One of Britain’s biggest taxpayers has left – who can replace Rokos? Opinion Christopher Rokos was Britain’s third largest individual taxpayer last year, handing over an estimated £330m. Now he’s moved to Greece and no British government seems to have a plan to replace that revenue, says Damian Pudner So, Chris Rokos is off to Greece. For those who don’t know the name, Christopher Rokos is one of [...]
Surely Gary Stevenson is smart enough to know a wealth tax won’t work? Opinion Britain's self-styled greatest inequality economist, surely Gary Stevenson knows his two per cent levy won't work, writes Damian Pudner.
End quantitative tightening now Opinion Ending active quantitative tightening is not monetary loosening. The Bank must stop adding avoidable pressure to the gilt market.
The era of cheap money is coming to an end – markets aren’t ready February 24, 2026 The era of historically cheap money is ending, forcing a potentially permanent adjustment to higher equilibrium interest rates that will challenge financial markets and government finances built on past assumptions, says Damian Pudner For almost a decade until the pandemic, financial markets priced money as if it would remain cheap indefinitely. Governments borrowed freely, financial [...]
The Bank of England must cut rates today November 6, 2025 The Bank should cut rates by 25 basis points today to prevent stagnation becoming entrenched, says Damian Pudner On Thursday, the Bank of England will announce its latest decision on interest rates. Less than three weeks later, on 26 November, the Chancellor will deliver her second tax-raising Budget, despite promising that last year’s would be [...]
After a year as Chancellor, Rachel Reeves has flunked her growth mission September 2, 2025 Rachel Reeves may not get an official exam transcript, but the numbers categorically show she's flunked her growth mission.
Could the Bank of England push the UK into recession? January 23, 2025 As the Bank of England scrambles to unwind the disastrous effects of quantitative easing, the hidden costs of this policy are becoming clear, says Damian Pudner Quantitative easing (QE) has long been the Bank of England’s monetary policy nuclear option. Launched in 2009 to save a collapsing financial system, it was supercharged during the pandemic, [...]
Labour’s growth gamble will decide Britain’s future December 18, 2024 Labour’s plan to invest for growth is Keynesianism 101. Delivering on it will require discipline and competence — recent history gives us plenty of reasons to be sceptical, says Damian Pudner Britain’s economic fortunes have hit a moment of reckoning. Public debt has ballooned to an eye-watering £2.8 trillion, roughly 100 per cent of GDP. [...]
It’s time to revisit Bank of England independence April 26, 2024 Independence should not mean the Bank of England is shielded from government scrutiny and accountability to the public, says Damian Pudner Last week, a striking disclosure by former prime minister Liz Truss reignited the debate on the delicate balance between political authority and the operational independence of central banks – a topic with profound implications [...]
The Bank of England needs to stop rising interest rates to avoid a painful recession August 3, 2023 After all the interest rate rises and inflation predictions, the Bank of England risks an unnecessarily deep recession, writes Damian Pudner.
