Could citizens’ wealth funds halt the dominance of the financial elite?

The Conservative manifesto pledges to create 'Future Britain' wealth funds, and a shale gas fund is under discussion at the Treasury. Is the UK finally waking up to the opportunity such schemes offer for tackling inequality?

Tucked away in the Conservative Party manifesto, and largely unremarked, is a promise to create a number of UK sovereign wealth funds, to be called "Future Britain Funds".

This builds on last year's proposal in a Treasury Consultation Paper to create a "shale wealth fund" from tax revenue from the extraction, through fracking, of shale gas. Eventually the revenue stream could be significant. The stated aim is to ensure "the benefits of shale developments are shared by communities in which the resource is developed".