8 May 2012: 'there's too little analysis of our current crisis'

Aditya Chakraborrty returns to his earlier Guardian discussion about academic work on the crisis. A few prominent exceptions (including CRESC) aside, he says there is too little of it. '[O]ur discussion of the economic crisis needs to be made democratic, and ... academics have a role to play in that. Otherwise, we're guaranteed that the people who steered us  into the mess will be the ones prescribing how we get out.'

7 May 2012: 'Apple can afford to make iPhone in U.S., say researchers'

Not so, says a critical response in MacDailyNews to CRESC's Apple Business Model working paper. MacDailyNews argues that 'The problem isn’t the economics, the problems are the Amercian worker vs. the foreign worker, education, geography, and scale'

4 May 2012: 'What’s Good for Apple is Not Good for the Country'

The American Sociological Association report of CRESC's Apple Business Model working paper has today been reprinted in the US political magazine, Counterpunch.

3 May 2012: 'Apple economics: Maximize profit, minimize employment'

The debate about the Apple Business Model continues, this time on the American Sociological Assocation website with a piece by Matt Vidal which compares Apple's own claims about its US payroll with CRESC's Apple Business Model working paper.

2 May 2012: Apple Business Model discussed in Irish Left Review

CRESC's Apple Business Model working paper is discussed at length on the Irish Left Review website, which draws comparative lessons between the offshoring to China and to Ireland.

30 April 2012: 'Pass The Misery: How Apple's Business Model Hurts The U.S. And Asia'

The Nano Patents and Innovations blog explores CRESC's new Apple Business Model working paper. 'If Apple were willing to accept lower margins and the assembly labour on the iPhone were onshore and paid at US rates, Apple would still have a gross margin of nearly 50%.'

30 April 2012: The Apple Business Model: a view from Australia

Guy Cranswick offers a view of the Apple Business Model on the ZDNet web page, using CRESC's Apple Business Model statistics explore the large difference in prices for identical Apple products sold in different international markets.

28 April 2012: 'Apple's 'pinnacle of capitalism' economic model harms US and Asia job prospects'

CRESC's Apple Business Model working paper is covered on the MancunianMatters website. It quotes the Guardian's Aditya Chakrabortty who has also written about the Apple Business model (see below): 'Apple utilises foreign contracts neither to keep customer’s costs down, as the price of their software is still high; nor for the company’s survival, but to direct ‘ever more money to those at the top of American society.’  

27 April 2012: 'maybe those jobs can come back'

In her weekly roudup of news on Apple, Forbes' Connie Guglielmo reports on CRESC's Apple Business Model working paper. If CRESC's argument is right then Steve Jobs was wrong: those jobs could come back to the US.

25 April 2012: 'Why Is The iPhone Made In China?'

Describing CRESC's working paper, Apple Business Model, Byte author Jacob Lopez notes the importance of addtional costs not included in the CRESC calculations, including the price of rare earths and environmental legislation.

24 April 2012: 'Apple Could Profitably Build Products In America – Report'

There's a link to CRESC's working paper, Apple Business Model, on today's Cult Of Mac website.

24 April 2012: 'Apple Can Afford to Make iPhone in U.S., Researchers Claim'

The new CRESC report on the  Apple Business Model is today written up on the PC Magazine website. 'If Apple were willing to accept lower margins and the 8 hours of assembly labor on the iPhone were on-shore and paid at U.S. rates, Apple would still have a gross margin of nearly 50 percent'

24 April 2012: 'Here's How Much Money Apple Would Lose by Manufacturing the iPhone in the U.S.'

Seth Fiegerman describes CRESC's new Apple Business Model research in Business Insider, noting that the loss is sustainable but 'don't factor in the full costs of moving operations to the U.S. including building new manufacturing plants and recruiting'

23 April 2012; 'Apple: why doesn't it employ more US workers?'

Aditya Chakrabortty writes his G2 column in today's Guardian on Apple's outsourcing model - design in the US and production by Foxconn in China. He cites CRESC's new working paper, Apple Business Model, to show that Apple would still be hugely profitable it it manufactured in the US.

19 April 2012: The Eurozone Crisis? It's really about banking failure

The Guardian's lead editorial today explores the continuing Eurozone crisis. 'It's a sign of how bad things have got in the euro crisis that a not-entirely terrible bond auction counts as good news'. And then it builds on CRESC's new Deep Stall working paper to argue that it's really a banking crisis. CRESC 'compares the eurozone collapse with a plane crash and finds one big difference: whereas everyone in the aviation industry – from passengers to planemakers to airlines – has a vested interest in keeping planes up in the air, the banks have no such commitment to keeping the rest of the financial system afloat as long as they get paid out.'

11 April 2012: 'A 1963 plane crash can help us understand the eurozone crisis and why it threatens us all'

CRESC's Karel Williams writes in today's Guardian 'Comment is Free' column about Deep Stall, the new CRESC working paper on the Eurozone crisis. 'Aircraft that fall out of the sky can be re-engineered ... the private interests of plane makers and airline operators coincide... with the social interest of regulators and the flying public. European banking is unfixable because our technical knowledge is rudimentary and the basic political condition about coincidence of private and social interest is not satisfied.'

3 April 2012: European countries dependent on financiers in other countries

Aditya Chakrabortty today argues in the Guardian that the bankers have a disprportionate say in the southern European refinancing packages. But why? In answer he draws on CRESC's new working paper, Deep Stall, which reveals (Chakrabortty's words) that 'countries across Europe are, through both their public and private sectors, so dependent on financiers in other countries for credit.'

