Once the surprise and the shock of Jeremy Corbyn’s election as Labour leader had sunk in, many (including me) became impatient for policy initiatives and membership involvement in policy formation to come to the fore. Clearly cutting through media hostility is a major task but I find it difficult to see that more could not […]
Posts under ‘Investment’
The crisis remains an investment crisis
Mar 8th, 2016 by Michael Burke.Prior to the recent G20 meeting leading international economic bodies such as the IMF and the OECD made tentative calls for increased investment, although this was often confused with increased spending. This is a belated or partial recognition of the real source of the crisis in the advanced industrialised countries. In terms of actual changes […]
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Is Labour ready for another economic crisis?
Mar 2nd, 2016 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.Ellie Mae O’Hagan writes that the Tories are politically prepared for another economic crisis, should one hit. Looking at the lack of profitable opportunities for capital presently, the ongoing investment strike, stock markets that went up and then came down, and the inflating credit bubble you’d be daft to rule one out with certainty over […]
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Brexit, in or out, is far less important than investment to end the UK productivity crisis
Feb 27th, 2016 by Michael Burke.The latest official data show how far the UK economy is lagging behind other industrialised economies in terms of productivity, in this case output per hour worked. There is too a long-standing discussion amongst economists in Britain about the so-called ‘productivity puzzle’. There is a genuine crisis of productivity in Britain. But in reality there […]
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Labour’s economic alternative should centre on a national investment bank
Feb 16th, 2016 by Michael Burke and John Ross.Labour is now carrying out extremely effective campaigning against Tory policies – on tax credits, on the sweetheart Google taxation deal, in support of the junior doctors and pinning the responsibility for the crisis in the NHS squarely on the Tories. This excellent work needs to continue and be strengthened. But in the forthcoming budget […]
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The UK “recovery” cannot be sustained. Osborne has failed to rebalance the economy and boost productivity
Jan 26th, 2016 by Grahame Morris.An Opposition Debate on Trade, Exports, Innovation and Productivity highlighted the fragile nature of our economic recovery. The fundamentals for a strong economy have been overlooked by a Government more interested in short term headlines than our long term economic interests. The Government’s promise to “rebalance” the economy has not materialised with the UK now having […]
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What level of investment should Corbyn & McDonnell aim for?
Jan 22nd, 2016 by Michael Burke.The policies outlined by Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell have the capacity to transform the economic debate in Britain. More importantly, if the ideas outlined for an investment-led recovery are implemented then they could alter the trajectory of the British economy, from stagnation and rising inequality towards sustainable growth and a general rise in living […]
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Demand doesn’t create its own supply – a national investment bank is needed
Jan 15th, 2016 by Michael Burke.The second [pillar of my leadership] is a new economy that puts public investment front and centre stage: in science, technology and the green industries of the future. Instead of Osborne’s economic house built on sand, our focus will be on the reindustrialisation of Britain for the digital age, driven by a national investment bank […]
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Understanding the economics of Britain’s wars
Jan 5th, 2016 by Michael Burke.Britain is a very frequent participant in US-led wars. This stands in contrast to many other European states ranging from countries such as Sweden, to Spain, to Italy and Germany. The piece below examines the material reasons for this difference, and explains British politicians’ determination to join in US military adventures. The widely held view […]
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iPads + superfast broadband = socialism (or maybe just a kinder, fairer capitalism)
Nov 22nd, 2015 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.Socialism is Jeremy Corbyn in Number 10 plus superfast broadband! Okay, not as pithy as Lenin’s definition involving soviet power and electrification, but John McDonnell’s speech on Wednesday is a continuation of a fine tradition in left and centre left politics: the close alignment of our policy agenda with technological dynamism. Though, of course, it’s […]
