To break the vicious circle of ‘business as usual’ (i.e. wars, climate crisis and democratic collapse…),
we need to get serious about democratizing corporations,
the only major institution that’s been left untouched by democratic accountability.
Our new book discuss this plan.

happy international workers' day -- as Common Wealth analysis found, between 2000 and 2019, dividend payments grew 5.5 times faster than workers’ pay on average each year

Dividends payments soar globally as worker pay stagnates theguardian.com/business/2024/…

This is brilliant (shout out to the Connected by Data newsletter for highlighting it)

Have had an essay in my drafts for ages, 'In Defence of Discretion', speaking to exactly these anxieties about what is lost in the logic of algorithmic decision-making

issues.org/limits-of-data…

Today, on International Workers Day, we are launching a new digital dashboard as part of the Centre for Democratising Work. 

Explore the interactive data-driven project examining work in contemporary Britain by clicking the link at the bottom of this thread. 🔽 

(Best viewed on…

“A publicly coordinated, publicly led transition is the fastest, fairest, most affordable way to decarbonise.”

Mathew Lawrence spoke to megan kenyon for The New Statesman ⬇️

Community power gives people a genuine stake in the clean energy transition.

But its growth has been stunted: with community-owned energy falling from an 81% growth rate in 2016–2017, to just 2.4% in 2020–2021.

Our new report sets out an essential model for kickstarting…

Labour have just announced that their upcoming manifesto will pledge to renationalise UK railways, bringing them back into public ownership after nearly thirty years of privatisation.

Here’s why that’s a good thing — and why such measures should be expanded across energy,…

in any normal, functioning society those who’ve bled water companies dry for profit whilst racking up billions in debt and overseeing the collapse of service and network would be held criminally liable.

Barbados halts ‘£3m plan’ to purchase Tory MP’s slavery plantation amid public outcry independent.co.uk/world/barbados…

Today, Labour has confirmed public ownership of the railways will be in its manifesto.

Privatisation has transformed our railways into engines of extraction for investors and overseas state enterprises. Public ownership can deliver a future of rail prosperity.

(Chart: 2020)

Me, Matt Davies and Mathew Lawrence arguing that rather than a reductive 'arms race' frame to AI industrial strategy, we need a genuinely market-shaping approach that promotes tech for public benefit.

Less than 10 per cent of cities worldwide have some degree of privatisation of their water system.

Public ownership is the norm in most places around the world. It’s the best solution here too.

Eleanor Shearer spoke to @VanessaTalkTV on Monday.

The Society of Authors collected survey data from 800 of its members and found that 26% of illustrators and 36% of translators had already lost work due to generative AI. This tracks completely with anecdotal data from my own reporting.

Not good.

www2.societyofauthors.org/2024/04/11/soa…

Yesterday our Senior Research Fellow Eleanor Shearer spoke to Jim Diamond on LBC News about the crisis at Thames Water.

Rather than bailing out private shareholders, Thames Water should be back in public ownership.

On LBC News yesterday our Senior Research Fellow Eleanor Shearer spoke to Jim Diamond about Thames Water’s plans to raise bills to up to £627 a year.

Public ownership is the only option that allows us to take the water back under control.

Just three days between these two stories

'The past has no moral bearing on the present... Now let me profit from my ancestor's plantation in peace'

🙃

theguardian.com/world/2024/apr…

If Thames Water is taken into public ownership, it must not be the same old story of privatised gains and the public bearing the costs.

Our paper from Ewan McGaughey shows how the public can get value for money 👇

common-wealth.org/publications/r…

Yet again, parasitic, extractive capitalism totally impoverishes our artistic lives

harpers.org/archive/2024/0…