Looking to Germany as an economic model for the UK has its pitfalls. Policy is not as transferable between nations as is sometimes proffered by comparative reports, because businesses and people work within a culture – a culture cultivated over centuries. It is the reason there is so much resistance to making the UK economy… [Read More]
I thought I would partake in the proud tradition of using as headlines ‘questions to which the answer is No’. At least, not yet. In amidst the horror of MH17, the sickening news from Gaza and Israel, and David Cameron’s ‘put Britain first’ immigration PR stunt, you would be forgiven for not knowing why Hungary… [Read More]
Ukrainian prime minister Arseny Yatseniuk announced his resignation on Thursday after his governing coalition collapsed. This has left the beleaguered country in political gridlock in the midst of economic troubles and a pro-Russia insurgency in the east of the country. A pro-Europe party led by the mayor of Kiev and a far-right party quit the… [Read More]
The latest instalment in the English Housing Survey series highlights many of the difficulties facing that growing mass of would-be first-time buyers despairing of ever getting a foot on the ladder. An important point is the proportion of people’s incomes being taken up in rent, preventing them from saving that money towards a home to… [Read More]
Following employment minister Esther McVey, one reason self-employed workers deserve respect is that it is hard work to make a success of it.
Regionalism has become a woolly technocratic term with fading traction in public discourse. It’s a political platitude which switches the disengage button when uttered by politicians. For decades, political parties in the ascendant have promised devolution, but consistently failed to deliver in office. All the while, the economic canyon between North and South (see the… [Read More]
It has been a gentle week to ease Philip Hammond into Britain’s top diplomatic job. He has only had to deal with the MH17 airplane crash in Eastern Ukraine, UN escalation with Russia, and the intensification of hostilities in Israel-Palestine. To add to his relaxation, Theresa May announced a public inquiry into the death of… [Read More]
This week two different groups of women ministers were offered more senior positions. David Cameron chose to shuffle out several secretaries of state, including Michael Gove and Owen Paterson, rather than allow the electorate to give their verdict in less than a year. Their replacements, Nicky Morgan and Liz Truss, had to suffer also the… [Read More]
Think Like a Freak is simply an amazing book. If you haven’t read it: read it. Their way of thinking is infectious. The book itself is a candid and sharp analysis of the way humans behave, not how we think we behave, with fascinating evidence to prove it on every page. (If you think it’s… [Read More]
In the reshuffle dubbed the “cull of the middle-aged white men”, the most important new job, Foreign Secretary, went to a middle-aged white man who studied PPE at Oxford and is worth an estimated £7.5 million. This suggests potential fireworks in Brussels, since Philip Hammond is a known sceptic. Number 10’s aggressive line on Europe… [Read More]