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The Culture Transplant - is diversity really our strength?
In this episode of SDPtalk, William Clouston is joined by Garett Jones, professor of economics at George Mason University and author of three books known as the Singapore Trilogy.
In his latest book The Culture Transplant, Garett demonstrates that immigrants retain the socio-economic norms of their mother country across multiple generations. He claims that full assimilation within a generation or two is therefore impossible. Instead, the cultural attitudes of the immigrants shape the institutions and influence the economic productivity of their new country.
Garett and William discuss the implications of this for migration policy, particularly in the most innovative Western nations. They agree that moderate levels of migration bring many benefits, but mass migration from poor to rich countries could ultimately “wound the goose that lays the golden eggs of global innovation and worldwide prosperity.”
Learn more about the SDP at: https://sdp.org.uk/
The opening and closing music for SDP Talks is "Prelude in C (BWV 846)" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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Elections across the world are increasingly being won by parties described as ‘populist’, but what does the term actually mean?
According to our national broadcaster, it means “far right-wing, neo-fascist, xenophobic, racist, anti-Islamist…(the list goes on)”. But they would say that, wouldn’t they?
Parties described as ‘populist’ may be economically left-leaning, right leaning or centrist - some are Social Democrats - but they are unified in representing the values and aspirations of an electorate let down by the establishment parties and institutions.
A vote for any ‘populist’ party is a vote for patriotism, nation state, secure borders, family, faith and community – a sense of rootedness and identity.
It is a vote against excessive individualism, globalisation, unchecked free-market capitalism, open labour markets and supra-national organisations.
Populism is a revolution against social and economic neoliberalism, an ideology which has grotesquely overreached and is now – thankfully! - destroying itself thanks to its inherent contradictions.
Rod Liddle and William Clouston discuss the roots of neoliberalism, its impacts on our society, and its current demise.
Good riddance, says Rod:https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/good-riddance-to-neoliberalism/
Learn more about the SDP at: https://sdp.org.uk/
Promoted by R. Malyn on behalf of the Social Democratic Party at 272 Bath Street, Glasgow G2 4JR
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What the Left gets wrong about ethnic minorities
In this episode of SDPtalk, William Clouston is joined by writer and research analyst Rakib Ehsan, who specialises in matters of social cohesion, race relations and public security.
In his new book Beyond Grievance: what the Left gets wrong about ethnic minorities, Rakib highlights the growing tensions between the liberal-Left cosmopolitanism of the mainstream political parties and the patriotic faith-based conservatism in many of Britain’s ethnic-minority communities. He argues that Britain needs a robust civic patriotism which understands that a stable family unit is the best form of social security.
The SDP rejects the current obsession with grievance and identity which divides our society into hostile and opposing camps. We favour strengthening the common bonds which unite us and, in so doing, reinforcing communitarian impulses in public life. Our policies seek to defend and support traditional family life, particularly in welfare and economic policy, education and housing.
Rakib and William discuss the impacts of tribal identity politics on social cohesion, and identify the steps that need to be taken to create a more unified and tolerant society.
Learn more about the SDP at: https://sdp.org.uk/
Promoted by R. Malyn on behalf of the Social Democratic Party, 272 Bath Street, Glasgow G2 4JR
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In this episode, Michael Taylor and William Clouston discuss how the SDP would tackle the UK’s housing crisis.
The shortage of affordable homes is the largest domestic problem facing the UK. It entrenches immobility between generations and between regions, stifles everyone’s potential and cuts the productivity of the entire country.
The SDP have a suite of policies to tackle the shortage by reinvigorating state housebuilding and removing market distortions which prevent housing supply meeting demand.
But with a rapidly changing population, how should house-building targets be calculated?
Link to SDP housing policy: https://sdp.org.uk/policies/housing/
Learn more about the SDP at: https://sdp.org.uk/
Promoted and Published by R Malyn, Social Democratic Party, 272 Bath Street, Glasgow, G2 4JR
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Keynote address delivered by Party Leader William Clouston at the SDP Conference on 14th October 2023 in London.
The full transcript of the speech can be found here:https://sdp.org.uk/sdptalk/william-cloustons-speech-at-the-sdp-conference-church-house-westminster-saturday-14th-october-2023/
Learn more about the SDP at: https://sdp.org.uk/
The opening and closing music for SDP Talks is "Prelude in C (BWV 846)" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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William Clouston, Liam Halligan, Kristian Niemietz and Charlotte Gill discuss "The UK housing crisis - causes and solutions" in a debate organised by the SDP and held in London on 19th September.
Learn more about the SDP at: https://sdp.org.uk/
The opening and closing music for SDP Talks is "Prelude in C (BWV 846)" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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In this episode of SDPtalk, William Clouston is joined by photographer, artist and author Laura Dodsworth.
