CPS announces major new policy programme
In November, the Centre for Policy Studies launched its New Generation initiative, to provide a platform for new faces and fresh policy thinking. We are delighted today to announce the launch of a major new effort to support that work. With a year to go until Brexit, we want to develop a new generation of radical policy ideas… View Article
Nationalising rail won’t magically end rail strikes – Robert Colvile
One of the more peculiar arguments for rail nationalisation is that it will lead to a new age of industrial harmony, writes Robert Colvile, in City A.M.’s “Debate” column on Tuesday 27 March 2018. Debating against Emily Horton of The London Student, Robert pointed out that industrial action is 15 times more common in the… View Article
What you need to know about the Spring Statement
In the wake of the Spring Statement, Robert Colvile, Director of the Centre for Policy Studies, picks out the key points: Chancellor right to guard against complacency On the face of it, Philip Hammond had reason to feel “Tiggerish” on delivering his Spring Statement: lower borrowing, continued employment growth, inflation set to fall, real wages… View Article
Russia has systematically flouted every international norm – Robert Colvile
Robert Colvile joined the BBC News Channel to discuss possible UK responses to the Russian poisoning of Sergei Skripal, Tuesday 13 March 2018. Robert pointed out that Russia has “systematically flouted” international norms and even prior to the latest apparently assassination attempt, there were questions being raised about the England team’s participation in the upcoming Russia World… View Article
‘Beast from the East’ exposed our energy failings
The ‘Beast from the East’ put significant strain on Britain’s energy generation capacity, electricity supplies were worryingly low, and current government policy is set to make things worse, writes Tony Lodge in The Telegraph, 13 March 2018. Britain’s power generators can no longer supply all the electricity consumers desired, the government has systematically increased the… View Article
A Thatcher statue is essential if you support women’s equality
By refusing the celebrate the achievements of Margaret Thatcher, those on the left are impeeding the move towards equality for women, writes Emma Revell – CPS Communications Officer, in a piece for CapX. Written to mark International Women’s Day, the piece examines the lack of public art celebrating (or even containing) women and argues Margaret… View Article
Heseltine and Blair do more harm than good to Remain
Interventions from Michael Heseltine and Tony Blair won’t win Remainers any support, writes Robert Colvile in The Times Monday 5 March 2018. Polling by YouGov back in 2016 found only 2% of Britons think of the former Prime Minister “very favourably” so it is unlikely Tony Blair is the man to persuade the British public… View Article
Jeremy Corbyn: not a spy but a fool who hates the West
Jeremy Corbyn was almost certain not a Communist “asset” but he has never missed an opportunity to praise an enemy of America, writes Robert Colvile in The Telegraph Thursday 22 February. While it might be appealing to think of Corbyn “huffling scruffily around St James’s Park with his cling-filmed sandwiches, looking for dead drops –… View Article
Labour still aren’t being honest with the public about nationalisation
John McDonnell promised today, in a speech to a Labour conference, that his nationalisation plans would cost the public “absolutely nothing”. It follows a claim on the Today programme that nationalisation would be “cost-free”. Jeremy Corbyn also claimed today that nationalisation of the energy sector is necessary in order to fight climate change. In fact, as a recent… View Article
Raise benefits or raise wages – how best to end poverty?
What is the best solution to ending poverty, raising benefits or raising wages? Robert Colvile, Director of the Centre for Policy Studies, joined Helen Barnard of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation to discuss this question as part of BBC Radio 5 Live’s poverty week. Robert and Helen discussed the case for raising the living wage, the… View Article
Labour misses the point of the new gig economy
Labour’s approach to protecting employees rights at work is based on a mistaken assessment of the current situation, writes Robert Colvile, Director of the Centre for Policy Studies, in The Times. More regulation and more protection for workers ignores the reality that a large proportion of those working in the gig economy are “relatively content… View Article
McDonnell’s dismissal of nationalisation costs is laughable
Daniel Mahoney, CPS Head of Economic Research, responds to SMF study on costs of nationalising the English water industry: “Two weeks ago, John McDonnell was confronted on the Andrew Marr Show about the CPS’s estimate that nationalising the water sector would have an upfront cost of £86bn. McDonnell dismissed this figure as ‘laughable’. Yet the… View Article
Gavin Williamson is right: Britain’s energy supply is threatened by Russia
Gavin Williamson is right to warn about the Russian threat to Britain’s energy supply, writes Tony Lodge, CPS research fellow, in The Spectator. In his 2017 report “The Hidden Wiring” Lodge highlighted the dangers of the UK increasing energy imports from Europe rather than increasing generation capacity at home. Importing increasing amounts of energy means Britain’s supply… View Article
Hammond, McDonnell battle over new CPS report
Yesterday, the Centre for Policy Studies published The Cost of Nationalisation. This new report represents the first independent attempt to calculate the total upfront cost of Labour’s nationalisation plans – a figure which John McDonnell has repeatedly refused to provide. The report by Daniel Mahoney, the CPS’s Head of Economic Research, estimates that the upfront cost of Labour’s plans –… View Article
Labour’s nationalisation plans to cost £176bn
New research published today by the Centre for Policy Studies estimates that the cost of Labour’s renationalisation plans would be at least £176billion. This would represent around 10 per cent of the national debt, or nearly £6,500 for every household. It would be enough to pay for central government’s contribution to the cost of 2.9… View Article
Daniel Mahoney discusses Carillion with PM’s Eddie Mair
Daniel Mahoney, Deputy Director and Head of Economic Research at the Centre for Policy Studies, joined BBC radio 4’s PM programme to discuss Carillion and the future of public-private partnerships. Daniel, debating economist Ann Pettifor, pointed to private sector efficiency – estmiated by the CBI to be around 11% of costs – and risk sharing… View Article
