warringfictions.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Oh good point, thanks for flagging. I’ll clarify in the main piece.

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Chris Clarke @warringfictions.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Ok thank you, that is very interesting.

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Chris Clarke @warringfictions.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Thanks, I do not take it as having a go. But I would say all three of the north stars are seen as different means by which you do this (and succeed more generally). eg Do you stop Reform by delivering the growth needed so people feel better off, or by responding to direct grievances.

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Chris Clarke @warringfictions.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

18/ Thanks for reading this thread, I hope it was interesting!

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Chris Clarke @warringfictions.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

17/ Clearly some of the six agendas are already major priorities for the Andy Burnham government. But the more they’re codified into clear, public-facing priorities, the more Labour will have the beginnings of a project which can avoid the pitfalls of two-bloc politics.

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Chris Clarke @warringfictions.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

16/ (The last is about four junctures in the cradle to grave ideal of social security, which the post-war settlement did not and could not account for).

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Chris Clarke @warringfictions.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

15/ I end with six agendas/ themes/ zeitgeists, which I believe do all of the above: a) Tackling regional inequality b) Championing the customer c) Restoring communal life post-COVID d) Protecting against AI e) Re-weighting towards income instead of wealth f) Infilling the cradle-to-grave journey

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Chris Clarke @warringfictions.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

14/ My conclusion is that what’s needed is a broader spirit of economic intervention. This must: a) engage with the ‘zeitgeist’; b) express a social democratic point-of-view; c) cut across policy areas; and d) override conventional arguments about GDP, treating the economy as something we can shape.

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Chris Clarke @warringfictions.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

13/ What does moving to the economic left actually involve, the article then ponders? This is a prospect which may alarm some…

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Chris Clarke @warringfictions.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

12/ It borrows this excellent chart from @benansell.bsky.social, to make the point that political debates focused on the economy are likely to unite the left bloc and split the right bloc, whereas debates focused on social issues and immigration are likely to do the reverse.

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Chris Clarke @warringfictions.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

11/ Many of these things seem to be happening. So my third article, Economic Zeitgeists, is a sort of postscript, building on the fairness and collectivism point, and why this matters for an electorate which sees itself as economically to the left. parables.substack.com/p/economic-z...

parables.substack.com

Economic zeitgeists

A post-script to the ‘What went wrong?’ articles...

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Chris Clarke @warringfictions.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

10/ The priorities for Burnham which flow from this are to: a) Remain clearly in the liberal bloc b) Stay within the ‘zone of sensibleness’ c) Find a migration settlement which pleases both blocs d) Relentlessly foreground economic fairness and collectivism

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Chris Clarke @warringfictions.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

9/ It also gives Starmer much credit for moving Labour back within what I call the ‘zone of sensibleness’. As per the description below, this is what the true centre-ground comprises: not an ideological stance, but a set of parameters which demonstrate that you’re not a headbanger. Key traits being:

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Chris Clarke @warringfictions.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

8/ The piece identifies 5 cautionary tales from 2024-26: the ‘talk right, govern left’ idea; the conflation of ‘New’ and ‘Blue’ Labour approaches; the casting of immigration as a valence issue; the impression of playing the blocs off against each other; and a muddled account of the Tory inheritance.

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Chris Clarke @warringfictions.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

7/ The chart below, made using BSA data, shows the steady rise of cultural issues as a source of division between socio-economic groups – and the steady convergence on economic issues.

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Chris Clarke @warringfictions.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

6/ My second ‘what went wrong’ article, The Dead Centre, ponders how you navigate a politics which has: a) moved beyond party tribalism, and b) become polarised on cultural questions as opposed to economic ones. Aka ‘two-bloc’ politics. parables.substack.com/p/what-went-...

parables.substack.com

What went wrong? (Part 2)

The Dead Centre

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Chris Clarke @warringfictions.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

5/ Unless our leaders can engage better with the dilemmas and conflicts between these three North Stars in the coming years, Britain will continue to be ‘ungovernable’.

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Chris Clarke @warringfictions.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

4/ The North Stars frequently contradict each other – particularly on topics like immigration. But an organising principal between the three never established itself under Starmer. (Indeed, the North Stars were often treated as one and the same destination).

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Chris Clarke @warringfictions.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

3/ The first account of ‘what went wrong’, North Stars, looked at three competing purposes for the Starmer government. These were: a) long-term reform, b) short-term growth and c) public opinion. The pursuit of each uses up political capital. parables.substack.com/p/what-went-...

parables.substack.com

What went wrong? (Part 1)

North Stars

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Chris Clarke @warringfictions.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

2/ The aim wasn’t to rake over specifics or personalities, but to look at the structural challenges which the 2024-26 govt failed to address. How can these pitfalls be avoided by Andy Burnham?

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Chris Clarke @warringfictions.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

1/ Why did things implode so dismally for Keir Starmer’s govt? I worked for Labour in the years running up to GE 2024 and have since puzzled over this question. Last week I published two pieces, asking ‘what we wrong’. I added a third, expanding on economic fairness – a key theme from the first two.

