The Times They Are A-Changin’: Fifty Years of Hurt 

“Jules Rimet still gleaming
No more years of hurt”  

For those expecting an article on football, today’s title is somewhat misleading. 

However, big-up’s to England, reaching the last-4 is an achievement. Moreover, Argentina are beatable. They might have Messi but he’s yesterdays story, this World Cup has seen the baton passed to the next generation; Haaland, Mbappe, Olise, our own Jude Bellingham. 

If we progress, can we beat Spain or France? Why not, in one-off games anything can happen. 

France have been the most enjoyable team to watch, a modern version of the Brazil teams of 1970 and 1982, or Holland in 1974. 

The Norway game was interesting, in so much as it was the first time they have progressed so far, and for large parts of the game they were the better team. Quite an achievement for a nation of 5.8m and a domestic league that can’t be compared to our own.   

Norway has, however, become a metaphor for success, a successful blend of capitalist social democracy, that makes the most of their abilities and resources. 

They are a functioning social democracy, proving that free market capitalism can mix with social welfare,  strong ethical values, social stability, and a sense of equality. Their people are comfortable with the politics, the way the economy is managed, and the expectation they all share in its success.  

Norway is everything the UK no longer is. 

It’s no secret that this is built of their oil-wealth. Rather than squandering the money, they built a sovereign wealth fund in excess of $2trn, whose returns fund their government.  

We had the same opportunity, but, rather than creating a sovereign wealth fund, the revenues were  used the money to pay for tax cuts, reduce national debt, and cover the social costs of shifting from heavy industry to a service-based economy. 

‘free market capitalism can mix with social welfare,  strong ethical values, social stability, and a sense of equality’

The revenues weren’t inconsiderable, reaching a high of £12bn in 1984-85, and in 2008-09, with oil prices soaring, revenues reached an all-time cash high of £12.4bn. 

Unlike Thatcher’s free-market obsessed UK, Norway’s oil companies remined state-owned. As  result, we had to rely solely on tax revenues, meaning that we generated much less revenue per barrel. 

Oil aside, Norway owns and runs its infrastructure and resources, which, amongst other benefits, means nothing is paid to overseas predators who own our national assets. 

If there is a metaphor for the inefficiency and inequality driven by free-markets it is our water industry. 

Privatisation created legalised monopolies operating for the benefit of their rentier owners and management at the expense of customers. 

Like many, we will shortly have a hosepipe ban, which, unless the weather changes, will see the hours of efforts and considerable amounts of money destroyed due the dilatory actions of the providers owners and management. 

‘Privatisation created legalised monopolies operating for the benefit of their rentier owners and management at the expense of customers’

Last winter was exceptionally wet. The SE and South recorded its fourth wettest winter on record. Provisional Met Office statistics show regional rainfall across England was 35% to 42% above the long-term meteorological average.  

The season was characterized by BBC Weather as being defined by relentless, steady wet weather rather than single record-breaking storms, driven by prevailing south-westerly winds, resulting in high soil moisture and groundwater levels.  

Yet, here we are in mid-July and it’s all gone! If their management was measured on service to customers rather than profits they would all be looking for new jobs rather than enjoying 7-figure remuneration. 

Whilst Norwegians expect to share in their country’s success, we in the UK, and those in the US play second-fiddle to the interest of the few, whose mushrooming wealth allows them to buy increasing influence, usually by funding right-wing parties. 

Analysis by Friends of the Earth using Electoral Commission data, shows that Reform relies on a handful of wealthy backers for its funding. 

Looking at registered donations between April 2025 and March 2026, the findings suggest Reform would have raised £4.1m instead of the £26.7m it actually received, if the proposed £100,000 annual donation limit applied.  

Reform’s average donation was £137,496, C.6x than labor’s £23,406 or the Conservatives’ and 30x higher than the LibDems. 

“After electricity or water or whatever, crypto is just the next one. It’s just money being privatised.” 

Under the proposed cap, labor would have retained C.75% of its registered donations, the Tories just over 50% and  the LibDems C.90%. 

The analysis also found Reform received £20.4m from donors each contributing £1m+, compared with £3.1m for the Conservatives and £2.6m for labor. 

Some of the largest donations come for the crypto community, with both Ben Delo, the co-founder of BitMex, a crypto exchange and derivatives trading platform and Christopher Harborne owner of Tether to the fore. 

Oliver Bullough, the London-based writer and journalist wrote, Tether is “the most profitable company per-employee that there has ever been”, and increasingly amounting to “a private central bank. “After electricity or water or whatever, crypto is just the next one. It’s just money being privatised.” 

It isn’t just Reform that is benefitting, Elon Musk’s Foundation paying for Tommy Robinson to visit Putin’s Russia. Worse still, they paid for a return trip! 

All of this has one aim; the maintenance of the existing status quo. Small government, little regulation, little worker’s rights and low taxes; a panacea for rentiers to benefit at everyone else’s expense. 

Ronald Regan summed up their worldview: 

“The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government and I’m here to help.” 

“Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.” 

‘at the end of 2016, 90% of Americans were poorer than they were in 2007 by between 17-35%’

The banks, in 2008, proved this wrong. Like others they loved the small state and light regulation, then, when they unconstrained excesses threatened them with bankruptcy, they desperately needed government. 

Unfortunately, “Main St rescued Wall St.” 

Data shows that it took until 2017 for the U-6, the US broad unemployment rate, to return to pre-GFC levels.  

A study by the Fed in 2018 that showed at the end of 2016, 90% of Americans were poorer than they were in 2007 by between 17-35%.  

A suitable conclusion is the 2026 “World Happiness Report”. Norway are in the top-6, the US 23rd and UK 29th.  

Source: https://www.worldhappiness.report/ 

“Now is the time, let everyone see
You never give up, that’s how it should be”  

Today, we take the World Cup as our starting point.

Not just England reaching the last-4, but little Norway showing what can be achieved.

Unfortunately, Fifa has managed to make a mockery of its own competition.

They continually pick controversial locations, one’s with dubius human rights records, etc.

Before the tournament they twisted their own rules to ensure Ronaldo played. Whilst advertisers and the host government clearly wanted him there, his presence was an unwelcome distraction for a team he held back. All viewers got was a reminder that age overtakes everyone.

Then we had the unseemly incident with the host president intervening to ensure a suspended player was eligible.

It’s just another reminder of inequality and how everything is managed to benefit the few.

Norway is everything we should aspire to be.

Lyrically, we start with “Three Lions on our Shirts”. The years of hurt I refer to are years since 1979 and the failed neoliberal experiment that has ended in inequality and division. We end with “World in Motion” by New Order, which was a ray of hope in 1990 and still should be.

Enjoy! Philip

@coldwarsteve

Philip Gilbert is a city-based corporate financier, and former investment banker.

Philip is a great believer in meritocracy, and in the belief that if you want something enough you can make it happen. These beliefs were formed in his formative years, of the late 1970s and 80s

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