More from @EuropeanPowell

Nov 2

Scenario - After the UK state becomes privatised by US Blackrock, Blackstone, Vanguard, PEEL Group, Pronomos Capital, via the plethora of deregulated free zones in England, Scotland, and Wales, authoritarianism will expand with surveillance capitalism as its primary digital linchpin.

The ideological architecture behind what might otherwise look like technocratic policy are very real ‘exit strategies’ taking place immediately after Brexit. What’s happening is a 25-year ‘reconfiguration-of-the-UK’ phase, where collective sovereignty is replaced in incremental steps with corporate sovereignty via free zones, port by port, zone by zone, region by region, patchworks of feudal enclaves and tax havens, all competing with one another in an unlevel market distorted playing field. A private equity firm you should know of is Pronomos Capital, they are waiting in the wings. pronomos.vc/people

Pronomos explicitly advocates for “charter cities” - semi-autonomous zones with their own legal/regulatory frameworks, typically positioned as laboratories for governance innovation. The intellectual lineage here is significant: The Key Figures’ Models: Patri Friedman (grandson of Milton Friedman) - co-founded the Seasteading Institute, advocating for floating sovereign entities outside existing jurisdictions. His model: competitive governance where jurisdictions compete like businesses for residents/investment. Tom Bell - legal theorist who’s written extensively on “proprietary communities” and private governance systems. His work provides the legal-theoretical scaffolding for how private entities could exercise state-like powers. Michael Strong, involved in various charter city projects globally, particularly in Honduras where this model has been tested. Shanker Singham - former trade advisor, known as ‘the brains behind Brexit’ advocates for “regulatory freedom” zones. His model emphasizes regulatory independence from national frameworks as economic competitiveness strategy. Peter Thiel, Marc Andreessen - venture capitalists who view governance itself as a technology problem solvable through startup-style iteration and competition.

Balaji Srinivasan - More complex. He’s been: CTO of Coinbase General partner at Andreessen Horowitz (so VC in that capacity) Angel investor/entrepreneur But primarily known as an ideologue and theorist of techno-libertarian governance Balaji is particularly significant because he’s explicitly articulated the vision I’m describing. He’s written about: “The Network State” - his book arguing for cloud-based nations that eventually acquire territorial sovereignty Exit over voice - explicitly rejecting democratic reform in favor of creating new jurisdictions Reversing the Reformation - his concept of returning to pre-democratic forms of corporate-sovereign entities Pseudonymous economy - governance through cryptographic identity rather than citizenship So while Balaji has done VC work, his primary role in this constellation is as the intellectual architect articulating how tech capital should transform governance itself.

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Oct 31

What You Can Do About UK Enterprise Zones

🧵 The UK’s enterprise zone network is expanding under Labour’s Industrial Strategy Zones. Here are concrete actions you can take to resist the corporate carve-up of Britain:

1/ **DEMAND TRANSPARENCY** Ask your MP and local council: Which companies benefit from zone subsidies? What taxes do they avoid? What environmental damage do they cause? What IP are they acquiring? They’re using public money—you have a right to know. 1/12

2/ **CHALLENGE DEMOCRATIC DEFICITS** Enterprise zones bypass normal democratic oversight. Demand that all zones require local council approval, genuine public consultation with veto power, and annual performance reviews with revocation powers.

3/ **ATTACH CONDITIONS TO PUBLIC MONEY** No more corporate welfare without strings. Push for: living wage guarantees, union recognition, profit-sharing with communities, local hiring quotas, environmental compliance, and IP sharing requirements.

