In the attempt to capture the defining difference between the philosophical outlook of the Labour and Conservative party, I once wrote that nobody ever joined the Tory party to improve the lives of the poor. I promptly received a note from an outraged correspondent who said simply “I did”. That correspondent, that Tory warrior for…
The prospect of a three-day week is no longer about public sector workers doing flexible home working, it’s being talked about as a worst-case scenario if the energy crisis isn’t resolved.
When Dominic Cummings announced his intended revolution in the corridors of Whitehall at the start of Boris Johnson’s reign, he promised to remove the shirkers and slackers, the bureaucrats and bores who had dogged British politics for too long. The new cabinet was to possess the greatest minds in parliament, who would be able to…
Later today the government will announce its solution to the unsolvable problem: how to pay for social care. As with most government announcements, much of it has already been leaked to give them the opportunity to read the room before officially committing to anything. It is anticipated they will announce an increase in National Insurance…
Long after the end of the Second World War, Britain was still having to cope with shortages, thanks largely to government-imposed rationing. The UK’s post-war balance of payments position was decidedly weak, one reason why consumers weren’t allowed to buy what they wanted. Sheer bad luck also played its part. A very wet summer in…
Pending a last-minute U-turn, the government is set to cut universal credit by £20 a week from October, as the uplift put in place in response to the covid pandemic comes to an end. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has declared this ‘the biggest overnight cut to the basic rate of social security since the foundation…
America’s longest war cost tens of thousands more lives than those taken on 9/11 and yet as its anniversary is being marked, the same pattern is being played out in regional “wars on terror” from West Africa to East Asia. With Afghanistan at a crossroads once again, other societies are mindful of their own nations’…
Two leading democracies go to the polls later this month, both facing far from certain outcomes. The end of the Merkel era places Germany at a crossroads with a diverse range of multi-party coalitions on the table. Meanwhile, Canada’s election is Justin Trudeau’s gamble to turn his minority government into a majority one, despite polls…
