The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, last week announced his Spending Review. He was careful to spell out the extent of the economic damage caused by COVID-19 – though he did not mention that other countries, with different COVID strategies, had done far better. And he used phrases like “economic emergency” to describe the […]
A recent article in the Scottish Newspaper The National accused the BBC of defending Tory austerity and their Chief Political Correspondent, Laura Kuenssberg of talking twaddle and promoting economic illiteracy. This makes a good headline of course – but is it fair? It is harsh, and Kuenssberg is far from alone, so it is unfair […]
Like any group of people, the Cabinet has some members with more ability than others and some with more integrity than others. Unlike other groups, it appears that members of the Cabinet who lack competence and integrity are immune from consequences. All of those pictured above would – had they been employed by any normal […]
There is a wide range of attitudes to climate change exemplified on one side by President Trump, who apparently believes that it is no more than a Chinese hoax, and on the other by seriously-concerned scientists who believe that it may be all too late. What position should a rational, non-expert, citizen take? The rational […]
The Next Six Months is a series of short (around 10 minutes) video discussions between Mark E Thomas and literary agent Peter Cox. The first 25 videos came out daily, and we are now reducing the frequency to weekly. Each one tackles a topical issue from an unusual angle. You can follow them by […]
Since the end of the First World War, Remembrance Day has been an occasion to commemorate the members of the Armed Forces who have lost their lives. Initially, it was those who died in World War I who were remembered, but now Remembrance Day encompasses World War II and subsequent conflicts. When we wear a […]
The current focus of the news, in virtually every country in the world, is on the American election. To the relief of many and the dismay of not a few, it now looks likely that Joe Biden has won. An analysis framework originally developed to explain why, and where, the Arab Spring happened suggests that […]
During the summer, Marcus Rashford led a successful campaign which persuaded the government to make a U-turn and provide free school meals to the poorest children during the holiday period. His second campaign – to provide free school meals over the Christmas holiday – has so far been unsuccessful. When the issue came to a […]
Here is an approximate transcript of the presentation Mark E Thomas made to the London Quakers’ Build Back Better Event on 24 October, 2020. We hope to have a video here soon. Introduction to Whole Group Good morning, everybody. It wasn’t my plan to be doing this. Eight years ago, when I was running […]
The notion of unaffordability has been an extremely potent weapon for market fundamentalists. If we can’t afford to do something, it doesn’t matter how desirable it would be to do it, we can’t. It’s not a choice, it’s just reality. A decade of needless austerity was justified with precisely this argument, based on the false […]
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