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Gavin Oldham

Thought for the Week: Account Providers need to Take Action!

Gavin Oldham
Original Broadcast:

Thought for the Week

Thought for the Week: Account Providers need to Take Action!
Dame Meg Hillier is Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, which has published its 25-page report into Child Trust Funds following the recent National Audit Office analysis. HMRC is asked to follow a series of recommendations to link young adults to their unclaimed accounts, including getting account providers to take more action. Young adults from disadvantaged households are most in need of the c. £2,000 waiting to be claimed in their Child Trust but an estimated one million 18-20 year-olds are not claiming their money because they don't know anything about it. As we said on 22nd May, don't waste the Child Trust Fund harvest! Background music: The Plan's Working - Cooper Cannell Image by Richard Townshend

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Gavin Oldham

Thought for the Week: Loneliness and Mental Health

Gavin Oldham
Original Broadcast:

Thought for the Week

Thought for the Week: Loneliness and Mental Health
In mid-2022 there were 716,000 people economically inactive in the United Kingdom because of mental health and neurological conditions, including depression, nerves, anxiety and autistic spectrum disorders: an increase of 33% from 2019. 196,000 of these people were aged 16-34. Part of the explanation is the scar left behind from the pandemic. But that in itself points to a malaise which is rooted in loneliness and self-orientation. Technology is no substitute for human conversation: no amount of social media, text messaging or conversations with Alexa can replicate it. Background music: 'Digital Solitude' by Silent Partner

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Gavin Oldham

Thought for the Week: Monopolies are not the answer

Gavin Oldham
Original Broadcast:

Thought for the Week

Thought for the Week: Monopolies are not the answer
With aggregate annual licence fee income of £3.7 billion, a degree of self-interest and parochialism which permeates its coverage, and swiftly-reducing interest from young people, the BBC's 100th anniversary poses more questions than answers. Meanwhile the National Health Service, celebrating its 75th anniversary, spends over £158 billion a year in England alone: but still struggles with record waiting times and dismal GP service to patients — yet more evidence of the dysfunctionality of quango monopolies. Background music: 'The New Order' by Aaron Kenny

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Gavin Oldham

Thought for the Week: Financial Legacies

Gavin Oldham
Original Broadcast:

Thought for the Week

Thought for the Week: Financial Legacies
The shining towers and ivory walls of the City of London — many of our financial trials and tribulations can be traced back to October 1986, when the clear distinction between self-interest and acting in the interests of customers was abruptly brought to an end in the 'Big Bang'. Among those who saw it all happen was legendary market-maker Brian Winterflood MBE, who died on 29th June. His financial legacy, built over sixty years in the City, is massive. Background music: 'Communicator' by Reed Mathis

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Gavin Oldham

Thought for the Week: The Social Merits of Long-Term Ownership

Gavin Oldham
Original Broadcast:

Thought for the Week

Thought for the Week: The Social Merits of Long-Term Ownership
What is the psychological effect of individual ownership — and, notwithstanding the low starting point, how can we bring a sense of ownership right across society? Is the rate at which people discount the future impacted by their sense of ownership and thereby their sense of responsibility for the future? Background music: 'Everything Has a Beginning' by Joel Cummins

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Gavin Oldham

Thought for the Week: Russia in Crisis

Gavin Oldham
Original Broadcast:

Thought for the Week

Thought for the Week: Russia in Crisis
Last Saturday's trail of chaos exposes the challenge facing Russia, absorbed in conflict and with its people living in fear and poverty. Plans are urgently needed to find a way out of this mess. But it has to start with ending the violence in Ukraine. Could there be a role for UN peacekeepers to help while Russia looks for a new way forward? Background music: 'Russian Dance' by Joey Pecoraro

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Gavin Oldham

Thought for the Week: The Rise and Fall of Honesty

Gavin Oldham
Original Broadcast:

Thought for the Week

Thought for the Week: The Rise and Fall of Honesty
'What is Truth?', were Pilate's last words to Jesus on Good Friday. We all experience being economical with the truth, although the Privileges Committee clearly regards itself as above such a challenge. The result for Boris Johnson is a trashed reputation, alongside others who have experienced a sudden fall from grace. There should, however, be a road back from outer darkness, but not without some serious self-examination first. Background music: 'Confliction & Catharsis' - Asher Fulero Image source: https://rateyourmusic.com/

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Gavin Oldham

Thought for the Week: Understanding Entrepreneurs

Gavin Oldham
Original Broadcast:

Thought for the Week

Thought for the Week: Understanding Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurial activity is the throbbing heart of business and economic growth, but Evelyn Partners have discovered that 40% of business owners are planning to exit within the next year faced by the spectre of a massive rise in Capital Gains Tax if Labour wins next year's General Election. It's therefore critically important that the Shadow Chancellor, Rachel Reeves builds a full understanding of the dynamics of entrepreneurial endeavour and the deep level of commitment and risk shouldered by those seeking to build long-term businesses. Background music: 'The Plan's Working' by Cooper Cannell

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Gavin Oldham

Thought for the Week: Repurposing and Reforming Inheritance Tax

Gavin Oldham
Original Broadcast:

Thought for the Week

Thought for the Week: Repurposing and Reforming Inheritance Tax
Former Chancellor of the Exchequer and Children's Minister Nadhim Zahawi MP set out a strong case for abolishing inheritance tax in last Wednesday's Telegraph. It certainly needs its purpose defined and structural reform — however young people from disadvantaged backgrounds really need starter capital accounts and life skills to break the cycle of deprivation that ties them down, and hypothecation of inheritance tax receipts would transform inter-generational rebalancing. Background music: 'Everything Has a Beginning' by Joel Cummins

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Gavin Oldham

Thought for the Week: Debt, Equity and (long-term) Risk

Gavin Oldham
Original Broadcast:

Thought for the Week

Thought for the Week: Debt, Equity and (long-term) Risk
Andrew Griffith MP, Economic Secretary to HM Treasury, wants to see a greater appetite for risk to encourage investment in British business. It's good to hear such a positive approach, but let's make it quoted-equity focused; debt and private equity are not the way forward for long-term success. Background music: 'The Nexus Riddim' by Konrad OldMoney

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