We are constantly bombarded with attempts to influence our behaviour, our speech and even our thoughts. Some are overt and transparent, such as advertisements which seek to persuade you to buy their product instead of a competitor’s. Others are more insidious, such as the ‘nudge’ tactics and fear propaganda deployed by the Behavioural Insights Team during the Covid pandemic.
In their bestselling book Free Your Mind, Laura and her co-author Patrick Fagan discuss how to spot and resist the increasing manipulation present in our everyday lives.
Why are some attempts at political or social manipulation more successful than others? Can such tactics ever be justified? And what are the implications for freedom of thought and for democracy?
Laura is also a guest speaker at the SDP Conference in October 2023.
Learn more about the SDP at: https://sdp.org.uk/
The opening and closing music for SDP Talks is "Prelude in C (BWV 846)" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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In this episode, Michael Taylor and William Clouston discuss the Chinese economy.
After decades of spectacularly rapid growth to become the world’s second largest economy, China now seems to be faltering.
Local government debt has risen sharply due to over-investment in infrastructure, while income from land sales and land taxes has plummeted. Large corporations are defaulting on repayments to investors. Youth unemployment is at a record high. China’s workforce and consumer base is shrinking, while the cohort of retirees continues to grow.
This is sure to cause an extended period of low growth, but is the situation more serious than that? And what are the likely political ramifications?
William and Michael discuss whether China’s current problems could develop into a crisis and consider the potential impacts on the global economy.
Learn more about the SDP at: https://sdp.org.uk/
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In this episode, Michael Taylor and William Clouston discuss whether our leaders are acting in citizens’ interests.
Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address concluded with the resolve that “government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” This should be the crucial test of any government’s actions but is clearly a far cry from what we have in the UK today.
Successive governments have sold off our assets and allowed critical infrastructure to fall into foreign hands. Institutions have been captured by fashionably ideology, distracting them from their core purpose. Economically damaging policies are pushed through without debate to bolster politicians’ egos and make the country ‘look good on the world stage’.
William and Michael discuss how we have come so far from this basic principle of good governance – and what can be done about it.
Learn more about the SDP at: https://sdp.org.uk/
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In this episode, Michael Taylor and William Clouston discuss the Conservative Party’s proposals to abolish inheritance tax.
Inheritance tax is paid at 40% on assets over £325,000. The tax-free threshold is inherited by a surviving spouse and rises to £500,000 if the beneficiary is a child or grandchild, meaning that no tax is paid on the first £1m inherited by direct descendants of a married couple.
Over £7 billion per year is raised through inheritance tax, which is spent on public services.
The Conservative Party are said to be considering abolishing inheritance tax entirely as part of their next general election manifesto. Is it reasonable for parents to expect to build up wealth and pass it on tax-free, or would this simply entrench existing inequalities?
William and Michael explore the practical and ethical problems with this proposal.
Learn more about the SDP at: https://sdp.org.uk/
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In this episode, Michael Taylor and William Clouston discuss the Conservative Party’s sudden change of direction on the environment.
The Prime Minister’s proposal to grant over one hundred new oil and gas licences for the North Sea is sensible for economic and environmental reasons.
But has it been thought through, or is it simply a knee-jerk reaction to public concern over the economic impacts of net zero targets, as expressed in the recent by-elections?
William and Michael discuss the challenges that would confront new drilling proposals due to ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) regulations and consider whether nationalisation could be the solution.
Learn more about the SDP at: https://sdp.org.uk/
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In this episode of SDPtalk, William Clouston is joined by philosopher Kathleen Stock, the prominent gender critical feminist and author of ‘Material Girls: Why Reality Matters for Feminism’.
The view that gender identity is distinct from biological sex, and that it should have greater recognition and legal protection than biological sex, is increasingly accepted in our institutions. Our language and laws are being altered to fit this new ideology.
Challenging these assertions tends to provoke a serious backlash, yet most people instinctively know that biological sex is real and crucially important in contexts such as healthcare, sports and women-only spaces.
Kathleen and William explore the philosophical ideas behind gender identity theory and discuss the social, political and legal impacts of denying biological reality.
Learn more about the SDP at: https://sdp.org.uk/
The opening and closing music for SDP Talks is "Prelude in C (BWV 846)" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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In this episode, Michael Taylor and William Clouston discuss UK public debt.
At the end of May, public sector net debt exceeded 100% of GDP for the first time since 1961.
A staggering 40% of this debt is due to the short-term funding of Covid borrowing, which Michael calls ‘the most expensive blunder in the history of British government finance’.
William and Michael discuss whether our increasing debt-to-GDP ratio should be cause for concern or whether global economic growth will enable us to avoid financial ‘doom loops’.
Links to Michael’s articles on the short-term funding of Covid debt:
https://sdp.org.uk/sdptalk/how-to-pay-for-covid-19/
https://mjtcoldwater.substack.com/p/the-worst-blunder-in-uk-financial
Learn more about the SDP at: https://sdp.org.uk/
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In this episode, Michael Taylor and William Clouston discuss the causes and impacts of the UK’s epidemic of family breakdown.
