Borrowing to invest is all very well but what about value for money?
The precise contents of the budget are still secret. But a widely trailed theme is that the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, wants to create as much scope as possible for extra public sector investment. She appears to be willing to rewrite the existing fiscal rules in order to accommodate the increase. In principle of course there […]
Will carbon capture work? Nobody knows – and that’s the problem
The government confirmed this month the funding for the UK’s first carbon capture sites. The technology, it is claimed, captures CO2 emissions before they reach the atmosphere and stores them away safely. Based on Merseyside and Teesside, the project will have almost miraculous powers. It will create 4,000 jobs directly, as many as 50,000 in […]
The threat of higher taxes is already harming growth
The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, had made no secret of her desire to make economic growth her top policy objective. She reinforced the message this week in an interview with the Financial Times, using the mantra “invest, invest, invest!”. Perhaps unwittingly, this carries echoes of Karl Mark’s memorable phrase in Das Kapital: “Accumulate, accumulate. That is Moses and the […]
Haldane is right – the Chancellor’s doom-mongering is dangerous
The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, often mentions her experience as an economist at the Bank of England. But she has been taken to task by no less a figure than the former chief economist of the Bank, Andy Haldane. Haldane notes that “just after the election, there was a sense of refresh, a sense of renewal, a […]
For once, Humza Yousaf has set an example other politicians should follow
Humza Yousaf, the First Minister of Scotland, does not often attract plaudits. But last week he overrode the advice of his officials. Shock, horror. Surely Sir Humphrey and the “experts” always know best. Officials recommended a donation to UNICEF to finance water programmes in Gaza. Instead, Yousaf decided that the money should be given to the United […]
May Cameron’s Wellbeing Unit rest in peace, money can buy happiness after all
Last month, the government announced that the What Works Centre for Wellbeing, set up with great fanfare by David Cameron in 2014 with the mission to boost national happiness, is to be shut down. Ever since the concept was first launched after the Second World War, the main focus of the policy of governments of […]
Tougher borders won’t stop Britain from being overwhelmed by illegal migration
Last weekend, at his meeting with the Italian prime minister Georgia Meloni, Rishi Sunak claimed migrants were threatening to “overwhelm” countries like the UK unless drastic action is taken. Sunak’s Italian counterpart is currently considering a similar scheme to the now highly controversial plan to send refugees to Rwanda. But the PM’s comments sparked a fresh wave […]
The vast social costs of Covid lockdowns are clear, so why is the inquiry silent?
The liberal establishment appears to remain wedded to a narrow and blinkered view of the Covid pandemic and its consequences. It has been on full display during the Covid inquiry, especially during the cross-examination of Boris Johnson. Hugo Keith KC, the lead barrister at the inquiry, made a great effort to establish that the UK […]
A post-mortem of pandemic-era lockdowns expose a dangerous disregard for scepticism
Like most people, the revelations from the leaked WhatsApps of government ministers during the pandemic have left me with a mixture of emotions. At one level, they reveal how difficult it is to make decisions amidst considerable uncertainty. It is always easy, after the event, to point to mistakes and say they could have been […]
Rishi Sunak’s strategy of quiet governance won’t deliver an election victory
One of the prayers in the 1662 Anglican Prayer Book entreats that we be “godly and quietly governed”. In other words, government should not just be reasonable and morally upright, there should also not be too much of it. Rishi Sunak appears to have taken this to heart, or at least the “quiet” bit, given […]