19 March 2012: 'Learning from the baroque'

CRESC's John Law is interviewed by editor Erling Rimehaug on the baroque as a method for knowing the world in the Norwegian Daily Paper Vårt Land. 'My interest in the Baroque is what it means for empirical research. What would happen if we started using some of its techniques and ways of thinking?' The article appeared on pages 24-25 of today's Vårt Land.

26 February 2012: 'We need new thinking to bring home the UK bacon'

Reflecting on the need to rebalance the economy, the FT's Tony Jackson today argues that it won't do to leave this to the markets. Picking winners doesn't work, and there are limits to high-tech innovation too. He cites Karel Williams who argues that important substitution is a crucial part of the solution - for instance in bacon production where over 80% comes from overseas.

5 February 2012: 'Fat cat Britain'

The Independent on Sunday today explores the  public sector bonus culture, tracing it back to changes in the private sector starting in 1990. It cites CRESC's Karel Williams: 'The whole industry became the bubble that set its own standards. ... Despite all the illusions of independent auditors and external consultants, [it] was only ever accountable to itself.'

5 February 2012: 'the government should legislate to bring compensation ratios down'

In a major article in today's Observer by Heather Stewart and Katie Allen, CRESC Karel Williams is quoted at length about the banking sector's compensation ratios which can reach 40% and depend on turnover, not profits. He adds 'that in the days of payouts to partners, those senior employees put up the capital and risked their own livelihoods.' Current employees are not risking their own capital. 

30 January 2012: 'boardroom kleptocracy finally breaks through the political sound barrier'

Polly Toynbee writes in today's Guardian about fnancial boardroom bonuses, and the decision by RBS's Stephen Hester to turn his controversial bonus valued at just under £1m. This decision, writes Toynbee, 'marks a seismic political moment.' She quotes CRESC's Karel Williams who notes that there is 'a very weak link between pay and performance'.

28 January 2012: Will Europe end up protecting its car-makers?

With US car-making robounding, most European car-makers are under pressure. CRESC's Karel Williams is quoted in the Sonic Producer Web: 'Fiat, Peugeot-Citroen, Renault, anybody producing in Europe outside Germany is in a mess'. Cross-border consolidation is under way, and while EU leaders have other concerns right now, they might in due course decised they should protect the European industry.

25 January 2012: European car manufactuers are struggling

In a review of the current state of US and European car manufacturing, The Detroit News columnist Neil Winton notes that in Europe natonal interests beat cross-border collaboration. He quotes CRESC's Karel Williams: 'They (including GM Europe and Ford Europe) are all competing in forms of competition which leaves them with no pricing power whatsoever.' But he goes on to argue that beneath the surface European manufacturers are starting to cooperate.

7 January 2012: 'Managers and markets: a special relationship'

In a series of three entries on his havingtheircake.com blog, Don Young cites CRESC's Financialisation and Strategy: Narrative and Numbers, and outlines the argument it makes about the importance of narrative in shaping markets and understanding of markets. For the three blog entries click here, here, and here.

7 January 2012: Kath Woodward on Reasons to be cheerful

CRESC's Kath Woodward was interviewed by Meera Syal in the Radio 4 show Reasons to be Cheerful. Kath talked about her work on boxing - Syal describing herself as a 'pacifist boxer', and says that the fact that women can now enjoy boxing is an important reason to be cheerful.

December-January 2012: 'Train building: reviving high-tech engineering in the UK'

Karel Williams discusses the Bombardier procurement decision in a major article in Rail Technology Magazine. "The real success we had was that the CRESC report, 'How Not to Build Trains', highlighted bundling [finance and mnufacturing] as the basic mistake, and that had been carried through into the [House of Commons] select committee report."

29 December 2011: 'Bombardier, train making and industrial policy in the UK'

Professor David Bailey of the Coventry Business School writes a long piece on Bombardier and the state train manufacturing in the UK in the Birmingham Post Business Blog. He draws heavily on CRESC's Knowing what to do. How not to build trains report, adding that 'Easily the most detailed and complete analysis on the subject has come from [the CRESC] researchers.'

29 December 2011: 'Le mirage dans lequel se regarde la <bancocratie> britannique'

The left wing French blog, Gauche 2012, reviews the state of finance in the UK, describing UK politics as a 'bankocracy'. The article cites CRESC research on the levels of employment in the UK's finance sector, and the levels of its taxation which it describes has being relatively limited.

28 December 2011: El Mundo reviews the state of the British economy

El Mundo, the major Spanish newspaper, today reviews the state of the British economy and the dominance of finance in British politics. As a part of this the newspaper draws on CRESC research on the relatively limited tax generated by the financial sector.

25 December 2011: 'Reforms won't prevent another crisis'

DeansTalk, the Management Education Blog, links to a Manchester Business School Wiki piece by CRESC's Karel Williams on the inadequacy of the financial reforms post the 2008 financial crisis. “What actually happened was that finance won out. In the UK it won out because the finance sector can effectively lobby the executive. In the US it won out because it lobbies the legislature. In Europe it won out through the lobbying of the committee system.” 

23 December 2011 'Is 'disconnect' set to become the new buzzword of 2012?'

Mindful Money, an electronic newsletter for the professional investors, predicts that 'disconnect' will become the new buzzword for 2012. There are disconnects between people and politics, people and finance, and between governments and markets. In the latter governments and peoples have become the servants of markets. The article draws on CRESC's Groundhog Day: Elite power, democratic disconnects, and the failure of financial reform in the UK report at length.

20 December 2011: 'Banking safeguards welcomed by experts'

Tonight the Manchester Evening News picks up the This is Money report of 19th December, again quoting CRESC and MBS's Ismail Erturk.

