Economic justice campaigner. Professor of Accounting Practice, Sheffield University. Chartered accountant. Political economist. Co-founder, the Green New Deal. Also blogging at www.taxresearch.org.uk .
I post on economics, politics, tax and climate change (and even accounting) because they make big differences to our lives. My bias is to the left but I am not party aligned.
All views my own, not my employer’s.
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Published at
2023-03-27T15:33:55+02:00 Event JSON
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Last Notes npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Starmer’s choice: he won’t fund the NHS even though he knows people will die as a result https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/09/12/starmers-choice-he-wont-fund-the-nhs-even-though-he-knows-people-will-die-as-a-result/ Starmer is out today saying the NHS must "reform or die", but since he's refusing to provide the funding required to reform, die is the only option actually on the table, which means that people will do so as well. And this from a supposedly Labour government. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy As the July GDP data proves, nothing really changed that month https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/09/11/as-the-july-gdp-data-proves-nothing-really-changed-that-month/ The GDP data proves what we all knew. We got a new government early that month, and yet nothing changed in the economy. And that will be the message for the next five years. Labour's in office, intent on changing nothing. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Labour should be picking on tax cheats https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/09/11/labour-should-be-picking-on-tax-cheats/ Instead of picking on children in poverty and pensioners needing support with fuel bills to pay the price for the Tory economic aftermath, Labour should be picking on tax cheats to fill its coffers, as the National Audit Office agrees, and as I show in the Taxing Wealth Report 2024, would not be hard. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Why is Labour picking on pensioners? https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/09/10/why-is-labour-picking-on-pensioners/ Of all the groups in society anyone expected Labour to pick on when it came into office, pensioners were the least likely, excepting, perhaps, children in poverty. Now it turns out they are the two groups Labour thinks should pay the price for the mess that Labour claims it has inherited from the Tories. Political incompetence on this scale is hard to make up. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Do we need any more public inquiries? https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/09/06/do-we-need-any-more-public-inquiries/ When public inquiries take seven years to report and delay justice for up to a decade whilst telling us what we already know, which ministers could have admitted at the time, what is their purpose? npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Of what value is democracy when those in power ignore it? https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/09/06/of-what-value-is-democracy-when-those-in-power-ignore-it/ President Macron is setting a dangerous precedent in France. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Neoliberalism was the underlying cause of the Grenfell disaster https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/09/05/neoliberalism-was-the-underlying-cause-of-the-grenfell-disaster/ Only by ridding our politics of neoliberal thinking will we eliminate the risk of another Grenfell happening, but what is the likelihood of that happening when most of our politicians are corrupted by that thinking? npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Neoliberalism has reduced politics to the level of farce https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/09/04/neoliberalism-has-reduced-politics-to-the-level-of-farce/ The collective denial of unionist parties for the austerity that the SNP is being forced to introduce in Scotland as a result of the absence of any alternatives being provided by Westminster was staggering and an indication of the lack of responsibility being accepted by all the parties that have governed at Westminster since 2009 for the dire legacy that they have created. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy There is no economic crisis in the UK. So why is Rachel Reeves making people suffer? https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/09/02/there-is-no-economic-crisis-in-the-uk-so-why-is-rachel-reeves-making-people-suffer/ Labour is claiming that cutting the winter fuel allowance and keeping children in poverty has prevented UK economic collapse. That is untrue. No cuts are necessary as many alternative sources of funding are available to the government. Reeves is prioritising financial markets over public welfare. Her decisions are harming vulnerable populations. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Economics for the person on the Mile End Road https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/08/31/economics-for-the-person-on-the-mile-end-road/ npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy There’s a void at the heart of Starmer’s government where vision and ideas should be https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/08/28/theres-a-void-at-the-heart-of-starmers-government-where-vision-and-ideas-should-be/ Starmer made clear yesterday that Labour is focused on maintaining the status quo rather than enacting meaningful change, missing, as it does, the ethical values and strategic thinking needed for delivering effective government. His is a government without purpose, and that's deeply troubling. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Land value taxation is not a panacea https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/08/27/land-value-taxation-is-not-a-panacea/ Land value taxation is a 19th-century idea that has very rarely been used. Its proponents say it is the great unavoidable tax that could potentially replace all other taxes. The problem is it is based on assumptions that might be fine in theory but which would be incomprehensible in practice – and that’s no way to impose a tax charge. