Ahead of November’s Budget, a panel of Marxist political economists consider the crisis of UK plc.

In September 2025, UK public borrowing hit its highest level since the Covid pandemic. While credit rating agencies have slashed France's rating and other G7 economies face mounting debt and deindustrialisation, UK is the least resilient and most exposed to the dominance of US and global finance capital through the City of London.

The current crisis of UK plc is emerging In the context of new forms of world imperialism: Trump’s trade tariffs; a UK and European debt crisis amid escalating military expenditure; the UK/EU ‘Brexit reset summit’ and talks on a European ‘defence pact’; trade sanctions on Russia, Iran, China, India, etc.

What does Marxism tell us about the crisis of UK plc?

Chair: Alex Gordon

Speakers:

• Michael Burke, Socialist Economic Bulletin and contributor to the Alternative Defence Review
• Radhika Desai, visiting Professor LSE, Director Geopolitical Economy Research Group and Convenor of the International Manifesto Group 
• Tony Norfield, author of The City of London and the Global Power of Finance (Verso)
• Michael Roberts, political economist and former City of London financial adviser
• Khem Rogaly, researcher of military political economy and its role in climate crisis 

Michael Roberts will analyse the current phase of the world capitalist crisis and Britain’s place within it. The major economies of the world are stagnating in the 2020s. Poverty rates are rising and inequalities of income and wealth are increasing. Global warming is accelerating. And now Trump has launched a trade war against everybody to 'make America great again'. These are multiple crises for capitalism in the 21st century; But can capitalism find a way out?