Boris can talk a good pro-market game, but matching policies are yet to follow October 4, 2019 This government, unlike governments before it, is not afraid to announce its pro-market and pro-enterprise philosophy. Boris Johnson’s declaration of support for capitalism on stage at the Conservative party conference is not exactly the stuff of breaking news headlines. But while it may not be newsworthy, it is certainly noteworthy, as it represents a huge [...]
If Jeremy Corbyn really cares about ‘the many’, he should rethink his aversion to markets September 27, 2019 A common complaint over the past three years is that no one can talk about anything other than Brexit. But that wasn’t true at the Labour party conference this week. Unlike the Liberal Democrats, who barely gave way to any policy discussion beyond revoking Article 50, both the Labour leader and shadow chancellor confronted all [...]
Theresa May’s rule change kicked foreign graduates like me out – now Boris is reversing the injustice September 13, 2019 It is easy to poke fun at wonks who love public policy. Digging down into the specific details of the Common Agricultural Policy, stamp duty land tax, or the Swiss healthcare system doesn’t always make for sexy headlines or punchy commentary. But what the wonks know, which is so often overlooked, is that even if [...]
Britain cannot afford to ignore Labour’s interventionist agenda September 6, 2019 For the past three years in Westminster, it’s been difficult to think more long-term than the next few hours. Nearly every day has dragged us further into uncharted political territory. Meaningful votes, Brexit extensions, and leadership contests have been making and shaping history – though it would be fair to say that for all the [...]
Shocked at the NHS denying treatment to unmarried women? That’s just the start August 23, 2019 All healthcare systems ration. Single-payer models dependent on tax revenue, like the NHS, tend to ration with access to treatment and waiting times. The utilitarian defence of such systems is that they are universal. If I’m waiting for my hip replacement, so are you. If you can’t access an experimental drug for your ailment, my [...]
The ASA’s puritanical ban spree is a flagrant assault on free speech August 16, 2019 When the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) first announced that it would ban “gender stereotypes that are likely to cause harm, or serious or widespread offence” in December 2017, I noted that crackdowns on adverts are often veiled attacks on free speech. The ads that the CAP and the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) were flagging [...]
Populism is back, and the Democratic candidates are veering left August 2, 2019 The Democratic primary is heating up – and some of the policy proposals are as red as fire. This week, 10 hopefuls took to the stage in Detroit, for the second debate leading up to the 2020 presidential election. And what we saw was an extreme ebbing and flowing of liberalism and socialism, raising serious [...]
The new PM had better deliver on his promise to fix social care July 26, 2019 Talk about bold promises. On the steps on Downing Street, preparing to enter Number 10, the new Prime Minister pledged to “fix the crisis in social care once and for all with a clear plan we have prepared”. Similar to the National Health Service, social care is an area that MPs often struggle to address. [...]
The UK trade team had better up its game – and fast July 12, 2019 Yesterday, on talkRADIO, secretary of state for work and pensions Amber Rudd confirmed that, regardless of who wins the Conservative leadership contest, the option to leave the EU without a deal will be “part of the armoury” for the new government. While not quite the “do or die” remarks that Boris Johnson gave to the [...]
Boris is right to question the nanny-state impulse to tax our milkshakes July 5, 2019 The milkshake, once defined as tasting of watered-down ice cream, can now be defined as the taste of freedom. Targeted as the next treat to have an arbitrary sin tax slapped on it, the milkshake and its consumers have just found a new ally. This week, Conservative leadership hopeful Boris Johnson reiterated in a press [...]