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy What politicians need to know about decision making https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/08/25/what-politicians-need-to-know-about-decision-making/ You would think politicians should be good at decision-making, but they aren’t. Of all the options available to them, they usually choose prevarication when there are usually five other alternatives they could use. As a result, our politicians are paralysing our political processes. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Politics goes on, even when the politicians stop talking about it https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/08/20/politics-goes-on-even-when-the-politicians-stop-talking-about-it/ What matters is that people are living without the protection, care, support, security, income, education, healthcare and economic and social justice they need to believe that they are included in the world of politics that excludes them so often, which fact is more obvious when the politicians shut up for a moment during midsummer. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Rachel Reeves would make a mess of any household’s finances https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/08/19/rachel-reeves-would-make-a-mess-of-any-households-finances/ npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy What’s wrong with Twitter? https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/08/15/whats-wrong-with-twitter/ Twitter is built on the foundations of the people who use the service. The structure of financial capitalism might let Twitter profit from those people, but the creativity and content are all theirs. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy If the government wants growth, it should be taxing wealth https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/08/11/if-the-government-wants-growth-it-should-be-taxing-wealth/ npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Will the toxic Tories survive? https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/08/10/will-the-toxic-tories-survive/ The Tories have not just proved themselves to be incompetent. They have also fuelled toxic racial hate. Can they really survive that, most especially when all their likely next leadership contenders are inextricably associated with that agenda? npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy It’s time to bring the Bank of England back under government control https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/08/09/its-time-to-bring-the-bank-of-england-back-under-government-control/ It's claimed that the Bank of England is independent of the government. Almost certainly, that's a complete sham. But it's one that's been used to impose policy against the best interests of people in this country. This pretence has to end, and the government has to be accountable for all our economic policy. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy I refuse to retreat in defeat from Twitter https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/08/08/i-refuse-to-retreat-in-defeat-from-twitter/ npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Will our politicians take the action required to tackle fascism, because their talk will not be enough? https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/08/08/will-our-politicians-take-the-action-required-to-tackle-fascism-because-their-talk-will-not-be-enough/ Rioting did not happen last night. Peace broke out. But the reality is that fascist rioting has now happened on our streets, and condemning it will not be enough. Radical action to address inequality is required. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy What we need is action to improve lives https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/08/07/what-we-need-is-action-to-improve-lives/ Rioters promoting racist hate do not have legitimate political concerns. On the other hand, millions of people who are concerned about inequality, poor jobs, failing public services and poor housing have wholly appropriate grievances in the UK. Tackle those, and the opportunity for racists would disappear. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Now Labour is the incumbent Single Transferable Party of government what chance is there for the Left? https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/08/07/77133/ Labour has slipped into government, offering almost no discernable change from the Tories, most especially in economics, where policy remains firmly based in favour of the interests of corporate funders. They are now the current incumbent Single Transferable Party in power. So, what does that mean for democracy? npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Does Labour really not care that up to ten UK universities might fail soon? https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/08/06/does-labour-really-not-care-that-up-to-ten-uk-universities-might-fail-soon/ Labour is issuing a contract for the management of the failure of up to ten UK universities, which it has said it will not bail out of they fail as a result of changed rules on attracting overseas students. It's as if they do not care about all the suffering this will create. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Recession, anyone? https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/08/05/recession-anyone/ Has Reeves got a Plan B for when her anticipated growth does not materialise? With stock markets crashing, it looks like she will need to use it very soon. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Unless Labour listens and learns, we are in big trouble https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/08/04/unless-labour-listens-and-learns-we-are-in-big-trouble/Nothing condones neo-fascist violence. But until Labour realises that it has to tackle inequality, those promoting violence will exploit the anger of those left behind to secure support for their cause. The choice is for Labour to make, but so far it is sending out the message that it intends to promote inequality. Are they really surprised people are angry as a result? They have to change tack. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Government deficits create private wealth https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/08/04/government-deficits-create-private-wealth/ It’s widely claimed that our national debt threatens the well-being and stability of the UK, which is quite absurd when the national debt exactly equates to the value of private wealth that the government has injected into the UK’s economy. Why is it that those talking about the national debt do not seem to know this stuff? npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy The Bank of England is fuelling inflation https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/08/01/the-bank-of-england-is-fuelling-inflation/ The Bank of England is signalling we're going to have high interest rates for a long time because it thinks we are still at risk of suffering inflation. But that's absurd. The Bank of England is now the biggest creator of inflationary pressure in our economy. