James Conran

Comparative political economist. Teaching @BlavatnikSchool, Oxford. Views my own, if at all.

[Aaron Bastani @AaronBastani]

We spend £66 billion on defence, and £18 billion on policing.

Ask the average voter - in Al Carns’ or John Healey’s seat - which is in dire need of more money. Westminster journalists may be surprised!

[Daniel Finn @DanFinn95]

I would love to drop this pair of racist chumps down in the midst of a company of UDA men who've consumed enough coke to kill an elephant so they can tell them how impressed they are by their desire to be Irish. In fact I'll pay their air fares myself to make it happen.

[Ryan Burge 📊 @ryanburge]

Generation Z has the lowest levels of interpersonal trust of any generation we've ever polled.

And although the data is time limited, the velocity of their decline in trust already far exceeds any previous generation.

[Sam McBride @SJAMcBride]

Belfast knife attack suspect Hadi Alodid was granted asylum under a fast-track application scheme introduced by two of Nigel Farage's senior colleagues. It meant he'd only to complete a Home Office questionnaire rather than attend a face-to-face interview. https://t.co/DhOJSLSv8w

[Connor Mulhern @connoramulhern]

World Cup in USA overall: a complete mess mixed in with horrific racism

Algeria subplot:

[James Conran @JamesConran1]

[scenes of masked loyalists in burning streets, union jacks fluttering from the lampposts]

[Aaron Rupar @atrupar]

Kilmeade to an agreeing Markwayne Mullin: "In Belfast they're standing up because their leaders have let them down. They're trying to take their country back. They want to label them as racist. All they want to be is Irish. They want Ireland back. And that is what we've been saying for the longest time. I see a lot of the same fights here."

[Daniel Seidemann @DanielSeidemann]

For many years, I took barbs for refusing to call Israel's policy in East Jerusalem "ethnic cleansing". After all, there were 60,000 Palestinians in East Jerusalem in 1967, and 400,000 today. Occupation sucked, and included war crimes, but it wasn't ethnic cleansing.

That has changed now.

There are 3 Palestinian neighborhoods, all of whose residents are being or are about to be displaced: Batan al-Hawa and al-Bustan in Silwan, and Um Haroun in Sheik Jarrah. The latter two are being razed, or will be razed in the near future.

And immediately to the east, the Bedouin hamlet of Khan al-Akmar, adjacent to E-1, is about to be expelled, part of an attempt to "cleanse" Area C between East Jerusalem and the Jordan River valley of its Palestinian residents.

Regrettably, I can think of no other term to use other than "ethnic cleansing".

[James Conran @JamesConran1]

@gavinmuellerphd @cszabla 20% right?

[Lee Cain @MrLeeCain]

Extraordinary nugget in @ShippersUnbound’s excellent interview with Kemi Badenoch. Asked directly if she’d put Farage into No.10 if he fell short of a majority, she made clear the answer is yes. Seems very politically naive in both directions. Voters on the right now have one fewer reason to back the Tories over Reform. And in London and Lib Dem swings seats, the anti reform coalition just got a gift: “Vote Tory, get Farage.” No real upside to announcing this two years before polling day. Fascinated to see how CCHQ handle the follow ups….

[EU_Eurostat @EU_Eurostat]

In 2025, the unemployment rate in the EU was 6.0% for people aged 15-74 in the labour force, up slightly from 5.9% in 2024.💼📈

Highest unemployment rate in:
🇪🇸Spain (10.5%)
🇫🇮Finland (9.7%)

Lowest:
🇨🇿Czechia (2.8%)
🇵🇱Poland and 🇲🇹Malta (both 3.1%)

👉https://t.co/YuZQIvydc4

[The Associated Press @AP]

BREAKING: An Indian official said three Indian mariners were killed on board a tanker targeted by the U.S. military over allegedly violating America’s blockade on Iran. https://t.co/lz32JAPKKE

[Ragıp Soylu @ragipsoylu]

WOW, Trump administration has launched a probe into Iran war critic Trita Parsi and is considering to cancel his Green Card and deport him out of the country, The Free Press reports

[Christiaan Triebert @trbrtc]

On the first day of the war, U.S. precision strikes killed 120 children at a school and 21 civilians at/near a sports hall. Just last night, precision strikes destroyed a drinking water facility serving 20,000 people in 100°F heat. “Very precise, very controlled.”

[Robert Malley @Rob_Malley]

If they truly believe this, it has all the hallmarks of someone despairing at not getting his way, flailing, lashing out, mistaking military escalation for leverage, only to discover yet again that pressure won’t alter Iran’s stance ...

[James Conran @JamesConran1]

@BrankoMilan Eamon DeValera spent most of the Irish war of independence in America. Admittedly he’d escaped from a British gaol but his purpose was the same as Zelensky’s.

[Mark Malone @soundmigration]

We've seen this all before

[JPCampbellBiz @JP_Biz]

Time to blow the dust off those CTA explainers from Brexit times. An arrangement on which there was near total political consensus.

[Sky News @SkyNews]

Earlier today, the family of the Belfast attack victim said they "do not want this terrible tragedy to be used to divide people or fuel hostilities".

Sky's @BethRigby asked Reform UK leader Nigel Farage about their comments ⬇️

Belfast live updates: https://t.co/HoWha2BJUV

[The News Agents @TheNewsAgents]

"Last night we had really racist pogroms, or attempted pogroms, on the streets of Belfast."

@MatthewOToole2 tells @lewis_goodall of having to drive children, whose homes were set on fire, to places of shelter.

"I'm not sure that experience will leave me for a while."

[Belfast Telegraph @BelTel]

An anti-immigration protest had been planned for Belfast City Hall this evening, but it failed to materialise as only three individuals turned up. Instead, tourists took the opportunity for a snap with Sergeant Dave from hit BBC show Peelers https://t.co/qsCeUdUI92
📸 @Kscott_94