Tag Archives: global politics

Lets Re-Rethink Education: let’s revisit what we proposed — and see what housing might have taught us

Lets Re-Rethink Education: let’s revisit what we proposed — and see what housing might have taught us.

So on this Friday the 13th I’m going to do something I’ve not done so far – go back to a previous rethink topic and see if the last one can provide and further options.

When we wrapped up Let’s Rethink Education, we didn’t shy away from the scale of the challenge.

We were clear that if we genuinely wanted an education system that could deliver outcomes closer to private school standards for everyone, the numbers were uncomfortable.

We weren’t talking about tweaks.

We were talking about something closer to £100–150bn a year once fully delivered.

And we were also honest about something else.

Lets Rethink Financial Services: Why Regulation Matters

If financial markets aren’t as complex as we’re told, why do they keep failing? A UK-focused look at regulation, short-term gains, long-term costs, and why we keep relearning the same lesson.

Lets Rethink Financial Services: How shareholding quietly changed.

We still talk about shares as if buying one means backing a business.

You put some money in.
The business does well.
You wait.
At some point — ideally years later — you share in the rewards.

Most people would recognise that description. It feels… reasonable.

And the awkward thing is: it’s not wrong.

It’s just not the whole story anymore.

Because we still use the same language — ownership, confidence, value, long term — even though the behaviour attached to those words has changed rather a lot.

So this is less a history lesson, and more a “hang on… when did that shift?” conversation.

Lets Rethink Financial Services: They may not be as complex as you thought.

You were probably told that finance is complicated.
That it’s all maths, charts, Greek letters, and people much cleverer than you.

That’s convenient.
Because it means you’re not supposed to ask questions.

The truth is:
financial systems aren’t hard to understand — they’re hard to explain honestly.

So instead of textbooks and equations, here are films, games, and stories that do something far more dangerous:

They show you how the financial services behave when no one’s watching.

Lets Rethink Human Rights: So… Is the ECHR Actually Helpful or Not?

By this point we’ve wandered through the history, the numbers, the court cases, and the reality inside the UK.
And honestly, the whole thing has turned out to be a lot less dramatic — and a lot more normal — than the public debate makes it sound.

So the last question is the simplest one:

“Is the ECHR actually doing anything useful for us… or is it just a nuisance?”

Lets see…

Lets Rethink Human Rights: Are Uk Courts Really Swamped with Human Rights Cases?

So after looking at how little actually happens in Strasbourg, the next obvious question is:

“Okay, but what about here? Aren’t our own courts constantly tied up in human rights claims?”

Because if you listen to some politicians, you’d think every other case is someone shouting “Article 8!” and demanding their cat has visitation rights.

Lets Rethink Human Rights: Does the ECHR Actually Boss Britain Around?

Lets Rethink Human Rights: Does the ECHR Actually Boss Britain Around?

So, after Part 1, we’ve got the basics down:
Britain helped build the ECHR, it was quiet for decades, and then the Human Rights Act made it suddenly relevant.

Fine. That’s the history.

But the real question most of us quietly have in our heads is:

“Does this court in Strasbourg actually overrule us? Like… a lot?”

Because if you listen to certain commentators, you’d think half the Government’s time is spent being told off by European judges waving clipboards.

Lets Rethink Human Rights: So… What Is the ECHR Anyway?

Because I Thought I Knew, And Apparently I Didn’t

Right, cards on the table:
When someone mentions “the ECHR”, most of us picture… well, something vaguely European and annoying.
A foreign court. Bureaucrats. Deportation arguments. Cats. All that stuff.

Turns out the real story is a bit different.
So this is just me walking through it, and you can wander with me and decide what you think.

Lets Rethink Fire Services: The Hidden Hero’s

The Fire Service: The Public Service Britain Forgot to Break — And Why It Quietly Succeeded

For the last quarter-century, almost every major public service in Britain has been pulled apart and stitched back together again.

The NHS endured wave after wave of restructuring.
Schools ricocheted from LEAs to academies to trusts.
Probation was privatised, then un-privatised.
Policing became a casualty of political formulae no one understands.

But one service — almost by accident — avoided the chaos.

The Fire and Rescue Service.

No internal markets.
No academisation.
No “transformational frameworks”.
No outsourcing lobby hovering over the budget line.

And while everything else was in flux, the fire service quietly did something astonishing:

Lets Rethink Education: Spreading the Pain of the cost

Who Pays for a World-Class Education System? A Fairness Test Using Real Households

One of the things that always irritates me about discussions on tax is how abstract they are.
“Raise £100 billion.”
“Shift 5% of GDP.”
“Broaden the base and lower the rate.”

Lovely phrases. Very neat.
Totally useless if you’re trying to understand what it means for actual people.

So, let’s stop talking in quintiles and deciles and fiscal multipliers for a moment.
Let’s talk about real households — the kinds of people you meet in the supermarket queue, in the staffroom, in the café, or at the school gate.

Because if we’re going to build a school system that treats every child the way private schools treat theirs — small classes, stable buildings, real enrichment, proper SEN support — then yes, we need to raise about £100 billion a year in new revenue.

The question is:

Who pays how much? And is that fair?

I’m going to answer that the way life actually works: through stories.