19 December 2011: 'Banks to be split ....'

In a report on the Government's announcement that it intends to implement most of the banking reforms proposed by the Independent Commission on Banking Reform the Daily Mail's This is Money website quotes CRESC and MBS's Ismail Erturk:  “It is a good move because all this sound and fury about eurozone and the veto takes the attention away from the real problem which is both the UK and the eurozone have a huge banking problem which is worse than the sovereign debt problem.”

14 December 2011: 'PM blinkered for bowing to banks'

Today's Belfast Telegraph picks up on CRESC's After the Great Complacence  research to suggest that the Prime Minister has been misled about the importance of finance to the economy. The tax take from financial services between 2002 and 2008 was £190bn - compared with £380bn from the manufacturing sector.

14 December 2011: The Good Banking Forum

Aditya Chakraborty's G2 piece on bankocracy (see 13 December 2011 below) has been picked up in the Good Banking Forum. Chakraborrty draws on CRESC's After the Great Complacence, and the Good Banking Forum writes that: '“The Cresc team totted up the taxes paid by the finance sector between 2002 and 2008, the six years in which the City was having an almighty boom: at £193bn, it’s still only getting on for half the £378bn paid by manufacturing. “

13 December 2011: 'Bankocracy: ruled by the banks, for the banks'

Britain is ruled by finance and the banks. That is Aditya Chakarborrty's theme in today's G2. Citing CRESC research and its new book, After the Great Complacence, Chakraborrty explores the subservience of politics to the City and shows that claims by the latter that it is a vital national interest bringing jobs, contributing taxes, and lending effectively are all flawed. Manufacturing industry is more important for taxes and jobs, and it is ill-served by the banks. 'In a poorer country, the cosiness of relations between bankers and politicians would be scrutinised by an official from the World Bank and disdainfully pronounced as pure cronyism. In Britain, we need to come up with a new word for this type of dysfunctional capitalism – where banks neither lend nor pay their way in taxes, yet retain a stranglehold on policy-making. We could try bankocracy: ruled by the banks, for the banks.'

13 December 2011: Nicholas Shaxson picks up on CRESC research

In his blog Nicholas Shaxson, author of  the Treasure Islands book on tax havens recommends After the Great Complacence. He writes that the book is 'a little too academic for my tastes, but nevertheless it makes up for that in the force of its content. I am half way through it, and I can already see that it makes a major contribution to the debate about finance in Britain. Anyone interested in this subject should read it.'

13 December 2011: 'Bombardier campaigners await report over Thameslink rethink'

The House of Commons Transport Select Committee will shortly publish its report on the controversial Thameslink train procurement decision. Today's Derby Telegraph reviews the evidence presented at the inquiry, and cites CRESC's Karel Williams 'who told it that officials should have taken account of "socio-economic impacts", such as the effect on employment, in making their decision.' For CRESC's original report see  Knowing What to Do? How Not to Build Trains.

9 December 2011: 'the structural problems in Europe are still unresolved'

On the first day of the Eurozone crisis summit in Brussels CRESC's Karel Williams joins Peter de Keyser on the keynote BBC Radio 5 Live programme Wake up to Money. He argues that while there is some progress, the the major Eurozone problems remain unresolved. 

7 December 2011: 'Thatcherism as tragedy then farce'

Will Davies writes sceptically about private sector job creation in his blog today, where he cites and recommends CRESC's After the Great Complacence. Will Davies is Academic Director at the Centre for Mutual and Employee-Owned Business at Kellogg College, University of Oxford.

3 December 2011: 'a short, masterly hatchet job'

Paul Mason's five economics books of the year includes CRESC's After the Great Complacence. Mason tells his Guardian readers that this 'short, masterly hatchet job on the "30-year experiment" in credit-fuelled growth in Britain should be read by every policy-maker currently engaged in the rhetoric of "rebalancing".'

29 November 2011: 'Long stretch to build growth in North'

Interviewed on the Today Programme on the day of the Autumn Financial Statement, CRESC's Karel Williams argues that 'we've got to think well beyond the generic pro-enteprise, flexibilised labour markets, low taxes policies, we've had for the last thirty years and think about focused new industrial policies for sectors, clusters and networks.'

28 November 2011: 'How can Britain be re-industrialised?'

Britain has been de-industrialising for over 30 years. But with the failure of finance, what can be done to reverse this trend? This is the topic of Newsnight tonight which again draws on CRESC research, with comments and contributions from Karel Williams. The CRESC research can be found in a press release and our new downloadable report Groundhog Day: Elite power, democratic disconnects, and the failure of financial reform in the UK.

28 November 2011: 'Growth: easy to commit to, hard to do'

Newsnight's Paul Mason today writes a long piece in his blog on the need for industrial policy. He writes that 'for 30 years, successive governments stood by and allowed manufacturing to shrink rapidly', adding that there is no easy technical solution. Drawing on CRESC research he quotes Karel Williams: 'Once the answer is not 'the market will solve things the answers are not easy'  It is not easy just to decide to have an industrial policy, ... says Williams, and it is very easy to decide to have the wrong one.' For more details of the CRESC research see the press release and a downloadable pdf of the Report.

18 November 2011: 'Young Londoners question the five Olympic Promises'

Young citizen journalists supported by the BBC World Service and CRESC's 'Reframing the Nation' research theme will shortly be looking behind the five Olympic promises. The young people, aged from 15 to 21, all live close to the East London Olympic Park. For more details visit the BBC London News website.

