Michael Ray
@mikhailray.bsky.social
TV Producer and telly addict
The answer to the question “Can you do better than Rachel Reeves?” is “yes”. The game becomes remarkably easy when you tax wealth instead of working people - go figure.
www.theguardian.com/politics/ng-...
www.theguardian.com/politics/ng-...
Could you do better than Reeves as chancellor? Play our interactive budget game
Can you pull the levers of power to deliver a successful budget? Can you keep backbenchers happy without upsetting the bond markets? And can you do it all while keeping the books balanced? Try our bud...
www.theguardian.com
November 24, 2025 at 9:05 AM
The answer to the question “Can you do better than Rachel Reeves?” is “yes”. The game becomes remarkably easy when you tax wealth instead of working people - go figure.
www.theguardian.com/politics/ng-...
www.theguardian.com/politics/ng-...
Of Central Banks and cowardly politicians, esp Rachel from Accounts
substack.com/@annpettifor...
substack.com/@annpettifor...
substack.com
November 20, 2025 at 6:37 PM
Of Central Banks and cowardly politicians, esp Rachel from Accounts
substack.com/@annpettifor...
substack.com/@annpettifor...
Ultra-processed food is not a dietary choice. It is a political economy problem.
www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2025/11...
www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2025/11...
Ultra-processed food is not a dietary choice. It is a political economy problem.
There is a sentence in The Lancet’s new series on ultra-processed foods (UPFs), published this week, that makes clear exactly what the issue with them is. It says that UPFs are;
emblematic of a food...
www.taxresearch.org.uk
November 20, 2025 at 11:49 AM
Ultra-processed food is not a dietary choice. It is a political economy problem.
www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2025/11...
www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2025/11...
Nice to see Only Fools’ Trigger - Roger Lloyd-Pack - appearing in #JudgeDredd mag these days
November 15, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Nice to see Only Fools’ Trigger - Roger Lloyd-Pack - appearing in #JudgeDredd mag these days
“Growth is not an end in itself. It is the process by which a society becomes more capable, compassionate and sustainable. We still have the people, knowledge, and creativity to do this. What is lacking is political imagination. It is time that changed.”
www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2025/11...
www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2025/11...
What does growth mean?
A reader of this blog asked me recently in an email why the UK no longer seems to make things, and whether a country can really grow without a strong manufacturing base. It’s a question that goes to t...
www.taxresearch.org.uk
November 13, 2025 at 9:00 AM
“Growth is not an end in itself. It is the process by which a society becomes more capable, compassionate and sustainable. We still have the people, knowledge, and creativity to do this. What is lacking is political imagination. It is time that changed.”
www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2025/11...
www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2025/11...
Reeves, and the folly of increasing basic income tax rates www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2025/11...
November 4, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Reeves, and the folly of increasing basic income tax rates www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2025/11...
October 30, 2025 at 7:39 AM
Reposted by Michael Ray
Rachel Reeves says she needs to raise taxes to “balance the books.” But that’s not how government finance works. In this video, I explain why the government’s job is to sustain spending power, not drain it.
youtu.be/iUxvARzRi8U?...
youtu.be/iUxvARzRi8U?...
Why most tax rises now would be economic madness
YouTube video by Richard J Murphy
youtu.be
October 21, 2025 at 6:08 AM
Rachel Reeves says she needs to raise taxes to “balance the books.” But that’s not how government finance works. In this video, I explain why the government’s job is to sustain spending power, not drain it.
youtu.be/iUxvARzRi8U?...
youtu.be/iUxvARzRi8U?...
Woman fined £150 for pouring coffee down drain — BBC News
Burcu Yesilyurt says the fine is
apple.news
October 22, 2025 at 3:37 PM
What do you do when the target’s wrong? www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2025/10...
October 18, 2025 at 6:34 AM
What do you do when the target’s wrong? www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2025/10...
Quick, let’s open the pubs even longer so people can spend all their extra non-existent money!
UK consumers curb spending more than anywhere else in G7 on.ft.com/3KDqbN8
UK consumers curb spending more than anywhere else in G7
High interest rates and fear of economic shocks spur households to build up savings rather than splash out
on.ft.com
October 11, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Quick, let’s open the pubs even longer so people can spend all their extra non-existent money!
October 9, 2025 at 7:16 PM
5 things Rachel Reeves could do about Debt interest right now www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2025/09...
