Our politicians must wake up to the public debt effect
In a novel by C.P. Snow, a physicist turned author who served as science minister under Harold Wilson in the 1960s, the master of a Cambridge college says that “gratitude isn’t an emotion, but the expectation of gratitude is a very lively one.” The prime minister and her Chancellor may well be having exactly the […]
Low tax regimes only matter as much as their longevity
The tax breaks will, we were told, include 100 per cent relief from business rates on newly occupied business premises, and offsets for companies on spending on new plant and machinery in the first year. Relaxed planning regulations are also set to be part of the package. The race from local authorities to be included […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 living saints. Soap operas are helpful purveyors of this narrative. Perhaps the most famous is George Clooney as the charismatic Dr Ross in the long running American medical drama ER. Dr Ross, despite the […]
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. Conservative MPs are increasingly panicked about being saddled with a label of being “high tax Tories”. But underlying all of this is a much more worrying phenomenon. Since the financial crisis of the late 2000s, […]
As government debt jumps to fund defence spending, our economy will pay the price
Sanctions will clearly hit the Russian economy very hard. But economic prospects for the West are not exactly rosy. Twice in the 1970s and again in the early 90s, there were rapid spikes in oil prices; each instance was followed by economic recessions. The deep recession following 2008 was, of course, due to financial causes […]
Subsidies to Wales have made devolution a begging bowl rather than a point of pride
Did you raise a toast yesterday to the staff of Gwynedd Council in North Wales? They were enjoying their very own special Bank Holiday to celebrate the day of the patron saint of Wales, St David. Gwynedd council proudly declared in January that it would “grant” this extra holiday. All very well and good, except that […]
A four day week must withstand the productivity test to be worth the gamble
Durham based challenger bank Atom has announced a four day working week for all of its 430 employees as more and more people debate the number of days we should be working. For SMEs in the services sector, a four day week is an attractive bandwagon to jump on. It is commonly given credit for […]