17 November 2011: 'Why doesn't Britain make things any more?'

Aditya Chakrabortty offers a trenchant analysis of the de-industrialisation of Britain over thirty years and how government policies that have contributed to this. In today's Guardian G2 he writes: 'When Thatcher came to power, manufacturing accounted for almost 30% of Britain's national income and employed 6.8 million people. By the time Brown left Downing Street last May, it was down to just over 11% of the economy, with a workforce of 2.5 million.' Chakrabortty cites CRESC's research on the importance of the state in creating new jobs between 1998 and 2007. 

10 November 2011: 'Stress levels rise as cuts bite'

In an article on unemployment, scress and declining living standards in the industrial areas of South Wales the Financial Times cites CRESC research which shows the dependence of Welsh households on benefits.

19 October: 'The North must remake itself politically to create a sustainable financial future'

Karel Williams writes in the Yorkshire Post about how changes in politics and the shft away from manufacturing to finance in the UK has led to the loss of jobs, prosperity and political power in the English regions such as the North.'... we need ... to learn from the Scots agenda for regional governance which creates institutions and claims resources. Yorkshire and the North East must reinvent themselves politically before they can claim a sustainable economic future. In his piece he also draws on the new CRESC book, After the Great Complacence

13 October 2011: 'Lord Mandelson: When Mandy saw the Light'

In today's Independent Lord Mandelson talks about his conversion to a 'third way' between nationalisation and laissez faire for industrial policy. The article cites CRESC's research on 'rebalancing the economy' between industry and financial services in the context of Mandelson's third way industrial policy.

9 October 2011: 'Big Bang's shockwaves left us with today's big bust'

The City of London was deregulated in Mrs Thatcher's 'big bang' twenty-five years ago in 1986. That controversial moment and its consequences are still being debated. In a major Observer article today, Heather Stewart and Simon Goodley review the debates, citing CRESC's new OUP book, After the Great Complacence. 'Deregulation,' says Karel Williams in the Observer piece, 'allowed the City to construct long lines of indebtedness, which are completely beyond technical regulation and, as we see with the eurozone crisis, beyond political management.'

8 October 2011: 'MPs urged to make decision on next move over rail deal'

In the contining debate about the award of the Thameslink contract to Siemens, today's Derby Telegraph reports that Derby City Council is writing to the House of Commons Transport Select Committee. The article cites CRESC's Karel Williams' evidence to that committee, which was based on the  CRESC's report, Knowing What to Do? How Not to Build Trains

13 September 2011: 'City of London like a medieval city state'

Nick Shaxson, author of the book on tax havens called Treasure Islands recommends CRESC's working paper on City State against National Settlement in his blog. The report is, he says, 'incredibly important.'

13 September 2011: 'Government may yet see sense and throw a lifeline to Bombardier'

The Left Foot Forward Blog reviews the current state of the railway manufacturing industry after the Thameslink procurementdecision in an article by Matt Dykes, the TUC's Transport Policy Officer. Academics including CRESC's Karel Williams made what Dykes describes as 'valuable contributions' to the recent inquiry by the House of Commons Select Committee on Transport.

10 September 2011: Most Trains in France, Germany and Italy built in their own countries

The Daily Express today quotes Karel Williams who draws on CRESC's Knowing What to Do? How Not to Build Trains. The Express transport editor, John Ingham also notes that  socio-economic factors could have been considered if they had been in the bidding criteria.

9 September 2011: Unite quotes CRESC report in its written submission to the Transport Select Commitee

The social and economic impact of the decision to award the Thameslink train procurement project to Siemens rather than Bombardier is reviewed in Unite's written submission to the House of Commons Transport Select Committee which quotes CRESC's Knowing What to Do? How Not to Build Trains report. For details, see Hansard.

9 September 2011: Rail Technology Magazine reports Transport Select Commitee hearing

Rail Technology Magazine describes the Transport Select Committee hearing, and lobbying by Bombardier workers in London. It reports that 'Professor Karel Williams, Director of the ESCR Centre for Research on Socio-Cultural Change at the University of Manchester, called the ‘bundling’ of the contract a “fundamental mistake”. He said it made it “almost inevitable” that the bidder with the better credit rating would be chosen, and because of Siemens’ status as a bank and its business portfolio, it enjoys an A+ rating, as opposed to Bombardier’s much lower B++.'

9 September 2011: 'Saddened Industry Boss wants Rule Change'

Today's Derby Telegraph reports that Sir Roger Carr, President of the CBI, is seeking a change in procurement rules to secure a level playing field in future train procurement decisions. The paper adds that: 'At a Transport Select Committee meeting on Wednesday, Professor Karel Williams told MPs that the DfT's decision to make the firms' credit ratings a key factor meant Bombardier's chances of winning the deal were doomed from the start, because Siemens' rating was superior.' Karel WIlliams was drawing on CRESC's Knowing What to Do? How Not to Build Trains report.

8 September 2011: 'Inquiry into UK rolling stock procurement launched'

In Government Opportunities the Transport Select Committee inquiry into the Thameslink procurement decision is juxtaposed with CRESC's Knowing What to Do? How Not to Build Trains finding that the different credit ratings of Siemens and Bombardier put the latter at as disadvantage. It adds that 'the research concludes that a broader calculation of the costs and benefits of the two bids, including income tax paid by British workers, would have made the Bombardier bid more financially attractive'. It adds that 'Transport Secretary Philip Hammond has admitted that the UK is not ‘making best use’ of the EU rules.'

8 September 2011: 'Thameslink contract: rip it up and start again'

CRESC's Karel Williams contributes to today's Public Finance on the Transport Select Committee inquiry into the Thameslink procurement decision. He reviews the role of the PFI in the contract decision, concludes his piece by aruing that 'there is a solution. Both the EU representative and Hammond agreed, we could rip up the contract and start again.'

