My Blog

Britain’s waistline won’t be slimmed by sugar taxes – they could even make it worse
Britain has an obesity problem – and it’s getting worse. According to a report from the King’s Fund think tank,

As we look back on pandemic mistakes, we need to count livelihoods in our losses
Ministers don’t need to face the inquiry into the Covid-19 pandemic until next spring, the chair of the probe, Heather

It’s hot, sure but we don’t need the health bureaucrats to tell us to open the windows
Phew, What A Scorcha! No, not a tabloid headline from this week, but from 1976. As many have pointed out

Politicians and voters must learn that every policy has a cost and an impact on growth
The runners and riders battling for leadership of the Conservative Party are setting out their stalls. Tax, lockdown, defence and

Universities follow perverse incentive models out of touch with the labour market
The days tick by to the summer ritual of the announcement of A-level results. Yet panic is already spreading among

Central banks have fooled themselves into thinking they have power over inflation
The failures of central banks around the world to anticipate and control the current upsurge in inflation are now apparent

We’re not reliving the 1970s yet, but today’s decisions will keep us out or drag us back
At the end of June 1975, the weather was hotting up. Indeed, August of that year proved to be the

Scotland needs to abandon its dream world and realise what independence truly means
A week away in Scotland’s Hebrides islands was good for the soul. But a upon my return, there was another

A windfall tax raised by a money-hungry government will scare off our businesses
Rishi Sunak’s windfall tax on energy firms – what he called a “temporary targeted profits levy” – has gone down

As Johnson squirms, his party must remember the roots of Conservatives values
Boris Johnson’s government now has a penchant for embracing policies which, to many, have a distinctively non-conservative feel. High taxes,

Many lessons can be learned from drink driving and smoking laws to tackle obesity
Obesity has been a hot topic over the past week. The government announced it would delay its plan to implement

As we resume our life back to normal, the costs of lockdowns become painfully clear
The enormous costs of a policy of strict lockdowns – identified and predicted by many economists in the summer of

Sprinkling local football clubs with money won’t make them sustainable endeavours
The domestic football season has come to a dramatic close, with two sides from the North West jostling for the

We need to stop comforting ourselves with the myth of the all-powerful central bank
Inflation continues to be a major problem for policy makers. The annual rate of price increases hit 7 per cent

It’s time to salvage rational thought when we look at immigration plans for refugees
Priti Patel’s proposals to send illegal immigrants to Rwanda has sent the usual suspects into a veritable lather. Not since

Scandals within the NHS have finally made us question the angelic halo of our doctors
Much of the narrative around the health service over the past few years has depicted nurses as angels and doctors

As Rishi wades through the cost of living crisis, static growth is waiting in the wings
The short-term pressures on Rishi Sunak have continued to grow in tandem with the cost of energy and everyday essentials.

Despite what we wish, there are no miracle economics Rishi can pull out of his hat
The economic pressures now known as “the cost of living crisis” were at the core of the criticism of the

As Omicron sweeps through again, Britain has finally learnt to live with Covid-19
A huge third wave of Omicron cases is sweeping the country. This will be readily apparent in the everyday lives

A renewed focus on defence spending could turbocharge Britain’s scientific innovation
Germany, along with most of the rest of the EU, has finally woken up to the folly of relying on