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 209 Articles

The great student loans swindle

July 26, 2024

Vast quantities of student loans will never be repaid, representing a massive subsidy not just to students themselves but to universities. No other industry is cosseted in this way, failing universities should be allowed to go to the wall, say Paul Ormerod The university sector in the UK is in financial trouble. The annual fee [...]
It’s the energy price stupid

July 12, 2024

It’s not just the Conservatives, governments across the Western the world are being punished for failing to manage expectations in the face of an energy price shock, writes Paul Ormerod The scale of the Conservative defeat in the election has been amply documented. But what has been mentioned much less is the fact that they [...]
Start-ups and spin-outs: The secret ingredients to growth

July 3, 2024

In the US, start-ups create 3m jobs in their first year and employ 2.6m workers five years later. Britain is lagging way behind when it comes to innovation and entrepreneurship, says Paul Ormerod Going into the election tomorrow, the two main parties agree on a crucial issue. Economic growth is needed to achieve their respective [...]
Keir Starmer could be more like Harold Wilson than Tony Blair

June 26, 2024

Comparisons with 1997 start and finish with the polls. Unlike Blair, Starmer will inherit an economy in desperate need of a sharp turnaround, says Paul Ormerod Labour’s massive lead in the opinion polls is generating many parallels with the 1997 election. Will Keir Starmer end up with a bigger majority than Tony Blair or not? [...]
We can’t borrow our way back to growth

June 12, 2024

When 7.3 per cent of public spending goes on interest spending, the debt burden is completely unsustainable – and it’s only getting worse, says Paul Ormerod This week’s manifesto launches have made the poor state of the public finances clear – simply put, there’s very little money for any party to play with. One reason [...]
We’re still paying for lockdown, so why is no one talking about it?

June 7, 2024

We borrowed billions to pay for lockdown but neither Starmer nor Sunak will admit that the resulting debt is holding the public finances in a vice-like grip, says Paul Ormerod To borrow a famous phrase from Karl Marx, a spectre is haunting the election campaign. Despite the frantic efforts by the Conservatives to portray Keir [...]
Economic performance under Labour and Conservative governments: a reckoning

May 29, 2024

Voter apathy over the upcoming election is rational – history suggests the economic outcome will be broadly the same regardless of whether Labour or the Conservatives form the next government, says Paul Ormerod The election campaign has kicked off and already the air is thick with promises and counter-promises. Despite all the efforts of politicians [...]
Does Manchester City prove you can buy success?

May 22, 2024

Manchester City's fourth consecutive Premiership victory is just one example of the concentration of success in football among a few clubs
Starmer’s labour market reforms will put people out of work

May 15, 2024

Keir Starmer's plans to expand workers' rights will push up the cost of hiring people and push some people out of their jobs
The history of rail suggests renationalisation will make little difference

May 3, 2024

Britain has never cracked the formula for cheap, efficient, reliable rail, so what makes Labour think renationalisation is the answer?

Mexico minister: Fifa World Cup host Jalisco safer than New York City

Newcastle United and Everton stadium sales are not solutions, they are delays

Barbican Centre: the brutalist landmark weaving art into everyday London life.

By: Paul Ormerod

All 209 Articles

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