Rearranging The Deckchairs
Unless Liz Truss commits to wage rises, fair taxes and properly funded public services, sacking Kwasi Kwarteng will make no difference – Britain will still be falling off the cliff edge.
20 Articles by:
James Meadway
James Meadway is an economist and Director of the Progressive Economy Forum. He is a former advisor to John McDonnell.
There Are No Good Tories
Today’s efforts to bring down Boris Johnson highlight divisions among the Tories, but one thing unifies them above it all: running the country in the interests of the super-rich.
Capitalism Can’t Solve the Crises it Caused
Rishi Sunak’s pathetic response to the cost of living crisis shows mainstream economics has no solution to the elite interests reshaping the world economy. It’s up to the Left to set out how to take on the billionaires.
The Bank of England’s War on Workers
The Bank of England’s interest rate hike is designed to push the economy into a recession, increase unemployment and restrain wages – forcing workers to pay even more for the cost of living crisis.
The Next Energy Catastrophe
The energy price cap is due to rise by a further £830 this October, just as the next cold snap hits. This will plunge millions into poverty and worse – but the government shows no intention of stopping it.
How Neoliberalism Led to the Cost of Living Crisis
Years of austerity and attacks on trade unions have resulted in poverty pay that leaves British workers exposed to soaring prices – to fix the cost of living crisis, we need worker power and higher wages.
The Spring Statement Was a Scam
Today, Rishi Sunak had a chance to tackle the cost of living crisis. Instead, he has left the average family around £1,000 worse off than last year – the biggest fall in living standards since records began.
They Could Stop the Energy Price Hike – if They Wanted To
Rishi Sunak’s ‘rebate’ won’t stop the energy price hike driving millions into poverty. But there’s an alternative: keep the current price cap, levy a windfall tax, and bring failing energy companies into public ownership.
How the Left Should Respond to Sunak’s Budget
Yesterday’s Budget increased spending, but did little to tackle a decade of attacks on living standards for workers – the Left’s job now is to call the government’s bluff on promises of a ‘high wage economy.’
Recovery Bonds Could Form a Left Strategy – If Used Correctly
Rather than giving money to middle-class savers, the Left could push a programme of regional recovery bonds to help the areas cheated by the London finance bubble – before the Tories take renewal for themselves.
The Economy Will Not Simply Bounce Back
Yesterday’s OBR projections that Britain would rebound spectacularly from the coronavirus crisis are wildly optimistic – and will be used to advance the case for harsh spending cuts if they go unchallenged.
The Anti-Wartime Economy
A war effort requires the total mobilisation of an economy. What we’re facing with coronavirus is different – the need to demobilise the economy for as long as public health demands.
The IFS Is Wrong About Labour’s Manifesto
Tomorrow, the Institute for Fiscal Studies will launch the latest offensive against Labour’s economic plans – but their attacks are based more on ideology than evidence.
It’s Time to Transform Britain’s Economy
We shouldn’t be scared of attacks in the Tory press – Britain needs a government prepared to invest in its future, and Labour has the boldest plan to transform the economy in a generation.
Winning the General Election
Boris Johnson can be beaten. We should have every confidence that we can do it. Fundamentally, the ground is slipping away from the Tories. And if we can drag them onto our economic terrain — on climate change, and ownership — we can win.
Boris’ Bad Deal
Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal tears up protections for working people and opens the door for US-style deregulation. Labour should bury it, before it buries us.
Giving Workers Their Share
The Financial Times might not like it – but Labour’s plan to give workers a share of large corporations is just economic justice.
The Free Port Fantasy
Deregulated tax havens which suck up public resources while providing few if any new jobs: Boris Johnson’s free ports would be a disaster for Britain’s economy.
De-Deindustrialisation
After decades of deindustrialisation, the next Labour government can reboot the areas left behind – by laying foundations for a digital industrial revolution.
Against MMT
Modern Monetary Theory disorients the Left by peddling simplistic monetary solutions to complex problems of political power.