Spending without productivity improvements won’t lead to better public services
The decision by the government to stuff money into the bank accounts of the train drivers and junior doctors has been widely discussed. But the constant insistence by the doctors, and many others in the public sector, that they have in some ways suffered since the year 2010 has received much less attention. The use […]
The big challenge isn’t funding public services, it’s making them productive
There’s no shortage of special interest groups placing demands on the public purse. But with limited funds available, we must have an honest conversation about whose claims are the most valid. Waspi women are demanding a staggering £36bn in compensation for having been poorly informed about changes to their pension age. Meanwhile the National Foundation for […]
There’s a solution to dire public services: make our public sector more productive
Pre-election blows are being traded with increasing ferocity by both the main parties. Do the costs of Labour’s energy policies bear scrutiny? And can the Conservatives really afford to cut taxes? All of these questions relate back to the state of the public finances. Taxes are already at a post-war high relative to the size […]
Daunting task of improving public services is the real challenge for next government
Scotland has featured prominently in the media following Labour’s massive victory over the SNP in the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election. The sheer incompetence of the Nationalist government in Edinburgh is sinking in with the Scottish electorate. Voters in England are increasingly dissatisfied with the quality of public services they receive. But it is worse […]
Everyone wants a pay rise, but we will have to pay with cuts to jobs or services
The nation seems to be in the grip of an epidemic of cognitive dissonance. Where is Matt Hancock when we really need him to impose a lockdown and save us from this menace? Two major events have put huge strain on the public finances. The pandemic led to government borrowing of some £400bn, around 20 […]
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 […]