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy The only way to beat the far-right parasites is to reduce divisions in our society https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/07/31/the-only-way-to-beat-the-far-right-parasites-is-to-reduce-divisions-in-our-society/ The far-right thugs who rioted in Southport last night exist to create and exploit divisions in our society. The way to defeat them is to reduce the divisions in our society. Nothing else will do. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Austerity does not save money https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/07/31/austerity-does-not-save-money/ Like almost all economic truths, austerity works in the opposite way to that which most people think. It does not save money. Instead, it prevents the government from creating the money required to deliver what the economy is capable of. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Is Labour really short of money? https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/07/28/is-labour-really-short-of-money/ Labour says it is incredibly short of money. It need not be. I suggest that they just stop paying maybe £30 billion of interest to our commercial banks each year that they have done nothing to earn and then see what they can do with it to change the well-being of people in this country. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Wes Streting can’t blame the NHS for its failings: that’s all down to political choice and he’s now responsible for them https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/07/26/wes-streting-cant-blame-the-nhs-for-its-failings-thats-all-down-to-political-choice-and-hes-now-responsible-for-them/ Wes Streeting is saying the NHS has failed. But that's not true. Tory decision-making on the NHS failed. Now, he has to show he can make better decisions, and not blame NHS staff if he can't. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Do we want the UK’s universities to go bust? https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/07/26/do-we-want-the-uks-universities-to-go-bust/ Is Labour really going to let some UK universities go bust, which they almost certainly will if it does not step in to save them? Do they really want to be the party that oversaw the start of the decline in UK education? That’s a long way from the legacy they’ll want. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Labour needs to find its moral compass on child poverty https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/07/25/labour-needs-to-find-its-moral-compass-on-child-poverty/ The row over the two-child poverty cap has revealed just how shallow the new Labour government's moral leadership really is. If it continues in this way, the next five years will be agonising. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Will Reeves remove pension tax reliefs for the wealthiest? https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/07/24/will-reeves-remove-pension-tax-reliefs-for-the-wealthiest/ I doubt this will happen. But someone in the Treasury is clearly thinking about it. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Labour is a moral void https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/07/24/labour-is-a-moral-void/ Labour suspended seven of its MPs last night because they voted to pay benefits to the poorest in our society whilst the Labour leadership wants to maintain benefits for the richest instead. No moral code I know of can justify what it has done. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy No wonder politics is in a mess https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/07/23/no-wonder-politics-is-in-a-mess/ Politics should be all about meeting the need for a stable society in which all people can thrive, which term is vastly more comprehensive than any financial concept. But neoliberal politicians, dedicated as they are to corporate interests and managerialism, have forgotten that. No wonder we're in a mess. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Labour could make business publish what it pays https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/07/23/labour-could-make-business-publish-what-it-pays/ Big business pays a large proportion of the UK’s taxes. They should be detailing exactly how much in their accounts. If Labour wants to hold business to account, this is a chance for them to do so. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Is growth that is dependent on trashing the planet worth having? https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/07/20/is-growth-that-is-dependent-on-trashing-the-planet-worth-having/ The far-right and politicians are obsessed with tech and AI led growth that will burn vastly amounts of energy. Is it really worth having? npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Labour could end no-fault evictions https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/07/20/labour-could-end-no-fault-evictions/ The Tories said they would end no-fault evictions from private-sector accommodation but failed to deliver. Labour could deliver this reform now, and end this threat hanging over millions of people. They have said they will, but will they do it properly? npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Crypto: the route to serfdom https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/07/18/crypto-the-route-to-serfdom/ This is going to be a crypto-currency election in the US - because crypto can deliver what the ultra-right want, which is the end of the state as we know it. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Child poverty is caused by a lack of money. Only more money for those in poverty can solve it. https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/07/18/child-poverty-is-caused-by-a-lack-of-money-only-more-money-for-those-in-poverty-can-solve-it/ By setting up a task force on child poverty, Labour is enabling its perpetuation by avoiding the need to take action now. History will remember it for doing so. