Business groups slam government plans to slash no-deal Brexit tariffs to zero March 13, 2019 Business groups criticised government proposals to slash tariffs to zero in a no-deal Brexit this morning, with the CBI warning it could prove to be “a sledgehammer for our economy”. The government said its measures should avert a £9bn hit to consumers and businesses if the UK crashes out of the EU without a deal [...]
DEBATE: With just 16 days to go until Brexit, is there any point to the Spring Statement? March 13, 2019 With just 16 days to go until Brexit, is there any point to the Spring Statement? Yael Selfin, chief economist at KPMG, says YES. While Brexit is likely to dominate minds again this week, and continue to bring a fog of uncertainty over the outlook for the UK economy, the Spring Statement is still important. [...]
Economics could teach Theresa May a thing or two about tackling knife crime March 13, 2019 Knife crime continues to dominate the headlines. What can be done about it? Economics does not pretend to provide all the answers. But, perhaps surprising to some, it has a lot of useful insights to offer on crime. Gary Becker was a professor of both economics and sociology at Chicago. One day he was pushed [...]
The left should listen up: Tax reform is a progressive cause March 13, 2019 In 2012, the columnist Mary Dejevsky wrote a piece for the Independent arguing that the centre-left should advocate a flat tax. It was in response to the publication of the Single Income Tax, the final report of the 2020 Tax Commission, convened by the TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA) and the Institute of Directors, and chaired by former [...]
New proposals for NHS rules risk taking us back to the 1970s March 13, 2019 Reforming the laws around how the NHS operates may not sound like a particularly scintillating topic, particularly when the health service is in the news already for the far more headline-grabbing issue of scrapping A&E waiting targets. Nonetheless, potential legislative changes proposed by NHS England and NHS Improvement last month that have gone largely unreported [...]
Brexiteers have imperilled their own project March 12, 2019 The fact that 40 Tory MPs who previously voted against the deal swung behind the PM is significant – and will be seized upon by Downing Street strategists as evidence that there is life in her deal yet. Some big beasts are among the pro-Brexit Tories who voted last night in favour of the deal, [...]
Theresa May suffers second Brexit deal defeat as MPs take control of the next steps March 12, 2019 Theresa May has lost control of Brexit after suffering a second humiliating defeat on her withdrawal deal. The PM’s plan was voted down by a majority of 149 MPs after she failed to win changes to the treaty that would allow UK to unilaterally exit the controversial Irish border backstop arrangement. MPs will now vote on [...]
The Conservative party needs to rediscover its economic way March 12, 2019 For most people, the Conservative’s 2015 “long-term economic plan” is now a distant memory. But as someone who was deeply immersed in that election campaign, I still sometimes wake up at night reciting its contents. Though much mocked for its repetition, the plan was more than just a catchphrase. From deficit reduction and tax cuts [...]
Deal or no deal, let’s make the UK the most attractive place for business March 12, 2019 What happens if there’s no Brexit deal? Over the past year, we’ve had various answers to this question – most ranging from the alarming to the apocalyptic. But while we’ve heard an awful lot about the problems, we haven’t heard much about solutions. That’s why our think tank, the Centre for Policy Studies, has just [...]
Women should not have to change the City alone March 12, 2019 Last Friday we celebrated International Women’s Day, which provides a terrific opportunity to reflect on how far we’ve come towards an equal and fair society, but also how far we have to go. I appreciate that some may disregard an Oxbridge-educated, white, male Conservative politician talking about gender equality. But it is beholden on all [...]