The Rest Is Money

Tax rises for savers, landlords and bankers, so who wins? Is council tax banding a fair way to dish out help? Where is Healey’s economic vision? Why has he done so little to protect us from a debt crisis? Will government borrowing become unaffordable? Robert and Steph unpick John Healey’s first budget and discuss whether being boring is good. The Rest is Money is brought to you by Octopus Ene...

What is it about Trump’s second term that’s made big money business men capitulate? Are Jeff Besos and Stephen Schwarzman part of a herd of cowards? Will the mid terms bring them some back bone? And who in business is standing up to Trump? Robert and Steph talk to US journalist Jacob Weisberg about his book ‘Profiles in Cowardice’ looking at leaders who have failed to push back against Trump’s dic...

Are banks making excessive profits? How do UK taxes on banks compare to other countries? Should the bank surcharge be increased? What about reducing the interest the banks get from the Bank of England for their cash reserves? Ahead of the October budget, Robert and Steph discuss the pros and cons of the Chancellor’s potential plan to get more money out of the banks. The Rest is Money is brought to...

Why are economists’ estimates of our fiscal headroom so different from each other? What does the chancellor John Healey need to do to get the markets on side? Will multiple small tax tweaks get us the money we need? Are we realistic enough about public spending? How might tax distribution change with devolution? Robert and Steph discuss the UK’s economic credibility with Helen Miller - director of...

Why is France in serious financial trouble? Could it go bust? Should the ECB intervene? And where does that leave the UK government in the bond market ‘ugly contest’? Robert and Steph discuss how the political paralysis, civil unrest and bond market chaos in France could help Healey and Burnham in the upcoming Budget. Plus, Robert explains ‘linkers’ and why they are Britain’s Achilles Heel. The Re...

After Burnham said one option for the UK is to rejoin the EU, would this be best for Britain? How do the alternatives to full membership measure up? And how does the emotional immigration debate fit into the evaluation? With France in a fiscal mess and the threat from Putin intensifying, Robert and Steph debate whether the UK is or should be on a path to become an EU member again with Anand Menon,...

Is Wayve the start-up that could at last be a British global AI giant? Why does its boss Alex Kendall think the UK is the best place to grow a tech business? How soon will most of us be riding in driverless taxis and cars? Robert talks to the founder and chief executive of Wayve, the driverless car developer, about why most of the company’s finance comes from abroad, whether government understands...

Is a Smorgasbord of tax rises the best way to raise money? Should the capital gains tax rate be aligned with income tax? What about increased taxes on banks? Dan Neidle is back to tell Robert and Steph what he’d do in the upcoming Budget. Plus, how Reeves was punished by the ONS’s crazy estimates of how much holiday we take The Rest is Money is brought to you by Octopus Energy, Britain’s smart ene...

Why was Burnham’s speech such an important economic and political reset? Is his promise of an NHS model for social care all it seems? Burnham has raised the possibility of rejoining the EU, but would European leaders welcome us back? Robert has been in Liverpool at Labour Conference. He and Steph break down the big moments from Andy Burnham's speech, and ask whether, behind the bold ambitions, the...

How to win the net-zero argument with voters again? Why the transition will make us richer? Are the Paris warming targets irredeemably lost? How has China led the way? Robert discusses with world-leading climate economist Lord [Nicholas] Stern why so many voters have downgraded climate concerns, and what can be done about it. Nick's book is published by Open Access and is free to read and download...

Given the militaristic ambitions of Russia, China and America, how close are we to a catastrophic trade shock?  Even without such a shock, do we face years of higher inflation because of the new frictions and costs in global supply chains? And why is the British government the last government to end the tax break exploited by SHEIN and Temu?  Robert discusses the hidden and important vul...

Is Trump’s handling of America’s 40 trillion debt burden about to start a global financial crisis? Why is US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent selling Euros to buy Japanese Yen? And why are Western leaders worrying about Japanese interest rates going up? As credit conditions in the US drive up borrowing costs across the world, Robert and Steph talk to hedge fund boss Patrick Boyle about what’s goin...