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy We have to redistribute income or wealth of face fascism: that is the choice before us https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/07/17/we-have-to-redistribute-income-or-wealth-of-face-fascism-that-is-the-choice-before-us/ Unless we abandon neoliberalism, it will lead to its inevitable conclusion, which is fascism. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Much of the remaining inflationary pressure in our economy has been created by the Bank of England https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/07/17/much-of-the-remaining-inflationary-pressure-in-our-economy-has-been-created-by-the-bank-of-england/ Inflation is back to normal except for the unavoidable fact that the Bank of England is still forcing up housing costs, and is using that fact to justify continued high interest rates that can only make matters worse. You literally could not make this up. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Labour could introduce a 20mph speed limit in towns throughout England https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/07/14/labour-could-introduce-a-20mph-speed-limit-in-towns-throughout-england/ Labour has already introduced a 20mph speed limit in Welsh towns. That's already working to reduce the severity of accidents, saving money and lives, and helping the environment. Labour could extend this to the whole of England at almost no cost to the government. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Is the Bank of England trying to undermine Labour’s economic policy? https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/07/11/is-the-bank-of-england-trying-to-undermine-labours-economic-policy/ The Bank of England has made it clear it wants to crush any sign of growth in the UK economy. Rachel Reeves is desperate for growth. This is as big a policy split as happened when Truss was in office, and only one of the Treasury and the Bank can win, with the Bank holding all the aces. This is going to end in tears, and with Labour's reputation in tatters unless Reeves acts now. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Labour could change the UK for (almost) nothing https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/07/09/labour-could-change-the-uk-for-almost-nothing/ Labour governments have a long history of changing this country with measures that cost the government very little or nothing at all. In a new video series – which will go on for some time – I am going to suggest how Labour might do that now. It's time to be positive about the changes that Labour could deliver without any arguments about economics. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy I want to abolish the whip https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/07/07/i-want-to-abolish-the-whip/ The whipping system in the House of Commons has always been pernicious. Now that Labour has a massive majority, it will destroy debate and dissent in Parliament. For the sake of our democracy, it has to go. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Wes Streeting is wrong: rising tides do not float all boats https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/07/07/wes-streeting-is-wrong-rising-tides-do-not-float-all-boats/ Wes Streeting used a right-wing economic trope yesterday that suggests that ‘trickle down’ economics works. Forty plus years of evidence shows that it does not, and that deep poverty is rising in this country. Apparently, he is indifferent to that. This is not a good start. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Who do you want to lead the Tory party? https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/07/05/who-do-you-want-to-lead-the-tory-party/ The Tories are going to have another summer of meltdown, division and in-fighting as Badenoch and Braverman fight it out to lead the party towards the exit on the right-hand side of the political stage. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy What does an unemployed ex-Tory MP do? https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/07/05/what-does-an-unemployed-ex-tory-mp-do/ There are hordes of newly unemployed Tory MPs. They can’t all get a job on GB News. So, what are they all going to do when after years in parliament, and with contact lists that no one wants, they have no useful skills to offer anyone? npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy The exist poll confirms that in this election we were all the losers https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/07/04/the-exist-poll-confirms-that-in-this-election-we-were-all-the-losers/ First-past-the-post has failed us all tonight npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Trump’s rigging the law in the USA https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/07/04/trumps-rigging-the-law-in-the-usa/ Trump packed the Supreme Court of the USA with his mates, and now they’re returning the favour by granting him immunity for his actions when in office. Will he use that power to persecute those who he sees as his enemies? You’d be a fool to think otherwise. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy This dismal election campaign will soon be over https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/07/03/this-dismal-election-campaign-will-soon-be-over/ Perversely, at the end of this deeply disappointing campaign, Keir Starmer will become Prime Minister as the ultimate anti-democrat, and the person most profoundly dedicated to governing contrary to the will of the people of this country. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy The US is continuing its descent into fascism https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/07/02/the-us-is-continuing-its-descent-into-fascism/ The US Supreme Court has effectively declared its president to be above the law. The fascist concept of the ‘super man supreme leader‘ has as a result been confirmed to be a part of the US Constitution. We should all be very worried. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy It’s time to talk about fascism https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/06/29/its-time-to-talk-about-fascism/ No one wants to talk about fascism, but unless we do, and realise what is required to beat it, then we are all in the deepest of trouble. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy UK first quarter GDP has been found to have included a rounding error https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/06/28/uk-first-quarter-gdp-has-been-found-to-have-included-a-rounding-error/ New GDP data only provides good news to really desperate politicians. For everyone else, it says things are at least as bad as you think, and possibly worse. