In 2024 Keir Starmer tweeted about his Government partnership with US Blackrock.
In October 2023, Blackrock is one of many corporations investing and profiting from the genocide in Gaza. Blackrock and Vanguard among the largest investors in arms companies pivotal to Israel’s genocidal arsenal.
@Keir_Starmer obviously knew about Blackrock's lucrative investments in the unfolding genocide in Gaza, yet he and his war-mongering Cabinet kept Blackrock, enablers of textbook disaster capitalism, close to their economic growth plans for the UK.
All of it is beyond obscene.
You can read Francesca Albanese's full report 'FROM ECONOMY OF OCCUPATION TO ECONOMY OF GENOCIDE' on the UN's website
Reminder - Donald Trump has sanctioned Francesca Albanese for publishing this report. About a week earlier Trump sat at a lavish dinner with Benjamin Netanyahu who presented him with a letter recommending Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize...
#PalestineGenocide #Blackrock @FranceskAlbs
un.org/unispal/docume…


The role of corporate entities in sustaining Israel’s illegal occupation and ongoing genocidal campaign in Gaza is the subject of this investigation, which focuses on how corporate interests underpin Israeli settler-colonial the twofold logic of displacement and replacement aimed at dispossessing and erasing Palestinians from their lands. It discusses corporate entities in various sectors: arms manufacturers, tech firms, building and construction companies, extractive and service industries, banks, pension funds, insurers, universities and charities.
These entities enable the denial of self-determination and other structural violations in the occupied Palestinian territory, including occupation, annexation and crimes of apartheid and genocide, as well as a long list of ancillary crimes and human rights violations, from discrimination, wanton destruction, forced displacement and pillage, to extrajudicial killing and starvation.

The lies are gushing forth from this rotten Blue Labour cabal.
Remember, this is deliberate.
A designed and engineered plan to abolish the welfare state as dozens of states within states are rapidly spreading across the UK in the form of carve-outs, 12 deregulated Freeports, and 74 SEZs whose projected costs over the next 25 years is £64 billion.
Zone Fever is the corporate plague ravaging public infrastructure that the MSM and most Independent media outlets refuse to expose.
theguardian.com/politics/2025/… The UK is being privatised.

https://x.com/EuropeanPowell/status/1935452984093155783

You need to watch this video from @gilduran76 that explains how exploitative AI is, how Silicon Valley breaks laws with impunity, the main culprits are Sam Altman, Musk, Zuckerberg, Alex Katz and Peter Thiel who are the most predatory characters you can imagine.
OpenAI is being already being used in schools, so instead of learning to think and learn, deregulated OpenAI is de-edcuating children.
You have to ask why?
Combining tech power with state power to a dystopia in the making, this is anti-governance on steroids.
Reminder, the US and UK both refused to sign up for a regulatory franework at the EU ‘s AI Safety Summit in Spril 2025.
We are witnessing a battle of corporate and state empires the roots of which date back to the East India Company.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=C8ddJ5… AI Growth Zones: The Digital Guillotine
Starmer’s AI Growth Zones (AIGZs), launched in February 2025 with bidding now underway, are the digital layer of this techno-feudal nightmare, straight from The Sovereign Individual’s predictions. These zones, wired to The Network State’s token-led governance, weaponise “regulatory flexibility” to empower tech giants like Palantir, Microsoft, and Anduril Industries, backed by Thiel’s Founders Fund and Marc Andreessen’s company Andreessen Horowitz. Anduril’s militarised AI, from border drones to autonomous weapons, thrives in AIGZs’ lax oversight, erecting data centres that drown out public voices. Starmer’s refusal to join the EU’s AI Safety Summit in April 2025, alongside the U.S., confirms this deregulatory race-to-the-bottom.

open.substack.com/pub/europeanpo…

There are glaring parallels with post-Brexit's nationwide rollout of 74 deregulated SEZs, 12 Freeports, and Keir Starmer's AI Growth Zones to Trump's 10 'Freedom Cities' plans.
It's high time this got serious investigative exposure by the MSM, but it won't.
In the US, the Frontier Valley proposal to build an AI-focused tech city on Alameda Point, leveraging a draft executive order for a "national security emergency," aligns with the Network State concept, where tech companies seek quasi-sovereign control over territories. This move could bypass environmental laws, like the Endangered Species Act, due to the site's California least tern habitat, and transfer federal land to private hands, echoing Trump’s "freedom cities" campaign promise. His prior use of emergency powers in California, such as deploying Marines to Los Angeles, suggests he might entertain this strategy again, especially given his administration’s tech-friendly stance.
theguardian.com/us-news/ng-int…
The parallels with Brexit’s special economic zones (SEZs), freeports, and Keir Starmer’s AI Growth Zones indicate a global trend of using economic and technological pretexts to reshape governance and land use. Palantir’s 24 UK contracts hint at a broader infrastructural grab, blending public resources with private tech interests. This reflects a race to compete with global powers like China, but it risks undermining democratic oversight and environmental protections.
If Trump approves, it might set a precedent for corporate land grabs, challenging courts, Congress, and California’s authority. Opposition from local communities and legal challenges, especially over environmental concerns, will likely intensify. The outcome could redefine U.S. governance, testing the balance between corporate innovation and public sovereignty.
Reminder - Mass compulsory purchase orders are underway in Birmingham, Cornwall, and East Anglia, thousands of homes are implicated, 5000 protected nature sites are to be bulldozed for Labour's 1.5 million new housing plan, Blackrock who are in partnership with the Labour Party has 80% stakes in 3 British freeports, they have also announced their 'Infrastructure Imperative' project that claims the public sector urgently need private sector investment, as well as targeting green spaces, identifying them as 'nature's assets' to be commodified as new additions to Blackrock finacial portfolio.
The MSM and the majority of independent news outlets, from @novaramedia , to @PoliticsJOE_UK and @TurnLeftMediaUK @CurtisDaly_ @michaeljswalker @AaronBastani @owenjonesjourno @AyoCaesar @AvaSantina @NoJusticeMTG along with many other high-profile commentators on social media are not investigating Zone Fever, which is plaguing the UK and US at an alarming pace. These are all great accounts, but deregulated zoning is not getting the coverage it deserves.
Zonification, technofeudal enclaves, patchworks of corporate sovereignties, whatever you want to call them are spreading like a cancer, eclipsing entire countries.
These free zones represent direct and deliberate attacks on citizens' sovereignty, public services will be wiped out, and laws will become services that companies demand, entailing citizenship by contract.
substack.com/@europeanpowel…
These are wholly illegal attempts at dismantling democracy and the commons via a Govt-backed corporate coup.
thenerdreich.com/startup-seeks-… From The Sovereign Individual - How to Survive and Thrive During the Collapse of the Welfare State, written in 1997.
- Increasingly autonomous individuals and bankrupt, desperate governments will confront one another across a new divide. We expect to see a radical
restructuring of the nature of sovereignty and the virtual death of politics before the transition is over instead of state domination and control of resources, you are destined to see the privatization of almost all services governments now provide.
For inescapable reasons that we explore at length in this book, information technology will, destroy the capacity of the state to charge more for its services than they are worth to the people who pay for them.
Sovereignty Through Markets
To an extent that few would have imagined only a decade ago, individuals will achieve increasing autonomy over territorial nationstates through market
mechanisms.

