Strong leadership is the key to future prosperity November 28, 2018 Time for a story that has nothing to do with Brexit. The 2018 Legatum Prosperity Index is out today, and the trends are positive: global prosperity – a metric that takes into account not just GDP, but also factors such as wellbeing, health, and security – is at its highest since the think tank launched [...]
We are taking the first step to challenge university groupthink November 28, 2018 The world of academia may seem remote from everyday politics. But it would be wrong to conclude that the arguments made by university scholars do not matter for Westminster. In fact, the ideas that dominate in universities at any given time typically go on to strongly influence public debate and policy. This isn’t surprising, as most [...]
Venezuela is a brutal lesson to the UK’s socialist apologists November 28, 2018 I know it is very hard to believe, but at some point we shall stop talking about Brexit. We shall get back to discussing what we can do to improve our lives and those of others. And we shall look for inspiration from other countries to learn lessons from catastrophic failures or discover truly amazing [...]
Like southern Europe, Britain’s stagnant regions are stuck in a monetary union trap November 28, 2018 The Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence created a bit of a stir at the end of last week with its estimates of growth in the regions of the UK. Since the recovery from the financial crisis began during 2009, London’s economy has grown by 26 per cent. At the other end of the scale, output [...]
Economist disputes claim that Brexit deal could shrink UK economy November 27, 2018 Research claiming that Theresa May’s Brexit deal could reduce Britain’s economy by up to 5.5 per cent over the next decade compared to staying in the EU has come under fire from a pro-Brexit economist. Researchers at the London School of Economics, King’s College London and the Institute for Fiscal Studies said the withdrawal agreement [...]
Forget ‘just deserts’ and keep your nose out of other people’s pay November 27, 2018 Two decades ago, it was considered rude and crass in Britain to openly discuss wages and salaries. Now, everyone seems to have an opinion on how much others should earn. There has always the been broad lament about footballers’ wages being “ridiculous”, of course, or that nurses and teachers were “undervalued”. And after the financial [...]
Open your eyes, Labour is more radically left than it’s ever been November 27, 2018 When something new happens in politics, people like to pretend they’ve seen it before. Look at Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour party. In the City, lazy thinking about Labour is everywhere. Pub bores, from Leadenhall to Limehouse, will tell you that Corbyn’s party today is a just bad Betamax video of a 1970s-era Labour government. This is [...]
May needs the stars to align if her Brexit deal is to pass the Commons November 26, 2018 Fourteen days from now, Parliament will vote on the government's Brexit deal. The vote will be preceded by four days of formal debate but by the time MPs pass through the division lobbies of the House of Commons, they will have been arguing over this issue for two and a half years. Many have argued [...]
Sellers experience a house price ‘reality check’ despite a climb in mortgage approvals November 26, 2018 New home mortgage approvals inched higher in October, the latest data shows. High street bank lending for house purchases grew by 3.6 per cent compared to the same month in 2017, UK Finance figures released today demonstrate. However, remortgaging approvals fell by a huge 13.5 per cent, with total mortgage approvals down 4.1 per cent. [...]
Eurozone growth slows to four-year low due to sluggish manufacturing sector November 23, 2018 Eurozone business activity growth slumped to the lowest rate in four years, according to the latest statistics. The slowdown hit the manufacturing sector hardest, where output only rose marginally, due to subdued car sales, weakened global demand, rising political and economic uncertainty and trade wars. Service sector growth fared slightly better however growth still declined [...]