Funding the Future

This is the start of my new wealth series. We’re going back to basics — and that means asking what wealth even is. I explain how stocks and flows of wealth shape power, politics, and our future, and expose some of the secrets that the wealthy would rather we do not know as a result.
 

Most people don’t understand how pensions really work. Not politicians, not City insiders, and probably not you. In this video, I explain why pensions aren’t really about savings at all, but about a fundamental contract between generations, and why private pension systems fail to deliver. And this one is really best watched. 
 

We’re starting a new series on this channel: unpacking the myths around wealth. From who the wealthy are, how they got their money, to whether we really need them at all. This is about dismantling the stories the rich tell to keep us in line.

Politicians keep telling us that benefits are a black hole draining the economy. The truth? They’re one of the best ways to grow it. In this video, I explain why paying benefits to those who need them keeps money moving, creates jobs, raises tax revenues and actually balances the books.

Far-right politicians from Trump to Orban to UK ministers are following the same authoritarian script: attack universities, control curricula, ban ideas that challenge power. As a political economist and ex-university professor, I explain why education is at the heart of democracy — and why ignorance is tyranny’s greatest ally.

Democracy is not a spectator sport. In this video, I explain why writing to your MP is still one of the most powerful democratic actions you can take—and how a simple tool can help you do it with ease.

Those with power rarely give it up willingly. That’s why protest matters. It’s how we won workers’ rights, women’s rights, gay rights, and have fought inequality in so many forms. But today, new laws are making protest harder in the UK. It’s time to be louder.

Every time stock markets drop, headlines say that billions have been lost. But where does that money actually go? If you want to understand crashes, confidence, and the baked bean market (trust me), this one’s for you.

Wes Streeting says cutting 50 calories a day will solve obesity and save the NHS. That’s bad politics, bad science and classic neoliberal blame-shifting. In this video, I take apart his arguments and ask whether he’s naive or deliberately complicit in weakening our NHS.

Labour is cutting disability benefits to balance Rachel Reeves’ budget, while handing billions in tax breaks to the rich. I explain why this is morally bankrupt, and why Labour’s 70 MPs who backed down have failed the poorest.