Where will Reform find cuts?
Funding the Future
Where will Reform find cuts?
Reform says that it will cut the spending of the local authorities it now controls. I asked ChatGPT to provide a breakdown of English local auth...
 Don't be young, or old, or infirm. Do not have ADHD, autism or depression. Don't be a migrant. Do not want a park, leisure centre or local arts. If you are none of those, Reform councils will be good for you. For everyone else, they will be dire.
For some in the UK, there might be hope
Funding the Future
For some in the UK, there might be hope
The National (the newspaper for whom I am a columnist in Scotland) noted yesterday that: SUPPORT for Scottish independence is four points stronger...
 Support for Scottish independence is growing fast, and Farage is tipping the balance.
Is politics going to be brutal and unacceptable in 2025? 2025 is not looking good politically. Trump will be in the White House. Europe is in disarray. Starmer is already a lame duck. What chance have we got of anything going well?
Trump’s in for a rough ride
Funding the Future
Trump’s in for a rough ride
The chaos that will surround Trump‘s second presidency of the USA has already become apparent. Given that Trump‘s only personal agenda appea...
 Trump’s not President yet and his supporters are already tearing lumps out of each other whilst making irreconcilable demands of him. Anyone who thought his second term was going to be easy had better think again.
People are suffering because our politicians, economists and media are failing us
Funding the Future
People are suffering because our politicians, economists and media are failing us
The media offer a contrasting view of life this morning. The New York Times has a story about homelessness in the USA reaching record highs. It ha...
 The world is awash with money and homeless people. The money to house everyone is available. Politicians just refuse to use it. Why is it that they fail so many, so badly?
All I want for Christmas is a new political vision Neoliberalism is dead. The wreckage it has created is all around us. So, this Christmas I want a new political vision. I don’t think that’s too much to ask for, is it?
The old narratives are dead. We are waiting for the new to be born
Funding the Future
The old narratives are dead. We are waiting for the new to be born
The Office for National Statistics has reported this morning that: UK real gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated to have shown no growth i...
 Economic growth has disappeared, and maybe for good this time. A finite planet has reached its limits. So, what do we do now? Give in to the billionaires, or build a new vision of political economy?
Labour: too indifferent to democracy to care about its future
Funding the Future
Labour: too indifferent to democracy to care about its future
As The Observer reports this morning: Ministers are resisting demands to rush through measures to block Elon Musk from handing millions to Nigel F...
 Labour is resisting the call to block Musk from donating to Reform. They're so frightened of governing they probably don't even know it's addressed to them.
Why are the Tories talking about flat taxes again? Flat taxes are great if you want to increase inequality, crush government services, or leave large numbers of people destitute. Is that why the Tories are so keen on them?
Can democracy survive the amounts Musk can spend on politics? Democracy is based on the principle of rule by the people – all of whom stand equal in the process. But with the money he’s willing to spend, Musk does not stand equal in any democratic country – and can upturn free-choice as a result. That is a threat we have to manage.