Is Nick Clegg’s triple lock behind the rise of Corbyn?
The Liberal Democrats insisted on the triple-lock for state pensions being part of the Coalition Agreement back in 2010, suggested it would only cost £50m per year. 7 years later, it is costing the government over £8bn and ensuring the necessary task of curtailing the UK’s spiraling welfare budget fell mainly on the working age… View Article
Triple lock on pensions drove young voters to Labour
According to Rupert Harrison, George Osborne’s former special adviser, the triple lock on pensions was a Liberal Democrat demand for the Coalition agreement in 2010, which was accepted by the Conservatives on the basis that it would just cost £50m. The triple lock has meant that the state pension has been increased by the highest… View Article
The government can fix tuition fees. Here’s how
The government must do more to help students deal with university debts, or else create a financial time bomb for future taxpayers when loans are written off, argues Michael Johnson in a piece for The Telegraph published 19 October 2017. “Tuition Fees: A Fairer Formula”, written by Johnson and published by the Centre for Policy… View Article
Tories must undergo radical change, says former minister
The Guardian reports on Robert Halfon’s speech to the Centre for Policy Studies and the 1900 Club, in which he urged the Conservative Party to embrace radical reform and the language of compassion to appeal to working voters. “Halfon said welfare reforms such as universal credit had been rolled out without any explanation about whether… View Article
The Conservatives must become the workers’ party, says Robert Halfon
Robert Halfon urges the Conservative Party to rebrand and adopt a radical message to appeal to working class voters, writes Sam Coates in The Times 10 October 2017. In a speech to the Centre for Policy Studies and the 1900 Club, Halfon outlined his plan for a workers party that “reclaimed the language of compassion”… View Article
Robert Halfon to call for a ladder of opportunity
Robert Halfon MP, chair of the House of Commons Education Select Committee, will call on the Conservative Party to create ‘a ladder of opportunity’ for low-income voters in a speech to the 1900 Club & Centre for Policy Studies on Monday evening, 9 October 2017. He will set out plans to strengthen the Conservative Party’s historic links… View Article
Conservatives have no message, claims former minister
The Conservatives have no message – beyond austerity and Brexit – and they will struggle to attract voters if they allow the Left to claim the monopoly on the language of compassion, claimed Robert Halfon in a speech to the Centre for Policy Studies, 9 October 2017. City AM noted that “Halfon has long pushed… View Article
Theresa May told to crackdown on medical legal bills
Theresa May needs to do more to tackle the soaring medico-legal burden on the NHS as highlighted by a new CPS report, “The Medico-Legal Crisis and How to Solve It” by Dr Paul Goldsmith. The report, published 6 October 2017, also highlighted the increased costs of GP indemnity, bourne by the GPs themselves, which risked driving them… View Article
Britain is worse than US for medical negligence claims
Britain now spends more on medical legal claims per head of population than the US, with the NHS spenting £1.6billion on medical negligence claims last year – or £24 per person. That was the headline figure picked out by the Daily Mail in their coverage of the latest CPS report, “The Medico-Legal Crisis and How to Solve It” by… View Article
Leadership Change at the Centre for Policy Studies
The Centre for Policy Studies, the leading UK think tank, has announced the departure of Tim Knox as Director and the appointment of Robert Colvile as Acting Director. During his six years as Director, Tim Knox has kept the Centre for Policy Studies at the heart of the British political debate, overseeing pioneering work on… View Article
The Medico-Legal Crisis and How to Solve It
The NHS’ liabilities for medico-legal claims now total £65bn, draining the NHS of much-needed funds and putting patients at risk by driving GPs out of practice concludes Dr Paul Goldsmith, Consultant Neurologist and policy strategist, in his report “The Medico-Legal Crisis and How to Solve It”published Friday 6 October by the Centre for Policy Studies. The… View Article
Strength from Openness: The Australian High Commissioner on the lessons for the UK of Australia’s successful free trade policy
STRENGTH FROM OPENNESS The Australian High Commissioner on the lessons for the UK of Australia’s successful free trade policy The UK is the “ideal place from which to pursue the kind of open, liberal trade and investment policy that has served Australia well in recent decades… As one of the UK’s closest friends, we offer… View Article
Taking away Uber is like taking away part of our lives – Robert Colvile for the FT
In the wake of Transport for London’s decision not to re-issue Uber with a private hire licence, Robert Colvile predicts a compromise will be found. “When Transport for London, an independent regulator overseen by the mayor, announced that Uber’s operating licence would not be renewed, the reaction was swift. “Brilliant victory for unions, labour movement… View Article
Prince William is naive about drug legalisation – CPS fellow
Prince William has been branded “naive” by Kathy Gyngell, CPS research fellow, for asking a group of drug addicts for their views on legalisation. The prince asked the group of recovering addicts for their views while visiting the Spitalfields Cyrpt Trust which support people struggling with substance misuse. Kathy Gyngell said his comments were “well-meaning… View Article
Government must do more to protect the public from strikes
Strikes in the essential services are banned in most major Western economies – but not in the UK. With co-ordinated strike action now being threatened by public sector unions, the Government should consider amending the Trade Union Act 2016 to further protect the public from the damage done by strike action writes Nicholas Finney in Strikes… View Article
Public sector pay rises need to be balanced against risk to taxpayers
On 13 September 2017, Daniel Mahoney joined Iain Dale’s LBC show to discuss the government’s decision to partially lift the public sector pay cap. Click to read Daniel’s report from July 2013 “Abadoning Austerity is No Solution to Public Sector Pay“.
