Matthew Feeney

Research Manager at @restate_thinks

“I’m a liberal and I’m against this sort of thing.” Signal: mfeeney.63

[Matthew Feeney @M_feeney]

The plural of "anecdote" is not "data", but when I left London more than ten years ago I rarely saw people barge through turnstiles, put their feet on train seats, play music without headphones, or refuse to make room for the elderly. These days they're sadly regular sights.

[Aaron Bastani @AaronBastani]

One reason I dislike London. So little consideration for old, pregnant women, families. You barely see kids spending time with parents, having fun, compared to other places.

What happens when a place becomes an economic zone with little solidarity.

[Re:State @restate_thinks]

📣 🚨 ICYMI: Last week we published an ambitious plan for tax decentralisation in England.

With Burnham having previously said that "fiscal devolution has got be a reality" and all eyes now on his potential agenda, it's not one to miss...

Full report 👇

https://t.co/AQnItuJMze

[Matthew Feeney @M_feeney]

The number of Europeans who die from heat-related causes each year outnumbers the number of Americans who die from gun-related injuries every year.

It's bizarre that these heats deaths don't seem to get much public policy attention (with the exception of climate discussions).

[Patrick Collison @patrickc]

I asked Claude about the air conditioning debate in Europe, and it really didn’t pull any punches.

[Matthew Feeney @M_feeney]

I’m increasingly concerned that I slept though this.

[Robert Colvile @rcolvile]

Heard this overnight. Like an artillery bombardment.

[Graham Smith  @Cyberleagle]

Here we go. Lost in other news, I fancy. https://t.co/hizELzvoBP

[Dr Anton Howes @antonhowes]

I think this is entirely back to front. If the UK has a problem it’s that investable opportunities are drastically curtailed at every turn.

We’re awash with capital, but our policies have ensured it’s better invested abroad!

[Re:State @restate_thinks]

👀 With Andy Burnham returning to Westminster, attention is turning to his potential policy agenda.

If devolution is front and centre, will he make plans for its missing ingredient: fiscal firepower?

💷 ICYMI, our new report sets out a radical new approach to tax devolution👇

[Re:State @restate_thinks]

The Re:View is out! 🎉

This week, @M_feeney asks what recent debates on social media, AI and digital sovereignty reveal about the Government's approach to technology policy.

Read more 👇
https://t.co/pHjMMw5ozg

[Mark Pennington @Kaleidicworld]

Works In Progress is a beacon of light in what often feels to me like a hopeless intellectual and political scene. If only academia was even half as good.

[Re:State @restate_thinks]

📢 NEW REPORT📢

🧩 Fiscal devolution is the missing piece of England's devolution agenda. Without genuine fiscal firepower behind it, there is no "devolution revolution".

✈️ In "Taxing for take-off", we set out our blueprint for an ambitious decentralisation of tax power 👇

[Matthew Feeney @M_feeney]

Perhaps one weekend I'll write up something on the flawed arguments and analogies in the under-16 social media ban debate, many of which are included in this post.

I don't see enough people responding to the alcohol, ID, social media vs. internet points raised in it.

[Iain Mansfield @IGMansfield]

We'll look back at the idea we let children drink from the social media firehose with the same disbelief that we now apply to letting them smoke.

A ban for under 16s isn't a silver bullet - but it's a good first start.

Responses to 10 common objections:

https://t.co/jnPZnvwb14

[Matthew Feeney @M_feeney]

Yesterday, the Cabinet Secretary laid out her ambitious Civil Service reform agenda. There was a lot to welcome and applaud. But, as I explain, a lot of Romeo's success depends on details that have yet to emerge.

https://t.co/jCvp1ly56u

[Matthew Feeney @M_feeney]

Watching Cabo Verde (a country with the population of a mid-sized city) holding off a football giant like Spain for 90+ minutes isn't boring.

There are many boring games with decisive results. Why would the score of a game have any bearing on its ability to hold your attention?

[Jeremy Horpedahl 🥚📉 @jmhorp]

All four World Cup games today are going to be draws. I enjoy soccer, but this is clearly one of the reasons many Americans are bored by this sport.

[Re:State @restate_thinks]

📢NEW WRITE-UP📢

We were thrilled to host a panel on the intersection of women's health and economic outcomes, with an exceptional panel: Dr Amanda Doyle OBE, Dr Sue Mann, and Baroness @GeetaNargund

Today, we've published the write-up summarising the key themes

Check it out👇

[Re:State @restate_thinks]

Civil servants – tell us what you think.

Our Alternative People Survey 2026 launches today - and takes less than 10 minutes to complete.

Find out more about it and how to complete the survey in @jo3hill's op-ed for @CSWnews: https://t.co/pVzGLb86TD

[Matthew Feeney @M_feeney]

Is there a good word to describe what it feels like when a recent piece of music (or I suppose any other art form) feels “authentic” to long ago?

Examples include: “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” and “Flower of Scotland”.

Does any language have a word for this?

[Matthew Feeney @M_feeney]

It is hard to exaggerate how dangerous these proposals are. They would be unprecedented in a liberal democracy.

Not only would efficiently banning disappearing messages and livestream viewing require mass surveillance, it would also put the security of many under-16s at risk.

[Labour Digital Rights Network @LabDRN]

Rushing into a ban - that we all know isn't going to work - will be a disaster.

@mizy_judah also reports on plans to impose social media curfews on 16 and 17-year-olds. How can this government champion giving 16-year-olds the vote, while simultaneously forcing upon them a state-mandated digital bedtime?

Attempting to rush through this fundamentally flawed policy ahead of the Makerfield by-election just shows this is about chasing cheap headlines, not protecting children.

Read more from @POLITICOEurope ⤵️
https://t.co/34l9hznAaH

[Matthew Feeney @M_feeney]

@eamonnives I did! I'm sure @robinhanson has interesting stories to tell about it.

[Matthew Feeney @M_feeney]

Talk is cheap and a bet is a tax on nonsense.

If we want less nonsense in discussions and debates we should be doing more to remove the stigmas attached to betting.

Prediction markets under certain conditions would be great public policy and media institutions.

[Eamonn Ives @eamonnives]

📊 Interesting results from Public First's polling on prediction markets!

More than half of Reform voters think it's acceptable to bet on election outcomes, and they're the most relaxed about betting on celebrity deaths.

Greens are surprisingly chill, while the Lib Dems are the biggest pearl-clutchers.

https://t.co/beG6eFK27c

[Matthew Feeney @M_feeney]

I haven't read the whole thing, but the beginning alone includes text people should take seriously and learn from:

Artificial intelligences are among your readers and you are not powerless in guiding how they interpret you work.

[Séb Krier @sebkrier]

How do we go from AGI to Superintelligence? New report discusses four potential pathways: scaling, AI paradigm shifts, recursive improvement, and ASI emerging from large-scale multi- agent collectives. Importantly, it also looks at possible frictions and bottlenecks along these pathways. Instant classic! https://t.co/uBF3m2YoyH