Andrew
@andrewblueskies.bsky.social
All, Thank you to those of you who are following me, I'm humbled - apologies to those I've not followed back, back experience on 'X' leaves me, presently, reluctant to automatically follow back.
Much of what is said about economics is little better than gaslighting.... I used AI tools when writing this post, including a spell checker. I also used 50 years of experience writing about these issues. The drawing was the smallest part of all that, and I had no budget to do it any other way.
Our democracy is not representative, relevant or realistic. Can it survive that? www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2026/08...
Our democracy is not representative, relevant or realistic. Can it survive that?
I spent quite a lot of time yesterday wondering what it would take to really transform the current UK political agenda. The antics of those few politicians who appear to be still at work in the UK col...
taxresearch.org.uk
Andy Burnham’s social care plan protects wealth, not those in need youtu.be/_bEyVo6-alM?... Why is Andy Burnham presuming that younger people with some of the highest overall tax rates should pay to protect those with wealth? This issue needs to be named - or he'll embed injustice.
Andy Burnham’s social care plan protects wealth, not those in need
YouTube video by Richard J Murphy
youtu.be
I did an infographic on Marx recently. This seems like the appropriate follow-up. In one way or another, I used AI in creating this post. I also used a word processor, my brain, thinking time, coffee, discussion, and about 50 years of reading.
Tax havens: what really happens behind closed doors? youtu.be/uh2ZUcYOovg?... The whistleblowers' view on the tax haven world paints a very different picture from the one they would like to project.
Tax havens: what really happens behind closed doors?
YouTube video by Richard J Murphy
youtu.be
Ofcom and BBC, correct the record: Thames Water CEO misled the public about public ownership. Too many journalists amplify water industry PR. Please follow the advice in this link and lodge your complaint.
Ofcom and BBC, correct the record: Thames Water CEO misled the public about public ownership
Thames Water CEO lied about public ownership on the BBC. It is time Ofcom and the BBC corrected the record
weownit.org.uk
NatWest Bank quarterly pre-tax profits surge 29% to £2.3bn. It received £45.5bn bailout after the 2008 crash. Last year, just ahead of bumper profits, govt sold its stake, appeased the City. All banks are profiteering, closing branches. Must levy windfall tax archive.ph/DqegK
NatWest chief resists calls for tax rises on banks
Bumper profits from the sector fuel demands for higher UK levies
ft.com
Technology is transforming work, ageing is reshaping society, and expectations have changed. Yet our institutions still run like it’s the 1990s. Read Steff Aquarone on how outdated systems are fuelling frustration..
Britain doesn’t have a people problem. It’s a systems problem
Britain has the talent, creativity and resilience to thrive. What we need are institutions and systems designed for the decades ahead
eastangliabylines.co.uk
Why young people are losing faith in our economy youtu.be/kAPAcIBwK1w?... Have the young had enough? Is the bottom rising? Are they ready to demand change?
Why young people are losing faith in our economy
YouTube video by Richard J Murphy
youtu.be
Govts use fiscal rules to push privatisations and public spending cuts. Rules suspended during bank bailouts. Rules are not accompanied by social goals e.g. full employment, reduction in poverty, reindustrialisation, public ownership of vital industries. Must suspend them to rebuild UK economy.
Andy Burnham can’t transform the country while sticking to the current fiscal rules
Sticking to the 2024 election manifesto and fiscal rules will make it harder for him to deliver the headline promises and the change that he has paraded.
leftfootforward.org
Remember: Wealth can’t be separated from power. Power begets wealth and wealth begets power. We're seeing in real time how the extreme concentration of wealth is distorting our politics, rigging our markets, and granting unprecedented power to a handful of billionaires.
Andy Burnham cabinet consists of neoliberal foot-soldiers. All supported Privatisation of the NHS by stealth Greater role for private equity PFI Corporate profiteering Benefit cuts Higher taxes on the poor Erosion of jury trials Damaging fiscal rules What will change?
Andy Burnham can’t transform the country while sticking to the current fiscal rules
Sticking to the 2024 election manifesto and fiscal rules will make it harder for him to deliver the headline promises and the change that he has paraded.
leftfootforward.org
Most of the sewage spills into England's waterways in the last two years may have been illegal but gone unpunished. Tells a story about useless regulators, appeasement of capital creating health hazards, destroying marine life and biodiversity. People are treated as cash cows. Govts do nothing.
Most sewage spills in England may be illegal, new research suggests
The new analysis from a prominent water campaigner emerged after secret court documents were leaked.
bbc.co.uk
Lobbying giant filmed offering reporter payment for flattering client coverage in national press. Journalists asked to write anti regulation articles after the Grenfell fire. Anything not for sale to super rich and corporations - political parties, press, think-tanks ... Who checks corruption?
Lobbying giant filmed offering reporter payment for flattering client coverage in national press
Exclusive: Guardian investigation of CT Group uncovers practice that appears to seek hidden influence over public opinion
theguardian.com
Thames Water lenders offer 'golden share' to head off nationalisation. UK Govt has golden share in Royal Mail. What did it deliver? High prices, profiteering, poor service, executive bonuses. Golden share won't change anything. TW will still pay dividends, hike bills, dump sewage. Nationalise.
