Robert Peston and Steph McGovern bring you insightful business and finance stories. Join Robert Peston and Steph McGovern as they delve into the key challenges and opportunities facing today’s business world. From the complexities of tech investments to the impact of political decisions on global markets, this podcast offers valuable perspectives on current financial topics. Whether discussing business funding, economic policies, or corporate strategies, they provide listeners with the tools to understand today’s fast-evolving market. Each episode brings expert analysis on important issues, including market regulations, economic recovery, and the forces shaping the future of work. Robert and Steph bring you the latest insights from influential leaders and top entrepreneurs, making this podcast a must-listen for anyone interested in business growth, financial trends, and the evolving economic landscape. For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com.
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. Plus some spicy chat on Multiverse’s Ofsted rating and why Euan’s dad was wrong to push for 50% of young people into university when he was PM.
The Rest is Money is brought to you by Octopus Energy, Britain’s smart energy pioneer.
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, chief market strategist for JP Morgan in EMEA.
The Rest is Money is brought to you by Octopus Energy, Britain’s smart energy pioneer.
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 business in Cornwall to look at how they’re solving their skills problem. Also, Robert and Steph unpick the crisis in British education and come up with bold solutions.
The Rest is Money is brought to you by Octopus Energy, Britain’s smart energy pioneer.
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 Goldman Sachs chief economist who coined the influential BRIC concept 25 years ago. He has recently launched a new strategy platform and think tank, BRICS+ Thinking, designed to encourage pragmatic entente and policy cooperation with these fast-growing, powerful economies. As an influential crossbench peer who also has the ear of Andy Burnham, his views matter.
The Rest is Money is brought to you by Octopus Energy, Britain’s smart energy pioneer.
Are we in an AI bubble? Does it matter that Chinese AI firms are banned from using American chips? How big is the chance of an AI crash? Can an AI business survive without energy generation capabilities?
Azeem Azhar – the founder of the leading research platform Exponential View – joins us to tell us about his report on the state of the AI economy. Plus, Robert and Steph find out what Azeem learnt about AI from a visit to a Chinese night club with the Moonshot gang.
The Rest is Money is brought to you by Octopus Energy, Britain’s smart energy pioneer.
What parts of AI does the UK have to control to secure ourselves against enemies? Does Burnham understand how important AI is for growth and security? Are entrepreneurs less welcome in the UK now? Why should the government support a ‘freedom to fail’ funding and business culture?
Matt Clifford wrote Starmer’s AI action plan. He is a tech investor and co-founder of the billion dollar business Entrepreneurs First. He talks to Robert and Steph about UK AI policy and chairing the organisation ARIA that hands out government funding for fundamental tech research. Plus find out what re-freezing the arctic has to do with all this.
The Rest is Money is brought to you by Octopus Energy, Britain’s smart energy pioneer.
How has Donald Trump got away with bringing in new tariffs when the last lot were ruled unlawful? Why is the UK in a worse position than the EU now? Are trade wars always bad? Had anyone ever won one without harming themselves? Are we ever going to get back to free trade?
Robert and Steph are joined by economist and FT columnist Soumaya Keynes, self-confessed trade nerd and author of ‘How to win a trade war’ to evaluate the damage from Trump’s new wave of tariffs on 60 countries.
The Rest is Money is brought to you by Octopus Energy, Britain’s smart energy pioneer.
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John Healey is the Chancellor to increase defence spending to 3% of GDP, but how will he pay for it? Would war bonds do the trick? Is a cut in electricity VAT and a rise in income tax thresholds helping the right people? What will it take to build enough council houses?
With the surprise appointment of former defence secretary John Healey as Burnham's new Chancellor, we look at whether he can revive the UK. Plus Robert and Steph wonder whether the hidden hand of Gordon Brown is behind Healey's appointment.
The Rest is Money is brought to you by Octopus Energy, Britain’s smart energy pioneer.
What should the government be doing to get us AI ready? How do we make sure people co-exist with AI and aren't just replaced by it? What role should trade unions have? What are 'tech towns' and how important are they in the AI race?
Nobel prize winning economist Simon Johnson is back to tell us about his role as the chair of the government’s AI Institute which will use workplace data shared by over thirty major corporations to track, in real-time, how AI adoption is shifting job availability, wage growth, and macroeconomic productivity across the UK.
The Rest is Money is brought to you by Octopus Energy, Britain’s smart energy pioneer.
What impact would a 2% wealth tax on people with £10 million have? If you tax the rich more will it bring down the cost of living for everyone else? How will this help the shortfall of affordable homes? What about the North South divide? Will it reduce the one million NEETs the country has? Will it grow the economy?
Inequality economist Gary Stevenson is back to tell us why taxing millionaires is the way to make things fairer. Robert and Steph have a lively debate about whether wealth taxes are enough.
The Rest is Money is brought to you by Octopus Energy, Britain’s smart energy pioneer.
