RichardJMurphy

RichardJMurphy, 5 days ago to random

Tory plans to deny access to foreign students wanting to study in the UK are already causing massive harm to UK universities and the economy of the country https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/05/14/tory-plans-to-deny-access-to-foreign-students-wanting-to-study-in-the-uk-are-already-causing-massive-harm-to-uk-universities-and-the-economy-of-the-country/ Overseas applications to UK universities are tumbling as a result of new visa rules that appear to be motivated by racism. The knock on effects are going to be considerable, for the country, for students and even the viability of many universities who have come to reply on this income.

RichardJMurphy, 10 months ago to random

It’s time the politicians opposed to our well-being stopped condemning Just Stop Oil protests. https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2023/07/09/its-time-the-politicians-opposed-to-our-well-being-stopped-condemning-just-stop-oil-protests/. Just Stop Oil are following in a wholly appropriate tradition of protest which was the only thing that delivered almost every social change from which we now benefit.

RichardJMurphy, 1 month ago to random

Can we really claim to be a democracy when the government very clearly does not care if people can vote? https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/03/25/can-we-really-claim-to-be-a-democracy-when-the-government-very-clearly-does-not-care-if-people-can-vote/. More than 7 million people in the UK are missing from electoral registers. The government does not seem to care and is undoubtedly making matters worse. Are we a democracy when electoral abuse on this scale is going on?

RichardJMurphy, 1 month ago to random

Genocide cannot be condoned, whoever does it https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/03/25/genocide-cannot-be-condoned-whoever-does-it/. The government of Israel is using famine as an instrument of war. Nothing can ever justify this. Isn’t it time for sanctions?

RichardJMurphy, 1 month ago to random

Privatisation has failed. The only problem that we have is a shortage of politicians that will admit this. https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/04/15/privatisation-has-failed-the-only-problem-that-we-have-is-a-shortage-of-politicians-that-will-admit-this/. Avanti West Coast is just another failed privatisation, but the problem is systemic, and not with individual companies.

RichardJMurphy, 5 months ago to random

We need to tax the wealthiest more if we are to to tackle climate change https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2023/11/20/we-need-to-tax-the-wealthiest-more-if-we-are-to-to-tackle-climate-change/ The wealthy are over-consuming our planet, literally heating it to beyond survival human survival point. We need to tax them more to stop their excess consumption. Unless we do we are in very deep trouble.

RichardJMurphy, 5 months ago to random

The govenment is planning to cut public sector investment by 16.7% ove the next five years https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2023/11/23/the-govenment-is-planning-to-cut-public-sector-investment-by-16-7-ove-the-next-five-years/. Hunt is planning real spending cuts in the budget. But he's also planning to slash investment by 16.7% over the next five years. Forget the need for social housing or to tackle RAACs in schools and hospitals and the green transition. The money has just gone. Irresponsibility does not come much bigger than this,

RichardJMurphy, 4 months ago to random

Rarely in the field of human endeavour has one rather small profession caused so much harm to humankind as neoclassical economists do now https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/01/03/rarely-in-the-field-of-human-endeavour-has-one-rather-small-profession-caused-so-much-harm-to-humankind-as-neoclassical-economists-do-now/. Chris Giles is declaring his astonishment in the FT this morning that the battle to beat inflation has nearly been won. But if only he’d have read the evidence Danny Blanchflower and I presented in 2022 he’d have known there wasn’t even a battle to be had. Inflation always passes, quite quickly.

RichardJMurphy, 4 months ago to random

The Bank of England has been fuelling inflation by boosting the incomes of older, wealthier, Tory supporters https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/01/05/the-bank-of-england-has-been-fuelling-infaltion-by-boosting-the-income-of-older-wealthier-tory-supprters/. New evidence shows that so far, interest rate rises are likely to have fuelled inflation, rather than hindered it. Tory supporters are likely to have gained by far the most. Why isn't Labour talking about this?

RichardJMurphy, 3 months ago to random

The Tories are changing the law on water companies so that even if they fail the shareholders do not take a hit https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/01/25/the-tories-are-changing-the-law-on-water-companies-so-that-even-if-they-fail-the-shareholders-do-not-take-a-hit/. Staggering new laws have been introduced that will allow water companies to fail but permit their shareholders to carry on owning these companies, so determined is the government to avoid nationalisation. Creditors would pay the price of failure instead. This is economic mismanagement on a gross scale.

RichardJMurphy, 7 months ago to random

Inheritance tax has been serving the nation since 1694, and needs to do so for a lot longer https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2023/09/24/inheritance-tax-has-been-serving-the-nation-since-1694-and-needs-to-do-so-for-a-lot-longer/. Sunak wants to be rid of inheritance tax at the same time as he wants to deny pensioners their triple-locked pay rise. That says all you need to know about a man who would rather help the children of 40,000 very rich people than 12.5 million OAPs.

RichardJMurphy, 3 months ago to random

Why isn’t Labour interested in company fraud? https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/02/13/why-isnt-labour-interested-in-company-fraud/
The UK is a haven for corporate tax fraud, whether domestic or international. That’s because forming companies here is cheap and paying tax is, as far as companies are concerned, pretty much a voluntary exercise because UK company regulation is so lax. I reckon £12bn could be raised by tackling the issue. So why isn’t Labour talking about it?

