Not just pasties: Inflation will remain too high for comfort March 28, 2012 FOR a Prime Minister whose only private sector job was working in public relations, it is astonishing how bad his government’s communications skills have become. From implausible anecdotes about their pasty eating habits to panic-mongering about petrol shortages, David Cameron, George Osborne and Francis Maude, the cabinet office minister, have been blundering as if there [...]
Coalition fails to shake-up UK’s antiquated planning rules March 27, 2012 IT was the government’s great opportunity to rip up red tape and make Britain an easier place in which to conduct business. For a while, the coalition had me convinced: I thought they would really do something about the UK’s obsolete planning rules, which were first dreamt up by the post-war socialist Clement Attlee government [...]
Taxpayers must not be forced to pay March 26, 2012 IT is clear that the current system of party funding doesn’t work. Parties rely too much on large donations – from wealthy individuals in the case of the Tories and from trade unions in the case of Labour. It would be better if they were able to tap into lots of smaller donations, rather than [...]
Crisis turning into real threat for PM March 25, 2012 IT still seems likely that the coalition will last for a while yet. But the pressure is mounting again, with the resignation of financier Peter Cruddas as Tory party Treasurer and fresh allegations about party funding dealing another blow to David Cameron. Many in the City have become too complacent about the longevity of this [...]
Osborne’s middle class tax bombshell March 22, 2012 THERE was a time when the 40p income tax rate was paid only by a tiny minority. No longer. Next year, 5m taxpayers – 15 per cent of the total – will pay this higher rate, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, compared with only 3.7m a year ago. For a chancellor supposedly committed [...]
Good tax cuts drowned out by a series of silly errors March 21, 2012 SOMEBODY like me – a believer in lower taxes and less government intervention – ought to love this Budget. I certainly like the fact that the top rate of tax will fall by five percentage points (even if this will only happen in 13 months’ time), and that corporation tax is being cut to 24 [...]
Osborne must explain his philosophy March 20, 2012 BUDGETS are not just about trying to outwit political opponents in a complex game of chess and propaganda, as some in Westminster believe. They are also about the vision that a chancellor and government wish to convey. In 1979, when Lord Howe slashed the top rate of tax from up to 98 per cent to [...]
Economic confidence improving again March 19, 2012 DON’T say it too loudly – but the economy appears to have gained traction again. An interesting new gauge suggests that confidence and activity are making a strong recovery. Coming a day before George Osborne delivers his Budget, this is decent news for the chancellor, though any rebound in GDP will most likely be modest. [...]
Economic confidence improving again March 19, 2012 DON’T say it too loudly – but the economy appears to have gained traction again. An interesting new gauge suggests that confidence and activity are making a strong recovery. Coming a day before George Osborne delivers his Budget, this is decent news for the chancellor, though any rebound in GDP will most likely be modest. [...]
Budget could be surprisingly radical March 18, 2012 MAYBE, just maybe, this Budget could end up being a big deal, a defining shift in direction for the coalition and the day George Osborne finally rediscovers his radical inner self. I certainly hope so, and there are growing signs that this may be the case – but instigating a revolution would require breaking away [...]