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 already, in that distant summer Britain experienced a prolonged heatwave. The temperature was over 30 degrees for several weeks, without respite. We survived without the hysteria of the Met Office or the pronouncements of the […]
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 Brexit are all key issues which have been raised. On some of these, at least, there are marked differences between the candidates. But there is an elephant in the room: how to raise the underlying […]
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 those wanting to start university in the autumn. The number of applicants has risen by 5 per cent this year, according to the university admissions service (UCAS). In addition, many universities are cutting back the […]
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 to all. What has been going on with the highly technical models which economists in these institutions build to try and explain inflation? If we look under the bonnet, we find a debate which is […]
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 warmest ever recorded. Then, as now, there had been a massive rise in world energy prices. There was trouble on the railways, where the unions were in an aggressive mood. The TSSA union and ASLEF […]
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 kind of Scottish break that had once again wormed its way to the top of the conversation: independence. The discourse is now, finally, joined by a consideration for the level of incompetence of the SNP […]
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 well with voters. The tax makes it look like money is raised from someone else and given to them through subsidies to their bills. Despite claims that the tax will yield an additional £5bn in […]
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, a big state. What’s next? An old idea which is currently being given new legs is that of a universal basic income (UBI). The basic concept is that all citizens of a country receive from […]
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 restrictions on junk food marketing and volume-based price promotions. These had been presented as key elements in the strategy to reduce obesity. With a timing which was either impeccable or pure good luck, the Cancer […]
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 2020 – are now becoming obvious. As our memory of them starts to fade away, the World Health Organisation (WHO) is still tracking vital Covid-19 data. The WHO provides estimates of the excess deaths due […]
