Press Releases
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Press Releases from 2012
Britain’S £800M Cement Industry Threatened By Carbon Reduction Policies
27 December 2012
High cost of energy in UK also poses risk to chemicals, glass, ceramics and steel industries. Aluminium industry already virtually eradicated after major closures in Anglesey and Lynemouth, Northumberland. Government should scrap plans for carbon price floor, exempt all energy-intensive industries from the climate change levy to the maximum extent permitted under EU directives, and abandon unachievable target of generating 20 per cent of electricity by renewable methods by 2020. A new pamphlet by…
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Christianity at Risk of Wipe-Out In the Middle East, Warns New Civitas Study
23 December 2012
Christianity is in serious danger of being wiped out in its biblical heartlands because of Islamic oppression, according to a new report from a leading independent think-tank. But Western politicians and media largely ignore the widespread persecution of Christians in the Middle East and the wider world because they are afraid they will be accused of racism. They fail to appreciate that in the defence of the wider concept of human rights, religious freedom…
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£100 Billion Motorway Sell-Off Can Kick-Start the Faltering Economy
3 December 2012
Privatisation of the motorways with the funds raised used to scrap fuel duty and road tax should be at the heart of an ambitious and radical agenda to kick-start the economy, according to a new report from independent think-tank Civitas. The report by Glyn Gaskarth recommends the motorway be sold off and tolls introduced to raise up to £100 billion for the Treasury - money that should be used to slash the nation's…
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Civitas Industrial Policy Blueprint Backs State Support For Manufacturing to Combat Recession
29 October 2012
High energy costs "silent killer" of enterprise, warns new report Civitas industrial policy blueprint backs state support for manufacturing to combat recession, warning that the European Commission is major obstacle to UK recovery A combination of radical cuts in energy costs, red tape and taxes allied with targeted state support for manufacturing and German-style savings and enterprise banks should be at the heart of a bold new industrial policy, according to a major new…
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What Should Schools Teach?
29 October 2012
A new series of books from the independent think tank Civitas could revolutionise primary school teaching: By ending the narrowing of the curriculum that has been the result of a corrupted testing regime. Instead of 'teaching to the test', schools will be able to offer a broader, deeper and richer experience. By ending the climate of low expectations. Genuine solidarity with children from disadvantaged homes calls for high expectations, not lowering their sights in case…
Boxing Clever: Teaching the Un-Teachable In a Boxing Gym
25 September 2012
A new book, Boxing Clever, describes how the London Boxing Academy Community Project (LBACP), in partnership with Westminster social policy think-tank Civitas, combined boxing, close personal relationships, respect for rules and high aspirations to re-engage teenagers in education. The aim of the LBACP was to make use of the strong relationships that boxing coaches have traditionally held with wayward young men. It was an alternative education project in Tottenham, North London, where the…
Electronics Sector Could Be Lighting Up Britain's Job Market
28 August 2012
While the Coalition buckles under the strain of economic stagnation, a new Civitas report shows that supporting the electronics sector could re-energise job opportunities. Selling Circuits Short, by Stephen Clarke and Georgia Plank, reveals that the Government is ignoring the size and significance of electronics manufacturing. Supportive policies could help in Osborne's trumpeted 'coordinated push for growth'. The LED under a bushel The report outlines the size of the sector and its significance…
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'Institutional Racism' Charge Shackled Britain's Police
6 August 2012
'Institutional racism' charge shackled Britain's police Bureaucratic burdens have prevented Britain's police forces from protecting the vulnerable Institutional racism is an unfair allegation to level at British police forces and its universal acceptance by public officials has led to harmful policymaking, according to a new Civitas report. In Mind Forg'd Manacles, Jon Gower Davies outlines the history and influence of 'institutional racism' since the Macpherson inquiry, following the murder of Stephen Lawrence…
Coalition's Anti-Prison Policies Ignore MOJ Data on Effectiveness of Long Sentences
9 July 2012
Coalition's anti-prison policies ignore MOJ data on effectiveness of long sentences Analysis of FOI data shows that longer prison sentences reduce fraud and burglary Tough prison sentences contribute to reducing property crime, according to a new Civitas report. Siddhartha Bandyopadhyay, a Birmingham University economist, shows that prison is effective at reducing crime, especially when targeted at serious and repeat offenders. The report, Acquisitive Crime, shows that for some crime types, longer custodial sentences…
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Bankers Holding Uk Economy to Ransom
5 July 2012