Why has the Al growth-at-all costs plan hit a credibility wall? Is this really about safety? Or are Al bosses trying to keep out more competition? Is pacing realistically enforceable across borders? And could this make tech companies like anti-competitive banks? Plus, where does all this leave presidents Trump versus Xi? After a dramatic week in the world of Al with apocalyptic warnings and stock...

How much of a buffer does the chancellor have now? What taxes might we need to put up? How does the tax burden on UK workers compare to other countries? Why might middle earners need to pay more? Ruth Curtice from the Resolution Foundation is back to tell us about what the Rachel Reeves tax rises did to the UK tax wedge and where this leaves John Healey now. The Rest is Money is brought to you by...

The chancellor says we're turning a corner, but into what? He wants ministers to take more risks, so what does that mean? Why was their nothing that directly addresses the UK’s vulnerability to a debt crisis? The North is getting a new fund for businesses to scale up - will it make a difference? And what can we learn from microchipping cats? Robert and Steph dissect the Chancellor's first big spee...

Are we at risk of a global financial crisis? What’s driving it? And why is the UK being punished more than other countries? Is reforming the pensions triple lock part of the answer? It’s been a wild time on the bond markets, with UK gilts yields at record highs. Robert and Steph explain why global inflation, the state of government borrowing and US tech firms turning to the debt markets for A...

Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown says fixing broken communities is an economic emergency, but how do we do it? Burnham’s fiscal devolution? Could social impact bonds work? How do we extract more tax from the super wealthy? What about the shattered world order—can that be mended? What would he say to Trump now if he were PM? And as the man who gave independence to the Bank of England, does he thi...

Is it possible for us to shape how AI is used rather than have tech firms decide for us? Should the UK government be looking to create our own ChatGPT? Or would open source AI be better for public services? How do we make sure we don’t hand over all our valuable NHS data to a US tech firm? Dr Laura Gilbert CBE – senior director of AI at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change talks to Steph abo...

Does Burnham’s government have a credible growth plan? Are the fiscal rules still fit for purpose? How can Whitehall be reformed for the AI age - and who will pay tax if AI leads to widespread job losses? Robert discusses the major challenges facing Burnham and Healey with Lord O’Donnell, former Cabinet Secretary under three British prime ministers. The Rest is Money is brought to you by Octopus E...

How damaging to us is the obsession of Anthropic, Google and Open AI with creating AI super intelligence? How can political leaders set a new path for AI, that would enrich workers rather than replace them? And is the falling birth rate actually good for us? In the second part of Robert’s interview with Nobel prize-winning economist Daron Acemoglu, about his influential new book, “what happened to...

How do we revive living standards and restore confidence in liberal democracy? Is the link between productivity and wages permanently broken? What is working-class liberalism? Why should Andy Burnham’s first budget raise taxes on capital while cutting taxes on employment? And why are tech giants like Google and Amazon twice as wealthy as the British Empire at its peak? Robert investigates how to s...

Why is it taking so long to get people trained in AI? Should we be devolving education powers to employers instead of Mayors? Is the replacement for the Apprenticeship levy any good? Why is it so hard for companies here to raise money from British investors? Steph talks to Euan Blair, CEO of Multiverse - the UK’s first British EdTech business valued at over a billion - about the future of work. Pl...

How can the government persuade UK companies and households to invest and spend their record cash holdings? Why is Donald Trump’s unpredictability failing to destroy economic growth? Why is it so difficult to assess whether a lethal AI bubble currently exists? Robert discusses the risks and opportunities in today’s world of extreme financial, technological and political risks with Karen Ward, chie...

Why do secondary schools fail so many young people? Whose fault is it? What does good vocational education look like? He says the hard hat is just as important as the graduation cap, but does Andy Burnham really get it? With A-Level and GCSE results due out, Steph’s launched a day to celebrate the millions of people getting vocational qualifications. To mark this we take the show to a thriving bus...

How fixable is the schism between the rich developed countries, led by the US, and the faster-growing BRICS+ group, led by China, Russia, and India? Can these emerging powerhouses truly detach themselves from the dollar-dominated financial system? And on which critical issues must we work collaboratively with them to avoid global disaster? Robert and Steph chat with Lord Jim O’Neill, the former Go...