8 September 2011: 'officials had only looks at price when the chose Siemens'

The Derby Telegraph report on the Transport Select Committee inquiry into the Thameslink procurement decision quotes CRESC research on the PFI process, and quotes Karel William's evidence the committee. Price should not have been the only factor. Williams '... said that for a deal of that size, ... [the Government] should also have taken account of "socio-economic impacts", such as the effect on employment.'

8 September 2011: 'Government's Thameslink bid "was like buying a toaster''

Mark Ellis, Industrial Correspondent of the Daily Mirror, today reports on the Transport Select Committee inquiry into the Thameslink procurement decision. He notes that 'Professor Karel Williams told the Commons transport select committee that the drive for value ignored the impact of job losses. The Manchester University academic said: “It was like choosing a toaster at John Lewis, but for a £1.4billion deal it was not ­appropriate – this was a contract about the future of train making in the UK.”' For full details see the CRESC report Knowing What to Do? How Not to Build Trains.

8 September 2011: 'Vital Bombardier Train Deal 'Treated Like Buying Toaster''

CRESC's Karel Williams is quoted in today's Daily Express in an article by John Ingham and Martyn Brown on the Thameslink train procurement decision. 'Prof Williams, head of the Centre for Research on Socio-Cultural Change, said [of the government's approach that]: “It adopted the same approach as you or I buying a toaster from John Lewis. It needs to behave differently when handling a large-scale contract with implications for British industry.”'

7 September 2011: 'value for money was defined very narrowly'

The full transcript of the House of Commons Select Committee on transport, including Karel Williams' evidence to that committee is now available from Hansard. Karel Williams also spoke to the Committee about the problem of broken supply chains in British industry.

7 September 2011: House of Commons Transport Select Committee

The video of the hearing on the Thameslink Procurement Decision, including evidence from Karel Williams, is available on Parliament TV.

7 September 2011:  House of Commons Transport Select Committee interviews witnesses including CRESC's Karel Williams on Thameslink Procurement Decision

BBC News reports that Karel Williams told the committee that '"Finances played an extremely important part in this deal as opposed to choosing the best train".'

7 September 2011: 'Thameslink contract award cost UK £100m, MPs told'

The House of Commons Transport Select Committee hears from witnesses including CRESC's Karel Williams who is reported in Public Finance as estimating 'that around 1,000 jobs would have been saved by the award of contract to Derby, providing the Treasury with tax receipts of almost £20m per annum, and with a total benefit to the economy of over £100m.'

7 September 2011: FT reports on Transport Select Committee investigation of Thameslink Contract

The Financial Times' Alison Smith draws on evidence from CRESC's Karel Williams on the Bombardier's costs of financing the contract.

7 September 2011: 'Campaigners hope to win support of MPs'

In the build-up to the House of Commons Transport Select Committee hearing, The Derby Telegraph describes the role of evidence from academics including CRESC's Knowing What to Do? How Not to Build Trains estimates of the tax losst as a result of the decision to award the contract to Siemens.

6 September 2011: 'Bombardier's supply chain - the wider lessons'

Duncan Weldon in Labour List describes the findings of CRESC's report on  Knowing What to Do? How Not to Build Trains in the context of subsequent job losses. (For a map of these see Google maps). He adds that  'the full report ... released in July, is well worth a read.' Weldon's report is also in UK Poli Blogs.

6 September 2011: 'Partnership report uncovers an uneven playing field'

CRESC's Karel Williams writes in today's Independent on the Thameslink procurement decision. 'Because the contract “bundled” train building and rolling stock finance together, judgements about which company could build better and cheaper trains were contaminated by the question of who could raise lease financing more cheaply.'

22 August 2011: 'Bombardier supporters prepare for MP's hearing'

Preparations for the inquiry House of Commons Select Committee on Transport into the Thamslink procurement decision are described in the Derby Telegraph. The report cites CRESC's Knowing What to Do? How Not to Build Trains.

August 2011: 'The banker' friend'

CRESC's Karel Williams and Mick Moran write in the Red Pepper blog about the United Kingdom Financial Investments (UKFI), the UK's holding company for the partially nationalised RBS and Lloyds. They note that the senior staff are mostly banking insiders and reflect the values of the financial markets.

28 July 2011: CRESC Report cited by TUC

The TUC's Green Workplaces News cites CRESC's Knowing What to Do? How Not to Build Trains report in its July Bulletin. 'Here's the question that the MU researchers ask: In the UK who is it that actually believes that the decision to award the contract to Siemens was a good idea?'

26 July 2011: CRESC Thameslink report cited in TUC staff blog

Citing CRESC's Knowing What to Do? How Not to Build Trains, Philip Pearson reviews the decision to award the Thameslink train contract to Siemens in the TUC's informal ToUChstone blog. 'Here’s the question that the MU researchers ask: In the UK who is it that actually believes that the decision to award the contract to Siemens was a good idea?'

25 July 2011: CRESC statistics on manufacturing used on BBC's Newsnight

Peter Mandelson and Newsnight's Paul Mason visit the North East of England to debate industrial policy under Labour and the present coalition government. As part of the context Newsnight uses CRESC statistics on the number of manufacturing jobs lost under Labour, and the % fall in manufacturing contribution to GDP between 1997and 2010.

24 July 2011: 'Bombardier decision is so short-sighted'

The Mail on Sunday returns to the controversial Thameslink procurement decision. Lisa Buckingham, the Financial Mail Editor cites the CRESC report, Knowing What to Do? How Not to Build Trains, to argue that 'if this Government is serious about rebalancing the economy, it must look beyond blinkered PFI style contracts.'