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Chris Clarke @warringfictions.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

This came from the final installment of my Notes on Trust series, which explores the corrosive impact of partisanship on politics and can be read here: parables.substack.com/p/notes-on-t...

parables.substack.com

Notes on trust #5

The Blues and the Buffs

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Chris Clarke @warringfictions.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

I also added three milder vices...

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Chris Clarke @warringfictions.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Andy Burnham's first #PMQs prompted some debate about whether 'problem-solving over point-scoring' is really possible. Was his 'kumbaya' version of politics naive or hypocritical? Below is my list of political practices which cross the line and fail the 'country before party' test...

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Chris Clarke @warringfictions.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Last week myself and Pete Starkings published the below piece for @labourlist.bsky.social (with thanks to @emmaburnell.bsky.social): labourlist.org/2026/08/to-l... It described our research, supported by Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust, into the issue of flags and 'Operation Raise the Colours'.

labourlist.org

'To learn from the flag debate we have to understand values' - LabourList

Labour councils cannot cede English identity to the far-right but nor can they ignore intimidation or allow provocation.

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Claire Ainsley @claire-ainsley.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Labour’s relationship with working-class voters is in peril - new research with @deborahmattinson.bsky.social for PPI in @theobserveruk.bsky.social Andy Burnham can build on his reputation as “someone who gets things done” but he will need to act fast. observer.co.uk/news/politic...

observer.co.uk

Why working-class voters have turned their backs on Labour

Our polling reveals a sense of despair among a group we call the ‘worried workers’. Here is how Burnham can allay their fears

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Pete Miles @petermiles.eurosky.social · 03/07/2026

Fascinating insights here on which voters favour leaders with "the so-called ‘dark triad’ of personality traits – sub-clinical psychopathy, Machiavellianism and narcissism." And their reason for doing so - essentially that they think these traits are necessary to 'get things done'.

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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

And very good it is too.

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Chris Clarke @warringfictions.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

7/ The piece concludes as follows, arguing that Southgate’s success lay in proving there was another way to ‘get things done’.

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Chris Clarke @warringfictions.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

6/ In the US, for instance Trump trailed Harris for likeability, morality, trustworthiness and being ‘on my side’ before the 2024 election. But he possessed a clear lead on ‘getting things done’. And this ultimately swung it for him.

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Chris Clarke @warringfictions.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

5/ The difference comes down to the perception that certain personality types are able to ‘get things done’. They are seen as able to cut the Gordian Knot – the complex web of problems, to which voters believe there ought to be a simple solution.

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Chris Clarke @warringfictions.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

4/ Instead, the argument of the piece is that liberals and social conservatives are looking for very different things from leaders. The article uses research by @timbale.bsky.social and colleagues at the Party Members Project to explore this.

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Chris Clarke @warringfictions.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

3/ I don’t think this is fully explained by the #DearEngland open letter and the positions Southgate took on certain ‘culture war’ questions. Otherwise views of Harry Kane would be similarly skewed.

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Chris Clarke @warringfictions.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

2/ The question which first got me thinking about it was the regular political skew in terms of favourability about #Southgate, with socially conservative voters invariably more negative.

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Chris Clarke @warringfictions.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

1/ I have done a new article on leadership styles and ‘Southgate-ism’: parables.substack.com/p/getting-th...

parables.substack.com

‘Getting Things Done’

Southgate, leadership, and the Gordian Knot

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Chris Clarke @warringfictions.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

Really pleased to see 'Notes on Trust' mentioned by @andrewsparrowgdn.bsky.social on Guardian #PoliticsLive this morning (8:58): shorturl.at/6AnIa The first in the series looks at four Red Herring explanations for falling trust. It can be read here: parables.substack.com/p/notes-on-t...

shorturl.at

Starmer resigns as prime minister as Streeting backs Burnham for leadership - UK politics live

The prime minister said a new leader will be in place before parliament returns in September

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

For Fathers' Day, Keir Starmer posts a photo of his own father, who died in 2018, and a non-political message. The replies are a torrent of vitriol & cruelty, all with hundreds of Likes. We complain a lot about the quality of leadership, but there's a huge problem with the way we treat politicians

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Chris Clarke @warringfictions.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

I published Notes on Trust last week, exploring anti-politics. It quotes various research, including by @drjennings.bsky.social & @harryqp.bsky.social As polling closes in #Makerfield, a byelection where “white rage is in the air” according to @willdunn.bsky.social, I’m just re-upping the thread.

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Chris Clarke @warringfictions.bsky.social · 14/06/2026

This is a fascinating topic. I did an article in 2022, suggesting three factors that explain the rise of ‘reverse aspiration’: a society which is increasingly egalitarian, an economy which has become more unequal, and a culture which is more individualistic/ meritocratic… unherd.com/2022/12/why-...

unherd.com

Why do we pretend to be working-class?

Progressives are tormented by reverse aspiration

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