Lord Thomas of Swynnerton 1931-2017 (Chairman of CPS 1979 – 1991)
An appreciation by Ferdinand Mount. I first met Hugh in a white suit and straw hat in Malaga in 1960, when he was just finishing his first masterpiece, The Spanish Civil War. His later blockbusters, on the Cuban Revolution, the Conquest of Mexico and the Atlantic Slave Trade, made him the foremost Hispanic historian of his generation,… View Article
CPS reiterates calls for scrapping of pension tax relief and LTA
Professional Adviser published an article, 1 May 2017, which looked at the latest CPS publication “A Pensions and Savings Manifesto”. The paper, published 2 May 2017, sets out proposals to improve, simplify, and equalise the pensions and savings situations of British people. Report author Michael Johnson hopes all political parties will conider these proposals for… View Article
There is still no money left – Robert Colvile for the Telegraph
Robert Colvile, Editor of CapX, wrote for the Telegraph Monday 1 May 2017 on the financial debate at the heart of this general election: save or spend. Robert highlighted the triple lock on pensions as one area where politics and fiscal sense clash and referenced the Centre for Policy Studies report on the cost of… View Article
Chief Secretary to Treasury responds to CPS paper
On 28 April 2017 the Centre for Policy Studies published “Why Corporation Tax Cuts Work” which highlighted the increased onshore receipts from the tax, even after the government cut the rate to aid competitiveness. The paper also analyised Labour’s plans for the corporation tax rate and the 12 different commitments they plan to fund using increased tax… View Article
More than half of Britons are dependent on the state. That is too high
This week, the Office for National Statistics published figures showing the level of net dependency on the UK state. Their figures define net dependency as the proportion of households receiving more in benefits (including benefits in kind) than they pay in taxes. The figure now stands at 50.5 per cent. In the 1980s and 1990s, this figure… View Article
Inequality falls as collapse in unemployment helps poor families
The Daily Telegraph reports on the latest figures from the ONS, showing a fall in the percentage on households receiving more in benefits than they pay in tax, on 25 April 2017. The piece highlighted that although there had beena fall from the 2011 high, the figures were still above 50%. “This reflects the government’s… View Article
Dependency on the state is being turned round – slowly
In response to today’s ONS’ publication “Effects of taxes and benefits on UK household income”, Daniel Mahoney, Head of Economic Research, says: “These statistics from the Office for National Statistics show that net dependency (defined as the percentage of households receiving more in benefits, including in-kind benefits, than they pay in taxes) has fallen by… View Article
Don’t pin hopes on a price cap, stick to guaranteed savings like freezing subsidies
Daniel Mahoney, Head of Economic Research at the Centre for Policy Studies, responds to reports that the Conservatives will include an energy price cap in the manifesto: “Theresa May is, quite rightly, seeking to reduce energy bills for consumers. But the claim that an energy price cap will save households £100 a year is by… View Article
Free trade not aid. Scrap the 0.7% target
Tim Knox, Director of the Centre for Policy Studies, argues for dropping the 0.7% aid target in a piece of the Daily Telegraph today, 20 April 2017. “Where half of all people in the developing world were once comdemned to lives of abject poverty, now only one out of every five is…largerly the result of… View Article
The Conservatives should seize this chance to radically reshape Britain
Giving the current state of the polls, the snap election looks set to give Theresa May a solid mandate to create radical domestic change in the UK writes Daniel mahoney in City AM Wednesday 19 April 2017. “While Continental Europe faces instability from the rise of populist parties and persistent issues with the single currency, there… View Article
Early general election called – CPS response
The Centre for Policy Studies issued the following statement following the Prime Minister’s annoucement of an early General Election. Following the Prime Minister’s announcement she intends to hold a general election on 8 June 2017, the Centre for Policy Studies is calling on all parties to include in their manifestos radical policies, aimed at supporting… View Article
Education Secretary sets out grammar schools plan
Justine Greening, Secretary of State for Education, today spelt out her commitment to grammar schools in a speech at St Mary’s University in Twickenham. In the speech, Ms Greening highlighted latest analysis from the government which showed the majority of selective school places go to affluent families. This is in keeping with the findings of… View Article
Disadvantaged children priced out of good schools
The CPS econpomic bulletin, “How to Overcome Selection by House Price”, was covered by the Daily Mail who highlighted the impact a good or outstanding school has on house prices. “Today, the Centre for Policy Studies, a free market think tank, backs the Prime Minister’s plans by suggesting grammar schools can end the unfairness of… View Article
The BMJ highlights a Royal Commission
The British Medical Journal today featured a “Head to Head” on the topic of an NHS Royal Commission, with Lord Saatchi putting forward to argument in favour following his CPS pamphlet “An NHS Royal Commission: From fighting fires to a lasting settlement.” Lord Saatchi argued: “Never has there been a better time or a more compelling… View Article
Maurice Saatchi: Enough of the fake news and alternative facts
Following on from the report “An NHS Royal Commission: From fighting fires to lasting settlement”, published 20 February 2017 by the Centre for Policy Studies, Lord Saatchi has written a piece for Conservative Home website outlining why a Royal Commission is the best way forward for the NHS. In the piece Lord Saatchi describes the issue:… View Article
Think tank pushes retirement protections – FT Adviser
The latest report by Centre for Policy Studies’ pensions expert Michael Johnson proposes “auto-protection” at private pension age to better protect pensioners. The report, which was covered by the FT Adviser, follows on from a 2010 CPS reports which argued for liberalisation of pensions which were picked up by the government and came into effect… View Article
