Funding the Future

Tory Mel Stride wants to slash the UK’s overseas aid to 0.1% of national income. That’s not just cruel, it’s racism and fascism dressed up as fiscal prudence. Cutting aid means condemning millions to poverty, fuelling migration, and destroying economic stability. This is the politics of contempt in action, when Britain should lead the world by helping it, not punishing it for existing.

The Economist claims Britain is trapped in a “debt doom loop.” But they’re wrong. The UK does not face a government debt crisis. What we really face is chronic underinvestment, inequality, and an elite media pushing austerity to protect the wealthy. In this video, I explain why The Economist’s story is false, what they deliberately ignore, and what the UK really needs.

John Kenneth Galbraith’s The Affluent Society asked a question that still matters: how can we live with private luxury alongside public squalor? In this video, I explore why Galbraith was right about how markets manufacture wants, and why public goods are neglected. From billionaire rockets to broken hospitals, his warning is as urgent today as it was in 1958.

Fascism is not just about Mussolini or Hitler. It is an ideology that divides humanity into “superior” and “inferior” groups — with catastrophic consequences. In this video, I explain what fascism really means, why its essence is exclusion, and why true democracy depends on equality and respect for all.

Chris Hedges has warned us: fascists mean what they say. Donald Trump has now issued NSPM-7, a presidential order that redefines dissent as terrorism and authorises the state to treat opponents as enemies. From Stalin’s Article 58 to the Nazi Malicious Practices Act, history shows what happens when repression becomes law. We need to face facts: the US is very rapidly sliding into full-blown fascism — and the UK could follow.

Prof Andrew Baker of the University of Sheffield and I have been working on tax transparency and how to create it as the foundation for a better society for a long time. In this video, we share our visions and plans. 

Keir Starmer has reopened the debate on national identity cards. Supporters say they could make public services, voting, and security simpler. Critics warn of surveillance, discrimination, and exclusion. Are ID cards about freedom—or about state control? I unpack the history, the arguments, and what it means for our rights today.

Free speech is the foundation of democracy. Without the right to disagree, there is no freedom at all. Yet in the USA, Trump threatens dissenters, comedians are suspended, and protesters are labelled extremists. In the UK, Palestine Action supporters face trial for holding placards. This is the authoritarian playbook. And we must resist it.

Andy Burnham says it’s time for the UK to stop being in hock to the bond markets. The City is in uproar, but who really calls the shots in Britain—the government we elect, or unelected financiers? In this video, I unpack Burnham’s challenge, the myths about debt and borrowing, and why democracy—not markets—must decide our future.

We’re told that government debt is spiralling out of control. Commentators scream “fiscal crisis!” and “record borrowing!” But the truth is very different. High government debt is not a sign of collapse—it’s a sign of trust. People and institutions are desperate for the safety that only the government can provide. Debt is not a danger—it’s a deposit facility. Let’s cut through the panic and face the facts.

Loanable funds? The money multiplier? Steve Keen and Richard Murphy dismantle the myths. Double-entry accounting shows what really happens when banks create money and governments run deficits. If economics taught reality instead of dogma, austerity would be unthinkable.

The UK suffers from a finance curse. Far from being our economic jewel, the City of London has drained trillions from the economy. That’s lost jobs, lost investment, and a weaker democracy. In this video, I explain why finance is making Britain poorer — and what must change.

Something called country-by-country reporting, which I created, changed the tax world forever. It forced multinationals to reveal how much profit they were shifting into tax havens. In this video, I tell the story of how I created this idea, how it became law in more than 70 countries, and how it is still reshaping global tax justice today.

A massive banking collapse is coming — and the cause isn’t speculation this time. It’s climate change.

Uninsurable homes mean worthless mortgages, and worthless mortgages mean broken banks. Unless governments act now with public banking and sustainable cost accounting, society itself is at risk.

Every action has a reaction. That’s true in life – and in economics. Every pound the government spends becomes someone’s income, which creates tax, confidence and prosperity. Yet politicians and journalists still talk about spending as if it’s waste. In this video, I explain why that’s wrong – and why we need to ask the right question: what possibilities does government spending create?