South West Surrey Compass

08/09/2026

Karl Polanyi, in his 1944 book, The Great Transformation, explained how the failure of governments to ensure that the economy was managed for the benefit of the majority, but instead allowed wealth to concentrate upwards to a small elite, while the rest were exploited and ignored, led directly to the rise of Fascism.

The Great Depression was a consequence of the failure to regulate finance and control inequality, and it caused massive social disruption and mass immiseration. It was preceded by a ‘gilded’ age of conspicuous consumption, extravagance and decadence in which the elite displayed their wealth, and money flowed into more and more extreme bubbles in pursuit of greater and greater gains.

We see the same patterns in 2026.

Most disturbingly, fascism is on the rise again yet our governments seem oblivious to the mistakes of a century ago and determined to repeat them. We hear the same arguments – that controlling government spending is the priority, that reducing regulation is necessary for growth, that finance must be free to move as it wishes, that taxes for the rich must be kept low, and that prosperity will trickle down to the rest from the wealthy, who are the drivers of the economy. All these arguments were used in the 1920s and 30s, and the result was disaster. Bitter experience – two world wars and the greatest depression in modern history – have proven them utterly wrong. Despite this empirical and historical evidence, governments across the Western world continue on the road to destruction.

We have had black uniformed and masked self-styled ‘patriots’ marching. We have the rise of not one but two far right political parties posing as defenders of our culture, wrapping themselves in the national flag, hostile to diversity in all its forms, and hyperbolising fears about ‘out of control’ immigration We have an openly fascist party winning elections in Germany. We have a deranged, despotic and corrupt US President, surrounded by sycophants, grifters, and authoritarian enablers. We have conflicts, trade wars and genocide taking place. There are growing numbers of countries that are either failed states, in permanent turmoil, or subject to oppressive regimes. We have politicians in the supposed leading democracies funded by the wealthiest individuals, preaching racist hatred and blaming economic problems on the poorest and the most desperate.

History is rhyming. History is rapping. History is strutting across the stage, bellowing its verse over and over in our faces and our leaders are pretending that they can’t hear.

24/08/2026

Here's the Richard Murphy infographic on Economic Gaslighting:

24/08/2026

Richard Murphy has been producing a series of infographics on the economy and political economics. He has made about 38 of them so far, on topics from "why do we need economic growth?" to "the movement of money through the economy" and "central banks", plus many others. They are worth checking out if you have any interest in how the economy operates, how economics impacts on politics, and the way that 'conventional wisdom' aka general assumptions or norms, constrain our thinking and allow us to be, effectively, gaslighted (gaslit?) by those that gain from the existing system and how it is structured.

He has three infographics specifically about gaslighting - one on political, one on economic and one on tax gaslighting. They are short and simple, but informative and easy to grasp.

Richard Murphy on developing a fairer and sustainable economy

14/08/2026

Well worth a watch. The error at the heart of Economics:

There’s a bug in the deep code of economics, and anthropology has been fighting it for over a century

10/08/2026

Compass likes to think of itself as progressive - an ambiguous term which means different things to different people. The opposite of it is, I suppose "regressive".

If progressive means wanting to create a better society, which is what Compass is about, then regressive must mean the opposite. We have several political parties that I would call regressive, and while they do not advertise their wish to make life worse for most people, the policies they advocate seem likely to do exactly that.

In the spirit of honesty, I have a few suggestions for slogans they could use:
"The Rich are inheriting the Earth. So get used to it."
"Cost of living crisis? So work harder, losers!"
"Unity in hatred".
"To the ruthless, the spoils"
"Diversity? Nein Danke!"
"Thinking is dangerous, just accept what we say."
"Stop the Clocks".
"Net Zero - not on my watch!"
"Climate change - Yes Please!"
"Reverse into the future".
"Know your place, then get back to it".
"New ideas not welcome here".
"If a job's not killing you, you must be slacking".
"Why go to Dubai when we can make a desert here?"
"Public Services are for wimps"
"Think inside the box".
"Get up and Go - No, seriously!".
"Change - just say no!".
"Advance but face backwards".
"Building a better Britain, one lynching at a time".
"The only culture is Agriculture".
"We will fight them on the beaches, we will fight them in the immigration detention centres, we will fight them in the hostels, we will fight them in the day centres and hospitals, we will never remember that it was actually about defeating fascism".

