Original Broadcast: Thought for the Week
The Chancellor was like a person sitting on the cliff-edge of colossal public debt last week, convinced that her massive 'investment' commitments can overlook the void below. It appears that economic stimulation is the only game in town for the British economy, and even that seems to avoid joined-up thinking in some key areas. Background music: 'Ether Oar' by The Whole Other
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Original Broadcast: The Bigger Picture
The unabridged recording of Rachel Reeves’ speech in the House of Commons on 11th June 2025.
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On 11th June UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves presents her Spending Review against the backdrop of a gargantuan public debt liability which is costing the UK taxpayer £111 billion a year in interest. Further tax rises have been ruled out, so she needs to identify achievable, structural reductions in spending. Elon Musk thought he'd done just that as head of the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), but only a small fraction of his planned reductions were achieved. In the UK at least we can break away from welfare universality — but will she do it? She's tried taxation and now she has to tackle spending, but the real elephant in the room is debt: all £2.7 trillion of it. Background music: 'Dark Alley Deals' by Aaron Kenny
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Original Broadcast: Thought for the Week
Nigel Farage's stunning electoral success last Thursday exposed the chronic failure of state-centred socialism and the policy vacuum at the heart of the discredited Conservative party, following a decade of errors of judgement. Thomas Jefferson set out his 'self-evident truths' in 1776, that all are equal in deserving life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness: these, combined with constitutional acceptance of the need for inter-generational rebalancing, provide the real alternative to the narrow populism of the far right. Background music: 'The New Order' by Aaron Kenny
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Original Broadcast: Thought for the Week
Outcome assessment is vital for all new initiatives, particularly political, but traditional academic research, which is sequential in character, is not good at responding to the speed of change in our modern world. This is particularly the case in tackling Child Poverty, for which a UK-Government Task Force is due to report later this Spring. If we are to break the cycle of deprivation with inter-generational rebalancing, we need a new sense of dynamism and responsiveness. Background music: 'Peony Morning' by TrackTribe
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Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves delivers her March '25 Spring Statement — this is an unabridged audio record of her speech to the House of Commons
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Original Broadcast: Thought for the Week
When Clement Attlee introduced welfare universality to post-war Britain, he was aiming for a more egalitarian society. Seventy-five years on we can see not only that it has not been achieved, but also that it has nearly bankrupted the public finances: a major task for UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves to tackle in her Spring Statement. Targeting support for those most in need with the help of philanthropy will be a key part of replacing 'egalitarian socialism' with egalitarian capitalism, enabling those with a social conscience to concentrate support and encouragement where it's needed, rather than providing publicly-funded services 'free at the point of use' for everyone. Background music: 'Everything Has a Beginning' by Joel Cummins Image source: Wikipedia
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Original Broadcast: Thought for the Week
Abolition of NHS England reverses the de-politicisation of the health service, but it leaves intact all the inefficiencies of being a monopoly: thereby rendering people complacent and satisfied with mediocrity, unless they're moved by the Florence Nightingale mindset. Competition enables progress, efficient delivery and innovation, but most of all it respects individuals as customers, not simply treating them as account numbers. No wonder that the Competition & Markets Authority encourages government to use competition effectively on behalf of consumers. Background music: 'Hopeful Freedom' by Asher Fulero
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Original Broadcast: The Bigger Picture
Unabridged and without comment from Share Radio, here's the King's Christmas message as broadcast on 25th December '24.
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The past year has seen a litany of climate change disasters of which the wildfires in Los Angeles are the latest. Yet Americans still supported Trump's call to 'drill, baby, drill' in the presidential election. This is just the latest disaster that financial markets have to contend with. How much pressure can the insurance and investment markets take? The one thing that we know for sure is that, while the American people may have locked in their choice for the next four years, there's no such insurance for the bond market — it can strike at any time. Background music: 'Trap Unboxing' by Jimmy Fontanez_Doug Maxwell
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