By: Paul Ormerod

Paul Ormerod is an economist at Volterra Partners LLP, author and an Honorary Professor at the Alliance Business School at the University of Manchester

All 216 Articles

Pokemon cards’ most enthusiastic collectors? Money launderers

Opinion

The market for Pokemon cards it absolutely booming, but there's a more sinister force than nerdy millennials at play, writes Paul Ormerod.
A state of the nation tale: The National Rail Museum won’t accept a model railway set

Opinion

From museums that won't accept model railway sets to the NHS's refusal to share data, British inefficiency is costing us billions.
Labour is doomed to irrelevance

Opinion

Social democratic parties across Western Europe have failed after abandoning support for capitalism and pursuing woke agendas. The same will happen to Labour, says Paul Ormerod So Keir Starmer wants a reset with the European Union. In typical Starmer fashion, it is as clear as mud as to what this will actually involve. But there [...]

It’s not the Bank of England’s job to support the Chancellor

May 5, 2026

the Bank of England's MPC is acting as if its role is to support the Chancellor and protect the real economy, rather than control inflation.
Voters have not understood the reality of a zero growth economy

April 23, 2026

Since 2019, UK national income per head has grown by just 0.1 per cent a year on average. In other words, essentially zero growth. It means that the resources available to the economy, whether for private or public use, do not change, says Paul Ormerod Does life imitate art? Evelyn Waugh’s comic masterpiece Vile Bodies, [...]
Forget Oasis, dynamic pricing could be coming for your weekly shop

April 17, 2026

The rise of big data means dynamic pricing is easier to implement. Paul Ormerod asks what this could mean for consumers's everyday shopping.
Zack Polanski’s public spending plans are pure fantasy

April 8, 2026

Advisors to the Green Party are advocating Modern Monetary Theory, It’s been tried before and proved a disaster, says Paul Ormerod The Green Party is riding high in the polls – a recent survey puts them joint top, with Labour in fourth place. On the economics front, this raises once again the spectre of Modern [...]
Forget ‘price gouging’ – this is where competition is really failing

April 1, 2026

Rachel Reeves is scapegoating supermarkets for rising oil prices while ignoring algorithms that can learn ant-competitive pricing strategies, says Paul Ormerod The government is desperately trying to convince the public that it is doing something about the potential economic crisis which is unfolding. The public finances are a severe constraint on its ability to throw [...]
Plaid Cymru would bankrupt an independent Wales on day one

March 26, 2026

The local elections will likely see Labour lose the grip it has held on Wales since the inception of the Senedd. If Plaid Cymru does indeed form the next government, the UK might usefully acclimatise them to what life would be like under independence, says Paul Ormerod The swathe of local elections which are due [...]
It’s not the oil price, it’s the government response that matters

March 18, 2026

Like most commodities, oil has fluctuated in price very substantially over time with regrettable effects on household incomes. But the biggest mistake would be to try to protect living standards as a whole when the country has been made worse off, says Paul Ormerod Shock, horror, the oil price is over $100 a barrel. The [...]

Manchester City and Spygate prove lawyer gulf is opening in football

Manchester City and Spygate prove lawyer gulf is opening in football

I’m 50 – but I feel young dining at Simpson’s in the Strand

By: Paul Ormerod

All 216 Articles

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