03/08/2026

Hi, I’m sure almost all of you will be aware that SWS Compass has had a storied & pioneering past - one that has earned this local group a lasting place in the hearts of our colleagues & friends leading Compass at the national level. Recent times have, however, thrown up new dynamics & some significant challenges.

So at our July meeting, we began by objectively acknowledging our recent past, also with the context of a great talk from Andy Berriman of Make Votes Matter, before turning our thoughts to setting up a vibrant new chapter for Compass in our immediate & broader area - beginning with questions of precise geography, first priorities, internal & outward communications, etc.

As Neal Lawson said in a call earlier this evening, while the real work has barely begun, Compass nationally has never had as much influence & prominence as it is enjoying right now. So this seems to be a good time to ask if you would like to take a more active role with Compass locally.

The first objective is to establish a new Steering Group that will discuss key issues & set a course for the next 12 months or so. If you are interested in being a part of this Group, we would be delighted to hear from you.

In friendship.

02/08/2026

Back in 2008/9 when the Great Financial Crisis was in progress, and governments were in panic trying to bail out the banks, the financial system stood at a crossroads. Deregulation had led to the irresponsible and highly risky behaviour that was the direct cause of the GFC. Governments around the world could have intervened to shut down the whole speculative infrastructure and rein in the excesses that had brought the world near to ruin. Instead they rewarded those that had got us into the mess by rescuing them from their own recklessness and greed. A few token gestures towards 'better' regulation were introduced, but nobody responsible for the disastrous action that impacted on so many was punished, and most of the organisations implicated survived to 'prosper' again at our expense.

One early effect of the GFC was that the EU began to look at the tax avoidance industry and how to control it. They began to make moves to tighten up on tax havens. This was seen as a threat to the City, and was one of the reasons so much dark money poured into those shady groups that began pushing the idea of 'Brexit'. As Richard Murphy says, "The City of London's chancers, grifters, and tax avoidance advisers, not to mention their tens of thousands of wealthy and politically connected clients, were not going to allow those EU reforms to proceed."

He goes on to say, "The rise of nationalist populism across Britain and beyond is, in part, the political economy of a class fighting to protect its extraction model, which lies at the heart of global capitalism."

The Ageing Feral infamously used to be a City trader and has plenty of connections with that world. The motivations of he and his clique of pretend protectors of the people are transparently self-interest and a desire to maintain their lucrative lifestyles while duping the desperate and exploiting the foolish.

Richard adds, "The secrecy jurisdictions, including Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, Cayman, the British Virgin Islands, and the rest, could not operate without the active support of the UK government. Nor could they function without a small number of international banks and the four major audit firms, all major London operators, who put their rubber stamps on the whole structure and declare it legitimate.
The aim of all this is the extraction of value. If Manchester is poor, it is because London is rich and extracting value from it. In that context, foreign direct investment in Manchester real estate over recent decades has created a few construction jobs and then, for decades afterwards, channelled rents offshore. That is a model based on extraction. It is not a development strategy.
Britain has built an economy on financial engineering rather than product engineering. The consequences of that are visible everywhere outside London."

I would add that they are visible in parts of London too. It is evident everywhere there is poverty, deprivation, joblessness, deteriorating infrastructure and failing services; in every river filled with sewage, excessive energy bill, and lengthening waiting and housing list. The only group doing well out of this fetishisation of speculation is the small class of the truly wealthy, and their larger class of enablers - lawyers, accountants, bankers, politicians and soulless media ghouls that echo their lies and push their propaganda.

We are due another financial crisis. This may be the last time that a possibility of real change of the whole rotten system is possible. Will those we have placed in positions of responsibility live up to that trust this time, or will they once again fail us?

02/08/2026

Something popped up in my newsfeed yesterday that made me check the date. I thought, it's definitely not the 1st of April - yet there it was, a story that could only be a spoof.

Please tell me that I was mistaken, and that it was indeed a late, or early April fool. The alternative is too depressing to contemplate: that it is in fact a genuine story and the new Council thought that this was their main priority, and, judging by the self-congratulatory grins, they also imagined that those that elected them would agree.