What Starmer’s changed Labour Party is doing is forcing a transition from the welfare state to self help in the community. Care in the Community 2.1.
The neoliberal policies Labour openly adopted while expunging the left to form ‘changed Labour’ were warmly inherited from the Tories precisely because they cause misery and suffering, this Death by a Thousand cuts reaffirms just how far the Right has evolved, it has eclipsed the Labour Party.

Labour are literally wallowing in these obscene disavowals of their party’s roots, and as peoples outrage mounts, the outcome will see them dying in the streets.
The pain Blue Labour is inflicting is brutal, it is democide, which neoliberals and libertarians deem a necessary component of eugenics.
Entire generations of people are once again being penalized for being beneficiaries of a socialist egalitarian state.
All of this is antithetical to what the Labour Party once was.
Deregulated SEZs/free zones are introducing a race to the bottom, a patchwork of Social Darwinist feudal enclaves where sovereignty is violated under a corporate political model that no one voted for. The ‘equality frame’ is being described as a form of surrender to socialism after the Second World War.
The writings of Hayek, Friedman and Mises paved the way for Brexit.
The only reason SEZs are being pushed now is to fulfill the Right’s dream of dramatically reducing big government by outsourcing powers to corporations in enclaves where deregulation favours corporations over people.

Norfolk villagers to lose their homes under mass CPOs, what did I tell you?
South Norfolk, along with other parts of Norfolk and Suffolk, is part of a designated and deregulated investment zone, a type of SEZ under the UK government’s flagship program.
Norfolk and Suffolk were among 38 areas in England invited to form investment zones to “supercharge economic growth by Sunak and Truss.
There are 74 SEZ and 12 Freeports spread across England, Scotland, and Wales.
While in opposition Labour opposed free zones, but still went ahead and signed off on them with the Tories.
Now in power, Labour are creating more SEZs and last October published a 192 page document on Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPOs), this was a continuation of Michael Gove's push for CPOs. The document was updated in January 2025.
The MSM is not doing their job and informing the public of what's happening with Zone Fever.
The UK is being carved up into patchworks of corporate sovereignties, all public services will be privatised, as will the entire country.
It is beyond criminal that the MSM are not investigating this properly.
No one voted for this.
itv.com/news/anglia/20… This morning I have sent an FOI request to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC).
To: Freedom of Information Team
Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC)
2 Marsham Street
London, SW1P 4DF
Dear FOI Team,
I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 regarding the use of Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPOs) across the United Kingdom, particularly in relation to the rollout of 86 free zones (comprising 74 Special Economic Zones and 12 Freeports) as part of the UK Government’s economic growth strategy. I am also seeking data that warrants greater public scrutiny due to concerns about transparency, democratic accountability, and the impact on local communities.

Background Context:
Recent public discourse on platforms like X highlights significant concerns about the scale and implications of the 86 free zones rollout. These zones, spanning 34–75 km in diameter, are linked to CPOs that affect homes, businesses, and agricultural land, often without sufficient public consultation or transparency. For example, a £2.2bn project in Birmingham reportedly involves CPOs affecting 1,833 properties, and similar actions are occurring in Norfolk and Suffolk, where villagers are losing homes.

Furthermore, there are allegations of a lack of transparency, with figures like Rachel Reeves reportedly refusing to commit to audits of these zones, and concerns about corporate influence from entities like Blackrock, Deloitte, and Amazon endorsing related economic policies. These issues underscore the need for public access to detailed data on CPOs and their impacts.

Information Requested:
To better understand the scope, impact, and governance of CPOs in relation to the 86 free zones and other development projects, I request the following information:
Total Number of CPOs Issued Nationally (2023–2025):
The total number of CPOs issued across the UK from 1 January 2023 to 5 June 2025, broken down by year and region (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland).
The number of properties (residential, commercial, and agricultural) affected by these CPOs, including a breakdown by property type and region.
CPOs Linked to the 86 Free Zones Rollout:
A list of all CPOs issued in connection with the 86 free zones (74 SEZs and 12 Freeports) identified in the UK Government’s economic strategy, including:
The name and location of each free zone (e.g., Liverpool City Region Freeport, South Hampshire Investment Zone).
The number of CPOs issued for each zone, with details of the number of properties affected and the type of properties (e.g., residential, commercial, agricultural).
The geographical boundaries of each free zone, including any updates to boundaries since their initial designation (e.g., as noted in updated maps for Humber and Solent Freeports on GOV.UK, 3 February 2025).
Specific details on whether Basingstoke, Hampshire, falls within or is affected by any of these free zones, particularly the South Hampshire Investment Zone or Solent Freeport, and if CPOs have been issued in Basingstoke as part of these initiatives.

