Funding the Future

What if we designed society before we knew who we’d be in it? Philosopher John Rawls asked that question in A Theory of Justice, and his answer was revolutionary. Fairness, he said, means building institutions that protect everyone, not just the powerful.

In this video, I explore how Rawls’ veil of ignorance could reshape politics, taxation, and economics today, and why justice must be built into policy rather than be added as charity.

What would you change if you didn’t know where you’d stand?

Is the breakup of Britain inevitable?

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are turning away from Westminster while England clings to a failing system of centralised power. In this video, I ask whether the UK can survive much longer in its current form, and whether its collapse might be the chance to start again.

Could four sovereign democracies emerge from the ruins of a tired union?

Global stock markets are at record highs. Everyone knows it’s a bubble, but no one wants to leave the dance. In this video, I explain why AI hype, leveraged finance and shadow banking have created the biggest financial bubble since 2008 and why its collapse could wipe £1 trillion off UK stock markets.

More importantly, I set out how we can rebuild finance to serve society, not the other way round.

At the age of 65, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has lost it all - every royal title, and every symbol of inherited privilege. Two weeks ago, we were told that this was impossible. But it’s happened, and the myth that some are born superior has fallen apart.

This video explores what that means for Britain. Because when a prince can become a commoner, the hierarchy that defines our whole society begins to crumble. The monarchy’s claim to natural privilege has always been the cultural face of economic inequality and the idea that wealth, status, and deference are deserved.

Now, that illusion is gone. What happens when the royal mystique collapses? What does that mean for justice, equality, and a new politics of care?

And watch to the end for a discussion of philosopher John Rawls’ “difference principle” — and why true justice begins when we stop pretending anyone is born superior.

Martin Wolf says only economic growth can save democracy. Yet his economics serves only the wealthy.

When workers are sacrificed, rents soar, and insecurity spreads, as he demands so that growth might grow, come what may, then democracy is weakened — and fascism thrives.

It’s time to build instead an economics of care: secure jobs, strong public services, and ecological balance.

Apple has crossed a $4 trillion valuation. That’s $495 for every single person on Earth — if we all shared it. But we don’t.

This video explores how its shareholders extract vast profits from billions of people locked into Apple’s ecosystem — and what it means for inequality, democracy and tax justice.

I ask: who really creates Apple’s wealth — and who benefits?

The UK is stuck in a self-inflicted fiscal trap. Larry Elliott, former Guardian Economics Editor and my co-author in the Green New Deal, joins me to explain why Rachel Reeves’ rulebook is economic guesswork, how the Bank of England is failing to control inflation and why capital controls could help rebuild Britain’s productive economy. Plus, the technology hype cycle, the risk of an AI bubble, and where new political leadership might emerge to take us beyond neoliberalism. And in all that, a message of hope. 

Politicians and tech billionaires want us to believe AI will solve every problem. But automation has always delivered gains to owners, not workers. AI risks concentrating power, destroying purpose and undermining democracy. This video explains why real productivity comes from education and care, not code, and why a humane future means using AI to support people, not replace them.

We’re told that competition makes everything better — cheaper, fairer, more efficient. But when it comes to banks, that’s a myth. Six giant institutions dominate the UK market. They are all charging high fees, paying low interest, closing branches, and abandoning communities. But banking shouldn't be a marketplace engaged in a race to the bottom in service levels and to the top in charges; it’s a public utility. It’s time for a publicly owned Basic British Bank to make banking fair again.

Economics isn’t just about spreadsheets. It’s about people, power, and place.

In this video, filmed in Ely, where I live, I explore what my friend Danny Blanchflower calls 'the economics of walking about', which is the idea that you learn more about the real economy by walking through it than by staring at data. From Ely Cathedral to Oliver Cromwell’s house, this is a story about how power shapes everything — from feudal rents to modern mortgages.