Thames Water lenders offer 'golden share' to head off nationalisation
The water supplier's lenders are trying to prevent the company from being taken over by the Burnham government
bbc.co.uk
In June 2026 median gross pay of a payrolled employee was £31,584. £26,260 after income tax and NIC. A single person needs to earn £30,500 a year to reach a minimum standard of living. A couple with 2 children needs £74,000. 25.3m Britons, including,7.7m children live below minimum standard.
Earnings and employment from Pay As You Earn Real Time Information, UK - Office for National Statistics
Monthly estimates of payrolled employees and their pay from HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC’s) Pay As You Earn (PAYE) Real Time Information (RTI) data. This is a joint release between HMRC and the Offic...
ons.gov.uk
Thames Water, the poster child of predatory capitalism announces hosepipe ban. TW loses 200bn litres annually to leaks. Dumps tons of sewage in rivers. Paid dividends, neglected investment. No new reservoirs since 1989. Massive hikes in customer bills. Numerous criminal convictions.
Thames Water announces hosepipe ban for 10.1m customers
The water company said the three heatwaves contributed to the ban.
bbc.co.uk
‘Risking blackouts’? How Great Britain’s grid operator was dragged into a political row. Story of privatisation. Profiteering, lack of investment, useless regulators. Wind turbines turned-off in high winds, solar farms shut-down in heat due to lack of electricity transmission and storage systems.
‘Risking blackouts’? How Great Britain’s grid operator was dragged into a political row
Neso denies allegations aired by Tory MP that staff took part in cover-up over decision-making in heatwave
theguardian.com
Democracy only works when people have access to the facts. That's why I'm supporting @ChrisGPackham's petition calling for a UK-wide public briefing on climate and nature risks. Help us reach 100,000 signatures: petition.parliament.uk/petitions/76...
Petition: Hold a UK-wide briefing on climate and nature risks
The UK faces growing risks from climate and nature breakdown - from extreme weather to economic disruption and national security threats. Yet the public has never been given a clear national briefing ...
petition.parliament.uk
NEW and EXCLUSIVE: I spoke to campaigners and researchers about the years-long lack of progress on improving transparency around drug company payments to doctors, and others. This is in the aftermath of the pelvic mesh, Primodos and sodium valproate scandals. www.bmj.com/content/394/...
Drug industry payments: “Appalling” lack of progress on transparency
Efforts to improve transparency around the payments that drug companies make to doctors, which could influence their practice, have been hit by an “appalling” lack of progress, experts warn. A series...
bmj.com
The UK will not have enough water for future datacentres. England faces 5bn litre a day shortfall for public water supplies. A trillion litres of water a year lost to leaks. Widespread hosepipe bans. No national grid for water. Poor infrastructure. No national plan.
Not enough water for UK’s datacentre plans, trade body says
Industry says government’s failure to address cooling demands means AI growth plans are ‘fatally flawed’
theguardian.com
"Temu Trump, better known as Nigel Farage, was provided with an eight-person, taxpayer-funded security team and two official vehicles after becoming an MP. So when he claimed he'd been refused publicly funded security, he wasn't bending the truth. He was lying" via Truth Against Hate
Why the wealthy pay less tax than you do - and how to fix it youtu.be/2Ys9m1t8lN4?... The tax system is fundamentally biased in favour of wealth. Let's change that right before doing a wealth tax, or the bias will remain.
Why the wealthy pay less tax than you - and how to fix it
YouTube video by Richard J Murphy
youtu.be
2024: Donald Trump, "I could stop wars with a telephone call.. They would never start" 2026: President Trump: we've only been bombing Iran for four months
Please sign and share if you can to stop bird tethering in UK zoos. act.freedomforanimals.org.uk/page/191255/...
Freedom for Animals
DEFRA: Stop bird tethering in UK zoos!
act.freedomforanimals.org.uk
Andy Burnham: We must rebuild Britain’s hard power to face a darker world Promises more defence spending, higher profits for US firms. Who will protect us from Private equity Crumbling infrastructure Poverty Corporate profiteering NHS queues Social care crisis Political corruption archive.ph/b7Nnz
Andy Burnham: We must rebuild Britain’s hard power to face a darker world
As prime minister, my priority will be protecting the UK by boosting defence spending, reviving local industry and strengthening our alliances
thetimes.com
Govts routinely talk about easing cost-of-living crisis. No party has any plan. Crisis due to low wages, profiteering by utilities and oligopolies dominating the market. Govts don't push for higher wages, break-up big conglomerates, control price of essentials, embrace progressive taxation.
We need to abolish state-sanctioned poverty
No one is ever born poor. They are condemned to poverty by societal policies which prevent millions from realising their full physical, mental, and intellectual capacities potentialities.
leftfootforward.org
Despite all the noise today I'd really like you to read this, as I think it's crucial. The government's in the process of p*ssing up to £264 billion into the ground, at the behest of the fossil fuel industry. Yes, £264 *billion*. It's utterly mad, and has to stop. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The great carbon capture con: behold the wasted billions Burnham could claw back | George Monbiot
There are far better ways to tackle climate breakdown, but successive governments have chosen to listen to the fossil fuel companies instead, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
theguardian.com
