Like southern Europe, Britain’s stagnant regions are stuck in a monetary union trap November 28, 2018 The Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence created a bit of a stir at the end of last week with its estimates of growth in the regions of the UK. Since the recovery from the financial crisis began during 2009, London’s economy has grown by 26 per cent. At the other end of the scale, output [...]
Breaking up is hard to do, so why not put a ring on audit? November 23, 2018 Never have there been more eyes on audit. Sir John Kingman is examining the Financial Reporting Council and how audit can best be regulated. The Competition and Markets Authority is investigating competition and choice in the listed audit market. The BEIS Select Committee announced last week that it too will scrutinise audit, and the Audit [...]
Fix the housing crisis and save the high street at the same time November 15, 2018 Two "crises" have dominated the headlines in the last year. The first is the pressure on housing, the challenges of the rental market, and the soaring cost of living, especially in big cities. The second is the so-called “death of the high street”, as shopping habits change and the retail sector struggles to keep up. [...]
DEBATE: With calls to ban milkshakes, is an obsession with ‘public health’ harmful to our personal wellbeing? November 14, 2018 With calls to ban milkshakes, is an obsession with ‘public health’ harmful to our personal wellbeing? Daniel Pryor, head of programmes at the Adam Smith Institute, says YES. Should we ban sugar, spice, and all things nice? The lobby group Action On Sugar thinks so. Its advocates aren’t content to simply jail purveyors of so-called “freakshakes” [...]
DEBATE: Should Hammond keep the Tory promise and increase the higher-rate tax threshold to £50,000? October 29, 2018 Should Philip Hammond keep the Tory promise and increase the higher-rate tax threshold to £50,000? Ben Ramanauskas, researcher at the Taxpayers’ Alliance, says YES. People earning £45,000 (the current threshold) can no longer be considered wealthy, particularly considering the high cost of living in our major cities. There is a housing crisis in the UK, [...]
How to capitalise on the electric car revolution October 23, 2018 Electric vehicles have existed since 1828, and yet their prevalence in popular society has remained the stuff of science fiction for more than two centuries. It’s only recently that electric cars have become commonplace, helped partly by government policies – such as the planned ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles by [...]
The best story wins, and right now that’s one of apocalypse October 22, 2018 The stories of nations are written at times like these. For it goes without saying that there is much jeopardy in today’s script. There is a daily dose of disaster, whose effect is a form of neurosis in our relationship with news. Forget what’s beneficial or useful information for the living of life – this [...]
When it comes to our social care crisis, prevention is the only cure October 8, 2018 Matt Hancock has survived his first party conference as the new health secretary, wearing his NHS pin proudly on his lapel. And top of the list of his departmental priorities is social care. It got a £240m spending boost last week, but that’s not the only approach on the table. One of Hancock’s recent suggestions [...]
Ministers urged to give tax breaks to landlords who sell to long-term tenants in push to get renters onto housing ladder October 8, 2018 Ministers have been urged to get private renters onto the housing ladder by offering big incentives to landlords who sell their property to long-term tenants. Campaigning think tank Onward laid out proposals to give buy-to-let properties 100 per cent capital gains tax relief if the home is sold to a tenant who has lived there [...]
Fraudster-linked action group that took on RBS accused of overcharging investors October 7, 2018 Investors who signed up to an action group in a bid to sue RBS over its 2008 rights issue have been told they were collectively charged £8m through subscription payments, many of which should not have been made. The RBoS Shareholders Action Group company (AGC) brought together RBS shareholders who claimed the bank hid the true state of [...]