Paul Mason’s Postcapitalism: The left’s unwitting conversion to neoliberal economics August 31, 2015 Unlike many other advocates of free markets, I quite like Channel 4 News economics editor Paul Mason. His journalistic approach, informative yet editorialised towards his own opinions, is compulsive viewing. So when he penned a book on his new idea – “Postcapitalism” – I knew it would be controversial yet worthy of review. [...]
Government’s starter homes programme won’t help London’s first-time buyers August 27, 2015 Londoners hoping to buy their first home will not get much help from the government, according to a new report out today. In the report, Shelter, the housing and homelessness charity, takes issue with the government’s affordable house building policies, saying its flagship “starter homes” programme will fail to help most first-time buyers. Prime Minister [...]
A pensions perfect storm is brewing – but longer lives needn’t prove a nightmare August 26, 2015 An old friend recently confided that there is one thing he is afraid of more than death – and that is living too long. Longer lifespans and low interest rates can combine to make retirement a potential nightmare of penury. Public finances face a related challenge. According to IMF research, public pension expenditure [...]
Both a friend and a voice August 12, 2015 Mencap is a partner and voice for people with learning disabilities Mencap’s Head Office has always sat on the edge of the City of London — between Old Street and the Barbican — but this year Mencap are determined to make sure our message gets heard loud and clear right to centre of the Square [...]
London house prices: There’s a bold solution to the housing crisis – if councils get out of the way August 6, 2015 Tessa Jowell is the latest mayoral candidate to pledge to build more homes to tackle London’s housing crisis, promising at least 50,000 new properties would be built each year under her watch. The government has also outlined plans for 200,000 new starter homes to be constructed, many also earmarked for the capital. But history tells [...]
UK housing crisis: How deregulated “slums” can solve the shortage of homes and high prices for renters August 6, 2015 A blog recently posted on the ASI website seems to have driven some angry reaction. “Britain needs more slums” proclaimed Theo Clifford, the winner of our 18-21 category of our Young Writer on Liberty Competition. While the ASI has a policy of publishing a whole range of opinions (views expressed on the blog are those [...]
Calais migrant crisis: Manston Airfield will be “temporarily used” to relieve pressure on M20 during Operation Stack August 4, 2015 The department of transport has announced Manston Airfield will be temporarily used to “provide additional capacity” for cross-Channel freight when Operation Stack is in place. The disused airfield in Kent will be used as an emergency lorry park, holding freight in the short-term to reduce pressure on the M20 during Operation Stack, the department of [...]
UK migration crisis: How much would it cost the UK to let in all the asylum seekers? August 4, 2015 Nightmarish scenes around the fence bordering the Calais end of the Channel Tunnel in recent days have epitomised what Theresa May has labelled a global migration "crisis". But is it a crisis? What if the UK just gave up and let everyone in? We ran the numbers, and it would cost the UK taxpayer about [...]
Why the NHS needs old-age reserves to mitigate galloping healthcare costs August 3, 2015 Do you remember the time when healthcare professionals used to argue that the NHS was adequately funded, and that further injections of money were not needed? Me neither, because there never was such a time. The NHS has always been “underfunded”, and the solution to its woes has always been just a few billion pounds [...]
London mayoral hopeful Tessa Jowell: City workers would be better off commuting from Madrid July 28, 2015 London mayoral hopeful Tessa Jowell’s team has been crunching numbers – and it turns out capital dwellers might be better off commuting to the City from Madrid rather than living in London. You read that right. Based on the average cost of commuting from a one-bedroom flat in north London to a job in the [...]