Areas Affected by CPOs Outside Free Zones:
A list of areas (by local authority or region) where CPOs have been issued for other development projects (e.g., HS2, National Highways projects, urban regeneration) from 1 January 2023 to 5 June 2025, including the number of properties affected in each area.
Any data on CPOs related to infrastructure projects in Basingstoke, Hampshire, as outlined in the Basingstoke and Deane Local Plan Update (Regulation 18), which identifies major developments like Manydown and Basing View.
Transparency and Public Scrutiny Concerns:
Copies of any internal audits, reports, or correspondence (including emails, memos, or meeting minutes) from 1 January 2023 to 5 June 2025 that discuss:
The transparency of SEZ and Freeport operations, particularly in response to concerns about Rachel Reeves’ reported refusal to commit to a National Audit Office investigation into England’s 8 Freeports and 48 SEZs for lack of transparency and questions over value for taxpayers’ money.
Compliance with the Nolan Principles in the governance of these free zones.
Details of any public consultations held for the 86 free zones, including dates, locations, and summaries of public feedback, particularly where CPOs were proposed or implemented.
Information on the involvement of private corporations (e.g., Blackrock, Deloitte, Amazon) in the governance or funding of SEZs and Freeports, including any contracts, memoranda of understanding, or financial incentives provided using public funds (state aid).
Democratic Accountability and Public Awareness:
Details of any plans or proposals to hold a public referendum or national consultation on the creation and expansion of SEZs and Freeports, given their significant impact on land use and sovereignty, as raised in public discussions on X.
Copies of the Labour government’s 192-page document on Compulsory Purchase Orders published in October 2024 and updated in January 2025, or a summary of its key provisions, particularly those related to SEZs and Freeports.
Additional Pertinent Data:
Any data or reports highlighting the socio-economic impacts of CPOs on affected communities, including displacement, compensation disputes, or changes in local property values, particularly in areas like Birmingham, Norfolk, and Suffolk.
Information on the use of state aid in SEZs and Freeports, including the total amount of public funds allocated to these zones from 1 January 2023 to 5 June 2025, and how this aligns with EU state aid rules, given claims that these zones contravene such regulations for at least 25 years.
Format and Scope:
I request that the information be provided in a clear, digital format (e.g., PDF or Excel spreadsheet for numerical data) where possible. If any requested data is held by another public body (e.g., National Highways, HS2 Ltd, or local authorities), please provide details of where I can access this information or forward my request accordingly. If any part of this request is likely to exceed the cost limit under Section 12 of the FOI Act, please advise on how I can refine my request to bring it within scope.
Rationale for Public Scrutiny:
The scale of the 86 free zones rollout, combined with the extensive use of CPOs, raises significant concerns about transparency, democratic accountability, and the potential for corporate welfare at the expense of taxpayers. The lack of media coverage and public consultation, alongside the refusal to audit these zones for transparency, suggests a need for greater public access to this information.
Furthermore, the involvement of major corporations in shaping economic policy, as well as the long-term implications for EU alignment, warrants scrutiny to ensure that these initiatives serve the public interest.
I look forward to your response within 20 working days, as required by the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Please contact me at my email address if you need clarification on any part of this request.
Thank you for your assistance.
Yours sincerely,
David Powell

People often ask me 'Can the UK rejoin the EU while shackled by 86 deregulated corporate Free Zones?
No, it can't, the UK would have to realign its free zones with the EU Parliament's regulations, which prohibit the use of State aid for profit motives, why?
Because this distorts the Single Market creating an unlevel playing field!
The UK's 86 free zones are backed by £64 billion in public money over the next 25 years, these are corporate playgrounds designed to dodge taxes, slash regulations, and prioritise profit over people.
Guess which parties support free zones in the UK?
The Tories, Labour, and Reform UK...
europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes… Working examples of 3 EU SEZs
Poland’s Katowice, Ireland’s Shannon, and Portugal’s Madeira
They all show how to do regulated Special Economic Zones in the right way, and they’re a slap in the face to the UK’s corporate free-for-all.

Katowice, launched in 1996, turned Silesia’s coal-scarred rustbelt into an automotive powerhouse, creating 80,000 jobs with firms like Opel. Its 50% tax exemptions, capped by EU Regional Aid Guidelines, are Commission-approved to lift a deprived region, not line corporate pockets like the UK’s £896,246-per-job Freeports.

Shannon Free Zone, born in 1959, employs 8,000 in aviation and tech, with export-focused grants under GBER—no selective tax deals since the €13 billion Apple crackdown.

Madeira’s MIBC, since 1987, boosts 3,000 jobs on a remote island with a 5% tax rate, capped at €3 million per firm, ensuring it’s no tax haven, unlike Teesside’s shady land deals.
These 3 EU SEZs are transparent, regionally focused, and in line with the EU state aid rules.
Katowice’s public-private management reports every euro to the Commission, Shannon’s state-owned operator avoids post-Apple pitfalls, and Madeira’s Development Company caps aid to prevent market distortion.
Contrast this with the UK’s 66-80% job displacement and £19.78 billion squandered on corporate welfare.
EU SEZs prioritise people's livelihoods and communities over corporate profit, while the UK’s zones serve BlackRock and JCB, shielded by ISDS and LCIA clauses that could cost billions to dismantle in private corporate courts.
For EU reentry, the UK must copy this model: cap incentives, target deprived areas like Teesside, and enforce transparency, not Deloitte’s audit whitewashes concocted to satisfy the whims of Blackrock's shareholders.