Rachel Reeves is wrong about debt interest
At the Labour Party conference this morning, Rachel Reeves said:
“There is nothing progressive, nothing Labour, about government using one in every £10 of public money it spends on financing debt int...
www.taxresearch.org.uk
September 29, 2025 at 3:36 PM
5 things Rachel Reeves could do about Debt interest right now www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2025/09...
Markets want MORE government debt www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2025/09...
September 26, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Markets want MORE government debt www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2025/09...
Annual Conference 2025
YouTube video by Project for Peace & Justice by Jeremy Corbyn
youtube.com
September 26, 2025 at 11:17 AM
Reposted by Michael Ray
The PFI disaster
Wes Streeting readies more of the NHS for privatisation. Hands £6m to advisers.
NHS will be a shell doling out contracts to private equity and corporations. Profits guaranteed.
Money will buy less. Higher taxes, lower value.
Say NO to privatisation of the NHS.
Wes Streeting readies more of the NHS for privatisation. Hands £6m to advisers.
NHS will be a shell doling out contracts to private equity and corporations. Profits guaranteed.
Money will buy less. Higher taxes, lower value.
Say NO to privatisation of the NHS.
Fears of new PFI-style ‘disaster’ as firms handed £6m to advise on using private funds for NHS clinics
Exclusive: Consultants and lawyers hired to advise on using public-private partnerships to build ‘neighbourhood health centres’ in England
www.theguardian.com
September 24, 2025 at 7:22 AM
The PFI disaster
Wes Streeting readies more of the NHS for privatisation. Hands £6m to advisers.
NHS will be a shell doling out contracts to private equity and corporations. Profits guaranteed.
Money will buy less. Higher taxes, lower value.
Say NO to privatisation of the NHS.
Wes Streeting readies more of the NHS for privatisation. Hands £6m to advisers.
NHS will be a shell doling out contracts to private equity and corporations. Profits guaranteed.
Money will buy less. Higher taxes, lower value.
Say NO to privatisation of the NHS.
The government can afford to do this, it can afford to give us the country we want. But it chooses instead to uphold a deeply flawed and unfair tax system. Doesn’t have to be this way.
apple.news/AarRud9-gRae...
apple.news/AarRud9-gRae...
'There isn't enough money': Why ministers' SEND reforms are heading for failure — The i Paper
Council official overseeing the local strategy that inspired Bridget Phillipson’s plans says 'enormous' extra investment is needed for a successful national rollout
apple.news
September 24, 2025 at 7:42 PM
The government can afford to do this, it can afford to give us the country we want. But it chooses instead to uphold a deeply flawed and unfair tax system. Doesn’t have to be this way.
apple.news/AarRud9-gRae...
apple.news/AarRud9-gRae...
The quality of intelligence in public life is very poor. What a detestable person she is.
schoolsweek.co.uk/pupil-wellbe...
schoolsweek.co.uk/pupil-wellbe...
Spielman says school wellbeing checks 'counterproductive'
The former chief inspector of Ofsted spoke out against measuring wellbeing during a House of Lords debate.
schoolsweek.co.uk
September 19, 2025 at 12:11 PM
The quality of intelligence in public life is very poor. What a detestable person she is.
schoolsweek.co.uk/pupil-wellbe...
schoolsweek.co.uk/pupil-wellbe...
Abandoning fiscal rules is the price of preserving democracy. Invest in a Britain worth saving.
www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2025/09...
www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2025/09...
Abandoning fiscal rules is the price of preserving democracy
Guardian journalist Helen Pidd, asked, after attending the far-right rally in London at the weekend, a simple but wholly appropriate question:
When the far right becomes the mainstream right, what lan...
www.taxresearch.org.uk
September 18, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Abandoning fiscal rules is the price of preserving democracy. Invest in a Britain worth saving.
www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2025/09...
www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2025/09...
What Gary Stevenson gets right (tax the rich) and gets wrong (the economy) - the truth provides much more opportunity!
youtube.com/watch?v=331l...
youtube.com/watch?v=331l...
Debunking Gary Stevenson on Income & Taxes: Top Economist
YouTube video by ProfSteveKeen
youtube.com
September 17, 2025 at 4:31 PM
What Gary Stevenson gets right (tax the rich) and gets wrong (the economy) - the truth provides much more opportunity!
youtube.com/watch?v=331l...
youtube.com/watch?v=331l...