Vickers Commission's banking reforms fail to protect the public from future financial crises As the City reels from the revelations of the interest-rate fixing scandal, a new Civitas report shows that the Government's reforms of UK banks leave the public exposed to the mis-selling and risk-taking of bankers. The Government has promised to implement the proposals of the Vickers Commission, which are meant to safeguard the banks and the taxpayer…
British Manufacturers That Offshored to China Stung By Rising Labour Costs
2 July 2012
100% wage hike on China's east coast makes England's North East more attractive Many offshored British manufacturers are realising that they are better off in Britain than in China, according to a new Civitas report. In The Boomerang Economy, David Merlin-Jones examines the increasing number of UK companies, which expected to benefit from cut-price labour in China, deciding to bring production back to the UK. High-end manufacturers are evolving and…
England More Socially Mobile Than Germany, France and Italy
21 June 2012
The Government says Britain has a serious social mobility problem, but a new Civitas report shows this is wrong. The government's social mobility strategy is based on a flawed understanding of the evidence. Social Mobility Delusions, by sociologist Peter Saunders, reviews the evidence on social mobility in Britain and finds: Social mobility is the norm in Britain, not the exception, and it occurs in both directions across the entire range of the occupational class…
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Police Focus on Individual Offenders Can Cut Crime
15 June 2012
Immediate and clear sanctions can stop offending and reduce criminal justice costs While police forces and the prison system grapple with the swingeing cuts inflicted by the Coalition Government, a new Civitas report reveals that policing strategies that target individual offenders could help protect the public. Offender-Desistance Policing and the Sword of Damocles, by two Cambridge University criminologists, Lawrence W. Sherman and Peter W. Neyroud, argues that letting the police deal with low-risk…
Closed-Shop City Barring New Banks
8 May 2012
Major retail banks exploit cosy relationship with FSA to keep out competition Britain's financial regulators have been co-opted into protecting major banks from competition, according to a new Civitas report. The result is that big banks can get away with reducing lending to businesses and offering poor service to customers, without the risk of losing accounts to competitors. Street Cred, by Stephen L. Clarke, examines how financial regulations, introduced to protect consumers, have…
Nick Clegg's Speech Ignores Jobs Lost to Misfiring Green Policies
14 April 2012
Two of three major UK aluminium smelters lost in last three years This week, Nick Clegg derided claims that environmental legislation was holding back industrial recovery as 'utterly wrong'. But a new Civitas report reveals that, in fact, the UK's draconian energy policy is causing the collapse of a successful British industry. 'The closure of the Lynemouth aluminium smelter' examines the influence of short-sighted Government policy on decisions to move aluminium production elsewhere…
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Strong Pound Still Hurting Britain
13 April 2012
Lack of exchange rate policy is crippling hopes of economic recovery The strong pound is a key contributor to Britain's languid rate of economic growth according to a new Civitas report. Despite a significant fall since 2008, the high price of the pound is still preventing exporters from pricing their goods and services competitively on world markets. In A Price That Matters, John Mills, an entrepreneur and economist, challenges much conventional thinking on economic…
Britain Needs a State-Backed Investment Bank to End Lending Freeze
26 February 2012
Neither America nor Germany rely solely on commercial banks As George Osborne's next Budget approaches and the UK teeters on the edge of recession, a new Civitas report reveals that the Government is failing to tackle the key barrier to growth. A lending freeze affecting small and medium-sized (SME) businesses is preventing economic recovery. Extending Lending, by David Merlin-Jones, shows how state-backed investment schemes in the US and Germany have created…
Wind-Power: Inordinately Expensive and Ineffective at Cutting Co2 Emissions
9 January 2012
Energy experts warn that unwarranted support for wind-power is hindering genuinely cleaner energy The focus on wind-power, driven by the renewables targets, is preventing Britain from effectively reducing CO2 emissions, while crippling energy users with additional costs, according to a new Civitas report. The report finds that wind-power is unreliable and requires back-up power stations to be available in order to maintain a consistent electricity supply to households and businesses. This…
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EU's Flagship Green Scheme Siphons Cash from Consumers and Employers to Energy Fat Cats
3 January 2012
Emissions Trading System shrinks economy but not Britain's carbon footprint The EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) is siphoning billions from industry and consumers to plump up finance and energy fat cats, according a new Civitas report. The report reveals that, via the EU ETS, each EU citizen is effectively subsidising the power industry by £30 a year. [p. 13] In addition, the Government is adding more costs to UK families and businesses via…