Look at the levels of concentrated contempt in Kendall’s face.
She makes Edwina Currie look like Mother Theresa.
Kendall caught misleading parliament four times in 23 minutes over DWP PIP cuts thecanary.co/uk/analysis/20… You want to know something that is not being discussed about Liz Kendall's disability cuts?
The Retained EU Law Bill (REUL)
legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/28/…
Deregulation and Welfare Cuts: I had to dig into The Explanatory Notes in the REUL Bill, which emphasised ministerial powers to 'simplify regulations', which Starmer’s government inherited from Jacob Rees-Mogg in July 2024.
600 EU/UK laws were revoked overnight on December 31st 2023.
The 3 main areas of law were employment rights, food safety and environmental laws.
In areas such as employment law, workers could lose access to long-established rights that now form an integral part of Britain’s reputation as a fair society, such as holiday pay or protection against fire and rehire.
Labour’s welfare reforms, led by Rachel Reeves and Liz Kendall, aim to save £5 billion by 2030, notably through PIP cuts.
The REUL Act’s potential to dilute employment rights (e.g., Working Time Directive, TUPE) supports this by enabling Freeports/SEZs to offer low-wage, insecure jobs, aligning with Kendall’s push to move people off benefits into work. For example, weakened TUPE protections could facilitate job transfers to Freeport firms with fewer worker safeguards.

Freeports have already cost the public nearly £20bn – yet Labour want more of them?
Cost per job figures in UK Freeports, this is insane, it’s down to the 10 year corporate tax breaks in deregulated free zones.

thecanary.co/long-read/2025… How is cost per job calculated?👇🏻

https://x.com/europeanpowell/status/1919420217064571318?s=46

New data on UK deregulated free zones rollout. If you are not shocked by this astronomical expenditure of public money on corporate governance experiments in deregulated zonification, then you need your head examining.

The £64 billion projected cost over 25 years represents the estimated total public expenditure on Freeports and SEZs from their inception (2012 for SEZs, 2022 for Freeports) through to the end of their 25-year contract periods (around 2037 for Enterprise Zones, 2046 for Freeports, and 2048 for Investment Zones).
Tax Reliefs: The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS, web ID:3) estimates that tax reliefs for Freeports cost £500 million annually across all 12 Freeports. This includes business rates relief, customs duty exemptions, stamp duty land tax relief, and National Insurance contributions relief. For the 3 years from 2022 to 2024 (the period covered in the 2024 report), this totals £500 million × 3 = £1.5 billion.
Using data from government reports (House of Commons, NAO, Spring Budget), policy analyses (IFS), and conservative assumptions about ongoing costs. The methodology involved breaking down costs by program (Freeports vs. SEZs), estimating future spending based on historical trends and policy commitments, and summing these over the 25-year period. While some figures (e.g., post-2024 tax reliefs, SEZ spending rates) rely on assumptions, these are grounded in available data and reflect a reasonable projection of long-term public costs.
@carolvorders @MarinaPurkiss @jemmaforte please look at this, you've all discussed previously SEZs and Freeports, they are not going away. The figures I've found are on the UK Govt's website, the data is 100% verified.
It is beyond shocking that the public has no idea about the seismic shifts taking place on public infrastructure from 'zonification' coupled with corporate powerhouses like US Blackrock who are officially in partnership with Keir Starmer's Labour party.
europeanpowell.substack.com/p/starmers-sez…

https://x.com/Britain_People/status/1918647479592996884

New data on UK deregulated free zones rollout.
If you are not shocked by this astronomical expenditure of public money on corporate governance experiments in deregulated zonification, then you need your head examining.

£64 billion projected cost over 25 years for Freeports and SEZs
Break down of the projected £64 billion cost over 25 years for the UK Government’s Freeports and SEZs (Investment Zones/Enterprise Zones), tracing the sources for each component, explaining the methodology used to process the figure, and ensuring transparency in the calculations.
Overview of the £64 Billion Figure
The £64 billion projected cost over 25 years represents the estimated total public expenditure on Freeports and SEZs from their inception (2012 for SEZs, 2022 for Freeports) through to the end of their 25-year contract periods (around 2037 for Enterprise Zones, 2046 for Freeports, and 2048 for Investment Zones). The figure is composed of two main components:
Freeports: £9.5 billion.

SEZs (Investment Zones/Enterprise Zones): £54.5 billion.

Total: £9.5 billion + £54.5 billion = £64 billion.

This projection builds on the current costs (up to 2024) and extends them forward, accounting for ongoing tax reliefs, infrastructure investments, and other public expenditures over the full 25-year period.
I've provided detailed sources and methodology for each.
Freeports – Projected Cost of £9.5 Billion Over 25 Years
Current Cost (2022-2024): £2.5 Billion
Source:
Seed Funding: The 2024 House of Commons Business and Trade Committee report publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5804/cmse… and UK Freeports Programme Annual Report 2022, gov.uk confirm that the UK Government allocated £1 billion in seed funding for the 12 Freeports. This was part of the initial setup, distributed around 2021-2022 when Freeports became operational.
Tax Reliefs: The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS, web ID:3) estimates that tax reliefs for Freeports cost £500 million annually across all 12 Freeports. This includes business rates relief, customs duty exemptions, stamp duty land tax relief, and National Insurance contributions relief.
For the 3 years from 2022 to 2024 (the period covered in the 2024 report), this totals £500 million × 3 = £1.5 billion.
Calculation:
Seed funding: £1 billion.
Tax reliefs (2022-2024): £1.5 billion.
Total Current Cost (2022-2024): £1 billion + £1.5 billion = £2.5 billion.

Verification:
The £1 billion seed funding aligns with the Freeports Bidding Prospectus (2021), which allocated up to £25 million per Freeport, totaling £300 million for the initial 12 Freeports, but subsequent government reports confirm a higher total allocation of £1 billion for setup costs across all Freeports.
The £500 million annual tax relief estimate is from the IFS. A more conservative estimate from HM Treasury (2023) suggests £300 million annually, but I used the IFS figure as it’s widely cited in policy analyses. The £1.5 billion over 3 years is thus a reasonable estimate based on this source.

Projected Cost (2025-2046): Additional £7 Billion
Source:
Tax Relief Duration: GOV.UK, Freeports page, updated 2024 notes that Freeport tax reliefs, such as business rates relief and stamp duty land tax relief, are available for 5 years (until 2026 for most Freeports, as they were established in 2021-2022).
However, Freeports also retain business rates growth for 25 years, which can be reinvested locally but isn’t counted as a direct cost here. The tax reliefs (e.g., customs duty exemptions, National Insurance relief) are the primary public cost.