22 July 2011: '90 days to make a difference to Derby'

CRESC's report, Knowing What to Do? How Not to Build Trains is cited by Diana Holland in today's Morning Star in a review of the Thameslink procurement decision, Holland argues that the decision needs to be revisited and cites evidence from the report about the wider social and economic context of the loss of the contract to Siemens.

19 July 2011: 'The job losses at Bombardier'

CRESC's report, Knowing What to Do? How Not to Build Trains is cited in the Socialist Economic Bulletin by Michael Burke. The CRESC report is described as offering a 'very valuable' account of the background reasons for the low level of investment in the Derby Bombardier factory which failed to secure the contact to build and maintain the Thameslink trains.  

18 July 2011: 'Derby woes show need for new economic model'

The CRESC report Knowing What to Do? How Not to Build Trains features in today's Financial TImes. Tony Jackson questions whether the government is "considering the costs and the opportunities [of procurement] in the round." He adds that: "The latest broadside on this comes from CRESC .... . The episode, says its report, shows that UK officialdom cannot even consider the question because it is a prisoner of liberal market ideology." "Something new," he says, "is needed."

17 July 2011: '"Which?" think may be a great way to buy a toaster; but it's no way to run a railway - let alone an economy.'

Heather Stewart draws on the argument of the new CRESC public interest report, Knowing What to Do? How Not to Build Trains, in today's Observer newspaper. Citing the report, she notes that 'if you do the sums correctly, awarding the contract to Siemens can't possibly offer value for money.'

16 July 2011: 'Siemens enjoyed an inherent advantage because it had a better credit rating than Bombardier'

Writing in The Daily Mail (see ThisisMoney.co.uk) business editor Alex Brummer revisits the Thameslink train procurement decision, and cites the CRESC public interest report, Knowing What to Do? How Not to Build Trains to argue that the government should revisit the decision.

15 July 2011: Conservative MPs ask: Was Thameslink train procurement fair?

The Derby Telegraph reports that Conservative MP Pauline Latham is to ask the Office of Fair Trading "to investigate whether the Government's procurement process overall was fair." Citing CRESC's Knowing What to Do? How Not to Build Trains, the Derby Telegraph adds that Mrs Latham and other Derbyshire MPs are to meet Prime Minister David Cameron about the fairness of the procurement process and concerns about the bogies for the new trains.

13 July 2011: Unite cites CRESC Thameslink Research

Today's Unite News Digest cites CRESCs Knowing What to Do? How Not to Build Trains report in the context of a union-government meeting about the Siemens/Bombardier Thameslink train contract.

13 July 2011: More from the Derby Telegraph: 'Academics Heap More Pressure on Ministers to Scrap Rail Deal'

The new CRESC report on the Thameslink decision (Knowing What to Do? How Not to Build Trains) features in a further report from the Derby Telegraph which sums up the decision to award the contract to Siemens by observing that 'It seems that everyone except the Government accepts that the Thameslink deal is horrifically flawed.'

13 July 2011: 'Contract put Bombardier at Disadvantage from the Start'

The CRESC report on the procurement of trains for Thameslink, Knowing What to Do? How Not to Build Trains, is outlined in the Derby Telegraph which also reports that RMT's Bob Crow will today present the report to the government's Transport Secretary.

13 July 2011: Bob Crow to present CRESC Bombardier report to Transport Secretary

CRESC's new report on train procurement is highlighted in today's Daily Express. It reports that RMT's Bob Crow will today pass Knowing What to Do? How Not to Build Trains to the government's Transport Secretary, Philip Hammond.

13 July 2011: 'Regions should put an end to their capital punishment'

CRESC's Karel Williams talks in the Yorkshire Post to the recent working paper on City State against National Settlement. 'Since the national political elite are captured by the interests of the city state in London, the English regions need to think about new economic policies that are driven by a social agenda for growth.'

13 July 2011: 'Study by boffins backs Bombardier'

In one of several articles today the Derby Telegraph cites CRESCs new report, Knowing What to Do? How Not to Build Trains, on the Thameslink train procurement project. It adds that the RMT union 'will submit the findings to Transport Secretary Philip Hammond'.

13 July 2011: CRESC Bombardier research mentioned on BBC Today Programme

Research findings from CRESC's new report on the decision to buy new trains for Thameslink from Siemens is mentioned on the BBC's national Today programme. The CRESC report says that Derby's Bombardier  was "always at a disadvantage because of the way the government structured the bid" because of the 30 year PFI deal and the fact it didn't take the economic impact of Bombardier losing the contract. A spokesman for the DTI is quoted admitting that "those costs could have been included at a much earlier stage in the bidding process."

12 July 2011: 'The story of British train-maker Bombardier reveals a hard lesson: who owns a company matters'

The G2's Aditya Chakrabortty uses CRESC's new report, Knowing What to Do? How Not to Build Trains in his column Comment is Free, to describe the long-term decline of railway engineering in Derby. He questions the government's narrow Which? 'best buy' approach to the recent decision to award a major Thameslink train contract to Siemens.

4 July 2011: 'Welcome to brand Manchester'

The Guardian's Aditya Chakrabortty looks at Manchester as a brand and talks to Adam Leaver from CRESC, who outlines the contradictions and tensions that can arise from regeneration in a Northern Industrial city.

