Labour’s misdiagnosis: A larger state is not the way to raise living standards September 23, 2014 To paraphrase the economist John Maynard Keynes, Ed Miliband’s speech yesterday to the Labour Party conference was an extraordinary example of how, starting with a mistake, a remorseless logician can end in Bedlam. For Miliband, the market has failed to deliver rising prosperity, and it is now time for big government to get back in [...]
UK house prices soar as lack of homes fuels cost of living crisis September 22, 2014 House building in the UK has been in a continual state of decline since the 1970s, making it harder to own a home and to pay rent, according to a report released yesterday. In the several years preceding the financial crisis, just under 200,000 houses were completed per year – half the number that [...]
Cost of living crisis myths: How Miliband could deliver a real pro-poor agenda September 22, 2014 Labour’s party conference will see Ed Miliband try to shift public focus away from the Scottish referendum fallout and back towards the choice at next year’s general election. In particular, he’ll seek to refocus our minds on the “cost of living crisis” narrative that he’s been composing since 2011. Policy announcements over the weekend suggest, [...]
Tesco can still win back shoppers by slashing prices: Investors may now be harder to convince September 22, 2014 EVEN before the announcement of accounting irregularities yesterday, Tesco was a company beset by problems. Once the darling of the British retail scene and the undisputed leader of the grocery pack, Tesco has faced years of falling sales and profits, combined with some high profile failures, like the disposal of its costly Fresh & Easy [...]
Build on the green belt to ease home price crisis, say economists September 21, 2014 ROLLING back the green belt and easing planning laws are needed to address the cost of living crisis, analysts at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) argued today, hitting out at Labour’s plans to cap rents and set conditions on the type of homes built. The think tank argues that house prices have shot up [...]
Chuka Umunna: More power for London and the regions – but not for me September 21, 2014 The shadow business secretary has been hailed as his party’s next big thing so many times the joke is starting to wear a little thin. Chuka Umunna scoffs at the suggestion that shadow chancellor Ed Balls could be shuffled out before the general election, making way for him to step up. “There will be no [...]
Ed Miliband promises minimum wage rise should Labour win next general election September 21, 2014 Ed Miliband has promised an increase in the national minimum wage to £8 per hour should his party win at the next general election. The Labour leader has said it is "not good enough" that one in five people in the UK "are in low pay". Ahead of the Labour party conference in Manchester this week, [...]
Could Labour be set to make a big announcement on low pay at its party conference? September 18, 2014 Tackling low pay has been a central policy theme for Labour while in opposition, and it’s not hard to see why. While the economy is growing, wages aren’t rising in real-terms and people don’t feel better off. Ed Miliband knows this and has sought to focus his party’s strategy on the cost of living crisis [...]
Labour’s faulty rent control plans reflect the shallowness of UK politics today September 8, 2014 WHY DO politicians advocate policies which deal with the symptoms of problems rather than the underlying issues directly? In the past week we’ve seen Liberal Democrats react to expensive childcare by pledging to roll out “free” care for all two year-olds, which they say will help struggling families. George Osborne, meanwhile, has promised to cap [...]
Rate of inflation is not as bad as you think but survey shows consumers are feeling the pinch September 5, 2014 The Bank of England has released the results of its latest survey into what consumers believe the rate of inflation will be over the next 12 months. The figure was up 0.2 percentage points to 2.8 per cent, while respondents believed the current rate to be around 3.4 per cent. Were the true figure to be hovering [...]