Today is an historic day, though with the term in almost hourly use by the media to describe events in Egypt, its significance has been given less coverage than it deserves. For the first time in many years the U.K Foreign Secretary has been openly critical of American foreign policy and put distance between London and […]
This news is not a substitute for a proper reorganisation of the banks but it will be popular with those outside the City. The banks should be pleased that they have been let off lightly. However, the attempt by the government to pusuade the banks to enter into some sort of agreement to lend more […]
This blog has never been happy about this idea. It does not mean that it is a bad idea, but it is certainly a bad idea to introduce what amounts to an ideological opportunity to sharp elbowed parents, at a time when money is short even to keep mainstream schools in proper repair. It is also […]
Every time one tunes into a current affairs programme or the news, there is waiting a queue of interested parties complaining one after another about the cuts. Whether it is the police, the NHS or social services, the arguments are powerfully put by those who believe their patch is critical to national cohesion. The latest casualty […]
I have a problem with this. Ed Milliband showed a good deal of flair in the way he brought Labour’s view of the economy to the fore, without being too specific about how to do better than the coalition. Balance means borrow more, in the hope that revenue goes up quicker. Unfortunately the eye watering […]
The IFS has speculated upon an Osborne Plan B. In the old days these were called U-Turns, made famous by Margaret Thatcher’s dismissal of the idea at a Tory conference, since when no economist or politician has dared go near the term. The new buzword is Plan B. Like the old U-Turn Plan B can be a […]
The Chancellor has set a monetarist course of cutting government expenditure by shrinking the size of the state. Pointless functions and organisations are axed and lots of jobs have disappeared. So big had the state become, it is inevitable that the shedding of its functions will reduce GDP. This does not matter, indeed it has to […]