RichardJMurphy, 26 days ago to random

As disasters go, the Rwanda Bill knows almost no limits. https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/04/23/as-disasters-go-the-rwanda-bill-knows-almost-no-limits/. When all the politics is done, some poor refugees will suffer the most inhumane treatment by this government. It is my hope that lawyers will still be able to find ways to obstruct their evil desires.

RichardJMurphy, 20 days ago to random

Nationalising Thames Water will not in any way threaten the stability of UK financial markets https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/04/29/nationalising-thames-water-will-not-in-any-way-threaten-the-stability-of-uk-financial-markets/. Treasury sourced rumours that financial markets that nationalising Thames Water might cause massive upset in UK financial markets are deliberate misinformation intended to reinforce the Bank of England's policy of excessive interest rates.

RichardJMurphy, 3 months ago to random

Two million people’s fate hangs on the survival of UNRWA. Nothing else exists between them and disaster. https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/01/31/two-million-peoples-fate-hangs-on-the-survival-of-unrwa-nothing-else-exists-between-them-and-disaster/. The world is lining up against the UNRWA even though evidence suggests it had cooperated with Israel to eliminate links with Hamas. Now, the fate of 2 million or more people hangs in the balance as a result and apparently the world does not care. I do. You should. The UK is now party to this genocide, in my opinion.

RichardJMurphy, 16 days ago to random

We need the water companies of England to be nationalised https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/05/03/we-need-the-water-companies-of-england-to-be-nationalised/
Labour has now recognised it needs to nationalise railways. The case for nationalising water is even stronger.

RichardJMurphy, 4 months ago to random

The threat to the UK economy now is not inflation: deflation is the real threat now https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/01/11/the-threat-to-the-uk-economy-now-is-not-inflation-deflation-is-the-real-threat-now/ UK inflation may well be history within months. Then, though, we face the risk of something very much worse, which is deflation. That could deliver recession and depression in the years to come given the massive overreaction of the Bank of England to inflation. We need to take action to prevent that now or things will get very ugly.

RichardJMurphy, 1 month ago to random

The stories we tell each other about the economy in which we live are more important than the data we collect about it https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/03/28/the-stories-we-tell-each-other-about-the-economy-in-which-we-live-are-more-important-than-the-data-we-collect-about-it/. The world's economists now base almost all their claims on spurious mathematical modelling based on data that is rarely of sufficient quality to support any of their conclusions. What if we instead based economics on ideas like justice, equality, and the meeting of need? The world would be a better place.

RichardJMurphy, 1 month ago to random

Gordon Brown’s answer to poverty in the UK is to appeal to charity. When Labour looks like it will have a massive majority soon that is pathetic. https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/03/29/gordon-browns-answer-to-poverty-in-the-uk-is-to-appeal-to-charity-when-labour-looks-like-it-will-have-a-massive-majority-soon-that-is-pathetic/. I despair of the poverty of Labour's thinking on poverty, and just about everything else.

RichardJMurphy, 12 days ago to random

The Greens were the biggest winners in the local elections, so why aren’t they getting fair air time? https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/05/07/the-greens-were-the-biggest-winners-in-the-local-elections-so-why-arent-they-getting-fair-air-time/
Proportionately, the Greens won most seats at the recent local elections, but they are denied airtime, and we get Reform instead. Why?

RichardJMurphy, 3 days ago to random

Starmer’s plan is for a government offering platitudes, minor admin reforms and a few more teachers in England alone. Ambition has rarely been as small as this. https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/05/16/starmers-plan-is-for-a-government-offering-platitudes-minor-admin-reforms-and-a-few-more-teachers-in-england-alone-ambition-has-rarely-been-as-small-as-this/. Starmer’s six new pledges amount to almost nothing of any consequence that will have any real impact on most people’s lives. Has someone so lacking in vision, hope or expectation ever sought power in the UK before?

RichardJMurphy, 2 months ago to random

Tax havens exist to undermine democracy. They are a fundamental threat to our way of life. https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/03/02/tax-havens-exist-to-undermine-democracy-they-are-a-fundamental-threat-to-our-way-of-life/. Why do we tolerate the existence of financial services firms, like the biggest firms of accountants, whose business model is designed to undermine democracy?

RichardJMurphy, 3 months ago to random

To claim we cannot afford more health and social care is an outright lie put forward by both the Tory and Labour leaderships, who are only interested in serving the wealthy https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/02/01/to-claim-we-cannot-afford-more-health-and-social-care-is-an-outright-lie-put-forward-by-both-the-tory-and-labour-leaderships-who-are-only-interested-in-serving-the-wealthy/. To provide tax cuts to those already better off, millions of vulnerable people will be made to suffer by both the Tories and Labour. For how long can we put up with a democracy dominated by people who just do not care?

RichardJMurphy, 2 months ago to random

How to pay for a Green New Deal https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/03/05/how-to-pay-for-a-green-new-deal/. It is possible to pay for the green transition that we so urgently need. Any politician denying that fact is consciously downplaying or ignoring the need to do so in favour of other interests.

RichardJMurphy, 1 month ago to random

Capital gains should be subject to the same rate of tax as income https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/04/06/74908/. There is nothing fair about the capital gains, almost entirely made by the wealthy, being taxed at half the rate of income tax, largely charged on earnings from work. It is time that they were taxed at the same rate.