Rapid Responses
Economic renewal
[Re: Welcome to the New Normal: Pay can go down as well as up, yesterday]
This article is right. Politicians must grapple with a new reality – the UK is unlikely to see real wage growth again unless it faces up to some extremely unwelcome truths. However, a painful process of stagnant wages may bring about capitalist renewal. Britain has rested on its laurels for a long time. Debt has been cheap, our economy has been superficially successful, and some extremely productive sectors (finance) have buoyed the rest of the economy. The looming realisation that success will no longer come as easily will hopefully prompt our politicians into some radical action.
Tom Staff
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Jobs reform
[Re: Are the coalition’s proposals for employment law reform enough to satisfy UK businesses?, yesterday]
Vince Cable is wrong. We can’t be satisfied with a relatively flexible labour market. Unless we cut taxes on employment, reduce benefits for long-term unemployment, and completely end the stranglehold that the unions have over the public sector, the UK will not be able to compete with dynamic economies in the East. His proposals are not good enough.
Frances Morgan
Ryan Bourne is right to call the government timid, but is our jobs market really the part of the economy that’s holding the UK back?
Phillis Hunt
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TOP TWEETS
What’s the point of a qualification if it doesn’t denote some level of achievement? Our GCSEs are now rotten.
@christoff_ff
GCSEs must be reformed, but the proposals will have a limited impact. We need more than tougher exams to raise standards.
@KAJT88
Instead of blaming Michael Gove for grasping the GCSE nettle, why not blame those who supported grade inflation?
@cia262
It’s better that we have low or no wage growth than we overpay workers and make them uncompetitive, like in Spain.
@Bluelaurelinv