The Debate: Should student loan debt be forgiven? February 4, 2026 Student loans are under the spotlight, with those who took out plans between 2012 and 2023 feeling the bite. Should student debt (or some of it) be forgiven?
The economics of superstars: Is Taylor Swift in her AI era? February 4, 2026 Claims that AI will make it harder for working class talent to succeed in the creative industries miss the point – the arts are inherently unequal, and not because of technology, says Paul Ormerod The cultural and creative industries have been very much in the news over the past week A report fronted by the [...]
The only thing that’s growing in Britain is the civil service February 4, 2026 The salary bill for the civil service rose to £21bn last year, up more than seven per cent in a year when economic growth was anaemic at best. The private sector is funding a pay bonanza while businesses are ground down with higher taxes and more regulation, says John O’Connell While Britain’s businesses struggle with [...]
Fix Hammersmith Bridge to jolt Britain out of degrowth daydream February 4, 2026 The seven-year closure of Hammersmith Bridge is emblematic of British decline. The government must now take responsibility, says Neil Garratt “When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” We might picture a bewhiskered Victorian Londoner contemplating those words in Arthur Conan Doyle’s latest novel, The Sign of the Four, [...]
Capping ground rents is no way to help leaseholders February 4, 2026 The government’s plans to reform leasehold will deter investment in property and leave flat owners to pay the bill for the building safety agenda, says Natalie Chambers Governments in market economies are generally cautious about interfering in existing contracts, for good reason. Once that principle is weakened, confidence is difficult to restore. The draft Commonhold [...]
This time there can be no way back for Peter Mandelson February 3, 2026 On 9 June 2009 Mandelson told the House of Lords that, as Business Secretary and First Secretary of State, he was focused on helping Britain to emerge from recession “stronger, more competitive and able to grow in the future,” adding that government policies will “enrich our society.” Days later he appeared to be more focused [...]
Why has no one in the Cabinet run a business? February 3, 2026 It is in all our interests that politics remains an attractive proposition for people who have worked in business writes Kiki McDonough.
The ugly truth: Business rates are bad for the beauty industry February 3, 2026 Salons are grappling with the simultaneous rise of the National Living Wage, increased Employer National Insurance contributions, and skyrocketing utility costs. They should be given the same consideration as pubs, says Victoria Brownlie The British high street is often described as the heartbeat of our communities, and for years, the hair and beauty sector has [...]
On this day in 1637: The tulip bubble bursts February 3, 2026 Tulip fever is still remembered as a parable about the evils of capitalism and mass hysteria, but what really happened? Asks Eliot Wilson It is one of those half-remembered, quarter-understood facts to illustrate the ineffable foolishness of human nature. In the first half of the 17th century, the zenith of the Dutch Golden Age, the [...]
If Russia wins, one year on February 3, 2026 A year on from the publication of Carlo Masala’s If Russia Wins, it’s warning about the West’s complacency are more important than ever, says Rainer Zitelmann One year ago, Carlo Masala, the renowned German professor of security and defence policy, completed his book “Wenn Russland gewinnt” (“If Russia Wins”). Unfortunately, the book, which is meant [...]