Does Trump really understand government, or is he going to run it like a business? Trump’s new government looks as though it is going to be made up almost entirely of people who have no clue about what government is but think it can be run like a business. The trouble is, the two are nothing like each other and as a result things could go horribly wrong, very quickly, for the Trump administration.
Why do Labour believe in private equity? The logic of private equity capitalists is contrary to everything that it seems sound government, good governance, sensible pension fund planning and long term thinking should stand for. So why is Labour besotted with it?
Will your pension provide for your old age? Pension saving is not just about how much money you put aside, but also about what that money is used to fund. If your pension fund is investing in things like oil, ultra-processed foods and properties liable to flooding then those things are going to be worthless when you want your money back. Far too few people understand that – and this is the real pension crisis that we face.
What will Starmer do about Netanyahu?
Funding the Future
What will Starmer do about Netanyahu?
This decision of the international criminal court to issue arrest warrants on Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant is, in my opinion, welcome. Th...
 Netanyahu has been charged with war crimes. Starmer has not made clear what he will do as a result. That is not good enough. If he has any concern for the rule of international law and human rights Starmer has to say he would have Netanyahu arrested if he came to the UK. Why hasn’t he done that?
We can only beat obesity if the state acts in ways the far right calls the ‘nanny state’ The House of Lords has issued a report that identifies the reason for the obesity crisis that the UK is facing. As they put it, the UK government has been so frightened of being described as a nanny state that it has failed to protect us from the deliberate harm caused by the profit-maximising ultra-processed food industry that has promoted addiction to sugar.
What are we going to do when water runs out? Water is critical to life, but neoliberal economics is threatening water supplies for differing reasons in many parts of the globe, including in London. That type of economic thinking has no answer as to what happens next, and nor so far have our politicians. When will they realise they have to act?
The politics of privilege are what the farmers’ protests are all about
Funding the Future
The politics of privilege are what the farmers’ protests are all about
I was on Sky News last night, supposedly debating the inheritance tax charge on farms. I say supposedly for a good reason. I went on presuming t...
 Yesterday’s farming demonstrations revealed what these protests are all about. Farmers want state subsidies for the wealthy and are utterly indifferent to the cost to the state of supplying them.
One third of children in the UK are living in poverty and we have had a day with the media obsessing about rich farmers who want to keep their millions tax free. Who is orchestrating this utterly bizarre news agenda, and why?
Why inheritance tax charges are really good for real farmers – but not f... When farmland has become financialised in the way it has been because of inheritance tax exemptions, farming can't work, so farmers need to realise that actually having an inheritance tax charge helps them to reclaim farming for farmers and for the benefit of the people of this country. They really should not be protesting today: Labour is, for once, on their side and even doing the right thing.
Farmers protesting about inheritance tax have got their econonics and arguments wrong
Funding the Future
Farmers protesting about inheritance tax have got their econonics and arguments wrong
The argument about farmers having to pay inheritance tax at half the normal rate on transfers of their property that they might make on death excee...
 Farmers are angry about inheritance tax, but that’s absurd. Their problems are caused by the food industry that exploits them, and the financial services industry, that has been buying up farms to exploit the inheritance tax loophole. What they need is protection from big business and supermarkets and higher inheritance tax rates that will force land prices down.