Freedom and liberty: The dangerous words our politicians ignore September 25, 2013 TWO words have dropped from the political lexicon. In fact, Nick Clegg and Vince Cable, Ed Balls and Ed Miliband appear to find them dangerous. For in their conference speeches, these words weren’t mentioned at all (bar a passing reference from Clegg). Yet the same words were central to many of the great political speeches, [...]
Letters to the Editor – 26/09 – Energy price fix, Inflation target, Best of Twitter September 25, 2013 Energy price fix [Re: Miliband’s lurch to left is a recipe for disaster, yesterday] Labour claims that it wishes to promote a more competitive energy industry by breaking up the largest firms. Of course the irony is that the plan to freeze energy prices will likely result in a far less competitive market. Centrica has [...]
How Labour can deliver on its pledge and tackle London’s housing drought September 24, 2013 HAROLD Macmillan made his reputation – and became Prime Minister – after delivering on his pledge to build 300,000 houses a year in the early 1950s. As Ed Miliband made clear yesterday, when he promised that a Labour government would ensure that 200,000 new homes were built annually by 2020, we now need similar ambition. [...]
Against the Grain: Rising bond yields – and why regulators should learn to live in the real world September 24, 2013 ARE GOVERNMENT bonds risky? The question arose this time last year, during a meeting with my bank. I wanted a low risk portfolio, but they noted that I did not want to hold UK government bonds. It was not quite clear whether it was the regulator who was insisting, or just the way my bank [...]
Energy price fixing and tax hikes would quickly see economic reality bite September 24, 2013 ED MILIBAND made two big new pledges in his speech yesterday: lower business rates for small businesses, paid for by higher corporation tax on larger firms; and a freeze in energy prices for 20 months from the date of the next election. Economic reality would quickly bite for any government that tried to introduce either [...]
Letters to the editor – 25/09 – Vanity project, Open for business, Best of Twitter September 24, 2013 Vanity project [Re: Labour’ prepared to drop support for HS2, yesterday] We already have an alternative to HS2. It is called the East Coast Main Line. With careful investment to improve pinch points at junctions and bridges, its capacity and speed could be significantly improved at a fraction of the cost of building a new line. [...]
RBS’s mad rise and catastrophic fall can’t all be blamed on Fred Goodwin September 23, 2013 IN THE boom years at the start of the twenty-first century, the Royal Bank of Scotland management came up with a marketing slogan. They would – it promised customers and rivals – “Make It Happen”. In giant type, the words were emblazoned on airport billboards and printed on tons of promotional material. A four minute [...]
Ed Miliband wants to take Britain on a stealthy path towards socialism September 23, 2013 WHEN will you bring back socialism?” Ed Miliband was asked on Saturday. “That’s what we’re doing, sir…” Miliband replied. “…democratic socialism. And what is that about? That is about a country that works for all and not just for some.” Some might question Miliband’s understanding. As the economist Thomas Sowell once said: “Socialism… has a [...]
Merkel’s triumph may mean check mate for Cameron’s EU reforms September 23, 2013 WITHOUT doubt, the German election is the critical political contest of the year. Chancellor Angela Merkel has won the most resounding German electoral victory since 1957, coming a mere five seats short of an absolute majority in the Bundestag, Germany’s lower house. The decisive re-election of David Cameron’s closest European ally must be good news [...]
Letters to the editor – 24/09 – German results, Shady chancellor, Best of Twitter September 23, 2013 German results [Re: What Germany’s shock election results mean for UK politics, yesterday] I would go a lot further than saying that “David Cameron is no Angela Merkel”. In fact, the Prime Minister is quite the opposite of Merkel. He has no clear vision to offer voters, and his personal popularity is a shadow of [...]