Carillion shouldn’t be brought under state control, but maybe central banks should be
A strong thread in the acres of print about the Carillion debacle is that the private sector should not really be involved in infrastructure projects. The public sector would, apparently, do it better. Readers who experienced life under the nationalised rail and telephone systems might be forgiven their scepticism. One idea which is taking hold […]
Sorry, Prime Minister: Legislation won’t end excess in the boardroom
A key platform of our new Prime Minister is to curb what she perceives to be boardroom excesses. “It is not anti-business to suggest that big business needs to change”, she said. One of her proposals is to allow employee and worker representatives to sit on company boards, a suggestion which has not gone down […]
Scotland’s fiscal fantasy and the impact of an OUT vote
A short visit to the Highlands last week was refreshing. The scenery is just as spectacular as ever, and the people just as welcoming. But elsewhere, the tectonic plates are shifting. Last week, a televised debate took place amongst the political leaders contesting the elections to the Scottish Parliament in May. It resembled a bidding […]
Why we are much better off than the official statistics say
The oldest surviving map of Britain was created in Canterbury a thousand years ago. Our ancestors had a good idea of how to get around. The country is depicted in its familiar shape. Understanding of the world outside Western Europe remained sketchy for centuries. The phrase ‘here be dragons’ was allegedly used to conceal ignorance […]
A radical idea to revive the North
The Head of OFSTED, Sir Michael Wilshaw, warned last week that secondary schools in Liverpool and Manchester were ‘going into reverse’. Too many pupils in Northern towns and cities are simply not prepared for the next phase of their education, training or employment. In Liverpool, for example, four out of every ten schools are judged […]