Long-Term Estimate: Since the IFS estimate of £500 million annually applies to the initial 5 years, I assumed a reduced rate for the remaining 20 years (2027-2046) to reflect a tapering of benefits as businesses establish and the need for incentives decreases. I used £300 million annually as a conservative estimate for these years, based on the lower HM Treasury figure and the expectation that tax reliefs would not remain at peak levels.

Calculation:
2025-2026 (Years 4-5): Tax reliefs continue at £500 million annually for the remaining 2 years of the 5-year relief period: £500 million × 2 = £1 billion.
2027-2046 (Years 6-25): Tax reliefs at £300 million annually for 20 years: £300 million × 20 = £6 billion.
Total Additional Cost (2025-2046): £1 billion + £6 billion = £7 billion.

Total Freeport Cost Over 25 Years:
2022-2024: £2.5 billion.
2025-2046: £7 billion.
Total: £2.5 billion + £7 billion = £9.5 billion.

Rationale for Assumptions:
The reduction from £500 million to £300 million annually after 2026 reflects the likelihood that initial incentives (e.g., to attract businesses) would decrease as Freeports mature. This is a common pattern in SEZ programs globally, where tax incentives are front-loaded.
The 25-year period aligns with the Freeport contract duration (e.g., Cromarty Firth’s 25-year projection of 11,300 jobs and £6.5 billion investment, as noted in the target post).
SEZs – Projected Cost of £54.5 Billion Over 25 Years

Current Cost (2012-2024): £17.28 Billion
Source:
2012-2020: A 2021 National Audit Office (NAO) report estimated that the UK Government spent £12 billion on Enterprise Zones from 2012 to 2020, covering capital funding, infrastructure investments, and tax reliefs.
2020-2024: I estimated an additional £4 billion, assuming a reduced annual spending rate of £1 billion (down from the NAO’s £1.5 billion annual average for 2012-2020) due to budget constraints and a shift toward Investment Zones.
This is an assumption but aligns with trends in public spending reports (e.g., 2024 House of Commons report noting reduced SEZ funding).
Investment Zones (2023-2024): The 2023 Spring Budget allocated £160 million in seed funding per Investment Zone for 8 zones, totaling £1.28 billion. Since Investment Zones started in 2023, this cost covers 2023-2024.
Calculation:
2012-2020: £12 billion (NAO).
2020-2024: £4 billion (assumed £1 billion annually × 4 years).
Investment Zones: £1.28 billion.
Total Current Cost (2012-2024): £12 billion + £4 billion + £1.28 billion = £17.28 billion.
Verification:
The £12 billion from 2012-2020 is a well-documented figure from the NAO.
The £1 billion annual estimate for 2020-2024 is an assumption but reasonable given the 2024 House of Commons report’s indication of reduced SEZ spending. A more precise figure isn’t available in the provided references, but this estimate aligns with historical trends.
The £1.28 billion for Investment Zones is directly sourced from the 2023 Spring Budget.

Projected Cost (2025-2048): Additional £37.22 Billion
Source:
Enterprise Zones (2012-2037): Enterprise Zones, established in 2012, have a typical 25-year lifespan (ending around 2037). I assumed spending decreases to £500 million annually for the remaining 13 years (2025-2037) to reflect a shift in focus to Investment Zones and reduced infrastructure needs as zones mature. This assumption is based on the trend of declining SEZ spending noted in the 2024 House of Commons report and historical patterns in Enterprise Zone funding.
Investment Zones (2023-2048): Investment Zones, launched in 2023, also have a 25-year lifespan (ending 2048). The 2023 Spring Budget allocated £160 million per zone annually for 8 zones. I assumed this funding continues for the remaining 24 years (2025-2048), as Investment Zones are a flagship policy for long-term growth
Calculation:
Enterprise Zones (2025-2037): £500 million annually × 13 years = £6.5 billion.
Investment Zones (2025-2048): £160 million per zone × 8 zones = £1.28 billion annually; over 24 years = £1.28 billion × 24 = £30.72 billion.
Total Additional Cost (2025-2048): £6.5 billion + £30.72 billion = £37.22 billion.

Total SEZ Cost Over 25 Years:
2012-2024: £17.28 billion.
2025-2048: £37.22 billion.
Total: £17.28 billion + £37.22 billion = £54.5 billion.

Rationale for Assumptions:
The £500 million annual estimate for Enterprise Zones post-2024 is a conservative assumption, reflecting reduced spending as zones mature. Historical data (NAO’s £1.5 billion annual average) supports a higher figure, but I adjusted downward based on the 2024 House of Commons report’s indication of budget constraints.
The £1.28 billion annual cost for Investment Zones is based on the 2023 Spring Budget’s allocation, assumed to continue as a core policy commitment. This is a simplification, as actual spending may vary, but it aligns with the government’s long-term growth strategy for these zones.

Total Projected Cost Over 25 Years
Freeports: £9.5 billion.

SEZs: £54.5 billion.

Total: £9.5 billion + £54.5 billion = £64 billion.

Regional Breakdown (proportional):
England: Freeports (8/12 of £9.5 billion) + SEZs (48/73 of £54.5 billion) = £6.33 billion + £35.84 billion = £42.17 billion.
Scotland: Freeports (2/12) + SEZs (18/73) = £1.58 billion + £13.44 billion = £15.02 billion.
Wales: Freeports (2/12) + SEZs (7/73) = £1.58 billion + £5.22 billion = £6.80 billion.
Northern Ireland: SEZs (1/73) = £0.75 billion.

Processing and Methodology
The £64 billion figure was processed through the following steps:

Establish Current Costs (Up to 2024):
Used direct data from the 2024 House of Commons report, NAO, and 2023 Spring Budget for Freeports and SEZs.
Freeports: £2.5 billion (seed funding + tax reliefs).
SEZs: £17.28 billion (historical spending + Investment Zone seed funding).
Project Future Costs (2025-2048):
Freeports: Extended tax reliefs based on IFS estimates, with a reduction after the initial 5 years to reflect program maturation.
SEZs: Assumed reduced spending on Enterprise Zones and continued investment in Investment Zones, based on government policy commitments and historical spending trends.
Sum Costs Across the 25-Year Period:
Combined current and projected costs for Freeports and SEZs.
Distributed costs regionally based on the number of Freeports and SEZs in each area.
Validate Assumptions:
Cross-checked with available data (e.g., NAO, IFS, government reports) to ensure estimates were reasonable.
Used conservative assumptions (e.g., reduced tax reliefs after 2026, lower Enterprise Zone spending post-2024) to avoid overestimation.

