Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Most people think only a limited range of ideas is acceptable at any given time, but that doesn't mean they are fixed forever. Ideas in vogue at any given time are said to be in the Overton Window, but the simple fact is, it can be moved.
The proof is in living memory. In 1980, same-sex marriage was barely discussable in Britain. By 2010 it was law.
Margaret Thatcher shifted the window in the opposite direction. She moved government policy away from state ownership and the provision of a social safety net as the accepted norm, replacing them with privatisation and welfare reform within a few years.
The point is, ideas do not become policy because they are "right". They become policy because enough people stopped treating them as unthinkable.
That said, most politicians never move the Overton Window. They work inside it, using polling and focus groups to figure out which policies to offer that fit within it. That's why, too often, nothing seems to change.
The mainstream media reinforce this stability. They hold most of the power over what is in the Overton Window, deciding which issues are treated seriously and which are made to look ridiculous. Repetition does the rest. Say "we can't afford better public services" often enough and it hardens into fact, even though it is a choice.
But the Window moves when people start thinking differently about what is possible. The fight against corporate tax avoidance is the proof: what was once dismissed as a conspiracy theory became front-page news, which then led to new international agreements to tackle tax abuse. That resulted from years of sustained argument and evidence. That mechanism moved the Overton Window. It is not mystical, and it is not reserved for the powerful. The Window moves because people refuse to accept the choice they are offered and insist on better ones instead.
Take a look at today's poll: youtube.com/post/UgkxtosmW1mMD9lj1xw4bDc-gybUYIOibIGZ
00:00 What Is the Overton Window?
00:45 How Political Ideas Become Acceptable
01:27 From Unthinkable Idea to Government Policy
02:09 How the Overton Window Has Shifted
02:57 Why Politicians Follow Rather Than Lead
03:42 How the Media Shapes Political Debate
04:30 When Political Choices Become Accepted as Facts
05:18 How the Overton Window Can Be Moved
06:03 My Experience of Changing the Debate
06:37 How We Can Change What Politics Offers
TRANSCRIPT
A transcript for this video is available at: taxresearch.org.uk
IF YOU WANT TO WRITE TO YOUR MP ABOUT ISSUES IN THIS VIDEO
If you want to write a letter to your MP on the issues raised in this blog post, there is a ChatGPT prompt to assist you in doing so, with full instructions, here. taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2025/06/20/chatgpt-prompt-for-a-letter-to-your-mp
HOW TO SUPPORT US
Please consider donating: ko-fi.com/taxresearch
ABOUT RICHARD MURPHY
Richard Murphy is Emeritus Professor of Accounting Practice at Sheffield University Management School. He is director of Tax Research LLP and the author of the Funding the Future blog. His best-known book is ‘The Joy of Tax’.
This video was edited by Thomas Murphy.
RICHARD MURPHY ON BLUESKY:
https://bsky.app/profile/richardjmurphy.bsky.social
OR
ON MY BLOG: taxresearch.org.uk/Blog
HIT SUBSCRIBE & GET NOTIFICATIONS
Subscribe and get notified of new videos released.
INTRODUCTION: youtube.com/watch?v=HdHsRPy3060
PLAYLISTS:
The Wealth Series
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgobQLeyZYAagFDMjEFTKbhRD
Ecenomics
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgob54Gs-fOL-8OAQ-IpduwB4
Britain
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgobwTT4ATvJjsf8OO6S7wD10
Tax
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgoaMni_12J6ULp3yUJisUZoY
MMT
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgoZ6jvRGSW5YXu8qogE6aClX
Money
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgoYnLk1c7syTvoIo8bKYUs5m
Climate Change
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgob4_wsYaVivWd2WumpPLYwJ
USA
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgoYYd3dSyU2Oyl3x7bWJOP7H
Labour
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgoa-KhzG-fnjDSg1WROL1zMw
The Trump Administration
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgobz41-GLimTho27A3flVWQx
#OvertonWindow #Politics #UKPolitics #PoliticalChange #PoliticalEconomy #Economics #Neoliberalism
Most people think only a limited range of ideas is acceptable at any given time, but that doesn't mean they are fixed forever. Ideas in vogue at any given time are said to be in the Overton Window, but the simple fact is, it can be moved.
