Funding the Future

What should Rachel Reeves do now?

War in the Middle East is already pushing oil prices higher, and that means inflation pressure in the UK will rise again.
But this is not normal inflation. It is not caused by excessive demand in the UK economy. It is an external supply shock.
So the real question is simple: will the government protect households, or leave them to absorb the shock?
In this video, I explain why raising interest rates will not solve an oil shock, and why the government should instead:
Cut VAT
Cut fuel duty
Stabilise long-term interest rates
Protect household incomes
If ministers talk about economic defence in wartime, then protecting society must come first.

Defence begins at home

Politicians talk endlessly about defence spending, weapons, and armies. But the first line of defence in any country is not military hardware. It is the stability of the society itself.
Do people feel secure?
Do they trust their institutions?
Do they believe government works for them?
When living standards fall, housing becomes unaffordable, and public services collapse, a country becomes divided and fragile. And a fragile society cannot defend itself.
At a time when global tensions are rising and economic shocks are becoming more common, resilience at home may be the most important defence strategy of all.
In this video, I explain why national security begins with social security and public trust.

Does the government create wealth?

People are often told that only the private sector creates wealth and that government simply wastes taxpayers’ money.
That claim is everywhere in modern political debate. It underpins austerity. It justifies privatisation. And it shapes how people think about the economy.
But it is wrong.
In this video, I explain what wealth really is and how it is actually created. Wealth is not just private profit. It includes infrastructure, education, health, security, and social stability.
Historically, public enterprise built much of modern Britain. Local government created the systems that allowed private enterprise to function: sewers, electricity networks, public transport, housing, and water systems.
I also explain the money myth that underpins many of these arguments. In a modern monetary economy, government spending creates money first, and taxation later helps manage inflation. Public spending can therefore increase national wealth rather than destroy it.
The real issue is not public versus private. The real issue is whether economic activity meets social need and maintains the capital on which our society depends.
If we want a better economy, we need to rebuild public enterprise and reject the myth that only private companies create wealth.

Fear is the threat we face

Most people think they fail because they lack talent. In reality, many people stop acting because they are afraid of judgment, criticism, or being exposed as not good enough.
In this video, I discuss the powerful argument made in the book Art & Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland. The book suggests that the biggest barrier to success is not ability; it is fear.
That matters politically. If people who care about justice, equality and a politics of care stay silent, then the voices that dominate debate will be those who do not care about people at all.
Confidence does not come before action. It comes after action. The only way change happens is when people act despite uncertainty.
So the question is simple: what would happen if more of us spoke up?

Will Middle East war trigger economic shock?

The conflict in the Middle East is not just a military crisis. It is rapidly becoming a global economic shock.
With the Strait of Hormuz disrupted, vital supplies of oil, gas and industrial inputs are at risk. That means rising energy prices, inflation, supply chain disruption and political instability around the world.
But the deeper issue is political. Wars like this often emerge when leaders under pressure seek external conflict to avoid accountability.
In this video, I explain why this conflict could last far longer than politicians admit, why the economic consequences could be severe, and why the politics driving it matters as much as the missiles.
We also need to ask a deeper question: can politics return to a politics of care rather than fear?

War is not a reason to raise interest rates

The Bank of England meets on 19 March to decide on interest rates.
Many commentators now say rates cannot fall because war in the Middle East could push up oil and gas prices and increase inflation.
But that argument misunderstands what is actually causing inflation.
If prices are rising because of a global energy shock, raising interest rates will not reduce those prices. Instead, it will increase mortgage costs, reduce investment and push the UK economy closer to recession.
In this video, I explain why imported inflation from oil and gas prices requires a completely different response from the Bank of England.
Not all inflation is the same, and treating it as if it were is simply bad economics.

Billionaires won’t leave

We’re repeatedly told that raising taxes on extreme wealth will drive billionaires and millionaires out of the UK and that the economy will collapse as a result.
That story is economic mythology. In this video, I explain why the very wealthy are not as “highly mobile” as politicians claim, why money doesn’t “disappear” when someone changes residency, why businesses and jobs don’t pack up with the owner, and why a modest fall in sterling would not be the catastrophe we’re warned about.
The conclusion is simple: we should design tax policy around justice and economic need, and not fear and bluff.

Political economy at Cambridge - Live!

At our live event in Cambridge on 28 February I started the event by looking at political economy from 1759 to date. What I made clear was that Adam Smith talked about an economy of care and that’s what we need to be doing now. 

Spring Statement on BBC 2 with Jeremy Vine

Today Rachel Reeves gave her Spring Statement, take a listen to my comments on what she said on BBC 2 with Jeremy Vine

Rachel Reeves will get it all wrong today

Rachel Reeves will present the Spring Statement as if she's delivering stability.
The Office for Budget Responsibility will offer forecasts.
Markets will be reassured.
But the economics will be wrong.
In this video, I explain why fiscal rules, headroom, and the household budget myth are political theatre, not economic reality. Governments that issue their own currency are not revenue-constrained; they are resource-constrained.
If Britain wants growth, resilience, and functioning public services, we need investment, redistribution, and the politics of care, and not stability theatre designed to please bond markets.
This is Funding the Future economics.