1 July 2011: Sir Peter Hall: 'London has become the 21st-century equivalent of the medieval city state of Florence under the Borgias'

Sir Peter Hall, Bartlett Professor of Planning and Regeneration at University College London, talks in Planning (Nexis link here) about the City State against National Settlement working paper He writes: 'If you want something to make you jump out of your chair, try ... [this] report from the Centre for Research on Socio-Cultural Change.' 

16 June 2011: CRESC Regions report highlighted in Western Mail

Today the Western Mail picked up on the politics of the fiscal relatons between Wales and other regions, drawing on CRESC's new working paper, City State against National Settlement.

13 June 2011: CRESC 'compares the City to a mediaeval Italian city-state'

The Guardian's Larry Elliott reviews UK industrial policy and recommends CRESC's working paper, City State against National Settlement. 'This', he says, 'is an important study that should be required reading for ministers.'

9 June 2011: 'London Set to Benefit as Regions Lose'

The Yorkshire Post headlines CRESC's working paper City State against National Settlement, reporting that: 'The Government’s “vicious” fiscal policy will cut £81bn from the North and the Midlands while being kind to the working rich in London.'

9 June, 2011: 'Fiscal Policy will Wreck the Regions'

CRESC's new Working Paper, City State against National Settlement, is highlighted in The Northern Echo. Quoting CRESC's Karel Williams it says that current fiscal policy will wreck the regions because 'the national government is not working nationally, it is working on behalf of the [London] city state.'

23 May, 2011: Sophie Watson interviewed on BBC Radio 4's 'Thinking Allowed'

CRESC's Sophie Watson was interviewed by Laurie Taylor on the BBC's 'Thinking Allowed' on the issues explored in her new co-edited book: The New Companion to the City (with Gary Bridge). Click here for more details.

17 May 2011: CRESC's alternative report on banking reviewed

CRESC's Alternative Report on UK Banking Reform is reviewed in the Marxman blog. 'Without manufacturing industry', the review concludes, 'we cannot survive as a nation, as a people.'

25 April, 2011: 'British manufacturing: Reality bites'

A Guardian leader draws on CRESC's Rebalancing the Economy Working Paper and argues that 'all parties have colluded in the wilful neglect of manufacturing industry over the past three decades. The result in many cases is that British supply chains ... are broken'.

4 April, 2011: 'Sound Bites for a Sick Britain'

Aditya Chakraborrty writing in the Nation argues that Britain's politicians don't have effective policies for handlng the overblown finance sector. Citing CRESC's Rebalancing the Economy Working Paper, he also argues that they lack effective policies for supporting manufacturing.

29 March 2011: UK Manufacturing: CRESC report features on Radio 4 'You and Yours'

CRESC's Rebalancing the Economy work on firm size and manufacturing was used by interviewers to create questions in a phone-in for experts from  EEF, the City and Sheffield University. This is temporarily available on the web.

26th March 2011: Will the Budget Help UK's Manufacturing?

Not much, says Ruth Sunderland on thisismoney.co.uk, citing CRESC's Rebalancing the Economy working paper. 'For all the shouting from the City of London about its importance to the UK economy, a Cresc analysis shows that in the pre-crisis years from 2002 to 2008, even a weakened manufacturing sector generated more tax revenue - 13.4pc of the total - than finance, which contributed 6.8pc.'

22 March 2011: Rebalancing the Economy in the Birmingham Post blog

David Bailey draws on the Rebalancing the Economy working paper to argue that a Budget for growth would focused tax cuts on manufacturing industry, 'All of this will cost money', he adds, 'but would be well worth it in terms of fostering the genuine and sustainable 'rebalancing' that we need.'

13 March 2011: Hugh Mackay on Social Class in Wales

Hugh Mackay was interviewed by Byron Rogers for a BBC Wales four-part radio series on aspects of social class in Wales. The first part of the series was broadcast on March 13th with forthcoming broadcasts on ‘What happened to the Gwerin’ on Sun 20th & Tues 22nd, ‘Changes in Education & Work’ on Sun 27th & Tues 29th; and ‘Changes in Health, Housing & Culture’ on Sun 5 April & Tues 7 April.

13 March 2011: 'Rebalancing' Working Paper features in Sunday Times

It's becoming clear that the arguments about selective incentives for manufacturing developed in CRESC Working Paper 87 are engaging a wide audience. They have been presented to trade associations such as Intellect, the British IT manufacturers, and are being covered in the media. After Newsnight on 7th March, they appeared again today on page 10 of the Sunday Times Business in an article by Rachel Bridge called 'Made in Britain is So Much Sweeter'. This highlighted  value added promotion and CRESC's arguments about the need for focused new tax incentives for manufacturing, output expansion, investment and training.

7 March 2011: Karel Williams Interviewed on Newsnight

Karel Williams was interviewed today on BBC2's Newsnight by Paul Mason on the need for tax incentives for manufacturing.

7 March 2011: More on the 2011 UK Census

Evelyn Ruppert talked today on BBC Three Counties Radio on The Other One Show with Ronnie Barbour at 15:00 on the Census. If you live in the UK you can fill in your census return on-line now!

5 March 2011: The BBC Macedonian Service: final Broadcast

One of the consequences of recent cuts at the BBC World Service was the closure of the BBC Macedonian Service. The Service singed-off with a final broadcast that looked back over its history. CRESC's Alban Webb contributed to this programme – the interview in English was dubbed into Macedonian.

28 February 2011: Is there Still Sense in Running a Census?

The UK's 2011 Census may be the last.  In today's Independent CRESC's Evelyn Ruppert reviews the arguments for and against the traditional form of the census, and considers some of the alternatives and their implications.

