Rachel Reeves' Mansion House speech announced another round of deregulation for the City. It won't boost growth, but it will probably make some Labour donors very rich.
Great piece, thank you @Grace Blakeley… It’s maddening (and kind of scary) looking around and seeing the masses of heads buried in very shallow sand, or the crowds of people covering there eyes and ears whilst humming incessantly to ensure reality is kept at bay! None of this is hugely difficult to find out about, if you’re willing to look (and listen to people like you, for instance!) but so many people seem determined not to…”it’ll never happen”, or “as long as its not on my watch”, or “as long as I benefit, what do I care” etc etc!
The sickness of neoliberalism+capitalism, and all the nihilism, and despondent individualism, and aggressive competitiveness etc that it brings with it is like a thick smog, a horrible sickness acting at the scale of a global pandemic! Scary stuff…
I attended a local Economic Forum recently which included a presentation by the regional rep from the Bank of England. I asked if their financial analysis and growth predictions took into account the triple bottom line - what's the point of increased GDP if child poverty increases. His response was long the lines of "My glib answer is that is someone else's problem - it's not that we don't care but we use classic financial modelling." He also emphasised that they are independent - well, if they actually care and are truly indepenent, then they should have no restrictions to including people and planet along side profit in their financial modelling.
It’s clearly in the interest of the public that we shift to a more sustainable existence. Only a tiny minority benefit from delaying the transition over. Green policies, while morally good, also are revealing of a leadership’s priorities - public versus donors!
Everyone should buy and read Vulture Capitalism. If the UK could provide some kind of leadership in tackling climate change, would this help its financial situation?
The only way to deal with these kinds of collective action problems is to have coordinated global action - I’d like to see willing rich countries (i.e. excluding the US) working with poor states to develop sustainable financing models to support decarbonization and adaption everywhere! See Mia Mottley’s Bridgetown plan…
I completely agree but do we have to take account of the UK’s self interest as well and argue that such action would be good for our economy too, if we are to persuade a majority in the UK to back such action as Mottley proposes?
This is not a naive mistake of the uninitiated but payback for being allowed to run for office. Government has long been captured by the financial sector and powerful lobby groups and, in the last few decades, a complicit press. You can vote for who you like but you will ultimately get the same economic approach whoever gets in. As Noam Chomsky observed, there is really a one party state and that party is ‘the Business Party’.
“….a new round of financial deregulation in an attempt to spur investment………you’d have to be mad to make the kinds of long-term investments that Reeves wants to see.” So rather than boosting ‘good’ investment which spurs productivity (which, as you noted, in the era of climate change is a twin-edged sword) deregulation merely swells the coffers of the financial sector? And if expanding coffers over here must involve denuding coffers elsewhere, won’t reducing demand further still, if anything, lead to declining growth?
Thanks Grace, appreciate the PFI focus and having worked on PFI contracts, I am keeping a close eye myself if PFI/PPP partnerships is a reeves strategy or not, currently I am not hearing concrete it is but happily to be corrected ?
Look forward to reading your pensions overview for sure, the "triple lock", aging population and decimation of UK's ability to have a coherent industrial strategy is a real cause of concern for me on a long term basis. Can't see having all eggs in the carbon net zero basket as a practical solution. Best, Sam.
Hi Grace, Thanks for the write up, as usual punchy and to the point. Whilst I agree with the long term shortfalls that you are projecting, I guess my immediate challenge back in the inviable predicament the Tories left the state of the UK economy back to Rachel, requires bold action.
Rachel focused on Pension de-regulation i believe, which if you could provide insight on specially to support your views would be appreciated. You have not mentioned this specifically in your write up below.
An overhaul of the Pensions, whether that be de-regulation, modernisation, de-risking or something even bolder should be seen as a feather in the cap for Rachel - it is creative and an area which Labour should be commended for to focus on in my humble opinion. Rachel is not even into completing 0.5 a year into a 5 year stint as a chancellor so some slack is not such an ask is it ?
Keep up the great work and thank you for your time to read this !
Hi Sam, totally agree about the pensions point - I have another piece planned on this. I’m going to be writing a bit more about this government’s reliance on private finance, as I think it’s a complete red herring https://tribunemag.co.uk/2024/08/building-the-klarna-country
As ever - the cure for the failures of neoliberalism is …, more neoliberalism!! Ta da! Fighting fire with fire is just SO macho…….
