Portugal’s president suggests debt cancellation could be part of reparations for atrocities committed during transatlantic slavery and colonialism
kfgo.com/2024/04/27/por…

⚡ BREAKING ⚡

Our latest research finds more than £30 billion for public spending each year could come from a very unexpected place:

A central bank-issued digital pound!

That’s enough to fund a certain green investment pledge 🙃

Let us explain…🧵

'The only way to sustainably reduce costs in the benefits system due to poor mental health is to address the underlying causes of people becoming unwell - investing in public services, improving housing, guaranteeing basic financial security, ensuring better working conditions'

As Spotlight on Corruption's Helen Taylor outlines below, the next Gvt must take on the enablers of economic crime by introducing smart regulation.

Read our full proposals for driving dirty money out of the UK here👉economiccrimemanifesto2024.co.uk

Here’s one for the fiscal nerds:

In recent years, as much as one-fifth of all measured public investment was in fact student loans (the loans the government makes and doesn’t expect to get back). The headline numbers overstate how much ‘actual’ investment we’re doing.

Labour have just announced that their upcoming manifesto will pledge to renationalise UK railways, bringing them back into public ownership after nearly thirty years of privatisation.

Here’s why that’s a good thing — and why such measures should be expanded across energy,…

There are many inheritance tax loopholes open to the super rich – unavailable to the average family, whose wealth generally sits in a home.

'How do the super rich avoid inheritance tax?'

taxjustice.uk/blog/how-do-th…

🚨 The finance ministers of Germany, Brazil, Spain and South Africa have just come out in favour of:

– A 2% wealth tax on global billionaires.
– To raise $250bn annually.
– It would apply to just 3,000 people.

theguardian.com/inequality/202…

Today, Labour has confirmed public ownership of the railways will be in its manifesto.

Privatisation has transformed our railways into engines of extraction for investors and overseas state enterprises. Public ownership can deliver a future of rail prosperity.

(Chart: 2020)

This The New Statesman piece by Anoosh Chakelian covers work NEF is undertaking to explore alternative approaches to harsh & prescriptive benefits conditionality

Here's what we've found so far & why this issue is critical for any government serious about improving employment outcomes...🧵

Public compute investments should be used to reshape AI development, challenge concentrated power and promote the creation of public value.

In their new blog, Matt Davies, Eleanor Shearer & Mathew Lawrence identify 4 challenges for this market-shaping approach.

adalovelaceinstitute.org/blog/the-role-…

Great letter from Maria Finnerty CAFOD 'Legislation to prevent private creditors from suing debtor countries for more than they would receive if they took part in debt-relief ... would provide immediate relief for countries in crisis'

theguardian.com/world/2024/apr…

The Bank of England has not “caught up with the severity of the risk that climate change poses to the financial system, & the role that banks themselves play in fuelling these risks”.

Ellie McLaughlin on the need to move beyond data-gathering to action👇

greencentralbanking.com/2024/04/23/ban…

🪢Quantitative Tightening could cost the next government more than £110bn.

This week we explain why the Treasury is footing the bill for losses made by the Bank of England during QE, and what options the government has to mitigate losses for the taxpayer: neweconomybrief.net/the-digest/qua…

We support the IFS's call to abolish three key inheritance tax reliefs (used primarily by the very rich).

It could raise £3 billion a year, and make the whole system fairer.

De-risking via price-fixing auctions between private competitors often serves to foist risk onto the supply chain. Public procurement ought to have regard for supply chain coherence.

We argue that a public developer is the best way to achieve this. common-wealth.org/publications/t…

As background, this briefing from Development Finance International on what they call the 'worst ever global debt crisis' is terrifying.

🔴'Debt service is absorbing an average of 38% of budget revenue across the South'

development-finance.org/en/news/831-11…