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#10yearsafter the crash: anniversary today

Our sister organisation, the

Tax Justice Network , has blogged recently about the series of events marking the tenth anniversary of the financial crash which will focus on what we’ve learnt (and not learnt) and how we can reform our economies. We share below a press release from Promoting Economic Pluralism which is coordinating a programme of events in which Tax Justice UK and the Tax Justice Network are participating. Before that though, we’d like to share with you two of our events on September 14th 2017. If you’re in or able to get to London, please register to reserve your place or buy your tickets quickly. If you’re elsewhere in the UK or overseas, we’re working on recording the discussion panels and making them available to you online.
EVENT: PANEL DISCUSSION, 17:30 – 19:00, 14 SEPTEMBER 2017, RSA, LONDON

How can we avoid another crisis?

A panel discussion with Daniel Mügge, Richard Murphy, Daniela Gabor and Nick Shaxson, moderated by Juliette Garside

We will hear from this expert panel about how another global financial crisis can be avoided, ten years after the first. Rather than focusing narrowly on the financial sector, this discussion will look at the role of the wider financial system, considering a range of factors including debt levels, the need for redistribution, and a ‘race to the bottom’ on tax and regulation.

This event is FREE, but REGISTER HERE to be sure to get a place.

EVENT: SCREENING AND Q&A, 19:45 – 22:30, 14 SEPTEMBER 2017, RSA, LONDON

The Spider’s Web: Britain’s Second Empire

Followed by a panel discussion with John McDonnell MP, Michael Oswald (Director), Nick Shaxson and Will Snell, moderated by Juliette Garside

The Spider’s Web: Britain’s Second Empire is a new documentary film that shows how Britain transformed from a imperial power to a global financial power. With contributions from leading experts, academics, former insiders and campaigners for social justice, The Spider’s Web reveals how, in the world of international finance, corruption and secrecy have prevailed over regulation and transparency, and how the United Kingdom is at the heart of this system.

This event costs £15 per head and places are likely to sell out fast: BOOK HERE now.


These two events are part of 10 years after the crash, exploring how to build a fairer and more sustainable economic system. Here’s a press release on those events from Promoting Economic Pluralism:

What happened to the world on 9 August 2007?

9 August 2017 marks the 10th anniversary of the day the financial world went into freefall, leading to the collapse and bailout of the banks in autumn 2008. A new pressure group: Promoting Economic Pluralism is hosting a series of events this September with a network of organisations to ensure that the lessons of that period have been learnt.

London: 9 August 2017: “The day the world changed”, was how Adam Applegarth, Northern Rock’s chief executive described the beginning of the Financial Crash, on August 9, 2007. This was the day the bank BNP-Paribas refused to allow withdrawals from its hedge funds, citing a “complete evaporation of liquidity”.

This signalled the beginning of the global financial crash which threatened to destroy the Western economic system, as bank-after-bank: Lehman Brothers, Bear Sterns, Royal Bank of Scotland and Northern Rock filed for bankruptcy, was taken over or went to the wall.

This chain of events took everyone by surprise, so even the Queen asked economists at the LSE in November 2008, ‘Why did no-one see it coming?’

While the financial institutions have mainly recovered, the Crash’s repercussions are still being felt: this week the Financial Times reported that in the US, financial institutions have paid more than $150bn in fines relating to the credit crisis. The Bank of America has paid $56bn to US authorities, while JPMorgan Chase has paid $27bn in fines and relief.

Many see the Crash and governments’ reaction to it that bailed out the banks and initiated austerity as creating the conditions for the current social and political upheavals.

Marking ‘10 Years after the Crash’

Promoting Economic Pluralism (PEP) is a pressure group working to introduce innovations in economic thinking capable of tackling today’s economic and environmental challenges. It has joined with a network of partner organisations to look for answers.

They are jointly hosting “10 years after the Crash”, a series of events at the Royal Society of Arts to mark the 10th anniversary of the run on the British bank: Northern Rock. These begin on 11 September, when former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling will reflect on what we have and haven’t learned from the crisis, and what needs to be done next to shape fairer prosperity.

Other speakers include: Ann Pettifor, Director of Policy Research in Macroeconomics (PRIME), Broadcaster Robert Peston, who broke the Northern Rock story; Gabriela Ramos, OECD Chief of Staff and Sherpa to the G20, and Eric Beinhocker, Executive Director of the Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School, Oxford University.

10 Years after the Crash will address three key questions:

  • what lessons have we learned from the crash;
  • have we taken the necessary steps to reform our economic systems in response;
  • how can we develop a wider understanding of what is needed to deliver a fairer, more resilient and sustainable economy?

PEP will involve people from a broad spectrum in this dialogue to build a shared direction for economic reform.

For more details of Promoting Economic Pluralism’s ’10 Years after the Crash’, please go to: https://10yearsafterthecrash.com

Or contact: daphne.davies@economicpluralism.org +07770230251

Or henry.leveson-gower@economicpluralism.org (CEO)