Grade B for Hammond's last Autumn Statement
This article is taken from the CPS Economic Bulletin. To receive the bulletin to your inbox before it is published online, subscribe here. Compared to the March forecast, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is projecting an additional £122.1 billion of borrowing over the five year forecast period. Nearly half of the decline in fiscal ...
Balancing the Budget Should Remain a Priority after the Autumn Statement
When Philip Hammond was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer and signalled that he was dropping Osborne’s targets, there was much talk of an end to austerity. Parts of the media portrayed it as a repudiation of austerity’s goals, rather than a recognition that the targets wouldn’t be met. The government ...CPS Autumn Statement Wishlist
For this Autumn Statement, the CPS’ ‘wishlist’ focuses on six areas that could help boost supply side growth: tax reform, infrastructure, free ports, housing, energy and corporation tax exemptions.Tax Reduction and Simplification The UK’s tax code is around 21,000 pages long and has around 1,100 tax reliefs. This complexity ...
Research as a catalyst for socio-economic progress
The degree of success Research and Development (R&D) funding has had in fostering innovation, economic growth, competitive advantages, and labour productivity has historically varied depending on the specific business sector which funding is directed towards. Nonetheless, longstanding academic rhetoric and field outcomes suggests that advocating R&D does have a positive ...Will Heathrow expansion get the go ahead? The signs look encouraging.
An announcement on airport expansion is imminent. The Government is set to make a final decision when the Cabinet Aviation Subcommittee meets either tomorrow (11th October) or a week on Tuesday.It is important for passengers that Heathrow expansion is finally given the go ahead, particularly as the additional future demand ...
A Workable Solution to Immigration
A poll by Lord Ashcroft in the aftermath of the EU referendum established that immigration was the second most prominent reason for voting to leave, with a third of Leave voters agreeing. Yet despite valid arguments on both sides of the immigration argument, the quality of debate has been poor. ...Grammar schools can work, but not under the old system
After more than 20 years in the wilderness, grammar schools are back on the agenda. In an effort to broaden the Conservative party’s appeal and boost social mobility, the new Prime Minster Theresa May is considering removing the ban on grammar schools at the party’s conference next month. Grammar schools ...
T-Ticked Off
The negotiations between the US and the EU for the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, or TTIP, are shrouded in secrecy. This is draconian and out-dated.Secret trade deals used to be the norm across the globe with talks being conducted in dark rooms between people we would never hear the ...Competition, not nationalisation, is the solution to Britain's inadequate railways
The railway industry is at the forefront of national debate at the moment. The latest scandal emerged when Jeremy Corbyn filmed a short clip on the floor of a Virgin East Coast train bemoaning the lack of space before returning to his seat 45 minutes into the journey. On top ...
Employment on merit - the skills deficit in manufacturing
The British manufacturing sector’s contribution on a global and national level has been in steady decline since the 70’s. Under Prime Minister Edward Heath, manufacturing contributed to 30% (Gross Value Added) of Britain’s economic output, and by 2014 this had slipped to just 9.7%. When compared globally, Britain is the ...Resolution not rivalry – how Austria prevents strikes
Recent strikes by Southern Rail and Eurostar staff this summer are a reminder of the UK’s persistent struggle with labour disputes. Those between government, businesses and labour unions, that fail to be resolved through negotiation, are detrimental to the economy. Particularly those over public transport services. For example, the lowest ...
The Pensions Dashboard: maintain the momentum
A week does not go by without some learned article lamenting the lack of transparency in the pensions industry. But perhaps the tide is turning: the Government has now recognised that it is in the national interest to redress the balance in favour of the consumer. In his last Budget ...
As the world gets ready for Rio, what was the true London 2012 legacy?
A major feature of London’s winning bid for the 2012 Olympics in Singapore was a promise to deliver on a five-pronged legacy plan. This plan included making transport ‘bold’ and a volunteer spirit ‘that lasts’, however in reality, the two main legacy aims of London 2012 were to regenerate the ...My Little Cronies
Cronyism and a lack of the expertise it is designed to hold have been the battle cries for reformers of the House of Lords. The recent scandal involving the published proposals for peerages and other honours by David Cameron upon his leaving 10 Downing Street has only stoked the fire ...Fighting the Resistance
“The thoughtless person playing with penicillin treatment is morally responsible for the death of the man who succumbs to infection with the penicillin-resistant organism”. These words were spoken not by a politician or a philosopher but by the man that discovered penicillin, Alexander Fleming. From the very start of the ...