Great piece, thank you @Grace Blakeley… It’s maddening (and kind of scary) looking around and seeing the masses of heads buried in very shallow sand, or the crowds of people covering there eyes and ears whilst humming incessantly to ensure reality is kept at bay! None of this is hugely difficult to find out about, if you’re willing to look (and listen to people like you, for instance!) but so many people seem determined not to…”it’ll never happen”, or “as long as its not on my watch”, or “as long as I benefit, what do I care” etc etc!
The sickness of neoliberalism+capitalism, and all the nihilism, and despondent individualism, and aggressive competitiveness etc that it brings with it is like a thick smog, a horrible sickness acting at the scale of a global pandemic! Scary stuff…
Brilliantly scary writing, Grace.
I attended a local Economic Forum recently which included a presentation by the regional rep from the Bank of England. I asked if their financial analysis and growth predictions took into account the triple bottom line - what's the point of increased GDP if child poverty increases. His response was long the lines of "My glib answer is that is someone else's problem - it's not that we don't care but we use classic financial modelling." He also emphasised that they are independent - well, if they actually care and are truly indepenent, then they should have no restrictions to including people and planet along side profit in their financial modelling.
It’s clearly in the interest of the public that we shift to a more sustainable existence. Only a tiny minority benefit from delaying the transition over. Green policies, while morally good, also are revealing of a leadership’s priorities - public versus donors!
Everyone should buy and read Vulture Capitalism. If the UK could provide some kind of leadership in tackling climate change, would this help its financial situation?
The only way to deal with these kinds of collective action problems is to have coordinated global action - I’d like to see willing rich countries (i.e. excluding the US) working with poor states to develop sustainable financing models to support decarbonization and adaption everywhere! See Mia Mottley’s Bridgetown plan…
I completely agree but do we have to take account of the UK’s self interest as well and argue that such action would be good for our economy too, if we are to persuade a majority in the UK to back such action as Mottley proposes?
This is not a naive mistake of the uninitiated but payback for being allowed to run for office. Government has long been captured by the financial sector and powerful lobby groups and, in the last few decades, a complicit press. You can vote for who you like but you will ultimately get the same economic approach whoever gets in. As Noam Chomsky observed, there is really a one party state and that party is ‘the Business Party’.
“….a new round of financial deregulation in an attempt to spur investment………you’d have to be mad to make the kinds of long-term investments that Reeves wants to see.” So rather than boosting ‘good’ investment which spurs productivity (which, as you noted, in the era of climate change is a twin-edged sword) deregulation merely swells the coffers of the financial sector? And if expanding coffers over here must involve denuding coffers elsewhere, won’t reducing demand further still, if anything, lead to declining growth?
Thanks Grace, appreciate the PFI focus and having worked on PFI contracts, I am keeping a close eye myself if PFI/PPP partnerships is a reeves strategy or not, currently I am not hearing concrete it is but happily to be corrected ?
Look forward to reading your pensions overview for sure, the "triple lock", aging population and decimation of UK's ability to have a coherent industrial strategy is a real cause of concern for me on a long term basis. Can't see having all eggs in the carbon net zero basket as a practical solution. Best, Sam.
Hi Grace, Thanks for the write up, as usual punchy and to the point. Whilst I agree with the long term shortfalls that you are projecting, I guess my immediate challenge back in the inviable predicament the Tories left the state of the UK economy back to Rachel, requires bold action.
Rachel focused on Pension de-regulation i believe, which if you could provide insight on specially to support your views would be appreciated. You have not mentioned this specifically in your write up below.
An overhaul of the Pensions, whether that be de-regulation, modernisation, de-risking or something even bolder should be seen as a feather in the cap for Rachel - it is creative and an area which Labour should be commended for to focus on in my humble opinion. Rachel is not even into completing 0.5 a year into a 5 year stint as a chancellor so some slack is not such an ask is it ?
Keep up the great work and thank you for your time to read this !
Best, Sam K
Hi Sam, totally agree about the pensions point - I have another piece planned on this. I’m going to be writing a bit more about this government’s reliance on private finance, as I think it’s a complete red herring https://tribunemag.co.uk/2024/08/building-the-klarna-country