The business bailout scheme should avoid moral hazard and protect taxpayers
To say this would be a novel approach for the Treasury would be an understatement. But this would hardly be the first break with orthodox Treasury thinking that we’ve seen in recent months – the millions of people currently being paid by the state via the furlough scheme provides an all too obvious example of… View Article
Let hydrogen fuel our vehicles to a greener future
Transport is now the single biggest contributing sector to our country’s greenhouse gas emissions, while at the same time being a primary culprit for polluting our air. Worryingly, it’s also a sector which includes parts of the economy that are some of hardest to decarbonise, which might explain why it has barely reduced its emissions… View Article
Britain ‘can lead the world in hydrogen power’
The UK Government is committed to reaching Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Transport is now the biggest contributor to emissions – and the main driver of dangerously high levels of air pollution in many towns and cities. A new report from the Centre for Policy Studies, the leading centre-right think tank, argues… View Article
We calculate the astronomical cost of the virus as double the sum spent each year on healthcare
The tragedy of 2020 will leave deep scars on our country. Thousands of families across the UK have lost loved ones. Hundreds of thousands more have lost their livelihoods. And we have all lost our most basic freedoms. There are, thankfully, tentative signs that we may have reached the virus’s peak. So thoughts must turn… View Article
Coronavirus: UK government borrowing could top £300bn, says think tank
The centre-right CPS think tank today produced a more up-to-date assessment, saying the total could be £301bn. It said the cost of the support schemes themselves could add £127bn on to borrowing, with £119bn lost due to lower tax receipts and higher welfare payments. However, the CPS cautioned that any predictions in the current climate… View Article
Deficit could hit £300bn this year – report
The Centre for Policy Studies predicts the Treasury will spend £127 billion in direct bailout costs, including the employee furlough scheme which launched on Monday. It forecast a further £119 billion will be spent in indirect costs such as lower tax revenues, using the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) scenario of a three-month lockdown followed… View Article
Borrowing could hit £300bn as costs of coronavirus rise
Since the start of the coronavirus crisis, it has been clear that it will have a huge economic and fiscal impact. It was right that the Government put public safety first by imposing the lockdown – and that it acted swiftly and decisively to support the economy. But both of these actions come at a… View Article
The virus has exposed the urgent need to reform how we treat the self-employed
Over the last two decades, the number of self-employed people has increased by 54 per cent and now stands at five million. Nearly one in three of the net jobs created since 2000 have been people becoming their own boss. Now, for every five employees there is one self-employed person. Senior Researcher, James Heywood, writes… View Article
Getting through the Covid-19 pandemic will require markets as well as strong government
Covid-19 is a major shock to our system. With the UK speeding towards lockdown and much of Europe in similar or worse straits, this crisis — as with most crises — is causing people to look to their governments. This is both understandable and necessary. Rishi Sunak’s excellent pledges (and performances) last week reassured tens… View Article
Our economy is being sacrificed because the NHS was unprepared for a pandemic
In the war with Covid-19, NHS staff are on the front line. The last few weeks have been a stark and sudden reminder that their jobs are not like ours: while the rest of us huddle in our bedrooms, they are risking their own and their families’ lives and health on our collective behalf. Yet… View Article
Carbon offshoring poses competition risk for UK firms
As well as overstating the UK’s performance on climate change, the CPS argues the practice also discriminates against UK companies which are subject to climate levies, planning and regulatory hurdles that their competitors overseas do not have to face, such as the Carbon Price Floor which taxes emissions. The CPS said a new carbon tax… View Article
UK coal-free fortnight claim ‘misleading’
Tony Lodge’s new paper for the CPS, The Great Carbon Swindle, calls for the introduction of a carbon border tax on carbon-intensive imports which would reduce global emissions and better support domestic industries. The tax would be based on the electricity mix of the exporting country, which would incentivise other countries to invest in nuclear… View Article
Carbon Border Tax would stop Britain Hiding its True Carbon Emissions
Carbon Border Tax would stop Britain Hiding its True Carbon Emissions Importing electricity, carbon-intensive goods and raw materials from overseas allows Britain to hide carbon emissions During the recent “coal free” fortnight, no domestic coal was used to power the grid – but Britain imported an estimated 40.4 GWh of Dutch coal-fired generation To level… View Article
CPS responds to Government Budget Plans
Robert Colvile, Director of the Centre for Policy Studies, said: On coronavirus ‘This was an extremely impressive performance from the new Chancellor – and one that showed he is taking the threat of the coronavirus incredibly seriously. ‘The CPS called for the Chancellor to prioritise support for employees and small businesses in order to limit… View Article
A Budget of two halves
The Budget – Key Points A Budget of two halves It’s a cliché, but one that can’t be avoided. In the second half of his Budget, the new Chancellor – who cut an extremely impressive figure at the Despatch Box – set out a relatively normal fiscal statement, if one that was heavier on the… View Article
CPS sets out its Budget priorities for the Chancellor
The Centre for Policy Studies has published a pre-Budget briefing outlining the priority areas that Rishi Sunak, the new Chancellor, should address in order to boost growth and allow hard-working people to keep more of their earnings. The leading centre-right think tank recognises that the Chancellor faces a tough balancing act, with manifesto promises for… View Article
