As will be apparent from this morning's posts, few of them relate to the events unfolding in the world right now.
I have not speculated further on what might happen if Donald Trump continues his war with Iran, as he is obviously doing.
Nor am I spending too much time wondering whether Ed Miliband or Wes Streeting might become the new Chancellor under Prime Minister Andy Burnham because, to be candid, I do not think that is going to make a lot of difference to Labour's prospects at present. Neither is likely to transform the neoliberal model from which we currently suffer, or the framework for macroeconomic management that the Treasury imposes with an iron fist on this country, and which has been so destructive.
Instead, and perhaps because I have had an enforced week away from news-watching as a consequence of my illness, after what was a previous week away from much of my normal blog and video activity whilst working on the development of both, I have concentrated on a much more difficult task.
Time and again, people on this blog have asked me not to answer the question of what has gone wrong, but what we should do about it. It might be a temporary phenomenon, because the last week has made me feel both vulnerable and decidedly mortal, but my current sentiment is that this is the much bigger and more important task I should be tackling at present, rather than analysing the tittle-tattle and the demise of New Labour. There are others who can look at that, Trump, the follies of neoliberalism, and the rise of neo-fascism as well as I can, but without blowing my own trumpet, I think it is fair to say that many fewer can offer answers as to what we should do next better than I am able to provide.
I may, however, be wrong in setting this as a priority for my work. As a consequence, I am seeking your opinion. What do you think?
Rest assured, I will not be able to resist some current commentary, and the View On series, in the format I now propose, should provide a robust economic background for much of what I now wish to say, but what should my primary focus now be on?
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The general population are fed up with the present rip off society and are open to alternate ideas/plans for a better society.The drift to the far right must be counternanced by a robust and clear rebutal.
Talking of rip off the Guardian yesterday and today has published articles on private equity.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/ng-interactive/2026/jun/29/private-equity-visual-explainer-uk-veterinary-sector
and https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/jun/28/nurseries-vets-and-shops-the-sectors-where-private-equity-plays-a-big-role
I was shocked to see the claim one in eight work for firms funded by PE
As a vet owner I have seen the increase in prices. But it affects care homes as well. So far I don’t need one but that’s not the point.
I have just read your 32 questions article.
They are very good questions and we really need good questions to replace the useless ones being asked of our politicians nowadays (like the current MSM line of – “In the light of the imminent threat of attack from Russia, how do we cut departmental budgets so we can buy more weapons from our donors’ arms companies, without breaking fiscal rules?”).
No one else is asking your sorts of questions.
They are questions that come from your own unique life experience in accountancy, tax transparency, inequality, global justice, Green New Deal work, and your own moral sense, as well as your unique neural wiring (and more, that I know nothing about) – even that tiny troublesome lump of mineralised pee in your renal pelvis has played an agonising part in their genesis, as perhaps also has the opiate pain relief.
They are what Team Murphy is FOR. A question window is open as the Downing St. deckchairs are re-arranged.
They will provide raw materials for others to use for years to come – they are a LEGACY.
I don’t think Novara Media will like them though. Tough.
Thank you
I voted for promoting a new economic agenda.
There are two ways that might be interpreted. Firstly it might be promoting a general approach. That might be the politics of care, which is useful. Or it might be interpreted as making specific of providing specific policy options, that our representatives might then promote and adopt. This is something you have done very successfully in you taxing wealth report. I favour providing specific policy options.
Let me make some suggestions. About £70 billion in pension tax relief and about £20 billion in ISA tax relief is given primarily to the wealthy and to high earners. What practical policies can be used to reduce this? What changes can be made to government funding to wrest us away from our supposed dependency on the bond markets and “the kindnesses of strangers”. In this blog you have already made suggestions. And, of course, there are many other similar issues.