Sources Summary

Freeports:
Seed Funding (£1 billion): 2024 House of Commons report; web ID:0 (UK Freeports Programme Annual Report 2022).
Tax Reliefs (£500 million annually, 2022-2026): Institute for Fiscal Studies (web ID:3).
Tax Relief Duration (5 years): GOV.UK Freeports page, 2024).
Long-Term Estimate (£300 million annually, 2027-2046): Assumption based on HM Treasury’s lower estimate of £300 million annually, adjusted for program maturation.

SEZs:
2012-2020 (£12 billion): 2021 National Audit Office report.
2020-2024 (£4 billion): Assumption based on reduced spending (£1 billion annually), informed by the 2024 House of Commons report.
Investment Zones (£1.28 billion annually): 2023 Spring Budget.
Enterprise Zones (2025-2037, £500 million annually): Assumption based on reduced spending trends (2024 House of Commons report).
Investment Zones (2025-2048, £1.28 billion annually): 2023 Spring Budget, assumed to continue as a policy priority.

Conclusion
The £64 billion projected cost over 25 years for Freeports and SEZs was derived by combining current expenditures (up to 2024) with future projections, using data from government reports (House of Commons, NAO, Spring Budget), policy analyses (IFS), and conservative assumptions about ongoing costs.
The methodology involved breaking down costs by program (Freeports vs. SEZs), estimating future spending based on historical trends and policy commitments, and summing these over the 25-year period. While some figures (e.g., post-2024 tax reliefs, SEZ spending rates) rely on assumptions, these are grounded in available data and reflect a reasonable projection of long-term public costs. Labour sees Freeports’ £500 million yearly tax reliefs as a way to attract investment, despite their £936,693 cost per job and past Labour criticisms calling them “job-destroying.”
Labour are 100% lying to you about the economic growth benefits of free zones, they are setting up 5 new tax sites in Labour strongholds.
We can surmise that these sites will most likely be: -
Teesside Freeport (Tees Valley): A key “levelling up” area under the Conservatives, Teesside is politically significant. Labour likely approved a new customs site here to maintain support in this swing region, especially given governance issues flagged in the 2024 Commons report (UK Govt website mentions Teesside specifically). Likely site: Teesport expansion.

Liverpool City Region Freeport (Merseyside): A Labour stronghold, Liverpool would be a priority for economic support. A new customs site here aligns with Labour’s focus on northern regeneration. Likely site: Port of Liverpool, expanding existing facilities.

Forth Green Freeport (Scotland): With Labour aiming to strengthen its position in Scotland, approving a customs site for Forth (covering Edinburgh, Grangemouth, Rosyth) supports their green energy focus (e.g., offshore wind). Likely site: Grangemouth, a major industrial hub.

Humber Freeport (North East Lincolnshire): Another northern region, Humber (including Hull, Immingham) is a key logistics hub. A new customs site here would boost Labour’s economic credentials in the North. Likely site: Immingham Port, a major import/export node.

Solent Freeport (Hampshire): To balance regional investment, Labour likely approved a site in the South, where Solent (Southampton, Portsmouth) supports maritime trade. Likely site: Portsmouth International Port, enhancing trade capacity.

Scottish Independence questionable due to SNP's decision to accept Westminster's push for 18 SEZs and 2 Freeports in Scotland.
The UK’s rollout of SEZs and Freeports, particularly the 18 SEZs and 2 Freeports in Scotland, could compromise Scottish independence by creating economic dependencies, entrenching corporate influence, and complicating EU rejoining due to conflicts with state aid rules. The 25-year contracts exacerbate these challenges by locking Scotland into deregulated frameworks that may conflict with EU regulations or limit policy autonomy post-independence. While these zones could fuel pro-independence sentiment by highlighting devolution’s limits, they also risk fragmenting Scotland’s economy and creating vested interests tied to the UK. For an independent Scotland eyeing EU membership, aligning these zones with EU state aid rules would require significant reforms, potentially disrupting economic stability. The interplay of Brexit, trade costs, and long-term contracts thus makes the path to independence more complex, requiring careful navigation to balance economic realities with sovereignty aspirations. Obviously, the above tweet also applies to England and Wales.
Northern Ireland is to get something called The Enhanced Investment Zone is designed to “build on [Northern Ireland’s] cost competitiveness and first-class reputation for innovation.”
However, it does not include the customs benefits typical of Freeports, and the prospectus emphasizes “flexibility” and alignment with “evidenced priorities” rather than widespread deregulation.
The involvement of the Northern Ireland Executive in co-developing the zone suggests a more regulated approach, as it must comply with both UK subsidy control rules and EU state aid rules under the Windsor Framework.

What's happening across the UK is an infrastructural hollowing out of all public services, the carving up of the UK into patchworks of corporate sovereignties, we are witnessing the privatisation of the entire country.
I call it Zone Fever.
There are many facets to the corporate coup, they comprise the digital realm and physical infrastructure.
What @Keir_Starmer does not tell you regarding his 'Gold Rush' AI Opportunities Action Plan is that when AI eventually infiltrates the workforce, half of the workforce will be replaced if it is privately owned.
This will entail increasing universal credit, which will not be paid by the Govt, profits will be astronomical for the big tech companies.
If the company is owned by the workers, they would employ the AI, workers would have more time with their kids, more time for educational and creative endeavours, the solution is socialism.
Wealth must be produced and distributed collectively. This will not happen because the UK is capital hungry and desperate after Brexit.

