The Tories and Labour are both relying on a magic money tree
Ask any main political party how they plan to sustain public services in the medium-term, and their answer will be…
The nasty tax surprise hidden in the Tory manifesto
There are no big policy surprises in the Tory manifesto – not least because the major announcements on tax, immigration,…
The Tories are addressing welfare reform too late
The launch of the Conservative manifesto later this morning will dominate today’s headlines. But it’s worth reflecting, before the full…
Nigel Farage’s biggest gift to the Labour party
Labour has a lot of reasons to be thankful for Nigel Farage. Reform was already creeping up on the Tories…
Is Labour really plotting a £2,000 tax grab?
Is the Labour party planning a £2,000 tax grab on households? That was Rishi Sunak’s main message last night during…
Can Sunak really take credit for future interest rate cuts?
When the Bank of England finally delivers an interest rate cut, can the Tory party take credit for it? Rishi…
A stand-off between Labour and the BMA is coming
Junior doctors will be staging yet another walkout in the week running up to the election: five days in total,…
Did Rachel Reeves just rule out more tax hikes?
Speaking to business leaders in the East Midlands this morning, Rachel Reeves delivered a fairly uncontroversial speech. In her first major…
The Tory ‘tax-cutting’ agenda is fooling no one
Something has to go badly wrong for anyone to become nostalgic for 2020. But the Tory’s latest election announcement – to create…
Will Labour raise taxes?
What is Labour’s tax-and-spend agenda? This is an outstanding question the party needs to answer before polling day – and…
The smoking ban will be back
Has Rishi Sunak’s surprise summer election spared Britain some nanny state interventions? At first glance it seemed so, as it…
How net zero will divide Labour and the Tories
This morning, Ofgem announced another reduction in the energy price cap from July. The new cap on the unit price…
The general election has ruined prospects of an early rate cut
Would waiting another few months to call a general election have improved the Conservatives’ prospects? Rishi Sunak didn’t touch upon…
Inflation falls close to target, but could interest rate cuts be delayed?
The UK inflation rate has slowed to 2.3 per cent on the year to April, down from 3.2 per cent…
UK growth is creeping up – but tough decisions still lie ahead
Today the International Monetary Fund has upgraded its growth forecasts for the UK: from 0.5 per cent this year to…
The UK leaves recession behind in 2023
This morning the Office for National Statistics (ONS) confirmed that the UK confined its technical recession to 2023. The economy grew by 0.6…
Andrew Bailey paves the way for a summer interest rate cut
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee has voted to hold interest rates for the sixth time in a row. Members of…
Can Labour or the Tories fix the economy?
It’s all but certain that the UK’s exit from recession will be confirmed at the end of this week. Preliminary…
Joseph Stiglitz: ‘We know where fascism led last time’
When Joseph Stiglitz talks, the left listens. The Nobel laureate has advised multiple Democratic presidents and the World Bank, where…
Will Britain ever escape the low growth trap?
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) latest report, published this morning, downgrades Britain’s growth prospects this year: from…
Labour’s plan to renationalise the railways doesn’t add up
Labour’s plan to renationalise the railways is not much of a plan at all. Rather, it is a list of…
The dangers of political prosecution
At the start of January, Donald Trump offered up a cheery new year message for Americans. ‘If I don’t get…
Will Sunak’s welfare reforms get more people back into work?
Chancellor Rishi Sunak had days to design the furlough scheme. Once lockdown became mandatory in spring 2020, it was a…
Liberty is dying under the Tories
It seems political consensus isn’t dead. It’s simply been hibernating, waiting for a kind of crackdown on personal liberty that…
Britain needs more than tinkering to get growth going
It’s not just Britain that has a growth problem. Today’s release of the IMF’s April 2024 World Economic Outlook report argues that…