What I’d like to see is posts on single issues, in contrast to trying to pull everything together in a larger document. This is difficult, but a large document is unlikely to be read in full by many so, I think, shorter posts would be more effective. This seems to be something at which you excel. 🙂
I would also note that such issues can be quite complex. And sometimes there is more than one sensible policy. Furthermore there might be a good immediate short term policy (e.g. limiting pension tax relief to basic rate) and a better, longer term policy (e.g. restructuring pensions and pension tax relief completely). These could be separate posts, which might make them more digestible and, therefore, perhaps more effective.
That’s my pennyworth. I hope it may be helpful. 🙂
All noted
Thanks
As Milton Friedman said ‘Only a crisis — actual or perceived — produces real change. When that crisis occurs, the actions that are taken depend on the ideas that are lying around. That, I believe, is our basic function: to develop alternatives to existing policies, to keep them alive and available until the politically impossible becomes the politically inevitable.’
Your articles / videos about current world events are good, no question there at all.
But as you say, a whole lot of people are making these with presumably the same good will in mind.
Sadly, most of them forget afterwards to talk about what alternatives there are and how they could be implemented.
It’s really depressing to listen to these people sometimes mainly because of that…..
And also because, well…. it’s a constant repetition of the same things as nothing seems to change at all with not really a lot of hope on the horizon….
New ideas of how to organize economics / living life in a doable way is what we really need.
Your ideas of a politics of care and a courageous state are already very good, in my opinion.
They do give hope.
Having your main focus on giving hope seems quite alright, I think. 🙂
Thank you
I would like to see more commentary on the decline of neoliberalism and also what we should replace it with, particularly in relation to the battle for the future we are now facing. Neoliberalism has allowed the worst people to amass the most wealth, and now, as the current order collapsed, they are poised to steal our post neoliberal future and turn it into something worse. Thiel and Musk and Vance and all those parasitic leeches in human form are taking far too much interest in our island, and I see they are planning a corporate style takeover. How can we compete with a politics of care in the face of such wealth, when a good portion of the electorate and government are captured by the wealth and propaganda?
Noted.
OT
Latest Carole Cadwalladr newsletter on AI developments of the neoliberal / libertarian/ authoritarian tech bros … worth a look.
https://broligarchy.substack.com/p/silenced
You have created a huge body of work, freely accessible, that documents what has gone wrong and the failures of neoliberalism (thanks).
Judging by your recent conference, comments here and YouTube followers, there is a growing body of like-minded citizens. I’d be pleased if your ‘what we can do about it’ extended to what such people could specifically do to (a) amplify your messages and (b) help to bring about change.
Burnham has one good idea.
It needs to be looked at seriously.
It is an idea you should look into Prof.
“The North Of England to Host The Olympics”
It sounds daft, but it could kick start the northern economy, bring in tourists and also showcase of the region.
Most of the infrastructure is there. No need for huge investment just upgrading existing things.
Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, York, Sheffield, Bradford, Leeds, Doncaster, Carlisle & Chester. all cities of the north able to host part of the games.
There are eight premiere league grounds able to host football, hockey, rugby games. Several athletics tracks.
A “North Of England Olympics” is not a bad idea.
Minor investment in transport would be required, road, rail and airports.
ECML upgrade to Newcastle, WCML upgraded to Manchester and Liverpool.
The 3 north bound motorways upgraded.
The games spread out over the whole region would pull a huge amount of tourists across it and not have them all located in one spot.
With each city hosting different sports and the team games spread over the entire cities, the stress on public transport would be reduced.
Overall it is not a bad idea.
The benefits would clearly out way the costs, especially as nations are now reluctant to bid for the games. everything exists in the region.
For every pound spent on the project it would see a tenfold spend in the nation and the region during the event.
This would bolster the nations GDP and the regions prosperity.
Just some out of the box thinking, something politicians can not do.
Bealdor
A neoliberal festival of enormous waste will achieve nothing.
We need real fixes. Not adrenaline shots.
This is a terrible idea.
Olympics?
