Funding the Future

Labour could require a bank in every town

Towns and large villages across the UK are being blighted by bank and post office closures. By making a simple change to banking regulation Labour could require that every place with a population of more than 10,000 in the UK must have a banking hub – from which every bank and a post office could meet the needs of the local community, and at no cost to the government at all.

Labour could change the UK for (almost) nothing

Labour governments have a long history of changing this country with measures that cost the government very little, or nothing at all. In a new video series – which will go on for some time – I am going to suggest how Labour might do that now. It’s time to be positive about the changes that Labour could deliver without any arguments about economics.

What does increasing wealth mean, Rachel Reeves?

Wealth is not just pounds saved. It’s also good health and education, a sustainable environment, decent housing and so much more. So why does Labour, when it talks about growth, only seem to talk about finance?

Keir Starmer: the anti-democrat

A couple of days after the election I feel even more strongly than ever that we need proportionalrepresentation.

Labour is not going to deliver

Labour is planning to base all its policies on the basis of growth and wealth creation. Neither makes sense, and they’re in direct conflict with each other economically. It’s as if they have announced in advance that they plan to fail.

How much should Keir Starmer spend on glasses?

Starmer received gifts of more than £18,000 to polish his image in the run-up to the election – including £2,485 on glasses. Really? Does this mean he’s a man who is more interested in style than substance? And does it mean he’s also a man willing to be in hock to his donors? None of this feels good about a new prime minister.

Trump's rigging the law in the USA

Trump packed the Supreme Court of the USA with his mates, and now they’re returning the favour by granting him immunity for his actions when in office. Will he use that power to persecute those who he sees as his enemies? You’d be a fool to think otherwise.

Is Labour planning to do PFI again?

The private finance initiative was one of the worst legacies of the last Labour government. It was a massively expensive attempt to avoid incurring government debt. We’re still paying the price. And it’s looking like Rachel Reeves might be planning to do something similar.

Starmer should not be copying Southgate

England’s football team might get by on last-minute equalisers after 90 clueless minutes, but that’s not the way to run a country.

Centre right parties enable fascists

Centre right parties – like Labour is now – have always facilitated fascism by promoting neoliberalism that deliberately ignores the needs of most people. The result has been a political vacuum that the centre-right created, which the far-right and fascism is now trying to fill.