Boris Johnson’s push for mass testing is set for failure before it even gets off the grounds
The campaign for regular, mass Covid testing has begun in earnest. From last Friday, everyone in England has been eligible to access lateral flow tests for free. The government would like people to test themselves twice a week. Under the slogan “Hands, Face, Space, Fresh Air”, the public is being urged to use the NHS […]
Keir Starmer still has time to shine as Labour leader
Since last summer, Starmers have been the stock to short. In June, the Leader of the Opposition enjoyed a net approval rating of plus 31 per cent. The latest polls show this has fallen into negative territory. But as with all stocks, past performance is not necessarily a guide to the future. In terms of […]
Government scientists must be transparent about flawed Covid models
The strength of the economic recovery as Britain emerges from lockdown is a hotly contested subject among economists. Some believe there will be a massive surge in demand as consumers celebrate their freedom, others argue it will take time to claw back confidence. Economic forecasts are subject to the same faults as any projections, as […]
The curious case of Boris Johnson’s popularity after a year of lockdowns
In 1993, economics Nobel Laureate Daniel Kahneman published a paper with the enigmatic title “When More Pain Is Preferred to Less”. He and his colleagues conducted two experiments with the same group of people. In the first, the participants had to hold their hand in cold water for a specified time. They had to keep […]
Calorie counting gimmicks and sugar taxes won’t solve obesity crisis
In the early days of the pandemic obesity was identified as a key factor behind hospitalisation rates and deaths from Covid. The Prime Minister knew this personally, from his own brush with mortality last April. This is on top of the already well-established links between obesity and other life-threatening conditions such as Type 2 diabetes, […]
If done right, Rishi Sunak’s towns fund will reap huge rewards and end decades of top-down strategies
Nurses’ pay has been one of the biggest flash points of last week’s budget. But, the Chancellor also stirred up lesser, but no less important, furores. One of these was the list of places which are set to receive money from a whole string of new initiatives for the regions. For example, under the Towns […]
Budget 2021: The political consensus on low taxes could be completely wrong
In the run up to most Budgets there is almost always one key question shaping debate: should the screws be tightened or the floodgates opened? This time round, a near unanimous consensus has arisen. Taxes should not go up, for fear of jeopardising the recovery. Even the Leader of the Labour Party has signed up to […]
The Great Frost of Covid-19 will pass – and Britain’s economy will heat up
The Great Frost of 1709 has been in the news this week, quite possibly for the first time since 1709 itself. According to Bank of England estimates, this was the last time that GDP fell by more in a single year than it did in the Covid year we have just had. The Office for […]
Burnley and Asda are unlikely warnings of debt-driven troubles
It has been a week of mixed messages. Not just on the release from lockdown, but on the economy. The Bank of England indicated that banks have been given six months to prepare for negative interest rates. The Monetary Policy Committee was quick to clarify that this did not mean that they would necessarily cut […]
Beware those who’d lock us down and throw away the key
Rather like dedicated Remainers, pro-lockdown enthusiasts never seem to give up. Their ardour will have been fuelled by leaks over the weekend of results from the epidemiological models. Apparently, even though quite soon all the over-70s will have been jabbed, lifting restrictions before the summer would lead to a massive third wave of the virus. […]