I just drove from Elsecar Heritage Centre to Sheffield city centre along the B roads. They resembled WW1 trenches in parts, a real challenge. Though no worse than nearly everywhere else in The North.
Maybe if we host the Olympics – or even better another Tour de Yorkshire cycle race – we’ll get the pot holes fixed.
[Irony alert]
Glad you are on the mend, Richard. I know what kidney stones can be like having had one (that ‘passed through’) 18 months ago. My penny worth is that it is very difficult not to indulge in “The Risk of Prediction”, because that is a human thing, and even harder to accept that, thankfully, life is full of randomness. However, there are multiple things you have helpfully written about – ideas mainly – and I would appreciate your continuing to do so.
More debunking of the bond markets. Gary has a new video out where he basically says the Government needs to borrow money from the rich, in other words “There is no such thing as public money; there is only taxpayers’ money”, I was so angry with him I unsubscribed.
There will be a blog post….
Me too, I stopped watching him about a year ago. Not that I’ve ever thought much of him anyway. Personally I doubt he’ll around in 2 or 3 years
I hope you take this in the right spirit. Your first priority is your own health and wellbeing. You are unable to do much of use unless wholly fit and in a good place. Next is your valuable relationships: family, friends etc. They love you and need you. After that, do what makes you content or happy and contributes to your first two priorities. And below that is everything else!
I like making content
I’d really like it if you went to the heart of the problem: fiscal primacy. Letting economics dictate how to manage a nation. The tired old, totally miss-aligned, view that good management (In your words, good taking care) is best done by setting up a system where price and market signals can play out on their own.
This is not management – as any management expert will tell us. Only economists call this good management.
Just take the basic management concept of “Line of sight” where priorities from national level translate to actual people doing actual things on actual properties, and being able to see that it is happening as intended. Relying on price signals gives poor indication of levels of care being experienced. The care system needs its own measurements and standards.
Removing primacy from the hands of economists, and getting them to hand over to management specialists to put care primacy in place is a tough call, but without it we risk going down the austerity helter skelter. A hill worth fighting for.
My eye initially read “narcoeconomics” in your phrase “the framework for macroeconomic management that the Treasury imposes.” We need you to go on reminding everyone of the alternatives! And to go on getting well as quickly as possible.
“… but without blowing my own trumpet, I think it is fair to say that many fewer can offer answers as to what we should do next better than I am able to provide.”
It’s hard not to believe that this isn’t a parody account, such is the level of arrogance on display.
Are really this delusional?
Not at all.
You would not be here if that was not true.
You make my case for me. Thank you.
The vision and hope that something better is possible have immense power. In a world shaped by a relentless stream of bad news, knowing that a better, fairer and caring system is possible can be deeply empowering. It can calm the nerves, steady the mind, and remind us that the future is not yet fixed. I think this is what many of us need now: ideas that can help us keep sailing through rough seas with a clearer sense of direction.
Thank you
I must commend your dedication to engaging with commentators on this blog, to clarify some of your arguments, or answer their questions, etc. but I am unable to comment on some older posts where I have questions. Do you close each post after a set amount of time?
Yes, after 5 days. That is to preserve my own sanity and manage workflow.
Only you can make the choice as ultimately it’s only you that lives with the consequences. I said a while ago to you about ticking things off your bucket list and then you made a duck it list. A bucket list doesn’t have to be things you want to do or places you want to be, it can also be about not having regrets or things that you wish had gone differently.
It’s a harrowing experience to realise your mortality, to think your time may be counted in days or months rather than years. I’m sorry you’ve had to confront that. Do what makes you and those you love happy, if you find something you feel you ought to do then do so and leave few regrets behind.
I don’t do FOMO.
I do JOMO.
The joy of missing out.
And i should have many years yet.
It’s your shout.
MMT
Resource Accounting
The Taxing Wealth Report
These are the ‘hardy perennials’ of your work and will need repeating, updating refreshing and even ‘linking up’.