In Starmer's AI Opportunities Action Plan (I know...🙄) he mentions Synthesia – leading the world in AI-powered video, and Blackstone – building Europe’s largest data centre in Northumberland.
Starmer also mentions "We are going to create AI growth zones…breathing new life into sites like Culham, in Oxfordshire'
gov.uk/government/new…
Digital regulation is still in its infancy, it is ripe for exploitation by the private sector, while deregulation on planning permissions (let's call that what it really is, land grabbing), and environmental protections (building on flood zones, all manner of pollution, destruction/loss of habitats, extraction of minerals like lithium for huge battery warehouses, cooling units using excess amounts of clean water) will harm and deplete the physical world.
gov.uk/government/spe…
Back to Starmer's AI Opportunities Action Plan
While Synthesia prohibits use of its technology for misinformation or "news-like content", an October 2023 Freedom House report stated that Synthesia tools had been used by governments in Venezuela and China to create videos of fake TV news outlets with AI-generated avatars in order to spread propaganda.
Synthesia gained a total valuation of $1 billion, and achieved unicorn status, when it raised $90 million from Accel and Nvidiapartnership NVentures, in June 2023, during its Series C funding round.

As for Starmer's choice of Blackstone in his AI race to the bottom...
Blackstone is an American alternative investment management company based in New York City.
As of May 2024, Blackstone has more than $1 trillion in total assets under management, making it the world's largest alternative investment firm.

BlackRock was launched inside Blackstone (three years later) as a bond manager before striking out as its own firm. Keir Starmer has declared his Govt as being in partnership with Blackrock, Blackrock have bought 80% stakes in 3 UK Freeports, Felixstowe, Harwich, and Thamesport.
Blackrock is a shadow bank with $11 trillion in assets and is the world's largest asset manager.
BlackRock owned more oil, gas, and thermal coal reserves than any other investment management company with total reserves amounting to 9.5 gigatonnes of CO2 emissions or 30% of total energy-related emissions from 2017.
It has been claimed that BlackRock is the "biggest driver of climate destruction on the planet", in part due to its opposition to fossil fuel divestment. BlackRock has also been criticized regarding climate change inaction and deforestation in the Amazon rainforest.
In August 2021, a former BlackRock executive who had served as the company's first global chief investment officer for sustainable investing, said he thought the firm's ESG investing was a "dangerous placebo that harms the public interest."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BlackRock…

Blackstone has an atrocious track record for numerous crimes including; illegal child labor, deforestation of the Amazon rainforest, warrantless disclosure of Motel 6 occupancies Blackstone, agreed to settle for $19.6 million for giving guest lists to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) without a warrant.

Blackstone - Ancestry acquisition and data leaks
In 2020, Blackstone acquired a majority stake in Ancestry.com, which controls access to millions of people's genetic data, heightening concern about Blackstone's data privacy practices. This data was disclosed to Blackstone, and it has aggressively defended itself against class action litigation relating to misuse of the data of people who did not consent to genetic testing but were affected through direct biological relations or other means of identification.
x.com/EuropeanPowell…
Daniela Gabor’s assertion in The Guardian that "BlackRock will privatise the UK" reflects a critical perspective on the growing influence of private finance, particularly BlackRock, in shaping Britain’s economic and social landscape. Add to this Labour's recent webinar that included 700 lobbyists where Starmer's spokesperson Lord Evermore stated that governance powers were to be handed over to the lobbyists, while the UK Govt takes a 'secondary position' and things get very dark, very quickly. Starmer's announcement on Twitter that the Govt is now a partner with firms like BlackRock is not about rebuilding the UK’s public infrastructure, far from it, this is about facilitating Blackrock's ambitions to expand its financial portfolio by hoovering up housing, education, health, nature, and green energy, by exploiting public-private partnerships (PPPs) to the max. This should be immediately stopped. The most lucrative line of business in the world right now is between governments and corporations.
Starmer is subsidising the privatisation of the UK with taxpayer money, as BlackRock leverages its $11 trillion in managed assets to expand its grip on public goods under its 'Infrastructure Imperative', this means public services are to be turned into additional assets including greens space, ‘nature’s assets’, in their financial portfolio, you can read about that on Blackrock's website.👇🏻
s24.q4cdn.com/856567660/file…
Starmer's changed Labour Party do not work for the public interest, they clearly despise democracy and egalitarianism, they are only interested in corporate hegemony, the dismantling of public services, the ripping up of the social contract, the outsourcing of governance to corporations, the setting up of 86 free zones across England, Scotland, and Wales, while accommodating corporate demands to shape austerity policies, and ensure deregulation completely eviscerates the commons.
youtube.com/watch?v=ksSI4F…

Duopoly's in the US and UK are completely intertwined with their bipartisan backing of AI, digital regulation is in its infancy, this is extremely troubling because AI devours energy on a colossal scale which is a huge environmental threat.

https://x.com/EuropeanPowell/status/1915390276421497303

A reminder that inequality is now at unparalleled levels today
Tax wealth
Concentration of wealth yields concentration of power as costs of elections skyrocket, forcing political parties into the pockets of corporations, this politically bought power quickly translates into legislation that increases the concentration of wealth, fiscal policy, tax policy, deregulation, rules of corporate governance, all of which is the complete antithesis of democracy.

I don’t quite believe what I’m seeing here, the disabled community having to go out and protest over a Labour Government’s decisions that could actually kill them.

https://twitter.com/disrightsuk/status/1911671132014395656

x.com/europeanpowell… x.com/europeanpowell…

Legislation paving the way for 10 corporate city-states in the US should be complete by the end of the year.
Zone Fever is here in the UK, but no one in the MSM or much of the Independent media is talking about the carve-up of Britain into patchworks of corporate sovereignties.
Reminder - Deregulated Freeports and SEZs are stepping stones to free cities.
theguardian.com/us-news/ng-int… Inspired by the political philosopher Albert Hirschman, figures including Goff, Thiel and the investor and writer Balaji Srinivasan have been championing what they call “exit” – the principle that those with means have the right to walk away from the obligations of citizenship, especially taxes and burdensome regulation.

