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 […]
Strikes are a part of the bargaining process but many current jobs are on their way out
Orgreave in South Yorkshire holds a special place in the memory of the British trade union movement. It was there in the summer of 1984 that a confrontation took place between the police and striking coal miners. It ended in the defeat of the miners in one of the most violent conflicts ever witnessed in […]
How Truss pays for her plan for energy prices is just as important as what she does
Our new prime minister already has a long list of detractors. Yet something many are failing to take notice of is how well she grasps the fundamental importance of generating economic growth. This is the central issue facing the economy and it will determine how, ultimately, we pay for an intervention in the energy market. […]
Our scientists were given responsibility in the pandemic but no public accountability
Last week, Rishi Sunak rehashed old wounds and stirred up more controversy over lockdowns during the height of the pandemic. The former Chancellor now says scientists were given too much power, where policy choices should have rested with those elected policy makers known as our leaders. Unlike most other government policies, there was little cost-benefit […]
Spiralling energy prices are a powerful lesson for our future plans for green power
For most politicians and commentators, green taxes are firmly established as an unequivocally Good Thing. True, Liz Truss has called for green levies to be temporarily halted to help drive down energy bills. But even if the next prime minister does intervene, once world energy prices start to fall substantially, she would be under enormous […]
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, the proportion of obesity in deprived areas is 37 per cent, up from 32 per cent three years ago. Theresa May’s government tried to curb obesity with the “soft drinks industry levy” in 2018 – […]
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 Hallet, announced this week. As part of its mandate, the inquiry will “listen to and consider carefully” the experiences of those who lost family members or “have suffered hardship or loss” as a result of […]
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 […]
