Calls for a second referendum are unwise, undemocratic, and playing with dynamite “I want to be absolutely clear, this government will never accept a second referendum.” This statement from the Prime Minister in September should have been the end of the matter. Alas, it wasn’t. The so-called “people’s vote” scenario runs something like this. Enough Conservative MPs vote with Labour against any final EU agreement, defeating it [...]
It’s a mistake to dismiss the Anglosphere as mere romance – it could be the future The Prime Minister’s strong point is not vision, particularly when it comes to post-Brexit Britain. But as the Chequers Agreement dies a slow death, she would do well to consider the possibilities for a much wider geopolitical shift with regard to the so-called Anglosphere. A Canada+++ agreement with the EU could lead to trade agreements [...]
The shadow chancellor: A thief who plans to rob British business blind Somebody has got to say it: the shadow chancellor John McDonnell is a thief (well, an aspiring thief), with his planned 10 per cent giveaway of company equity to workers. The Theft Act 1968 says a person is guilty of theft if he dishonestly appropriates property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving [...]
John McDonnell would hound gig workers out of their jobs with his socialist dystopia September 13, 2018 Since becoming shadow chancellor, John McDonnell has worn the appearance of a wolf in sheep’s clothing. This week, he reverted to type as a wolf in wolf’s clothing. His speech at the TUC Congress on the gig economy shouldn’t surprise us. This is, after all, a man who waved Mao’s Little Red Book when he [...]
John McDonnell would hound gig workers out of their jobs with his socialist dystopia September 13, 2018 Since becoming shadow chancellor, John McDonnell has worn the appearance of a wolf in sheep’s clothing. This week, he reverted to type as a wolf in wolf’s clothing. His speech at the TUC Congress on the gig economy shouldn’t surprise us. This is, after all, a man who waved Mao’s Little Red Book when he [...]
The warning lights for the next economic crisis are starting to flash January 25, 2018 The global economic zeitgeist has shifted. A decade on from the financial crisis, the world economy can at last see over the hill and make out the features of the “Promised Land” called normalisation. There is a palpable sense that the world economy has crossed three important lines. First, that it is finally achieving synchronised [...]
The idea that London will be replaced as Europe’s financial centre is completely potty March 16, 2017 It's now almost nine months since the referendum, and Article 50 is about to be invoked. Readers of this column will be familiar with my arguments as to why a unilateral free trade Brexit is the optimal exit strategy, because of the gain to consumers in the short term and to consumers and producers in the [...]
Spring Budget: The OBR is still too pessimistic about UK growth this year March 8, 2017 The biggest story in the Budget wasn’t big news. It had been well flagged in advance that the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) was revising up its GDP growth forecast to 2 per cent in 2017. In November last year, the OBR expected just 1.4 per cent GDP growth this year. HM Treasury’s latest monthly survey [...]
Forget the trivial Single Market: Brexit’s true economic dividend will be a revival of self-reliance and liberty March 2, 2017 In order to understand the long-term impact of Brexit on the UK economy, imagine a river running upstream to downstream and out into the ocean. With this in mind, view conventional long-term economic performance as very much downstream, at the mouth of the river, with an emphasis on the performance of productivity and competitiveness. But [...]
Unilateral free trade: The selfless Brexit policy that is best for everyone February 23, 2017 There is a clear ethical choice at the heart of trade policy, with direct implications for Brexit. The choice is between selfish, self-interested or selfless policies. And the counter-intuitive truth is that it is selfless policies that maximise prosperity in the long term. So what is meant by selfish, self-interested and selfless? Selfish policies are [...]
