The SDP revival in Leeds continues

The fact that, in the UK, May Day falls in the middle of a working week (unchanged in length for over a century) and is not a public holiday is both ironic and dispiriting

“Hope in work, joy in leisure”. Still an effective slogan for the present. Happy May Day!

If the price of circuses increases too, then who knows what the consequences could be? bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…

These stories capture attention but while it remains cheaper to hire workers than invest in robots, firms in warehousing and beyond will continue to adopt labour intensive methods. Automation is not determined solely by the limits of technology bbc.co.uk/news/business-…

Wrote this over 10 years ago - with return of inflammatory rhetoric about 'sick note culture', it seems all too relevant today LSE British Politics and Policy blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpol…

Beyond the factual errors in this ideology (e.g. presenteeism is a more pressing problem than absenteeism) there is also the problem of the lack of compassion for those too ill to work. The mean spiritedness needs calling out bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politi…

On the cognitive cost of mentally unstimulating work - Adam Smith highlighted this cost over 200 years ago. The fact that it persists in the present shows how far we are from creating work that can sustain health theguardian.com/science/2024/a…

Review of my book: 'an accessible, engaging and timely contribution to debates around the changing nature of work under capitalism'. Heartening that someone has read it and appreciated it. Makes the work writing it appear a little lighter onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nt…

Stop press: all forecasts are inaccurate bbc.co.uk/news/business-…

The idea that the UK economy is “turning a corner” is for the birds. It is stuck in the slow lane and going pretty much nowhere theguardian.com/business/2024/…

Don’t watch the skies! #Eclipse2024

Handwringing here from authors with already high sales. For most others, the prospect of their books being read by an app beats no readers at all theguardian.com/books/2024/apr…

RIP the digital commons theguardian.com/technology/202…

The millions of people not looking for work in the UK may be prioritising education, health and freedom

- David Spencer, author of ‘Making Light Work’ on the impact of the health crisis on the UK economy. theconversation.com/the-millions-o… via The Conversation

Work, buy, dispose (repeat) — e-waste reflects a system problem bbc.co.uk/news/science-e…

Annual royalty statement confirms once more that writing books is a labour of love

The minimum wage is a great example of the positive impact of economics research on policy making (note it depended on rejecting the simple supply/demand model of the labour market) theguardian.com/society/2024/m…

Features on well-known locations in the city centre and Chapel Allerton don't strike me as offering an 'alternative' guide to Leeds... But then we have to settle for some coverage rather than none theguardian.com/travel/2024/ma…

Sunny Sheffield