The Politics and Economics of Care are enabled by these too. It’s going to be about finding in joy in repetition.
Thanks
Some time ago you mentioned tackling local authority funding and policy. It’s not a meta subject but I think it has tremendous impact on people’s lives and is worth spending some time on. I’m aware of a fair amount of cynicism surrounding the way in which local politicians are viewed – back-handers, self promotion, etc – which needs to be tackled through the way that candidates are chosen and regulated. Not to mention the issue of what to call “tax-payers’ money” that would encourage people to demand more of their local authority rather than erroneously reigning in their ideas to keep council tax to manageable level. And much more besides …
We are doing a background project on local authorities here right now. The idea is to reimagine whatab it did. Some of the data is amazing. Give us time.
I think getting that Funding the Future roadshow back on tour should be your focus. There must be some people who cleared a day in June to attend one in Sheffield this month that didn’t happen who are chomping at the bit to go again. If you get your old strike partner Jeremy Corbyn to speak, as you did for him one time, then you could fill a two grander.
If we had booked it, then it would have been cancelled. None of us are feeling excited by the idea right now. We need to be fully fit first.
Well your first focus has to be on yourself, you need a sustainable mix of “work” (blogging) time, family time and leisure time. A health scare in our sixties has been a wake up call for many of us.
Second, recognise your real academic instinct for in-depth analyses, particularly in topics you have studied for years like tax and MMT, and continue doing those but give yourself time to make them good. It is worth having some ideas you work up over a period of time before blogging, as was evident in your Taxing Wealth report. In the end it is your ability to write like that which gives authority to your shorter posts.
But third, don’t feel inhibited about commenting on current events when you feel the urge – that is part of your essence. However make those posts short and pithy. (And also be experimental and creative when the mood takes you. I enjoyed your physics posts, they forced both you and your readers to approach ideas in different ways. And your current series on potential where you are experimenting with writing style, it has a special impact although the punchiness might work best in a shorter piece; while effective it becomes a bit tiring for the reader after a while).
Thank you.
Appreciated.
In https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2026/05/12/how-to-manage-the-cost-of-government-borrowing/, you say the government could stop issuing gilts at elevated rates and borrow directly from the bank of England. It sounds like an attractive idea, but why doesn’t it appeal to any of our politicians? They would surely be applauded if they did it. It would be great to hear how it would work, how it could be done and what sort of narrative could bring it sbout.
They are told it is not possible / legal / credible / sustainable and the city will not tolerated. In the UK at present none of those things are true, but the city hierarchy and the treasury reinforced view and has such it does not happen.
[…] rarely put up a pole that receives an outcome like this, as yesterday's on what I should now be focusing upon […]
Your thoughts on the politics of care and its relationship to economics and accounting are innovative and apposite. However, they fall more into the sphere of political theory and philosophy rather than the day to day problems and issues that affect (and effect) every one of your followers. For me, and I suspect the vast majority of your readers, while theory and philosophy show us that alternatives to current practices are both achievable and desirable, they do nothing to explain the problems we all face today. Nor do they expose the misinformation and untruths that we are constantly being fed by the so called leaders of society. I’ve been reading our blog and posts for over 3 years now and I have to say that if it was all economics or all political theory I’d have fallen to the wayside long ago. It’s the way you link these things to current affairs that keeps me learning and interested. So when you explain MMT, yet again, in relation to something like Gary Stephenson’s video on the bond market, I still read every word. This makes for a deeper understanding of MMT and it’s relationship to today’s world. It also gives new visitors an immediate perspective on what your blog is all about. So when I recommend your blog to someone as happens at least 10 times a week I know that they’ll find something of immediate interest and value that they’ll pass on themselves. Please don’t change this format.
Noted.
I will not be able to resist current comment.
But the thrust of my thinking will be elsewhere.
Journalism rarely changes the world. Thinking does.