Councillors vote to seek a new name reflecting Spelthorne's Middlesex heritage.

27/07/2026

I have been thinking about what needs to be done to restore people's faith in politics. That we have had 7 PMs in 10 years indicates that our expectations are not being met by the incumbents. The question is why. Are our expectations unreasonable? Are they consistent? Are they unaffordable? Or are they impossible? Are we asking too much, or too little? Are we asking for the wrong things?

Perhaps we all want different things, or enough of us to cause confusion and make policies contradictory, so that meeting the wishes of one group requires disappointing another. There seems to be some truth in this. Or it could be that we expect things that are mutually exclusive. We may want better public services, but lower taxes, for example. Businesses may want cheaper labour, while employees want higher pay.

Is it reasonable to expect shorter waiting times in the NHS, more affordable energy, cheaper food, better social care, higher pay, more jobs, affordable housing, less crime, more protection for nature, cleaner rivers and air, less congestion on the roads, and yet at the same time want lower taxes, less development in our area, less immigration, more homegrown food, less regulation, fewer planning restrictions, less intrusive policing, bigger cars?

A lot of what we want is contradictory, and trying to balance the needs of different groups is distorted by the ease with which well-funded interests can influence political parties, and individual politicians through lobbying, networking and funding. The average voter has little say, whereas those with deep pockets, loud voices, and control over key resources or institutions, have too much.

When someone tells you that the answer to all these competing, sometimes contradictory, and often confusing requirements is simple, they are not being truthful. Whatever they claim to be offering, they are selling you snake oil that will benefit them, not you.

To cut through the tangled web of expectations we need to decide on a set of national objectives. What sort of society do we want? Do we want one that is caring, compassionate, inclusive, open, fair, equal, nurturing and creative? Where everybody can live free from fear, discrimination, violence, poverty, hunger and pollution? Where we have the possibility of self-fulfillment, of meaningful and rewarding work, of mixing with others, of support when needed, and of a healthy and flourishing environment?

That sounds to me like something most of us would agree was worth pursuing. The argument can then be about how best to achieve it, but without a clear direction, politics becomes all about the mode of travel, the number of stops, the speed and distances covered, the landscape en-route, the behaviour of fellow passengers, the music being played, but never about the destination.

26/07/2026

Whatever you think of our current government, you should be thankful that someone like ┬rump is not in charge. Here's a few snippets of the disastrous policies that he and his corrupt coterie are inflicting on the US.

The ┬rump administration is to pay Duke Energy $129 million to abandon its plans to build an offshore wind farm off North Carolina - this is the fourth such deal, where the government pays a company not to do something it was contracted to do...

┬rump launched a crypto currency that surged to a $15 billion market valuation as his MAGA base piled in to buy them. It’s now worth just $400 million – a 97% implosion. Nearly 1 million people who bought the memecoin have lost money - their losses are estimated at $3.81 billion.

After the supreme court effectively deregulated sports gambling nationwide, online gambling rocketed, with apps for 'prediction markets' that let people bet on all sorts of events. A report found the vast majority of people participating in prediction markets lose money, with the profits being captured by an extremely small number—the top 0.1 to 1 percent—of sophisticated users.

The poorest Americans who struggle to afford food have in the past been helped by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). ┬rump cut this drastically as part of his bill cutting taxes for the very richest. Nearly 5 million people are no longer covered by SNAP, including up to 1.5 million children. This in a period where food inflation has meant a 1/3 increase in prices in 7 years (i.e what cost $300 now costs $400) and while real wages have remained stagnant.

┬rump cancelled over 200 clean energy projects totalling $82.9 billion in lost investments. Over 111,000 jobs were lost as a result of this.

But, as if that was not bad enough, tax credits that were in place to encourage alternative energy use have been restricted, placing $695 billion clean energy investments at risk, threatening almost 1.2 million jobs.

Meanwhile, the oil industry has been making huge profits as the ┬rump war on Iran has driven oil prices up, and pushed up petrol, diesel and gas costs, impacting the poorest the most.

This is just a sample of one weeks news from over the pond...