If fiscal devolution is central to Burnham’s plans, how do we make sure the money is not wasted by mayors and councils? How can Burnham avoid market mayhem if he invests significantly more? Would it be crazy to break up the Treasury? Why is scrapping the pensions triple lock essential?
Former U.K. Treasury Minister and ex Goldman Sachs chair Jim O’Neill has been advising Andy Burnham on the hard choices he’ll have to make as PM. Steph and Robert talk to him about Manchesterism and the need to slaughter four sacred cows .
The Rest is Money is brought to you by Octopus Energy, Britain’s smart energy pioneer.
Is it fair that city traders can make loads of money betting on the economy’s demise? Are people with working class backgrounds better at trading? How do you go from making millions on a trade floor to becoming obsessed with wealth inequality?
In the first of our two-part series, we sit down with economist Gary Stevenson. He tells us how he made millions by betting on our economic decline, and why he transitioned from a high-stakes trader to a man on a mission to tax millionaires more-a journey explored in his new Channel 4 documentary, How to Get Filthy Rich."
The Rest is Money is brought to you by Octopus Energy, Britain’s smart energy pioneer.
Why are some countries richer than others, even though money, people and ideas can flow freely round the world? Why is it so hard for a country to turn things around and become rich? Are illiberal leaders like Trump good for their economy? What role do sovereign wealth funds play?
Nobel prize winning economist Simon Johnson gives us his theory on the damage extractive institutions do to wealth disparity. As a leading professor at MIT and former chief economist at the IMF, Robert and Steph quiz him on how the history of colonisation has shaped world economics and what can be done about it.
The Rest is Money is brought to you by Octopus Energy, Britain’s smart energy pioneer.
How do we unlock trillions of pounds of long term capital and keep it in the UK? What can we learn from a brewery in Newcastle and the Vimto factory in Manchester? Why don’t more people invest in start-ups and scale-ups? Is it all about tax incentives?
Nigel Wilson is the former CEO of the financial giant Legal and General who has funnelled billions of pounds of pension and insurance money into regional regeneration projects. He tells us why it’s not a charity case, but a huge investment opportunity that could grow the whole UK economy. And why he thinks Burnham is the only politician who gets regional economics.
The Rest is Money is brought to you by Octopus Energy, Britain’s smart energy pioneer.
How much can Burnham re-engineer the fiscal rules? Should he stick to a manifesto that has already been trampled over? Who should he choose to be chancellor? Will the markets approve?
The former director of the IFS is back to tell us about the constraints and opportunities the new prime minister will have to get the economy growing and improve living standards. Listen to Robert and Steph’s interview with Paul Johnson.
The Rest is Money is brought to you by Octopus Energy, Britain’s smart energy pioneer.
Why are each of us £15,000 a year worse off than we should be? What can we learn from the US about housing? Can ‘Manchesterism’ work across the UK? How much is the triple lock state pension holding back young people?
Paul Johnson, former director of the IFS, is back to tell us about his new research on The Prosperity Gap and what it means for the new Prime Minister. Plus why Count Binface should be considered for housing minister.
The Rest is Money is brought to you by Octopus Energy, Britain’s smart energy pioneer.
Can Andy Burnham’s civil service employ fewer but more productive officials? Is it fair to blame Brexit and Covid for the rising headcount? Is the government buying British the best growth policy? How the government can save £30bn a year by being more efficient.
Tech boss Stephen Kelly - former CEO of Sage Group - tells us about working with David Cameron’s government to make £50bn in public sector efficiency savings. Plus find out why he thinks he was sent to the wrong building for a government meeting. Listen to Robert and Steph’s interview.
The Rest is Money is brought to you by Octopus Energy, Britain’s smart energy pioneer.
Should political leaders show us their tax returns in detail? Are the financial questions concerning Farage about tax or something else? Which politicians were careless and which were more culpable?
Robert and Steph chat with Dan Neidle who reveals his investigations into the financial affairs of several high-profile politicians.
The Rest is Money is brought to you by Octopus Energy, Britain’s smart energy pioneer.
Will all the rich people leave if we slap a wealth tax on them? How have plans for a 5% billionaire tax in California gone down? Is tax the best way to redistribute wealth more fairly?
Former tax lawyer Dan Neidle is back to tell us why he thinks the theories of influential economists Gabriel Zucman and Thomas Piketty are all pie in the sky. So what would he do instead? Listen to Robert and Steph’s interview with him to find out.
The Rest is Money is brought to you by Octopus Energy, Britain’s smart energy pioneer.
Why is cutting VAT for specific sectors a bad idea? Should there be a flat rate on everything, including the things currently exempt? Why does cutting business rates only benefit landlords? Are we keeping too many inefficient businesses going?
Dan Neidle from Tax Policy Associates is back to explain why he thinks no one deserves special treatment when it comes to VAT and business rates. Plus why Burnham’s plan to rescue pubs won’t work.
The Rest is Money is brought to you by Octopus Energy, Britain’s smart energy pioneer.
