This commentary takes stock of all things 'Share'. as at Autumn 2025 The Share Foundation has made substantial progress: it's enabled over 100,000 young people to claim nearly £¼ billion of Child Trust Funds, and the relatively modest £200 central government grant for opening Junior ISAs for young people in care is enabling substantial local contributions to be raised, accompanied by significant reductions in welfare benefit costs as a result of reduced NEET rates. Meanwhile, Share Alliance's quest for a more egalitarian form of capitalism is steadily building momentum. This is particularly so with research into the potential issuance of equity shares in return for tech businesses which are harvesting our data and creativity while significantly reducing employment opportunities, particularly for young people. Background music: 'Hopeful Freedom' by Asher Fulero
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Original Broadcast: Thought for the Week
General Data Protection Regulation was introduced in 2016, but it's already past its sell-by date. With 56% of UK web browsers choosing to accept all cookies, there's plenty of data available for harvesting by tech businesses, while that and creativity is throughly exploited by AI. Meanwhile, employment opportunities for young people are steadily reducing, while data protection restrictions are cited by government as one of the reasons for not automatically releasing HMRC-allocated mature Child Trust Funds. We need a new approach, prioritising people. Background music: 'Digital Solitude' by Silent Partner
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(Prince) Andrew is not alone in undergoing a seismic fall from grace which has been amplified by a prolonged absence of remorse and contrition: politicians, senior business people and church leaders have all walked this path. Personal failure is an endemic part of humanity, but we need to accept when things have gone wrong and search for reconcilation. Not easy, but the alternative is escalation resulting in an even heavier fall from grace. Background music: 'Metamorphosis' Quincas Moreira Image source: Wikipedia
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Original Broadcast: Thought for the Week
Politicians of all parties seem to think that we can both cut immigration and achieve significantly higher economic growth, notwithstanding the fact that there would be no population growth from which it would come: artificial growth from short-term policies such as public sector 'investment' stimulation is not the answer. After 75 years during which the world's human population has quadrupled, an increasing number of countries are facing this challenge. We now need more focus on GDP per capita, less public spending and debt, and more focus on inter-generational rebalancing. Background music: 'Something Is Wrong' by Sir Cubworth
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Original Broadcast: Thought for the Week
Conscience has challenged humanity for millenia: so much so that its entry on Wikipedia includes 22,000 words. However securing that moral yardstick is not easy, whether you are guided by faith or not. Meanwhile, what was personal has become societal, while technology and what appear to be victimless crimes promote amorality. The Christian faith has struggled with understanding the fluid nature of conscience, notwithstanding Jesus's clear illustration of its significance in St. John's Gospel. Will the Church of England's new Archbishop contribute guidance with understanding conscience — and, for that matter, explaining how to love our enemies? Background music: 'Lost In Prayer' by Doug Maxwell
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Original Broadcast: Thought for the Week
We've all benefitted from a blend of guidance, reaction and experience in our journey through life, and most of all in those formative years of childhood and adolescence. However, as David Willetts wrote 15 years ago in 'The Pinch', the link between generations is getting ever more stretched. Experience should not have to bear the full weight of the absence of guidance and reaction as family structures weaken; if that is the case, we will have only ourselves to blame for anti-social breakdown. Background music: 'Everything Has a Beginning' by Joel Cummins
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There's a strange convergence of aggression which is drawing both international conflict and personal hatred into the mainstream; social media bears considerable responsibility for this convergence, and Donald Trump's combination of his calls for peace while posting aggressive messages on Truth Social really don't help. There's a very straightforward instruction in the gospel of St. Matthew, to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us, but little guidance or teaching from Church leaders on how to make this happen. Drawing inspiration from a variety of sources, here are some ideas which could work at both personal and international levels. Background music: 'Confliction & Catharsis' by Asher Fulero
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Original Broadcast: Thought for the Week
Rather than seek global convergence, nation states are digging in deeper in all the three areas that conspire to drive them apart — conflict, threats and re-armament; climate change; and massive wealth differentials. The United Nations was designed to provide a route for resolving these differences, but it's not working. It's time to step forward and provide it with democratic legitimacy, so that the voices of people across the world can be properly heard. Background music: 'World's Sunrise' by Jimena Contreras
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Original Broadcast: Thought for the Week
Government inaction is rooted in Civil Service reticence. It's not a recent phenomenon; it inspired 'Yes Minister' forty years ago, much to Margaret Thacher's amusement. But when it frustrates a Labour Government's abiity to deliver a key policy of its predecessor such as Child Trust Funds, that's a different matter. At the start of Boris Johnson's premiership, Dominic Cummings sought to control HM Treasury reticence by moving his team into HMT. Sir Keir Starmer appears to be doing a reverse takeover by drawing Darren Jones into No. 10 as his 'Chief Economic Secretary'. Will it work? Background music: 'People Watching' by Sir Cubworth. Image source: BBC
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Original Broadcast: Thought for the Week
If buyers of government bonds fear potential default, they require significantly higher yields to offset that risk. For bonds already issued, that means much lower prices — and big losses for holders, especially if the bonds are long-dated. For new bonds being issued, governments have to pay a much higher interest rate, significantly increasing their current deficit and requiring still more taxation. Governments can ask the International Monetary Fund to bail them out; if the IMF can help, it imposes stringent conditions on their economic and fiscal policies. The world has not been faced with multiple and concurrent defaults to date, and no-one knows how such a situation can be resolved.The United States, United Kingdom and France are approaching this black hole now, and need to make some urgent changes in policies to avoid it. Background music: 'Dark Alley Deals' by Aaron Kenny
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