The proof is in living memory. In 1980, same-sex marriage was barely discussable in Britain. By 2010 it was law.
Margaret Thatcher shifted the window in the opposite direction. She moved government policy away from state ownership and the provision of a social safety net as the accepted norm, replacing them with privatisation and welfare reform within a few years.
The point is, ideas do not become policy because they are "right". They become policy because enough people stopped treating them as unthinkable.
That said, most politicians never move the Overton Window. They work inside it, using polling and focus groups to figure out which policies to offer that fit within it. That's why, too often, nothing seems to change.
The mainstream media reinforce this stability. They hold most of the power over what is in the Overton Window, deciding which issues are treated seriously and which are made to look ridiculous. Repetition does the rest. Say "we can't afford better public services" often enough and it hardens into fact, even though it is a choice.
But the Window moves when people start thinking differently about what is possible. The fight against corporate tax avoidance is the proof: what was once dismissed as a conspiracy theory became front-page news, which then led to new international agreements to tackle tax abuse. That resulted from years of sustained argument and evidence. That mechanism moved the Overton Window. It is not mystical, and it is not reserved for the powerful. The Window moves because people refuse to accept the choice they are offered and insist on better ones instead.
Take a look at today's poll: youtube.com/post/UgkxtosmW1mMD9lj1xw4bDc-gybUYIOibIGZ
00:00 What Is the Overton Window?
00:45 How Political Ideas Become Acceptable
01:27 From Unthinkable Idea to Government Policy
02:09 How the Overton Window Has Shifted
02:57 Why Politicians Follow Rather Than Lead
03:42 How the Media Shapes Political Debate
04:30 When Political Choices Become Accepted as Facts
05:18 How the Overton Window Can Be Moved
06:03 My Experience of Changing the Debate
06:37 How We Can Change What Politics Offers
TRANSCRIPT
A transcript for this video is available at: taxresearch.org.uk
IF YOU WANT TO WRITE TO YOUR MP ABOUT ISSUES IN THIS VIDEO
If you want to write a letter to your MP on the issues raised in this blog post, there is a ChatGPT prompt to assist you in doing so, with full instructions, here. taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2025/06/20/chatgpt-prompt-for-a-letter-to-your-mp
HOW TO SUPPORT US
Please consider donating: ko-fi.com/taxresearch
ABOUT RICHARD MURPHY
Richard Murphy is Emeritus Professor of Accounting Practice at Sheffield University Management School. He is director of Tax Research LLP and the author of the Funding the Future blog. His best-known book is ‘The Joy of Tax’.
This video was edited by Thomas Murphy.
RICHARD MURPHY ON BLUESKY:
https://bsky.app/profile/richardjmurphy.bsky.social
OR
ON MY BLOG: taxresearch.org.uk/Blog
HIT SUBSCRIBE & GET NOTIFICATIONS
Subscribe and get notified of new videos released.
INTRODUCTION: youtube.com/watch?v=HdHsRPy3060
PLAYLISTS:
The Wealth Series
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgobQLeyZYAagFDMjEFTKbhRD
Ecenomics
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgob54Gs-fOL-8OAQ-IpduwB4
Britain
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgobwTT4ATvJjsf8OO6S7wD10
Tax
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgoaMni_12J6ULp3yUJisUZoY
MMT
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgoZ6jvRGSW5YXu8qogE6aClX
Money
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgoYnLk1c7syTvoIo8bKYUs5m
Climate Change
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgob4_wsYaVivWd2WumpPLYwJ
USA
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgoYYd3dSyU2Oyl3x7bWJOP7H
Labour
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgoa-KhzG-fnjDSg1WROL1zMw
The Trump Administration
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgobz41-GLimTho27A3flVWQx
#OvertonWindow #Politics #UKPolitics #PoliticalChange #PoliticalEconomy #Economics #Neoliberalism
