The ritual of the annual Mais lecture took place on 19th March. The Mais lectures have been taking place since 1978. The year is not accidental. Thatcher was about to come to power. She proposed to abandon the postwar economic consensus of a managed economy in which the state assumed responsibility for economic areas considered crucial to economic success: health, … Continue reading Reeves in a Straightjacket—Editorial
Economic Policy
Tax Justice
“Tax Justice: Richard Murphy’s Taxing Wealth Report 2024: a timely antidote to the innately unjust neoliberal tax policies coming to the fore in both Tories and Labour parties as we approach another General Election. " https://youtu.be/RlyFYNeGtCg?si=7JA47WxFKt_nmw43
The Mixed Economy and Dogmatic Individualism
Ordinary Britons have been victims of a fraud that began in the 1980s. Started before many of today’s voters were even born. Thanks to tight control of the popular media by the very rich, a reversion to 19th century capitalism was sold as the only option. Liberal critics speak vaguely of a Western failure after the … Continue reading The Mixed Economy and Dogmatic Individualism
Sustainability of National Debt
The House of Lords has an Economic Affairs Committee (EAC) which has regular inquiries into economic matters that they think will be important for members of the House of Lords to understand. The structure of these inquiries is that the committee will hold a series of meetings to which it calls expert witnesses and asks them … Continue reading Sustainability of National Debt
The Apprenticeship Fiasco
Dave Gardner Half the young people in Britain do not intend to go to university. Many of those who do, feel that they have no choice, even if they don’t particularly wish to. But what other choices do they have? This is where choices for young people become problematic. The main educational destination is a … Continue reading The Apprenticeship Fiasco
The Role of Taxation
Martin Seale It is clear that the issue of taxation will be important in the coming general election. The Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, will present a tax cutting budget in March and the Conservative Party will present itself as the low tax party. It is worth therefore discussing the role of tax in the UK. When … Continue reading The Role of Taxation
Taxing Issues
Martin Seale Jeremy Hunt’s November Autumn Statement was a clever piece of work. It had two objectives. Firstly, to win the next general election. Secondly, if the Tory Party did not win the next general election, to guarantee that any Labour administration would fail. Hunt’s trump card in achieving this dual objective is the fiscal rule book. Hunt, … Continue reading Taxing Issues
Sahra Wagenknecht Newsletter
Sahra Wagenknecht’s Newsletter December 2023 No to wars and armament madness Many people are worried about a policy that will soon be deciding on billions in arms deliveries every week, but at the same time is no longer in a position to provide adequate funding for our infrastructure, affordable housing and sufficient teaching and care … Continue reading Sahra Wagenknecht Newsletter
Unite—The Union: A workers Plan for Steel
Workers Plan for Steel A union with a vision for the steel industry and the country. As part of Unite’s campaign to fight for the steel industry, open letters have been written by 130 businesses, associations and clubs in Port Talbot, 150 in Scunthorpe, 130 in Teesside, 150 in Sheffield. We reproduce the Teesside letter and comments, underneath … Continue reading Unite—The Union: A workers Plan for Steel
MMT Debate
Below we reprint selections from a lively debate on Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) that has been taking place under the auspices of the Workers’ Party of Britain. Those who are interested can access the full debate on the Workers Party website. MODERN MONETARY THEORY (MMT) FOR WPB Chris Williamson No political party in Britain has … Continue reading MMT Debate
Labour’s Economic Model – Trust the Private Sector
Martin Seale The speech by the Shadow Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, to the 2023 Labour conference shows that a Starmer government could rapidly become dysfunctional. In her speech to the 2023 Labour Party conference, Rachel Reeves stated “Today, I make this commitment to you, and to the country: Out of the wreckage of Tory misrule, Labour … Continue reading Labour’s Economic Model – Trust the Private Sector
Historical trends and the NHS
Labour Affairs (The image above shows an ad for the privatisation of British Gas in 1986) We can look at the question of the NHS through historical trends. Since Thatcher, trends have taken three directions. One towards a small state and a greater part played by the private sector. The second is the principle that … Continue reading Historical trends and the NHS
Tory and Labour U-turns on Aid to Developing Countries
(The image above comes from the International Development Committee) Michael Murray Introduction The UN requires that countriesallocate 0.7% of their Gross National Income (GNI) on Official Development Assistance (ODA) for the purposes of the economic development and welfareof developing countries. TheInternational Development (Official Development Assistance Target) Act 2015 lays down how the UK will meet this requirement … Continue reading Tory and Labour U-turns on Aid to Developing Countries
The Independence of the Bank of England—Editorial
Central Bank Independence Readers will be familiar with the term ‘independence of the central bank’. Of late, it has been much referred to in the media. The tone is always that this independence is a good thing. And Labour proudly remind us that the Bank of England (BoE) was made independent by Gordon Brown in 1998 when he … Continue reading The Independence of the Bank of England—Editorial
How to pay for it. The case for the elimination of the cap on child benefit.
An imaginary interview between the BBC and a progressive Labour Party by Michal Lerner BBC: Labour says that it will eliminate the cap on child benefit. That will cost some £1.3 billion. How will Labour pay for it? LP: A Labour government will pay for it the way British governments pay for everything that has been approved by … Continue reading How to pay for it. The case for the elimination of the cap on child benefit.
Sharon Graham BBC Interview
BBC Interview with Sharon Graham BBC 14/7/23 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-66203880 Labour needs to be "bolder" and "more ambitious", rather than "tinkering around the edges", the head of the UK's second largest union has told the BBC. Unite leader Sharon Graham warned that otherwise "apathy" would be the winner at the next general election. The union gives more … Continue reading Sharon Graham BBC Interview
An Active State—Rachel Reeves in America
Martin Seale Rachel Reeves made an interesting presentation to the Peterson Institute in Washington DC on 24th May. The speech was accompanied by a 33 page document called “A New Business Model for Britain” in which it was stated: “The causes of Britain’s economic weaknesses run deep, however. For too long, Britain has been held back by two misguided … Continue reading An Active State—Rachel Reeves in America
What You Should Know about Labour’s Economic Policy.
The Labour Party wholeheartedly supports the war on Russia in Ukraine and sanctions against the import of cheap energy from Russia. UK support for sanctions is the main driver of domestic inflation in Britain as energy is an input into all products and services. Labour is not committed to any significant revenue raising measures by … Continue reading What You Should Know about Labour’s Economic Policy.
Labour Affairs 