Funding the Future

Rishi Sunak’s very limited legacy will include the creation of freeports. They are however deeply dangerous places where the normal rule of law is suspended for the benefit of financial capital, usually at cost to the workers in the places and the communities that host them. As such, they undermine democracy. What could possibly go wrong?

Keir Starmer is going to win a massive parliamentary majority on 4 July. That, however, is really dangerous in our democracy. Who is going to hold him and his party to account in parliament?

After 5 July the hard work begins. Then we have to work out how truly socially transformative ideas can be promoted so that the 2029 election campaign can be won for the people of this country.

The UK looks to be a wealthy country with £15 trillion of financial assets. But they’ll rapidly disappearif we do not invest in our children and young people, in climate change and in preserving ourdemocracy and most of our politicians appear quite uninterested in that.

The biggest problem Labour will face – as a result of which all of us might suffer – is that almost no one in the Shadow Cabinet has any experience of being in government, or of ever having actually run anything of consequence. This might not turn out well…..

The old idea that there is money in a bank is almost always wrong. There’s just a pile of bank statements in a bank these days, and it really is time we got our heads around that rather basic fact.

Savings do not create economic wealth. They have a use in terms of financial security, but they rarely create useful economic activity. So why does the government spend £760 billion or more a year subsidising them? 

Nationalisation does not cost the taxpayers of a country anything if it is done properly. Labour knew that in 1945, but apparently, they do not do so now. Why have they forgotten all that they once knew?

The UK tax system is riddled with tax anomalies - or tax spillovers as I prefer to call them. And politician who is serious about making the tax system work better should be aiming to get rid of them - but none are saying that’s their plan.

HM Revenue & Customs reckons more than 30% of all tax owing by small UK limited companies is not paid. Why are our politicians doing nothing about this - and why are they letting down honest small businesses so badly by not doing so?