Why did Nick Clegg quit Meta, and what does he really think about Silicon Valley? Why are tech bosses so greedy? And how can Europe catch up in the AI race?
Robert sits down with Nick Clegg (former UK Deputy Prime Minister and Meta's ex-President of Global Affairs) to discuss how the UK can once again become a tech and economic powerhouse.
The Rest is Money is brought to you by Octopus Energy, Britain’s smart energy pioneer.
Should it be about the pre-distribution, rather than re-distribution, of wealth? Will that create an economy with fewer billionaires? How would it work in practice? Is it even possible given the balance of power lies with the rich?
Leading economist Professor Mariana Mazzucato is back to tell us why her theory on ‘The Common Good’ is a game changer for Western economies. Plus does she think Gabriel Zucman’s wealth tax on billionaires is a good idea? Robert and Steph find out.
The Rest is Money is brought to you by Octopus Energy, Britain’s smart energy pioneer.
Is the UK stuck in a debt and tax doom loop, and how do we get out? How do we cut welfare spending? How important is it to give regional mayors more agency over tax and spending? And what can we learn from Mississippi?
Robert and Steph talk to former Chancellor Jeremy Hunt about his take on the economy now he's not running the Treasury, as detailed in his new book 'Can we be rich again?'. Plus for the first time Steph admits it's not all about Middlesbrough.
The Rest is Money is brought to you by Octopus Energy, Britain’s smart energy pioneer.
Are the government plans to help low income households hitting the right spot? Is there too much focus on symptoms and not causes? Could fiscal devolution happen too quickly? Why does the IMF often give the UK a rough ride on forecasts?
Paul Johnson - former director of the IFS - is back to give us his take on the economic reforms being discussed across the political sphere. Plus Robert puts him under pressure to tell us which government has been the worst economically. Will he answer? Listen to Robert and Steph’s chat with him to find out.
The Rest is Money is brought to you by Octopus Energy, Britain’s smart energy pioneer.
How many billionaires are there in the world? How much has their wealth grown by? Why do lots of billionaires pay almost no income tax? How much of a problem are tax havens? Would a 2% global wealth tax (on people with over $100million) work in practice?
Robert and Steph talk to prominent economist Gabriel Zucman about his decades long research on wealth inequality and discuss the pros and cons of wealth taxation policies.
The Rest is Money is brought to you by Octopus Energy, Britain’s smart energy pioneer.
Would a voluntary agreement between supermarket bosses and the Chancellor to cap the prices of food basics help those struggling on low incomes? Is the biggest threat to the UK now higher inflation or higher unemployment? And could Andy Burnham, as Prime Minister, take control of water and energy without destroying the public finances?
Steph and Robert discuss Rachel Reeves’ plans to protect living standards from Trump’s Iran war shock, and try to work out what Andy Burnham means when he says his “Manchesterism” is the end of neoliberalism.
The Rest is Money is brought to you by Octopus Energy, Britain’s smart energy pioneer.
Is the government doing enough to prioritise British SMEs in its defence spending plans? Should price always come first or should more expensive British made goods be the priority? Or are we in danger of propping up zombie business? And with rising energy and employment costs, how hard is it to be a UK manufacturer now?
With the government aiming to increase UK SME defence spending by fifty percent, Steph talks to a manufacturer desperate to win back the MoD contracts it lost in the 1980s. Ben Fogle and James Sleater tell us their ambitions plans for Buffalo Systems.
The Rest is Money is brought to you by Octopus Energy, Britain’s smart energy pioneer.
Has Labour got what it takes to deliver growth? Is a change in leadership going to help? How might Rayner, Burnham or Streeting fair against the bond markets? Could a plan to shift the tax burden away from working people and on to assets be the answer?
As the chaos in Westminster continues, and government borrowing costs reach a 28 year high, Robert and Steph discuss what it will take to get the stability we need, and more importantly the growth.
The Rest is Money is brought to you by Octopus Energy, Britain’s smart energy pioneer.
Why is the UK’s energy pricing system so broken? Why must the transition to green energy be accelerated? And how can we make clean, renewable power the most affordable option for those on low incomes?
Robert joins Emma Pinchbeck, CEO of the Climate Change Committee, to discuss the misunderstood parts of our energy system and what the UK’s shift to renewables actually looks like.
The Rest is Money is brought to you by Octopus Energy, Britain’s smart energy pioneer.
Could the government’s creditors protect Starmer and Reeves, even if Labour is humiliated in the elections? How high are UK interest rates going to rise because of Trump’s Iran war? Has monetary policy stopped working? Could AI actually lead to the creation of millions of new jobs? And is coal consumption in the 19th Century a good way to predict this?
Steph and Robert dissect the Bank of England’s latest assessment of the UK economy. Plus Robert takes us back in time to explain why Jevons Paradox on coal consumption could be relevant to the AI revolution we’re in now.
The Rest is Money is brought to you by Octopus Energy, Britain’s smart energy pioneer.