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Why have we tolerated the Bank of England’s dismal failure on QE? https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/06/27/why-have-we-tolerated-the-bank-of-englands-dismal-failure-on-qe/ The whole QE programme was a sham to disguise the fact that the government was creating new money. It was totally unnecessary to issue bonds to disguise that fact, or for the government to buy them, and now to supposedly resell them. Only dogma required this, but the cost might be £100bn. And that makes the PPE scandal look to be tiny. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy What is Starmer trying to hide? https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/06/26/what-is-starmer-trying-to-hide/ Keir Starmer’s inability to suggest his favourite book / poem / music / film / tv series is really quite strange. What is he trying to hide? npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Will Labour have the sense to go for wealth taxes? https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/06/23/will-labour-have-the-sense-to-go-for-wealth-taxes/ Of course, Labour needs more tax revenue. Everyone knows that. That's why they should be reading the Taxing Wealth Report 2024. The best-off and wealthy are the only people from whom they can get it fairly. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Freeports are dangerous https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/06/23/freeports-are-dangerous/ Rishi Sunak's very limited legacy will include the creation of freeports. They are, however, deeply dangerous places where the normal rule of law is suspended for the benefit of financial capital, usually at cost to the workers in the places and the communities that host them. As such, they undermine democracy. What could possibly go wrong? npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Migration: you ain’t seen nothing yet https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/06/22/migration-you-aint-seen-nothing-yet/ Whatever our politicians say, migration is going to increase - because climate change guarantees it will. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy A disaster foretold https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/06/20/a-disaster-foretold/ Labour with well over 500 seats would bring parliament accountability as we know it to an end for five years. No democrat can be happy about that. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Inflation is on target and the Bank of England is still wildly out of control https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/06/19/infaltion-is-on-target-and-the-bank-of-england-is-still-wildly-out-of-control/ Inflation is at 2%. Bank interest rates remain at 5.25%. One is under control. The other is out of control. And, shockingly, no major politician is talking about bringing the Bank of England back under government control in this election campaign. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Talking economic policy with the Scottish Greens https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/06/19/talking-economic-policy-with-the-scottish-greens/ The Scottish Greens have a policy platform that is unique amongst pro-independence parties in Scotland. Ross Greer MSP explained it to me in an interview this week. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy The Greens: overly optimistic, but at least without the gloom that dominates elsewhere https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/06/13/the-greens-overly-optimistic-but-at-least-without-the-gloom-that-dominates-elsewhere/ Like other manifestos offered so far in this election, the Greens proposals lack critical detail to support theor credibility, but at least they is a optimism and a plan for making life better and improving social and economic justice. For that they are a breath of fresh air. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy The neoliberal show is out of road https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/06/12/the-neoliberal-show-is-out-of-road/ Growth was precisely zero in April. The Tory failure to deliver on its own goals is very apparent, but if Labour does nothing different - and that is its plan - then it too will fail. Has neoliberalism finally failed? npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy In England’s green and pleasant – or is it grubby and dying? – land https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/06/12/in-englands-green-and-pleasant-or-is-it-grubby-and-dying-land/ William Blake might have written about England’s green and pleasant land, but it seems that most English politicians are intent on ignoring green issues during this election. That’s going to leave us with a whole pile of problems - and a grubby, unpleasant, and even uninhabitable land in time to come. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy There is no black hole in government funding https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/06/12/there-is-no-black-hole-in-government-funding/ Politicians might talk endlessly about black holes in government funding but in reality there can never be any such thing. All that actually exists are choices about how the government might fund its spending - some of which options those same politicians are refusing to consider, at cost to us all. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy 20 miles per hour is what government should be all about https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/06/12/20-miles-is-what-government-should-be-all-about/ Saving lives, injuries, accident costs and the environment all by changing some law: this is what good government should be all about. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy How long will Labour’s honeymoon with the UK electorate last? https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/06/10/how-long-will-labours-honeymoon-with-the-uk-electorate-last/ Labour will only have months to keep the electorate happy after the general election, and if they don't, the backlash could be severe and long-lasting. