Working-class voters are leaving the Tories in droves. Truss must prove she is on their side.
James Frayne, author of the latest CPS report ‘The New Majority’, has written his latest ConHome column on the Conservatives’ new electoral coalition and the challenges Liz Truss faces to keep it together. “The Government’s survival depends on a massive package of financial support for working-class families, while medium-term success requires a strategy which amplifies… View Article
Working class voters turning away from Tory party as cost of living crisis mounts, new report warns
The Yorkshire Post published coverage of the recent CPS report ‘The New Majority’ which maps the Conservative Party’s “fracturing” electoral coalition. The report, which features polling from Public First and written by the founding partner James Frayne, found that lower-income Tory voters are “seething” at the perceived failure to support them as the cost of… View Article
Wobbling workers are begging for help on cost of living. Tories must start listening
In his latest column for The Times CPS Director Robert Colvile urges the new Prime Minister to focus on working-class Tories facing “destitution” as a result of the cost of living crisis. Referencing the latest CPS polling and report ‘The New Majority’, he writes “that the real threat to the party is among its newer… View Article
Truss’s in tray: the economy.
In the first of series of articles for ConHome, looking at the challenges facing the incoming Prime Minister, CPS Head of Tax Tom Clougherty sets out the economic challenge facing Liz Truss. Her worldview is “unusually clear and well-established,” says Clougherty, and her premiership could see a break from “narrower fiscal conservatism” that has dominated… View Article
Savers should be allowed to raid Lifetime Isas, says their inventor
The Daily Tepegraph reports on comments by Michael Johnson, architect of the Lifetime ISA, suggesting the cost of living crisis meant savers should be able to withdraw funds from LISAs without incurring charges. Johnson, who first proposed the idea of LISAs in a paper for the Centre for Policy Studies back in 2014, told the… View Article
How do we solve Britain’s energy bill crisis?
Karl Williams, senior researcher at the Centre for Policy Studies, believes future government support for households struggling with rising energy bills should focus on supporting those most in need, not nationalising energy firms. Responding to comments from former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who suggested a “watertight windfall tax” on energy companies and the potential for… View Article
Sunak vows to protect ‘precious’ green belt and build more houses on brownfield
As candidates for the Conservative leadership set out their plans on housing Alex Morton, Head of Policy at the Centre for Policy Studies, is quoted in the Daily Express on the need to build more homes. This week Rishi Sunak pledged to protect “precious” greenbelt and recently Liz Truss came out in favour of scrapping… View Article
The next Prime Minister must ditch the dreadful Online Safety Bill
Implementing the Online Safety Bill as currently drafted would have “serious consequences”, says Matthew Feeney, Head of Tech and Innovation for the Centre for Policy Studies. Writing for CapX, Feeney argues that while the Bill is intended to limit the spread of ‘harmful’ content, the draft legislation puts at risk end-to-end encryption, the right to… View Article
Liz Truss pledges to set up low-regulation ‘investment zones’
Liz Truss plans to introduce “low-regulation investment zones” – calling them a “full-fat” version of leadership opponent Rishi Sunak’s freeports – if she becomes Prime Minister, reports the Daily Mail. The paper notes that Sunak first proposed the idea of freeports in the UK in a paper he wrote for the Centre for Policy Studies… View Article
Low earners benefited from Sunak reforms, says CPS Head of Tax
Following Rishi Sunak’s resignation as Chancellor, the Daily Telegraph reports on his legacy as the tax burden reaches its highest level since 1949. The article features comments from Tom Clougherty, CPS Head of Tax, who said the former Chancellor would be remembered for his pandemic support for families. Changes to Universal Credit and National Insurance… View Article
Nicola Sturgeon impending disaster as UK-breakaway could spark Scottish inflation spike
James Heywood, Head of Welfare and Opportunity at the Centre for Policy Studies, spoke to the Express about the economic impact of Scottish independence. Following any vote for independence, he argued, “there will be an immediate period of uncertainty for businesses because while they won’t necessarily become independent or have new trade barriers, they won’t… View Article
CPS welcomes Government action on childcare costs
The Centre for Policy Studies today welcomed the Government’s proposals to improve the cost, choice and availability of childcare, which mirror many of the suggestions made in a recent report. As the CPS has highlighted, the Government’s pledge to consult on cutting ratio regulations is a crucial first step in making sure the cost of… View Article
Stealth tax raid forces two million people into higher bands
The Centre for Policy Studies Director Robert Colvile is quoted by the Daily Telegraph in their coverage of the Chancellor’s decision to freeze income tax thresholds. He said the record high tax burden would cost millions of households during a time of “hideous” cost of living pressures. He said: “Rishi Sunak has praised Nigel Lawson… View Article
Housing crisis ‘crippling’ economy says CPS Director
Announcements on housing from both Conservative leadership candidates “pander to the fantasy that we can build all the houses we need on brownfield far away from where any Tory voters might see it”, according to CPS Director Robert Colvile. In comments reported by The Guardian newspaper, he added “Britain has a housing crisis. It is crippling… View Article
Regressive, ineffective and unnecessary – an online sales tax is no way to help the high street
The government has published a consultation on the potential introduction of an Online Sales Tax (OST) and while some businesses and campaigners believe such a move could help protect Britain’s high streets, the case for an OST is only “superficially attractive”. Writing for CapX, Elizabeth Dunkley, researcher at the Centre for Policy Studies, argues that… View Article
Online sales tax would cost families £175 extra a year, Sunak told
Daily Telegraph reports on new research from the Centre for Policy Studies which calculated the introduction of a new online sales tax (OST) would cost Britain’s poorest households £76 per year, with average households being hit with a £175 annual bill. Seen by some as a way to level the playing field between online and… View Article
