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John, it’s been an incredible year for Positive Money.
We’ve...
Below we share some more of Positive Money’s highlights from 2019 - they’re really worth a look! But before you read on, we’d like to ask you to consider making a donation to Positive Money for 2020.
Because in less than two weeks we’ll be in a new decade with a new government. The scale of the challenges that lie ahead are BIG. Brexit, Facebook’s Libra and climate breakdown all risk destabilising our economy. And we can be sure that the big banks and corporations will be pushing for more private profits and control.
Positive Money is determined not to let that happen. We’ve got big campaign plans to push for a fair and public money and banking system in 2020.
But the truth is, it’ll only happen if more supporters like you around the country, chip in a few pounds today. Whilst we’ve had a lot to celebrate in 2019, achievements like this don’t come easy. They take time, expertise and money. And right now, our resources are pretty limited.
John, Positive Money is a people-powered organisation. Our power depends on the number of people willing to donate to our campaign. Please will you make a donation for Positive Money’s 2020 campaign now? It’ll take you less than 2 minutes: |
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Right now, just over 1500 Positive Money heroes already support our work with a donation. Without these, many of the things we mention below would not have happened. Having a strong safety net of supporter funds means we can plan ahead, experiment with new ideas, react to changing events and short notice, and reach audiences who’ve never heard of us before.
We’ve built strong foundations as an organisation and campaign in the last 10 years: a solid research base, a growing network of activists and influencers, and impressive reach in the media. But we still operate on a low budget, with a team of just 9 people working from a small office in Old Street.
There’s so much potential for us to become a much bigger force for change in the next decade. And if everyone reading this email gave just a few pounds together we could make it happen.
So if you can John, please will you consider making a secure donation to Positive Money today, so together we can make the 2020s the decade when our money and banking system becomes a truly fair, democratic and sustainable one? |
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Now for those all-important 2019 highlights!
At the start of the year our professional opinion poll uncovered that fewer than 1 in 10 people supported Chancellor Philip Hammond’s plan to sell off the Government’s RBS shares. In response, we amassed a 13,000-strong petition and marched to the Treasury. We not only halted the Government’s sell-off, but changed Labour party policy on the issue! |
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Aware of Governor Carney’s nearing departure, we spent a lot of 2019 putting the search for his successor under the kind of scrutiny it deserves. We coordinated a letter in The Guardian from 94 academics and civil society organisations and kept the heat up on the new Chancellor Sajid Javid with public polling and an open letter with 28 Parliamentarians. |
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In April we launched The Money Question, a website to host in-depth research and discussions on monetary reform with an interactive public forum. This new project will ensure we stay at the forefront of debate on alternate monetary policy. |
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We also introduced thousands of new people to Positive Money with our stalls at the Glastonbury and STIR to Action festivals this summer. Volunteer Sarah really felt the buzz, saying “What’s exciting is that more and more people want to learn why our economy is imbalanced, and how we can change it”. |
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Our marvellous network of local groups has been busy too. Hosting over 60 discussions around the country covering topics from debt jubilees and climate breakdown, to student debt and the Swedish e-krona. Our Southampton and Tower Hamlets groups set up stalls at community festivals, whilst one supporter from Newcastle perfected a new board game so players can learn how our money system really works. |
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September meant political party conference season, so our team headed up to Manchester and down to Brighton. Our events asking how Labour would pay for the green transition and questioning Conservatives on whether our banking system is really fit for purpose, got great turnouts - proving Positive Money is seen among politicos as *the* leading authority on money and banking in the UK.
And no year would be complete without a new report! In October we launched ‘Seeking Legitimacy: A New Settlement for the Bank of England’. |
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It advanced three proposals for improving the relationshio between the Treasury and the Bank of England. MPs Clive Lewis and Ian Blackford, Vince Cable and Lord Robert Skidelsky, all joined us in Westminster for the event which you can watch here. 2020 will see the publication of our report on digital currencies and the sequel to Escaping Growth Dependency! |
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Less than a year after our report ‘A Green Bank of England’ came out, Governor Mark Carney made a historic move in April and committed the Bank to disclosing its climate risk. This was a vital first step towards greening our entire financial system and proved change was possible. So we didn’t stop there. Running several actions on the Bank’s doorstop concluding with dropping off their cheeky Christmas present, all whilst grabbing some great media coverage. |
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Positive Money Europe also rounded off a fantastic year in style when they met Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB. They delivered an open letter signed by 160+ NGOs and academics, calling on the ECB to accelerate its efforts on climate change. The amount of media coverage and Lagarde's response was really encouraging, click here to find out more.
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There’s so much work still to do, and right now the future is full of doubts and uncertainty. But if there’s one thing we know, it’s that when enough people come together with a common purpose, we can achieve some amazing things. John please help us repeat - and beat - this kind of success in 2020. Become a Positive Money hero today. |
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Thanks for all that you do, Hannah, Rachel, Zack and the rest of the Positive Money team PS: If you’ve made it this far, then you deserve a treat! How about buying yourself a last-minute Christmas present from the Positive Money online shop? There’s ethical T-shirts, Totebags and jumpers! |
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