The Rest Is Money

John Healey is the Chancellor to increase defence spending to 3% of GDP, but how will he pay for it? Would war bonds do the trick? Is a cut in electricity VAT and a rise in income tax thresholds helping the right...

What should the government be doing to get us AI ready? How do we make sure people co-exist with AI and aren't just replaced by it? What role should trade unions have? What are 'tech towns' and how important are they in...

What impact would a 2% wealth tax on people with £10 million have? If you tax the rich more will it bring down the cost of living for everyone else? How will this help the shortfall of affordable homes? What about the...

If fiscal devolution is central to Burnham’s plans, how do we make sure the money is not wasted by mayors and councils? How can Burnham avoid market mayhem if he invests significantly more? Would it be crazy to break up...

Is it fair that city traders can make loads of money betting on the economy’s demise? Are people with working class backgrounds better at trading? How do you go from making millions on a trade floor to becoming obsessed...

Why are some countries richer than others, even though money, people and ideas can flow freely round the world? Why is it so hard for a country to turn things around and become rich? Are illiberal leaders like Trump...

How do we unlock trillions of pounds of long term capital and keep it in the UK? What can we learn from a brewery in Newcastle and the Vimto factory in Manchester? Why don’t more people invest in start-ups and...

How much can Burnham re-engineer the fiscal rules? Should he stick to a manifesto that has already been trampled over? Who should he choose to be chancellor? Will the markets approve? The former director of the IFS is...

Why are each of us £15,000 a year worse off than we should be? What can we learn from the US about housing? Can ‘Manchesterism’ work across the UK? How much is the triple lock state pension holding back young people?...

Can Andy Burnham’s civil service employ fewer but more productive officials? Is it fair to blame Brexit and Covid for the rising headcount? Is the government buying British the best growth policy? How the government can...

Should political leaders show us their tax returns in detail? Are the financial questions concerning Farage about tax or something else? Which politicians were careless and which were more culpable? Robert and Steph...

Will all the rich people leave if we slap a wealth tax on them? How have plans for a 5% billionaire tax in California gone down? Is tax the best way to redistribute wealth more fairly? Former tax lawyer Dan Neidle is...

Why is cutting VAT for specific sectors a bad idea? Should there be a flat rate on everything, including the things currently exempt? Why does cutting business rates only benefit landlords? Are we keeping too many...

Why did Nick Clegg quit Meta, and what does he really think about Silicon Valley? Why are tech bosses so greedy? And how can Europe catch up in the AI race? Robert sits down with Nick Clegg (former UK Deputy Prime...

Should it be about the pre-distribution, rather than re-distribution, of wealth? Will that create an economy with fewer billionaires? How would it work in practice? Is it even possible given the balance of power lies...

Is the UK stuck in a debt and tax doom loop, and how do we get out? How do we cut welfare spending? How important is it to give regional mayors more agency over tax and spending? And what can we learn from Mississippi?...

Are the government plans to help low income households hitting the right spot? Is there too much focus on symptoms and not causes? Could fiscal devolution happen too quickly? Why does the IMF often give the UK a rough...

How many billionaires are there in the world? How much has their wealth grown by? Why do lots of billionaires pay almost no income tax? How much of a problem are tax havens? Would a 2% global wealth tax (on people with...

Would a voluntary agreement between supermarket bosses and the Chancellor to cap the prices of food basics help those struggling on low incomes? Is the biggest threat to the UK now higher inflation or higher...

Is the government doing enough to prioritise British SMEs in its defence spending plans? Should price always come first or should more expensive British made goods be the priority? Or are we in danger of propping up...

Has Labour got what it takes to deliver growth? Is a change in leadership going to help? How might Rayner, Burnham or Streeting fair against the bond markets? Could a plan to shift the tax burden away from working...

Why is the UK’s energy pricing system so broken? Why must the transition to green energy be accelerated? And how can we make clean, renewable power the most affordable option for those on low incomes? Robert joins Emma...

Could the government’s creditors protect Starmer and Reeves, even if Labour is humiliated in the elections? How high are UK interest rates going to rise because of Trump’s Iran war? Has monetary policy stopped working?...

If household debt as a percentage of GDP is at its lowest since 2002, why are debt charities seeing record levels of demand? Is this a temporary problem because of the cost of living crisis or about much bigger...

How much did Brexit cost the UK? Would rejoining make us much richer? And if US managers are PSG players, are British ones more like Aston Villa’s? Robert talks to Stanford Professor Nick Bloom about his influential...