DEBATE: Is it worth scrapping the digital tax for the sake of a UK-US trade deal? Is it worth scrapping the planned digital services tax for the sake of a UK-US trade deal? Morgan Schondelmeier, head of development at the Adam Smith Institute, says YES. Europe and the US fundamentally disagree about how to approach tech companies. The US has become a world leader by embracing permissionless innovation and growth, while [...]
DEBATE: Is it viable to pay compensation to the 1950s-born women who lost out on their state pension? DEBATE: Can Labour pay compensation to women who lost out on their pension? Is it viable to pay compensation to the 1950s-born women who lost out on their state pension, as Labour has proposed? YES, says Debbie de Spon, communications director for Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI). 1950s-born women are suffering severe injustice because of successive governments’ mismanagement of changes to the state pension age. This issue [...]
DEBATE: Is Donald Trump right to label China a currency manipulator? Is Donald Trump right to label China a currency manipulator Alex Deane, a Conservative commentator, says YES. Once again, President Trump “triggers” his opponents by doing what he said he would do. He promised on the campaign trail to designate China as a currency manipulator; indeed, he’s late on this as he undertook to do [...]
DEBATE: Should the next Prime Minister legalise recreational cannabis? July 10, 2019 Should the next Prime Minister legalise recreational cannabis? Morgan Schondelmeier, head of development at the Adam Smith Institute, which this week published a new paper on cannabis legalisation, says YES. The next Prime Minister must give the green light to legalising cannabis. We’ve seen the push in the UK towards relaxing the rules around medicinal [...]
Heathrow expansion is taking off – now let’s inject some competition into aviation June 25, 2019 It is an airport running at full capacity – and has been for years. Now at last, with the parliamentary approval of a new runway and the release of competing development plans, Heathrow expansion is back on the menu, boys. One of the contenders to be the next Prime Minister, Jeremy Hunt, is a firm [...]
Blame polarising primaries for Democrats’ shift to the far left June 3, 2019 As an American working in Westminster, I often get asked about the differences between US and British politics. Obviously, the entire American political spectrum is shifted to the right, we’re still fighting hard battles on social issues, and there is the added interplay of state level policies. But there’s an obvious similarity. The divide between [...]
DEBATE: Should the government nationalise British Steel in a bid to save it? May 24, 2019 Should the government nationalise British Steel in a bid to save it? Faiza Shaheen, director of the Centre for Labour & Social Studies, says YES. British Steel is not just emblematic of our great industrial past, but also fundamental to our green future. Why? Because steel and related metals will be needed for new railways, wind [...]
DEBATE: Should the government be intervening to help struggling high streets? February 18, 2019 Should the government be intervening to help struggling high streets? Rupert Pick, co-founder of Hot Pickle, says YES. There’s more to the high street than just shopping. It’s about belonging, human interaction, community. And in a muddled, pre-Brexit, polarised, insular environment, we need vibrant public places more than ever for people to congregate. Yet, in the [...]