Autumn Statement 2015: Chancellor George Osborne will get his surplus – but his long-term plan isn’t credible November 25, 2015 Yesterday George Osborne delivered what was effectively his fourth budget in under a year. Little wonder that his hour-long presentations from the despatch box are increasingly filled with tiny tweaks to policy and a lot of rhetoric and padding. The chancellor could have got across the important points of his statement in about three [...]
Autumn Statement 2015: The seven invisible rabbits that will help George Osborne balance his books November 25, 2015 The first Autumn Statement of a new parliament is a big event in the economic calendar. Yesterday’s statement by George Osborne was made, so we thought, against a difficult background: the latest statistics on public receipts and spending had been disappointing; the re-classification of the Housing Associations as public entities had put up his starting [...]
The Autumn Statement was a missed opportunity to radically rethink the role of the state November 25, 2015 We've become accustomed to scratching our heads during speeches by politicians, wondering how the policy measures announced can possibly reconcile with the language used. Yesterday was no exception, with the chancellor making seemingly endless announcements of spending increases, alongside U-turns on reforms to tax credits and cuts to police, as part of a speech designed [...]
As the chancellor makes some dramatic U-turns, is he now more likely to become Prime Minister? November 25, 2015 Laura Swire, director of Hanover Communications, says Yes George Osborne is respected for his approach to the public finances, but he is not well liked. Yesterday’s Comprehensive Spending Review was his chance to shape the ground on which his leadership campaign and the next election will be fought. He chose to prioritise the NHS, housing [...]
Autumn Statement 2015: Chancellor George Osborne must reconsider ringfencing November 25, 2015 "The structural deficit will be eliminated by 2014-15.” So said George Osborne’s emergency Budget back in 2010, which also predicted that the national debt would “peak at 70.3 per cent of GDP in 2013-14”. Full marks for optimism. The debt – now 80.5 per cent of GDP – is not falling and the deficit has not [...]
Unleash small developers to reap public sector land sale potential November 24, 2015 Today is a golden opportunity for the government to kick-start a house-building revolution in this country. We are in the midst of a generational housing crisis that necessitates ambition, innovation and creativity if it is to be resolved. Figures from across the political spectrum have got the right ideas on housing and the drive to [...]
It’s not just the euro: Southern Europe is facing a major structural economic crisis November 24, 2015 Major shocks to social and economic systems ruthlessly expose weaknesses which can be contained in more normal times. When the price of oil quadrupled in 1973-74, the different levels of resilience in the labour markets of Western Europe were quickly revealed. Inflation initially rose sharply everywhere. By 1976, it had fallen to 4 per cent [...]
Autumn Statement 2015: HMRC corporate tax overreach risks Britain’s business-friendly reputation unless George Osborne acts November 24, 2015 Five years may not be very long in many contexts, but in that time the tax world has changed significantly. The coalition’s Corporate Tax Roadmap, published in November 2010, declared that it wanted to create “the most competitive corporate tax regime in the G20”. In doing so, it highlighted four key ways in which the [...]
Autumn Statement 2015: Chancellor George Osborne should beware – the UK is not out of the woods yet November 24, 2015 At the Autumn Statement today, George Osborne will have good reason to cheer his economic record. In a number of areas, the UK economy appears to be rebalancing towards a more sustainable course. GDP growth has remained robust, with output rising at the highest rate in the G7 last year. Unemployment continues to plummet [...]
As Russia and Turkey square up, is Britain underestimating the risks of getting more involved in Syria? November 24, 2015 Dr John C Hulsman, a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and president of John C. Hulsman Enterprises, says Yes Easily the two most dangerous words leading to foreign policy catastrophes are “do something”. This amounts to the vague – but powerful – feeling that immediate action is required to right wrongs, however [...]