DEBATE: Would the railways run better with a ‘fat controller’? DEBATE: Would the trains run better with a 'fat controller' in charge? Would the railways run better with an independent “fat controller” in charge, as recently proposed? Scott Corfe, research director at the Social Market Foundation, says YES. Commuters are right to be angry with the state of Britain’s railway network, with its unpalatable combination of high fares, delays, and trains so packed that one feels like [...]
DEBATE: As Julian Richer hands over company shares, are staff-owned firms better for the economy? As Julian Richer hands over company shares, are staff-owned firms are better for the economy? Scott Corfe, chief economist at the Social Market Foundation, says YES. Companies with significant employee ownership schemes tend to have higher productivity – which is exactly what the UK needs right now. Poor productivity performance is a key reason why, [...]
Debate: Given the Tory party’s proposal to ban restaurants from taking a share of staff tips, is regulation necessary? 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 experts forecast a £100bn budget black hole, should the chancellor prioritise deficit reduction in his Autumn Statement? November 17, 2016 Sam Bowman, executive director at the Adam Smith Institute, says Yes. Whatever we borrow today we’ll eventually have to pay for tomorrow. So government borrowing just defers taxation – there really is no free lunch. It’s worse than that, though. Government borrowing crowds out private borrowing, so the more the state borrows for itself, the [...]
As Mark Carney warns of troubles ahead, should the Bank of England tolerate rising inflation? October 17, 2016 Scott Corfe, associate director at the Centre for Economics and Business Research, says Yes. Inflation will rise next year, and it is likely to rise sharply as sterling’s remarkable decline feeds through into higher import costs. CPI inflation of 3 per cent is well within the realms of possibility and inflation of 4 per cent – [...]
As calls for the chancellor to apply some fiscal stimulus grow, do we really want more public spending? August 8, 2016 Scott Corfe, director at the Centre for Economics and Business Research, says Yes. The UK economy is set to slow drastically over the coming quarters, with the Centre for Economics and Business Research expecting GDP growth to decline from about 1.5 per cent this year to less than 0.5 per cent in 2017. A recession – [...]
As the public finances deteriorated in August, has Osborne given up on tackling the deficit? September 23, 2014 Scott Corfe, senior economist at the Centre for Economics and Business Research, says Yes. One of the great myths of the current parliament is that it has been dominated by austerity. The figures show that this clearly isn’t the case. The government is struggling to get the deficit down. Borrowing in the fiscal year to [...]