The IFS Deaton Review of Inequalities states that parental separation is more frequent in poorer households and can further entrench existing inequalities through adverse effects on parents and children. The proportion of British children who have experienced family breakdown by age 16-17 grew from 9% of those born in 1958 to 43% of those born in 2002.
The SDP’s New Declaration asserts that a stable and secure family life is the foundation of society and critical to raising responsible citizens. The defence and support of family life lies at the heart of all SDP policies, particularly on industry, economics, welfare and housing.
William and Michael discuss the relative importance of economic and cultural factors in driving increasing levels of family breakdown, and argue that the problem can only really be addressed through a nation-building approach.
LinksSDP New Declarationhttps://sdp.org.uk/new-declaration/SDP Policies on Familyhttps://sdp.org.uk/policies/family/Institute of Fiscal Studies Deaton Review of Inequalities: Families and Inequalities https://ifs.org.uk/inequality/families-and-inequalities/
Learn more about the SDP at: https://sdp.org.uk/
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In this episode, Michael Taylor and William Clouston discuss the increasing integration of digital technology into our lives.
Digital technology offers many benefits, such as instant communication and access to information and entertainment. While some are concerned about implications for privacy, many people seem prepared to ‘pay with their data’ for the convenience it offers.
But how convenient is it?
William and Michael argue that the enforced use of digital technology for everyday activities – paying for parking, travelling by train, even getting a drink of water – is often inefficient, over-complex, fragile and dehumanising.
Learn more about the SDP at: https://sdp.org.uk/
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In our latest SDP Talks, Toby Green discusses The COVID Consensus with SDP Leader William Clouston in front of an audience of SDP members in London.
Toby Green is a British historian who is a Professor of Precolonial and Lusophone African History and Culture at King’s College London.
He is the author, along with Thomas Fazi, of ‘The Covid Consensus: The Global Assault on Democracy and the Poor―A Critique from the Left’, which explores how the Covid-19 response had devastating social and economic consequences worldwide, disproportionally impacting the poorest in society.
Learn more about the SDP at: https://sdp.org.uk/
The opening and closing music for SDP Talks is "Prelude in C (BWV 846)" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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In this episode, Michael Taylor and William Clouston discuss the Bank of England’s recent decision to increase interest rates to 5% in an attempt to tackle inflation.
As the UK’s current inflation is driven by supply issues, raising interest rates to crush demand will not resolve the situation. The immediate impact on mortgage holders will cause wider economic damage as well as hardship and stress for families.
However, over a decade of extremely low interest rates have distorted markets, created asset bubbles and deterred debt redemption.
William and Michael explore the pros and cons of higher interest rates and ask whether catastrophic economic forecasts are justified.
Learn more about the SDP at: https://sdp.org.uk/
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In this episode, Michael Taylor and William Clouston discuss the state of the UK’s main political parties.
The Labour Party’s right and left factions take turns to purge their ideological adversaries, while Conservative Party infighting has led to another spate of resignations.
The main parties are now just incoherent coalitions. Career politicians are interested in gaining power, but have no ideas for how to use it to make the country better.
William and Michael explore the reasons for this and finish on a positive note: the recent political upheaval will bring at least three by-elections, and the SDP will offer the public a decent choice at the ballot box.
Learn more about the SDP at: https://sdp.org.uk/
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In this episode, Michael Taylor and William Clouston discuss the recent proposal to trial UBI in England.
Thirty residents of Jarrow in South Tyneside and East Finchley in London will be given £1,600 a month for two years and monitored to see how it affects their wellbeing.
Advocates believe that UBI can provide economic security to everyone, simplifying the welfare system and relieving worries about the cost of living.
William and Michael argue that paying people to do nothing will reduce the incentive to work and cause inflation, making everyone poorer. Worse, it infantilises people and diverts attention from tackling the true causes of poverty – family breakdown and de-industrialisation.
They agree that poverty can only be solved through strong, coherent policies on industry, education, housing, tax and welfare that put the family at the heart of national life.
Learn more about the SDP at: https://sdp.org.uk/
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In this episode, Michael Taylor and William Clouston discuss the global fight to tackle climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Data from the Global Monitoring Laboratory shows that this approach is not working and gives no reason to expect that it will work.
William and Michael agree that reducing reliance on fossil fuels is important and that domestic nuclear energy is crucial to a reliable and environmentally conscious energy mix.
However, they argue against extreme measures proposed by activists that would make the country poorer and consequently less well equipped to adapt to inevitable change.
Michael cautions against despair – humanity has always found solutions.
Link to Michael's article: https://mjtcoldwater.substack.com/p/how-well-its-going/
Learn more about the SDP at: https://sdp.org.uk/
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