Funding the Future

A short, personal reflection on exhaustion with endless conflict and its human toll. Lists grief, forced migration and lost childhoods as consequences. Challenges political excuses and biased narratives that normalize aggression. Argues for equal value of all lives and a universal duty of care. Warns that destroying hope is the gravest harm and asks if shared hope is still possible.

War-driven oil price rises are pushing up UK inflation through a supply shock. The conversation covers whether the state should shield households or leave them to absorb costs. Proposals discussed include cutting VAT and fuel duty, stabilising long-term interest rates, and using government powers to protect incomes rather than hiking rates.

Politicians talk endlessly about defence spending, weapons, and armies. But the first line of defence in any country is not military hardware. It is the stability of the society itself. Do people feel secure? Do they trust their institutions? Do they believe government works for them? When living standards fall, housing becomes unaffordable, and public services collapse, a country becomes divided and fragile. And a fragile society cannot defend itself. At a time when global tensions are rising and economic shocks are becoming more common, resilience at home may be the most important defence strategy of all. In this video, I explain why national security begins with social security and public trust.

People are often told that only the private sector creates wealth and that government simply wastes taxpayers’ money. That claim is everywhere in modern political debate. It underpins austerity. It justifies privatisation. And it shapes how people think about the economy. But it is wrong. In this video, I explain what wealth really is and how it is actually created. Wealth is not just private profit. It includes infrastructure, education, health, security, and social stability. Historically, public enterprise built much of modern Britain. Local government created the systems that allowed private enterprise to function: sewers, electricity networks, public transport, housing, and water systems. I also explain the money myth that underpins many of these arguments. In a modern monetary economy, government spending creates money first, and taxation later helps manage inflation. Public spending can therefore increase national wealth rather than destroy it. The real issue is not public versus private. The real issue is whether economic activity meets social need and maintains the capital on which our society depends. If we want a better economy, we need to rebuild public enterprise and reject the myth that only private companies create wealth.

Most people think they fail because they lack talent. In reality, many people stop acting because they are afraid of judgment, criticism, or being exposed as not good enough. In this video, I discuss the powerful argument made in the book Art & Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland. The book suggests that the biggest barrier to success is not ability; it is fear. That matters politically. If people who care about justice, equality and a politics of care stay silent, then the voices that dominate debate will be those who do not care about people at all. Confidence does not come before action. It comes after action. The only way change happens is when people act despite uncertainty. So the question is simple: what would happen if more of us spoke up?

A look at how conflict in the Middle East is spilling into global markets and supply chains. The risks of the Strait of Hormuz shutting down and the fallout for oil, gas and industrial inputs are explored. Water and desalination threats, migration pressures, and how military logistics could prolong the crisis are discussed. The conversation contrasts politics of fear with politics of care.

The Bank of England meets on 19 March to decide on interest rates. Many commentators now say rates cannot fall because war in the Middle East could push up oil and gas prices and increase inflation. But that argument misunderstands what is actually causing inflation. If prices are rising because of a global energy shock, raising interest rates will not reduce those prices. Instead, it will increase mortgage costs, reduce investment and push the UK economy closer to recession. In this video, I explain why imported inflation from oil and gas prices requires a completely different response from the Bank of England. Not all inflation is the same, and treating it as if it were is simply bad economics.

We’re repeatedly told that raising taxes on extreme wealth will drive billionaires and millionaires out of the UK and that the economy will collapse as a result. That story is economic mythology. In this video, I explain why the very wealthy are not as “highly mobile” as politicians claim, why money doesn’t “disappear” when someone changes residency, why businesses and jobs don’t pack up with the owner, and why a modest fall in sterling would not be the catastrophe we’re warned about. The conclusion is simple: we should design tax policy around justice and economic need, and not fear and bluff.

At our live event in Cambridge on 28 February I started the event by looking at political economy from 1759 to date. What I made clear was that Adam Smith talked about an economy of care and that’s what we need to be doing now. 

Today Rachel Reeves gave her Spring Statement, take a listen to my comments on what she said on BBC 2 with Jeremy Vine