26 February 2011: 'The Last Broadcasts to a Wider World'

CRESC's Alban Webb was featured in Irish Times article by London Editor, Mark Hennessy. It examined the consequences of recent cuts on the BBC World Service and their implications for how its broadcast remit, with particular emphasis on soft power / public diplomacy, will develop in the future.

18 February 2011: More on Rebalancing the Economy

CRESC's Working Paper on Rebalancing the Economy is highlighted by in an article by James Graham, the Business Correspondent of the North West's The Business Desk.com.

9 February 2011: Rebalancing the Economy

The Guardian's Aditya Chakraborrty has released a podcast following his 8 February article on rebuilding the British economy which uses CRESCs new Rebalancing the Economy Working Paper. Here's the link to the podcast.

8 February 2011: Rebalancing the Economy

CRESC's Rebalancing the Economy Working Paper is highlighted in The Engineer. Karel Williams notes that ’The problem with cutting corporation tax for all firms, as the chancellor proposes, is that you give away money to lots of firms who do what they were going to do anyway. Much better to target the financial assistance on changing the behaviour of small and medium manufacturers.’

8 February 2011: Rebalancing the Economy

5 February 2011: Short-termism, shareholder value and broken supply chains

Ruth Sunderland's Daily Mail column, Sunderland on Saturday, attacks shareholder activist's Edward Bransom unseating of the previous chairman of Foreign and Colonial Asset Management. She's sceptical, arguing for long-term rather than short-term thinking, and mentions CRESC's new Rebalancing the Economy Working Paper.

 

26 January 2011: BBC's Great British Class Survey Launched

The BBC today launched its on-line British class survey. Advisers to the project include CRESC's Mike Savage and Manchester Sociology's Fiona Devine. For more detail see our project description and visit  The Guardian.

25 January 2011: Manchester business leaders comment on 0.5% quarterly decline in GDP

Leading Manchester business leaders and commentators including CRESC's Professor Karel Williams respond to the unexpected quarterly decline in UK GDP figures revealed today. Read more in the Manchester Evening News.

December 2010: Jason Toynbee defends Black British Jazz in Jazz Rag Magazine

For the December 2010 edition of the magazine Jazz Rag Jason Toynbee wrote an article defending the project against recent reader's letters. In it he suggested that research into jazz and its socio-cultural dimensions was not only important in its own right but could also help to show how and why public funding for this diverse musical form might be of value.

22 November 2010: 'Eurozone troubles could lead to more GM factory closures'

Professor Karel Williams of CRESC says that, GM Europe has a good product range, but the company needs to see demand from consumers rise across several important markets. Read the full article in the Liverpool Daily Post

2 November 2010: 'David Cameron's talk about reviving British industry is nonsense'

CRESC research on the changing profile of British manufacturing industry is cited in a Guardian article by Aditya Chakraborrty. Britain remains the sixth largest manufacturing nation in the world, and the overall size of the manufacturing sector has not declined but 76% of employees work in firms with 10 or fewer employees compared with 52% in 1983.

19 October 2010: 'Popular South Lakes street arts festival generates £1.6 million for local economy'

The Mintfest International Street Arts Festival in Kendal at the end of August gave a big boost to businesses in the South Lakes. Provisional figures from a CRESC study show that Mintfest accounted for about £1.6 million of extra spending. Read more from the Northwest Regional Development Agency

17 October 2010: 'Row over public funding for research into history of black British jazz'

In today's Sunday Telegraph CRESC OU affiliate Jason Toynbee defends the AHRC grant of nearly half a million pounds on Black British Jazz against claims that it's not possible to separate this from other traditions in British jazz. 

21 September 2010: 'Britain's economy is broken: this is how to start fixing it'

The launch of the New Political Economy E-book on Britain's broken economy is covered by Jonathan Rutherford and Aditya Chakraborrty in The Guardian. The e-book is a collaboration between CRESC and other scholars.

14 June 2010: 'How the banks won'

Will Hutton's Channel 4 Dispatches programme, How the Banks won, used extensive research drawn on CRESC Working Paper 75 on Undisclosed and unsustainable:problems of the UK national business model, and included a series of interview clips with CRESC's Karel WIlliams. 

12 April 2010: 'The BBC's shoot a small puppy strategem'

Richard Collins has published an article in opendemocracy.net exploring the outcomes of the BBC 2010 Strategy Review.

29 March 2010: 'Public service broadcating: yesterday, today and tomorrow

Richard Collins writes in opendemocracy.net on the historical and future role of the BBC as a public service broadcaster, and the challenges and opportunities of an expanded public service broadcasting market.

7 March 2010: 'Manufacturing sector needs a new direction'

More than 1.2 million jobs were lost between 1990 and 2007, and much new job creation was a consequence of state activity. The Observer's Ruth Sunderland draws on CRESC's Working Paper 75 in an article on the mothballing of the Corus Teesside steel plant.

1 February 2010: 'The widening public-private divide'

In Coffee House, the Spectator blog, Peter Hoskin cites Allistair Heath of CityAM who is drawing on CRESC's Working Paper 75 on the problems besetting the national business model. 'Vast state payrolls with veto reforms', says Heath.

31 January 2010: 'Half of new jobs are created by the state'

The Sunday Times' economics editor, David Smith, draws on CRESC research in an article which explains that over half of the new jobs created between 1997 and 2007 were directly or indirectly created by the state.

26 January 2010: 'How the public sector has been propping up the UK economy'

Management Today reports on CRESC's work on the role of the public sector and the para-state sector in creating jobs in the period between 1998 and 2007, a decade characterised by Bank of England Chairman Mervyn King and NICE (Non-Inflationary, Consistently Expansionary). A very large number of new jobs were created in or by the public sector.