DEBATE: Did Boris Johnson’s ‘Build, build, build’ speech succeed in rebooting his premiership? Did Boris Johnson’s speech succeed in rebooting his premiership? John Oxley, a Conservative commentator, says YES. Boris is back in business. He has mastered his own recovery from coronavirus and is now ready to tackle the nation’s. It is a challenge he would have never expected when he entered Downing Street, and an important evolution [...]
Brits rejoice! The era of black market hairdressers is coming to an end The era of black market hairdressers is coming to an end What I am about to tell you will shock you to your very core: there are some people out there walking the streets who have had haircuts. No, not the ones delivered by unsuspecting partners or housemates with about as much proficiency as a bow-wielding chimp wearing mittens. No, dear reader, these people have had [...]
Coronavirus: The economy is in trouble, and there seems no plan to fix it The government has few obvious plans for rebuilding the economy As a rule, it is always helpful to question the usefulness of government plans—often as they are late, over-budget, over-promised and under-delivered. But when the alternative is an empty void and the government promising no light at all to what will be possible, never mind when, just an inkling of a suggestion that someone is [...]
DEBATE: Does the shift in police attitudes threaten British society? March 30, 2020 Does the shift in police attitudes threaten Britain’s free society after this crisis is over? YES, says Matt Kilcoyne, deputy director of the Adam Smith Institute. Our police keep us safe by consent. Overreach by rogue forces risks more than criminalising vast swathes of our society, it risks the very principle of our civilian police [...]
DEBATE: Is now the time for the UK to trial a temporary Universal Basic Income? March 18, 2020 Is now the time for the UK to trial a temporary Universal Basic Income? YES, says Julian Jessop, an economics fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs. In normal times, cash payments regardless of individual need would be too expensive, poorly targeted, and distortionary. It is therefore right to use existing means-tested benefits (notably universal [...]
DEBATE: Does it make sense to ban Huawei from access to the UK 5G network? January 28, 2020 Does it make sense to ban Huawei from access to the UK 5G network? Matt Kilcoyne, deputy director of the Adam Smith Institute, says YES. Chinese state-owned enterprises are accused by our Five Eyes intelligence partners in Australia and the US of keeping extensive databases on foreign individuals. That’s everything from who you’ve rung, when [...]
Public cash shouldn’t be for private gain January 20, 2020 Have you ever heard of Apton? It’s game-changing. It’s synergetic. It’s revolutionary. It’s self-actualising. It’s… costing you money with naught in return. You probably haven’t heard of Apton, though — it’s only got 3,000 subscribers. It’s an app to stream Welsh language music — kind of like Spotify, but with a much smaller catalogue, fewer [...]
Are labelling rules about designation of origin just a form of protectionism? July 3, 2019 Are labelling rules about designation of origin just a form of protectionism Matt Kilcoyne, head of communications at the Adam Smith Institute, says YES. Loyalty is not won by being first. Nor should it be won by locking out competitors by law. It is won by being best. Brand matters. This is not the case [...]
DEBATE: Should London follow Berlin and introduce rent freezing? June 28, 2019 Should London follow Berlin and introduce rent freezing? Gina Miller, founding partner at SCM Direct, says YES. I appreciate that many economists say rent control forces rent down, which can lead to landlords reducing the stock of rental property. But as the economics professor Richard Arnott has stated: “real-world rent control, at least in its [...]
DEBATE: With just 16 days to go until Brexit, is there any point to the Spring Statement? March 13, 2019 With just 16 days to go until Brexit, is there any point to the Spring Statement? Yael Selfin, chief economist at KPMG, says YES. While Brexit is likely to dominate minds again this week, and continue to bring a fog of uncertainty over the outlook for the UK economy, the Spring Statement is still important. [...]