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Neoliberal politicians are lacking a political antenna https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/06/08/neoliberal-politicians-are-lacking-a-political-antenna/ Politicians possessed of a political antenna kniw, innately, when something is wrong and react to it. But when neoliberal politics is itself innately wrong it cannot recruit people possessed of such ability or they’d realise the error of their ways. The result is that we get Rishi Sunak, Keir Starmer who simply follow the line they’ve been commanded to deliver. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy How many former Tory MPs might defect to Reform today? https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/06/07/how-many-former-tory-mps-might-defect-to-reform-today/ Today is the last day when people can be nominated as candidates in the general election. Rumour has it that some right-wing Tory MPs will quit the party this afternoon and become Reform candidates, leaving the Tories no time to replace them. Could a perverse coup of this sort be on the cards today? npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Labour: selling out to the highest bidder https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/06/04/labour-selling-out-to-the-highest-bidder/ Labour makes clear, everything's up for sale npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Keir Starmer wants to increase wealth inequality https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/06/04/keir-starmer-wants-to-increase-wealth-inequality/ Keir Starmer has said the Labour Party's goal is to increase wealth, which, given the structure of the UK, means the wealth of the already wealthy. Is that really what a so-called Labour Party should really be all about? And what does it say about his economics? npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Starmer has now made it clear: he intends to govern on behalf of the rich https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/06/02/starmer-has-now-made-it-clear-he-intends-to-govern-on-behalf-of-the-rich/ Keir Starmer has made it clear we are all, in his opinion, dependent on those who want to get rich at cost to the rest of us. in other words, he’s going all out for utterly discredited trickle down economics that is guaranteed to deliver increasing inequality. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy The NHS is being dumbed down https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/05/31/the-nhs-is-being-dumbed-down/ Wes Streeting is, if he’s not careful, going to permit the biggest medical scandal in NHS history by permitting underqualified staff to undertake work for which they are not properly trained. And he’s too cost focussed to spot the danger. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy We are now being exploited https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/05/30/we-are-now-being-exploited/ Once upon a time, financial capitalism exploited slaves. Then, it exploited the planet. And now - in the absence of anything else - it is exploiting you. That's why the rich are getting richer, and you probably never will. We need to be rid of this rotten system that cannot survive unless someone or something must lose for the benefit of a few. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Rachel Reeves has one chance to U-turn. She’ll make or break her reputation on whether she does so https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/05/30/rachel-reeves-has-one-chance-to-u-turn-shell-make-or-break-her-reputation-on-whether-she-does-so/ Labour is seeking office by offering unsustainable, undeliverable, and deeply unpopular austerity. They’ll get elected nonetheless, but that will give Reeves just one chance to change direction. She either does so by September, or she dooms Labour to failure. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy If the SNP can tackle child poverty in Scotland why can’t Labour in England? https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/05/29/if-the-snp-can-tackle-child-poverty-in-scotland-why-cant-labour-in-england/ The SNP, working within the constraints laid down by the Tories in Westminster, have done more to tackle child poverty in Scotland than Labour is planning to do in England. Why is that? Could it be that caring about the issue makes a difference? npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy The Starmer project is deeply contemptuous of anyone vaguely left of centre https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/05/27/the-starmer-project-is-deeply-contemptuous-of-anyone-vaguely-left-of-centre/ As a result of Starmer’s contempt for his party and the majority of people in this country, might this be the last election where the current party brands (as opposed to ideologies, where there is no difference) are on offer as the alternatives that we have to choose between? Might it be that next time the people will have had enough of being treated with contempt? npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy This is the last election where we can save the planet https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/05/25/this-is-the-last-election-where-we-can-save-the-planet/ We all know that climate change is now the biggest problem that we as a human race face. And yet you'd never think it from what most political parties are saying at this election. Don't they care about the future, our children and grandchildren and the calamity facing us all? Their indifference is quite staggering. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Where does the buck stop at the Post Office? https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/05/24/where-does-the-buck-stop-at-the-post-office/ Paula Vennells' performance at the Post Office inquiry appears variously naive, incompetent or brazen. We cannot be sure. However, what can be suggested is that it seems likely she was never suited to the task of being Post Office CEO. In that case, who appointed her, why, and are they also responsible for what has happened? npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy A dull sense of dread hangs over this election https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/05/23/a-dull-sense-of-dread-hangs-over-this-election/ This election will see us rid of the Tories, probably forever in their One Nation pretence. But it will not deliver change. Things will not get better for most people. How can anyone get excited about that? npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy The waiting is over https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/05/22/the-waiting-is-over/ Sunak is walking to oblivion….. