For those readers outside the small and rapidly shrinking BBC Today Programme demographic, the 7.50am Thought for the Day is the broadcasting equivalent of a Novocaine injection designed to anaesthetise listeners ahead of the intellectual equivalent of having a wisdom tooth removed that is the 8.05am political propaganda slot. Thought for …

While the 2008 financial crash finally exposed the infantile economic theories behind neoliberalism, most of its political claims remain unchallenged.  Key among these is the belief that somehow successive neoliberal governments have been “rolling back the state.” Ripping up so-called “red tape,” cutting taxes and providing ready access to finance …

While businesses and journalists readily understand (and often misunderstand) the idea of return on investment (“there is no magic money tree”) they seldom make the intellectual leap to apply the concept to the far more important area of energy.  Currency, after all, really can be printed out of thin air …

Every 40 year or so, it falls to the mass of the population, led by a politicised youth, to deliver a knockout blow to the prevailing economic/political consensus.  The affluent (neo)liberal classes are inevitably horrified when this happens, since it rocks the foundations of their comfortable way of life.  The …

Renewable energy is usually presented as the sensible alternative to domestic (fracking) gas.  However, in Britain at least, the two are essential components of the same suite of technologies.  This is because of the poor choices made by the UK government that force solar and wind energy to go hand …

Read the headlines and you could be forgiven for laughing in the face of climate change and resource depletion.  Renewable energy, it seems, will win the day.  Take this example by Ian Johnston in the Independent: “Renewable energy is a mainstream technology, which is cheaper and more advanced than ever. …

The gut response of many Remainers is to support the softest of soft Brexits as the best alternative to remaining within the European Union.  In similar vein, hardcore Leave voters are determined that the only choice on offer should be a hard Brexit or no deal at all; with Britain …

The cognitive dissonance is palpable among Tory supporters today.  Having spent the last eight weeks spouting the economically illiterate mantra that there is no #magicmoneytree, they have discovered that when it comes to buying the votes of the political wing of the Old Testament there really is a magic money …

As the full horror of the Grenfell fire became apparent, millions of ordinary Britons experienced shock, sorrow and an outpouring of sympathy.  Many people in the immediate area rushed to volunteer – opening up community facilities and distributing food and clothing.  Others reached for their wallets to donate the cash …