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Oct 30

Actions the @TheGreenParty and @thisisyourparty must consider implementing now that they have both publicly stated they are against deregulated Freeports and Special Economic Zones. @graceblakeley and @jeremycorbyn discussion on free zones👇🏻 x.com/EuropeanPowell… The Green Party’s public page on voting against free zones👇🏻 greenparty.org.uk/2024/09/08/gre… A Proposed Plan Dismantle the deregulatory structure of all free zones, align them with the EU’s regulatory orbit. What must be demanded: Immediate transparency: Full disclosure of which companies benefit from zone subsidies, what IP they acquire, what profits they extract, what taxes they avoid, and what environmental damage they cause. Democratic accountability: All enterprise zones must operate under normal democratic oversight, including local council approval, genuine public consultation with veto power, and annual performance reviews with revocation powers. Conditionality: Attach strings to all public subsidies—living wage guarantees, union recognition, profit-sharing with local communities, IP sharing requirements, environmental compliance, local hiring quotas. Public ownership: Create genuinely public alternatives—community-owned food processing, publicly-run research facilities, municipal data centres, cooperative enterprise zones governed by workers and communities. EU realignment: Rejoin EU regulatory frameworks that prevent state aid abuse and protect food standards, worker rights, environmental protections, and data privacy. Labour organising: Unionise workers in all enterprise zones to resist exploitation and demand fair wages, secure contracts, and democratic workplace governance. Legal challenges: Challenge the legality of Mayoral Development Orders, compulsory purchase orders, 25-year licenses that lock in corporate advantages, and “regulatory sandboxes” that suspend democratic protections. Electoral pressure: Make enterprise zone accountability a voting issue in local and national elections. Demand candidates commit to zone reform or abolition. International solidarity: Connect with communities globally fighting Special Economic Zones, Export Processing Zones, and corporate sovereignty—this is a worldwide phenomenon requiring worldwide resistance. Alternative economic models: Build and demonstrate that democratic, cooperative, publicly-owned economic development delivers better outcomes than corporate welfare zones. Media pressure: Force mainstream media to cover the zone network, 140+ zones affecting every aspect of national life deserve front-page investigation, not buried in business sections. Parliamentary opposition: Demand MPs scrutinise ISZ governance, question the merger of Freeports and Investment Zones, challenge Defence and AI Growth Zone expansion, and investigate conflicts of interest in zone governance boards. Community organising: Build coalitions between affected communities, farmers losing abattoirs, students in commercialised universities, workers in low-wage zone jobs, residents facing compulsory purchase, and communities losing democratic control. The corporate carve-up of Britain is systematic, comprehensive, and intentional. It has cross-party support and billions in sunk costs. But it’s also fragile. These zones depend on: Public money (which can be withdrawn) Public legitimacy (which can be challenged) Political protection (which can be voted out) Legal frameworks (which can be challenged in courts) Community acquiescence (which can be transformed into resistance) I am a volunteer who has been researching the Tories and Labour’s collusion in the nationwide stealth rollout of deregulated free zones. Please read my findings on here, on Bluesky and on Substack💚 @ZackPolanski @zarahsultana substack.com/home/post/p-17…

@TheGreenParty @thisisyourparty @graceblakeley @jeremycorbyn Have no idea why the bold lettering in my original post has been scrambled...

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Oct 27

Apart from @TheCanaryUK has anyone seen a single left-wing media outlet investigate the duopoly’s nationwide rollout of deregulated free zones? The ongoing proliferation of free zones under Keir Starmer now includes AI Growth Zones, and Defence Growth Zones (the digital layer), while Labour published their paper, Industrial Strategy Zones Action Plan in June 2025. The paper states it will merge the Tories’ Freeports and SEZs under the umbrella of Industrial Strategy Zones (ISZs) @novaramedia @declassifiedUK @TurnLeftMediaUK @DoubleDownNews @owenjonesjourno @The_TUC @RMTunion @UniteSharon @TheGreenParty @yourparty @zarahsultana @jeremycorbyn @ZackPolanski

Jeremy Corbyn 100% against Freeports and Special Economic Zones (SEZs). @jeremycorbyn “A freeport is essentially a tax-free zone created by a government to persuade a global corporation to move in there, and be exempt from an awful lot of laws and property taxes, and a number of other taxes as well, a lot of workers protections are lost in these free zones” x.com/EuropeanPowell…

@jeremycorbyn @TheGreenParty voted to oppose the introduction of Freeports and Special Economic Zones across the United Kingdom at its annual party conference in Manchester in 2024

https://x.com/EuropeanPowell/status/1980574256644698441

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Oct 18

My article on UK Special Economic Zones is free to read on my Substack. Please subscribe and, where possible, make a donation to my online Ko-Fi tip jar. ko-fi.com/europeanpowell Thank you💚 open.substack.com/pub/europeanpo…

I think what’s happening in the UK with free zones represents one of the most significant, and underreported transformations of democratic governance in modern British history.

This is Structural State Capture, Not Policy Failure

The evidence I’ve compiled, combined with Private Eye’s Richard Brooks’ recent 8 page article on his Teesside investigation, reveals a systematic architecture of extraction rather than isolated corruption.

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Oct 6

It is patently clear that if the MSM gave as much attention to Palantir and Blackrock’s incursions into the public sector, and the duopoly’s nationwide rollout of deregulated free zones as much as they give to Nigel Farage and immigration, we would be seeing outrage directed at these actual seismic issues that are secretly changing Britain into an authoritarian state under a right-wing corporate political model.

Palantir – the surveillance tech giant founded by Peter Thiel with deep ties to intelligence agencies is now embedded in our NHS, our police forces, the Ministry of Defence, and across the public sector, including Coventry City Council.

BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, is quietly absorbing Britain’s infrastructure and housing stock. And across the country, both major parties are rolling out “investment zones” – deregulated corporate free-for-alls that gut planning laws, environmental protections, and democratic oversight.

This isn’t speculation. It’s happening right now.

BlackRock’s infrastructure grab

Meanwhile, BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, with £11 trillion under management, is systematically acquiring British public infrastructure and housing. From water companies to energy networks, the assets built with public money are being converted into profit streams for global investors.

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