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy The real crisis facing Labour https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/05/22/the-real-crisis-facing-labour/ Labour has suggested it might face six crises when coming into office, all of which could be solved by spending more money and taxing the wealthy. The real list of crises that they face is much longer and more serious and it seems that they are in denial about them. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy There’s one simple solution to every crisis that Labour thinks it will face. All it has to do is tax the wealthy more. https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/05/22/theres-one-simple-solution-to-every-crisis-that-labour-thinks-it-will-face-all-it-has-to-do-is-tax-the-wealthy-more/ Labour thinks it might face six crises when it comes into office. It's got the list horribly wrong. But worse than that, all of the crises it thinks it will face are self-imposed as a result of Rachel Reeves' refusal to spend what is required and to tax the wealthy to recover the tax she needs. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Governments fail when they act in the interests of powerful people https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/05/21/governments-fail-when-they-act-in-the-interests-of-powerful-people/ The infected blood inquiry revealed a failure and then, worse still, a cover up. The failure was bad enough. But it is the abuse of power to protect those who failed that compounds that and makes it so egregious. Government cannot be run to protect the powerful. It’s meant to do the opposite. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Labour is making a virtue of the fact that its plan for office is to manage a steady ship where nothing will change. That would be a great policy if all was going well, but everything is falling apart all around it, and that means that the actual message is that it has no idea what to do about that fact. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Starmer, the cuckoo https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/05/19/starmer-the-cuckoo/ Like a cuckoo, Starmer has foisted himself into alien territory, ousted its natural occupants, demanded blind loyalty from those who are left, and will then deliver something totally opposite to their best interests. Of course, we have to create an alternative to that. What other choice do we have? npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy We have found the limits of the digital world. There is still a need for human beings. HMRC should acknowledge the fact https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/05/15/we-have-found-the-limits-of-the-digital-world-there-is-still-a-need-for-human-beings-hmrc-should-acknowledge-the-fact/ HMRC is failing the public. It’s doing so by choice. It’s refusing to talk to people who want help. It’s trying to make them use digital services instead, and they refuse to do that. Maybe, just maybe, what HMRC has actually discovered is that there is a role for human beings after all. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy HMRC needs to be in every town and city in the country https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/05/14/hmrc-needs-to-be-in-every-town-and-city-in-the-country/ Over the last ten years or so, our tax authority has closed the vast majority of tax offices in npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy How banks create money https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/05/09/how-banks-create-money-2/ The process of creating money is so hideously simple that most people find it very hard to believe. They also find it very hard to understand that vast quantities of money is destroyed every year. This really does need to be appreciated if the economy is to be understood. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy How far can Labour descend? https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/05/08/how-far-can-labour-descend/ Accepting Natalie Elphicke as a Labour MP appears to be a new low for the Party. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Since Reeves and the Tories have a shared economic DNA, how different can she ever be? https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/05/08/since-reeves-and-the-tories-have-a-shared-economic-dna-how-different-can-she-ever-be/ The FT has just realised that Rachel Reeves is offering Tory economic policy. They're a bit slow off the mark, but the conclusion is unsurprising. When all of Reeves' economic beliefs coincide with those of Tory Chancellors, that's the inevitable outcome. npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy The Greens were the biggest winners in the local elections, so why aren’t they getting fair air time? https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/05/07/the-greens-were-the-biggest-winners-in-the-local-elections-so-why-arent-they-getting-fair-air-time/ npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy We need the water companies of England to be nationalised https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/05/03/we-need-the-water-companies-of-england-to-be-nationalised/ npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy There is going to be no growth in the UK. Welcome to a world of Labour austerity and the resulting downward spiral of gloom and failure. https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/05/02/there-is-going-to-be-no-growth-in-the-uk-welcome-to-a-world-of-labour-austerity-and-the-resulting-downward-spiral-of-gloom-and-failure/ npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Would you like to see your GP, or know that the government is restricting your access using cast-iron fiscal rules? https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/05/02/would-you-like-to-see-your-gp-or-know-that-the-government-is-restricting-your-access-using-cast-iron-fiscal-rules/ npub1yh4pw49j7n4p30x3jld9js869awznwagy5r20lmswz6vlh258jgqgace5u Richard Murphy Inflation always goes away https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/05/01/inflation-always-goes-away/. If the Bank of England were to be believed the only reason inflation has gone away is because they have taken action to control it. But data since 1200 (that's 800+ years ago) shows that after a bout of inflation, prices always either fall or the rate of inflation at least returns to normal. And for most of that period, no central bank did anything to control inflation. So why should we believe what the Bank of England is saying now?
