We’re still recovering from lockdown’s impact on children
Some 140,000 children missed more than half of the school days they should have attended this spring. Research by the…
The taxman’s dodgy data
Ten years ago, HMRC unveiled what was billed as ‘the biggest change’ to the tax system since PAYE began in…
The Covid inquiry asked the wrong questions of Neil Ferguson
SPI-M-O are at the Covid inquiry this week. They’re the shadowy group of mathematical modellers who contributed – more than…
It’s official: we don’t know how many people are unemployed
For perhaps the first time in its history, the Office for National Statistics does not know how many employed, unemployed…
In defence of drunken freshers’ weeks
Students need a drunken freshers’ week
Public sector pay pushes wage growth to record high
Public sector pay growth has jumped 9.6 per cent, the fastest rate since current records began 22 years ago. Private…
Seven graphs that show the challenge for the Tories at the election
The Tories have avoided total wipeout in last night’s triple by-election. Rishi Sunak dodged the embarrassment of becoming the first…
Sunak’s debt target is slipping out of reach
Threadneedle Street will have all the economic limelight this week as the Bank of England sets interest rates tomorrow. With…
Record pay deals will worry the Bank of England
Wages are slowly closing the gap with inflation, up 7.2 per cent in the year to April versus inflation of…
Britain’s economy is struggling with so many off sick
One of the UK’s biggest economic problems is having so many people out of work – and the slowest return…
Ten yardsticks to judge Humza Yousaf by as first minister
Humza Yousaf is the new leader of the SNP and in the coming days will be sworn in at the…
Did Scotland’s minimum alcohol pricing work? A look at the data
As Nicola Sturgeon prepares to exit stage right, she’s been reeling off her greatest hits. Things she thinks she’s done…
The Budget in twelve graphs
Jeremy Hunt has just delivered his second Budget as Chancellor. The top message the Chancellor wants to push is that…
Sweden, Covid and ‘excess deaths’: a look at the data
Pandemics kill people in two ways, said Chris Whitty at the start of the Covid outbreak: directly and indirectly, via…
Scotland will have a new leader on 27 March
So now we know: Scotland will get its new leader on 27 March. The rules that will determine how Sturgeon’s…
Nicola Sturgeon’s legacy in six graphs
Nicola Sturgeon is expected to resign in a press conference later this morning, after eight years as First Minister. She…
Why the rising unemployment rate might not be such bad news
Is unemployment beginning to bite? Or are the workless trying to rejoin the economy? That’s the key question after the…
House prices fall (again) – but is it the time to buy?
House prices have fallen for the second month in a row, according to Nationwide – following wider predictions of a…
Why are excess deaths higher now than during Covid?
More people are dying every week than during Covid’s peak years. Last month there were 1,564 more deaths than average…
The metrics that will decide the next PM’s fate
Gone in a flash, Liz Truss becomes the shortest serving prime minister in British history. As it stands, she’s 75…
Six graphs that could seal Liz Truss's fate
When Britain crashed out of the European exchange rate mechanism on Black Wednesday, prime minister John Major phoned the Sun…
More Britons than ever are out of work due to long-term sickness
Some nine million working-age people are out of work and are not looking for it either. Figures released by the…
The barcode revolution
Beep-bop. The sound of the supermarket checkout – a noise Morrisons felt the need to mute after the Queen’s death…
How likely are the lights to go out this winter?
Britain will make it through the winter without the lights going out. That’s the view of the National Grid, which is…
Why life expectancy is going down in Scotland
Life expectancy is perhaps the surest sign of a country’s welfare, which makes it all the more worrying that Scotland’s…
