Funding the Future

In 2011 I wrote The Courageous State — a call for governments that act with purpose and confidence, not cowardice. Fourteen years later, we still live with austerity, outsourcing and fear. I argue it’s time to reclaim the language of democracy — to speak of courage, care, and common purpose. The words we choose decide the world we live in. Watch now — and ask yourself: Do you want a courageous state?

What if the UK government admitted it already uses modern monetary theory? Would markets panic — or would we finally have the power to rebuild Britain? In this video, I explain: Why MMT isn’t a policy, but a fact. How the “market panic” MMT would supposedly create is a myth. How the UK could use MMT to invest, create jobs, and tackle inequality. The truth is simple: the UK already creates money this way. The question is — how do we make that work for us all?  

AI is reshaping work faster than universities, employers, or governments can adapt. In this intergenerational conversation, I talk with my son Tom about how artificial intelligence has destroyed the old promise: work hard, get good grades, and you’ll get a good job. From “ghost jobs” to algorithmic hiring and a two-tier workforce, this video explores what happens when AI changes everything — and how young people can still shape their future.

Tory Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride wants to take £47 billion out of the UK economy — mostly by cutting benefits for migrants and those with mental ill health. That isn’t prudence. It’s managed decline. In this video, I explain what really happens when you cut money from the poorest: demand collapses, jobs vanish, and resentment grows. The truth is simple: spending creates income, and austerity destroys it.  

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.

Are all our major political parties now the same? Labour, Conservatives, the Lib Dems, and even Reform  are united by one ideology: neoliberalism. Fiscal rules, austerity, and the “household analogy” bind them together into what I call the Single Transferable Party. This is why public services are always cut, inequality deepens, and investment is suppressed—no matter who wins an election. In this video, I explain why UK democracy has been hollowed out, why real choice has disappeared, and what alternatives—like proportional representation and ending fiscal rules—we must fight for if we want genuine change.