Wes Streeting: the undertaker to the NHS
Funding the Future
Wes Streeting: the undertaker to the NHS
Wes Streeting was being his usual self this weekend when talking without any obvious comprehension of the meaning of what he was saying at the Fina...
 Wes Streeting has been talking about existential threats to the NHS this weekend without showing the slightest comprehension of the fact that his own highly likely inaction on the underlying causes of ill health will be what brings it to its knees.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland need better powers to tax
Funding the Future
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland need better powers to tax
In this morning
 The UK's devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland need proper powers to tax, or they will always be governing with one arm tied behind their backs. Without such powers, a devolved government is a sham, and so too is the so-called United Kingdom.
Do we need any more public inquiries?
Funding the Future
Do we need any more public inquiries?
The Grenfell Inquiry has now reported seven years after the fire, the causes of which it investigated. With the greatest of respect to the judge...
 When public inquiries take seven years to report and delay justice for up to a decade whilst telling us what we already know, which ministers could have admitted at the time, what is their purpose?
Neoliberalism was the underlying cause of the Grenfell disaster
Funding the Future
Neoliberalism was the underlying cause of the Grenfell disaster
Musing on what to say about the Grenfell inquiry has been quite hard. Nothing anyone can say can take away the trauma of what happened seven years ...
 Only by ridding our politics of neoliberal thinking will we eliminate the risk of another Grenfell happening, but what is the likelihood of that happening when most of our politicians are corrupted by that thinking?
Is Keir Starmer an authoritarian?
Funding the Future
Is Keir Starmer an authoritarian?
In this morning’s video I note that  the EU has offered the UK the chance of free movement for people under the age of 30, but Keir Starmer is a...
 The EU has offered the UK the chance of free movement for people under the age of 30, but Keir Starmer is adamant that this must not happen. He has offered no good reason, just like the parent who says no to a child without offering explanation as to why. Could it be that having the chance to say no without good reason is why he sought power?
There is no economic crisis in the UK. So why is Rachel Reeves making people suffer?
Funding the Future
There is no economic crisis in the UK. So why is Rachel Reeves making people suffer?
I posted this thread on Twitter this morning: Would the UK economy really have collapsed as Labour is saying if it had not cut the winter fu...
 Labour is claiming that cutting the winter fuel allowance and keeping children in poverty has prevented UK economic collapse. That is untrue. No cuts are necessary as many alternative sources of funding are available to the government. Reeves is prioritising financial markets over public welfare. Her decisions are harming vulnerable populations.
Labour is a neoliberal to its core
Funding the Future
Labour is a neoliberal to its core
In this morning’s video I argue that Labour was built on the basis of a proud left-of-centre tradition that was based on support for working peop...
 Labour was built on the basis of a proud left-of-centre tradition that was based on support for working people and a belief in the power of the state to build well-being for everyone, and not just a few. But that’s gone. Just like the Tories, it is now dedicated to the cult of the individual and is opposed to the state and all it can do for us. The question is, what can we do about this?
There’s a void at the heart of Starmer’s government where vision and ideas should be
Funding the Future
There’s a void at the heart of Starmer’s government where vision and ideas should be
I re-read the speech Starmer gave yesterday before writing this post. I wanted to be sure I was being fair.  I am left with a number of impression...
 Starmer made clear yesterday that Labour is focused on maintaining the status quo rather than enacting meaningful change, missing, as it does, the ethical values and strategic thinking needed for delivering effective government. His is a government without purpose, and that's deeply troubling.
Land value taxation is not a panacea
Funding the Future
Land value taxation is not a panacea
In this morning
 Land value taxation is a 19th-century idea that has very rarely been used. Its proponents say it is the great unavoidable tax that could potentially replace all other taxes. The problem is it is based on assumptions that might be fine in theory but which would be incomprehensible in practice – and that’s no way to impose a tax charge.
Words can incite hate
Funding the Future
Words can incite hate
I read this yesterday in the conclusion to a newsletter from the Institute for Economic Affairs: Speech is not violence. Words cannot injure or co...
 In a newsletter, the Institute for Economic Affairs has argued that words cannot incite harm. I disagree. I find their position morally troubling and potentially deeply dangerous for society.