Funding the Future

Robert Jenrick says Britain has a welfare problem. He wants millions of people receiving sickness and disability benefits to move into work.

But there is a fundamental problem with that argument: where are the jobs?

UK unemployment is already around five per cent, youth unemployment is higher, vacancies have been falling, and there are substantially more unemployed people than available jobs.

You cannot solve an employment shortage...

What is macroeconomics, and what does it tell us about how an economy really works?

In this episode of Understanding Economics, I explain why macroeconomics is about much more than GDP, economic growth, inflation and unemployment. It is about understanding the economy as a whole system in which households, businesses, banks and government are interconnected.

Conventional macroeconomics often starts from the assumption that markets ...

Britain’s pubs can be busy, football grounds can be full, and airports can be crowded while millions of people are still struggling to pay for life’s essentials.

The cost-of-living crisis has not disappeared simply because some people cannot see it.

Britain remains a wealthy country, but that wealth and the incomes it generates are very unevenly distributed. Some people can still afford football tickets, meals out and f...

In this podcast, I am joined by my elder son, James, to ask a deceptively simple question: why do schools prepare young people for examinations but not for adult life?

James describes arriving at university with a student loan and an overdraft, yet almost no understanding of budgeting, saving, rent, debt or credit. We discuss why this absence of financial education particularly disadvantages many young people.

But, as we noted, the...

Nigel Farage won Clacton. But did his unnecessary by-election actually make his political problems worse?

Farage beat Count Binface after calling an election that cost the public more than £200,000. The mainstream parties stayed away, Farage did not attend the count, and the parliamentary scrutiny of his finances that he hoped the election would negate has not disappeared.

But the bigger story is what happens next.

In this video, I...

What is microeconomics really about?

Conventional economics usually puts markets at the centre of the answer. It assumes that individuals make rational choices and that markets, operating through prices, allocate resources efficiently. But that account leaves out much of what actually shapes economic life.

None of us makes economic decisions in isolation. Families, communities, businesses and governments all influence the choices a...

I think that journalists are all asking politicians the wrong question. They should be asking every politician: “What are your priors?”

Instead, they ask “How are you going to pay for it?”

That's the wrong question because a person’s priors are the assumptions they bring to every debate before they even look at the evidence. Those assumptions shape what they believe government ...

Britain is being told to fear a Russian invasion and spend accordingly. The evidence says otherwise. Russia is losing an estimated 30,000 soldiers a month in Ukraine, according to the Financial Times, with casualties now exceeding 500,000 killed and 1.4 million in total, or roughly one in every hundred Russians. Recruitment is failing even with £40,000 signing bonuses. This is a country that cannot defeat a vulnerable neighbour, le...

Donald Trump calls himself the ultimate dealmaker. The record says otherwise.

His breakthrough deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz with Iran collapsed when Iran hardened its position.

His agreement for Hamas to disarm in Gaza fell apart when Israel rejected the precondition.

His domestic nuclear energy deal with Saudi Arabia unravelled after he added a demand about recognising Israel by social media post.

Even fixing the Washi...

What is the economy actually for?

Most economists assume the answer is obvious. They say the purpose of the economy is growth, and they measure success using GDP. But what if they are asking the wrong question?

In this second video in my Understanding Economics series, I argue that economic growth is not an end in itself. Endless growth is impossible on a finite planet, GDP tells us remarkably little about whether people ...

For decades we have been told that Britain’s prosperity depends upon the success of the City of London. Politicians celebrate financial services, economists praise the markets, and the media repeats the idea that finance is Britain’s greatest economic strength.

But what if the opposite is true?

In this conversation, I am joined by John Christensen, co-founder of the Tax Justice Network and creator of The Spider&rsq...

Most people think economics is about money. It isn’t. Economics is about how society organises itself to meet people’s needs and help everyone thrive.

In this first episode of my new Understanding Economics series, I explain why economics is much bigger than money, markets or finance, and why understanding it matters to every one of us.

I begin with three simple questions that every society must answer:

• What...

Has corporate money begun to lose its grip on American politics?

In this video, I examine the extraordinary result of the Michigan Democratic Senate primary, where Dr Abdul El-Sayed defeated the corporate-backed establishment candidate despite being dramatically outspent. It follows the victory of Zohran Mamdani in New York and raises a much bigger question than simply who won one election.

I argue that this is really a story about...

Will rising oil prices push Britain into recession? And if they do, will the Bank of England make the situation even worse?

In this video, I examine the extraordinary profits recently reported by the world’s largest oil companies following the conflict involving Iran.

While households and businesses face higher fuel costs, oil companies are making windfall gains.

I argue that these profits reveal something important about tod...

Andy Burnham wants to give local authorities in England much greater financial power, but he is ignoring a crisis that makes this dangerous: the audit system meant to hold councils accountable has almost entirely collapsed. Since the Tories privatised local authority auditing in 2014 and abolished the Audit Commission in 2015, the market has failed to deliver, leaving nearly 1,000 audit opinions outstanding by 2023 and only around ...

Climate change could make homes across Britain uninsurable, and the government has no plan for what happens next.

Floods, heat waves, droughts, wildfires and rising sea levels are increasing insurance claims, and as premiums rise, some risks will become too great for private insurers to accept at all. Flood-prone areas in England, including the Severn Valley area and parts of South Yorkshire, are already seeing costs rise and cover...

Andy Burnham says nobody should have to sell their home to pay for social care. At first hearing, that sounds compassionate. But is it really fair?

In this video, I argue that his proposal asks the wrong question. The issue is not simply whether people should sell their homes. The real issue is who should contribute towards the cost of social care, and whether our tax system already gives far too much protection to housing wealth.

...

It is easy to feel powerless when politics is failing, inequality is growing, and the climate crisis is accelerating. But ordinary people can change the world. I know because I have seen it happen.

When John Christensen and I helped create the Tax Justice Network, we began with a plan. We identified what was wrong, worked out credible solutions and persuaded others to support them. Years later, policies we had promoted were being a...