It would be madness to arm the unions with acquiescence THE continuing rail disputes are understandable given that two years of on-off lockdown have disrupted normal pay settlement processes. But the railways have been massively subsidised by the taxpayer over this period, and cannot expect such largesse to continue. Revenue is down to less than 80 per cent of pre-Covid levels, and patterns of use [...]
Attempts to tackle the ‘problem’ of high pay will end up making everything worse The more we learn about what other people earn, the more concern there is about it. Specifically, a political debate is raging over dramatic increases in the pay of chief executives of listed companies. Deemed “unfair” in the widening inequality discussion, pressure is growing from activists and politicians to fix this so-called problem. The latest [...]
DEBATE: Should 18-year-olds be entitled to an extra year of free education after school, as the CBI suggests? Should 18-year-olds be entitled to an extra year of free education after school, as the CBI suggests? Matthew Fell, chief UK policy director at the CBI, says YES. As the world of work changes, people need to learn throughout their careers. The best companies help their people evolve through education. Colleges serve firms brilliantly, with tailored [...]
Debate: Given the Tory party’s proposal to ban restaurants from taking a share of staff tips, is regulation necessary? October 2, 2018 Debate: Given the Tory party’s proposal to ban restaurants from taking a share of staff tips, is regulation necessary? YES – Scott Corfe is chief economist at the Social Market Foundation. The rise of the service charge in UK restaurants has led to a great deal of confusion. Often listed as discretionary on bills, many [...]
As official figures show a drop in net migration, should we fear a post-Brexit brain drain? February 24, 2017 Russ Shaw, founder of Tech London Advocates and Global Tech Advocates, says Yes. The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show a drop in net migration of 49,000 in the 12 months to September 2016 – so including the three months immediately after the Brexit vote. It also highlighted a worrying trend for the British [...]
As Theresa May prepares to unveil her industrial strategy, is it doomed to fail? January 23, 2017 Len Shackleton, professor of economics at the University of Buckingham, says Yes. Following Mrs May’s flying visit to tell Davos businesspeople what she thinks other people think of them, she now returns to the theme of industrial strategy. Like many before her, today’s Prime Minister thinks government can shift the market in more “balanced” directions. [...]
As Trump prepares to dump the TPP Pacific free trade deal, is globalisation going into reverse? November 22, 2016 Dr Madsen Pirie, founder and president of the Adam Smith Institute, says Yes. It looks very much as if globalisation has reached its high water mark and may be slipping back. Donald Trump's pledge to pull out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal comes hot on the heels of the declaration by many involved that the [...]
With GCSEs being graded one to nine from 2017, are these latest reforms the best way to drive up standards? August 25, 2016 Rachel Cunliffe, deputy editor of CapX, says Yes. You cannot raise academic standards simply by changing the metric, but you can signal that the spiral of grade inflation is over. A numerical system that bears little resemblance to familiar A*-G models does just that. More variations across the spectrum will help differentiate between students, while [...]
