Will Dunn

A satirical examination of British government spending argues that public bodies routinely outsource work they should be able to perform themselves, particularly to consultants, advertisers and branding agencies. Examples include Birmingham and Nottingham councils, Social Care Wales, Sport England, the Competition and Markets Authority and the Post Office, alongside costly contracts for school cleaning and transport. The piece links this waste to weak management, privatisation and limited internal capacity, and suggests that voters may eventually become less willing to tolerate expensive failures and symbolic projects while essential public services remain underfunded.

Gabriel Zucman argues that extreme wealth threatens democratic functioning and advocates a 2 per cent annual tax on fortunes above €100m to address inequality and restore legal fairness in taxation. Drawing on research showing minimal tax-flight effects and highlighting growing global concentration of wealth, he warns of a tipping point toward plutocratic governance, citing developments in the United States as evidence. He contends that such a tax would not hinder entrepreneurship or market growth and proposes international cooperation to prevent avoidance. Despite public support, similar proposals have faced legislative pushback, which he attributes to billionaire influence over media. He frames extreme wealth as corrosive to social contracts, likening its effects to a “resource curse” that undermines democratic stability.

The text argues that Nigel Farage’s Clacton by-election is a tactical stunt to delay scrutiny over an undeclared £5m gift under investigation by the National Crime Agency and the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards. With major parties refusing to participate, the piece advocates for Count Binface as the ideal candidate representing public discontent and upholding a long tradition of political satire. It contends that such ‘fool’ candidates play a necessary democratic role by exposing the pretensions of powerful figures and preventing politics from descending into unchecked absurdity, encouraging Binface to run and offer voters a symbolic alternative.