Trump and Blackrock move in on the Panama Canal.
The recent acquisition of key port infrastructure near the canal underscored this initiative. A consortium led by the U.S.-based investment firm BlackRock has secured control over critical maritime terminals in Balboa and Cristobal, which the Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings previously managed. The U.S. administration has viewed the $22.8 billion deal as a pivotal step toward regaining strategic influence over one of the world’s most vital trade corridors.
Panamanian officials have reiterated their nation’s sovereignty over the canal. President José Raúl Mulino has firmly stated that the ownership and control of the canal are not subject to negotiation. “The Panama Canal belongs to Panama,” Mulino affirmed, pushing back against external narratives suggesting otherwise.
Blackrock has also bought 3 British freeports, Felixstowe, Harwich, and Thamesport.
Keir Starmer announced a UK Govt partnership with Blackrock on November 21st 2024, the Sovereign Corporation is coming.

https://x.com/EuropeanPowell/status/1909164229590151570

What @guardian and the entire MSM are ignoring is that a suite of tax reliefs including National Insurance Contributions for employers exist in the UK's 74 deregulated SEZs and 12 Freeports rolled out by Sunak and Truss, and are fully backed by Starmer's cohorts.
Employer National Insurance Contributions relief: eligible employers with a business premises in an Investment Zone tax site will be able to apply a zero rate of secondary Class 1 National Insurance contributions on the earnings of eligible new employees who are expected to spend 60% or more of their working time in the tax site. This rate can be applied on the earnings of all eligible new employees, up to £25,000 per year, for 36 months per employee.
The UK is being privatised under Zone Fever.
theguardian.com/business/2025/…


Somerset is mentioned in the Guardian article.
Below is Somersets Councils website trumpeting the deregulated benefits for companies siged up to their SEZ.
Enterprise Zones were created by Government to provide key sites for economic growth
and regeneration across England, supported by deregulation and financial incentives
attached to each zone. For businesses these incentives potentially include simplified
planning and access to fiscal incentives. In addition, local authorities with jurisdiction over
the area containing the Enterprise Zone are able to retain all the uplift in business rates
income generated by the site for a fixed period of time.
democracy.somerset.gov.uk/documents/s310…

Donald Trump is not the only enemy of ordinary people, Starmer's changed Labour Party are inflicting disturbingly similar austerity policies on UK citizens' lives and livelihoods.
Rachel Reeves's and her entourage's neoliberal mindset knows there will be no growth under her disastrous fiscal policies, that they will translate to punishing rises in mortgage costs, that people will have to spend their savings to live, that there is no profitability in the UK for businesses, that the UK will be dependent on foreign capital, eg Chinese and Russian money will be sustaining the UK economy.
The myth of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) exposed👇🏻Almost all of UK industry is owned by the US.
This means Bits have to pay rent to access their own market.
Rachel Reeves and Jeremy Hunt's perpetuate the 40-year-old 'big lie' that is FDI - Foreign Direct Investment. Incoming investment has two forms: physical plants and new buildings OR foreign purchases from existing companies.
Politicians such as Reeves and Hunt are known to confuse the two forms under the rhetoric of 'economic growth and Britain being the best place in the world to invest'.
UK households will pay high interest rates to foreigners. The poorest will be bankrupted to make rich foreigners wealthier.
Since the 1970s FDI has paved the way for govt ministers to literally 'sell off the family silver' to US private equity. On top of that Starmer's embrace of AI is all about automation and destroying people's jobs. Lastly, Starmer picked up the baton of Sunak and Truss's 74 deregulated Special Economic Zones, and 12 Freeports, Labour MPs, Mayors, councillors, Lords, and Baronesses were active board members of the Tories nationwide SEZs/Freeports consortia. Labour signed off 86 regions of the UK to the likes of Blackrock, PEEL Group, DP World, Deloitte, Blackstone, Chevron, and many more malign corporations with atrocious track records in fraud, environmental pollution, tax evasion, human rights abuses, banning of unions.
The City of London, which is a charter city takes precedence over ordinary people’s lives and livelihoods. Rachel Reeves is panicking.
theguardian.com/politics/2025/…

https://x.com/EuropeanPowell/status/1905534152448803268

Starmer is building a Sovereign Corporation that despises, demonizes, and punishes the most vulnerable in society.
Starmer has handed over governance powers to 700 corporate lobbyists, where the Govt takes a ‘secondary position’. The public sector is being dismembered, people are going to die.
This is part of Zone Fever, an infrastructural attack that is currently installing 86 deregulated Free Zones.
48 SEZs and 8 Freeports in England
18 SEZs and 2 Freeports in Scotland
8 SEZs and 2 Freeports in Wales
Corporations in the 74 SEZs to receive £11 billion 840 million in State aid (public money).
The UK Government has invited corporations to set up and ‘rescue’ democracy from its failures.
Corporate power, corporate governance, and corporate sovereignty is going to eclipse the country, the UK is being privatized. These are just some of the firms that have met with senior Labour figures over the last 12 months.
Blackrock, Palantir, Amazon, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, Fujitsu, Deloitte, PwC, EY, Google, The City of London Corporation, BP, Goldman Sachs, Thames Water, BlackStone, Telstra Health, Macquarie, Meta, SGN, EDF, Leonardo, BAE Systems, Cadent Gas, National Gas, Natwest, Virgin Atlantic, Abrdn, Barclays, Coinbase, The British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association, Bluebird Care, Edelman
x.com/EuropeanPowell…

Deregulation is the Labour Party's God.
The water companies are laughing.
Blackrock are rubbing their hands together
BP is ordering champagne by the ton
Palantir is partying
Roll Royce is stocking up on uranium
Amazon is buying more whips
Donald Trump is golfing in Scotland
Blackstone are rolling their sleeves up to start digging up green spaces
700 corporate lobbyists are earmarking public services for total takeover
The UK public however are reduced to being mere spectators of their own fate.
theguardian.com/politics/2025/… All part of 'accelerationism'.
What is accelerationism?👇🏻

https://x.com/EuropeanPowell/status/1902006056517067176