Labour’s tax changes could cause UK tax competitiveness to plummet
The UK ranks a dismal 30th out of 38 OECD countries in the 2024 edition of the International Tax Competitiveness Index, published today by the US-based Tax Foundation This extremely poor ranking – below countries like Hungary (7th), Czechia (8th), and Germany (15th) – undermines the UK’s attractiveness to investors, and the Government’s stated aim… View Article
Government urged to fix ‘infrastructure inertia’
One of Britain’s most pressing problems, as the new government has acknowledged, is how difficult it is to build the infrastructure we need. Infrastructure in Britain is much harder to build than it was historically or than it is today in continental Europe Notoriously, the Lower Thames Crossing has spent 15 years in planning, at… View Article
Conservative leadership contender Robert Jenrick outlines economic vision in speech to the Centre for Policy Studies
Conservative MP and leadership contender Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP delivered a speech to the Centre for Policy Studies, Wednesday 16 October, outlining his economic vision for the country. Following the speech, Jenrick took questions from the media. You can read his full speech on CapX, and see coverage in The Telegraph and from the… View Article
In the news: CPS at Conservative Party Conference
CPS events are a staple of Conservative Party conference and this year was no different. We were delighted to host ‘in conversation’ events with three contenders for the Conservative leadership with hosts of journalists in attendance. Remarks by Robert Jenrick, James Cleverly, and Tom Tugendhat were covered by outlets including Politico, Unherd, the Daily Mail,… View Article
Net zero costing ‘billions of pounds more than it needs to’, says former Conservative minister
British energy bills are inflated with extra costs imposed by clunky old rules about how power is generated, regulated, traded, stored and transmitted With modernisation, energy bills could be cheaper, subsidies could be lower, British manufacturing could be more competitive, and the country would be on a much cheaper path to Net Zero A new… View Article
CPS responds to Reeves’ conference speech
Responding to the Chancellor’s speech to Labour Party conference, CPS Research Director Karl Williams said: ‘The Chancellor has rightly put growth at the heart of her speech today but she seems blind to the impossibility of achieving the growth this country needs while talking down our economic performance and bracing the country for a painful… View Article
Low-skilled migration will cost Britain, says CPS Research Director
Karl Williams, CPS Research Director, has written a column for the Sunday Telegraph outlining the impact Britain’s record migration levels are having on the economy. Highlighting new figures released by the OBR, as well as CPS research in our ‘Taking Back Control’ report, he argues that because of current mix of migration is skewed towards… View Article
Britain’s real black hole is far larger than £22bn – and far harder to close
Rachel Reeves has warned of a £22 billion ‘black hole’ in the public finances. But the reports published today by the Office for Budget Responsibility and Lord Darzi show that the real black hole is far larger – and driven by the cavernous gap between Britain’s spending commitments and its growth rates. The Office for… View Article
Papers cover new CPS briefing on growth by leading economist
A new briefing paper by leading economist and CPS Research Fellow Dr Gerard Lyons was picked up by several outlets in print and online. ‘Why the EU is Not the Answer to Britain’s Growth Challenge’ was covered by the Daily Express, The Times, and the Telegraph.
Britain’s growth does not depend on the EU says leading economist
All major parties acknowledge that achieving sustained economic growth is key to the country’s success but disagree on how to achieve it The Government is seeking a new deal with the EU, with the Prime Minister talking of resetting relationships at the recent European Political Community conferenceIn some quarters, Brexit is still blamed for recent… View Article
CPS staff dominate coverage of newly announced housing framework
Responding to the package of announcements as a whole, CPS Head of Housing Samuel Hughes told The Telegraph Labour’s plans were “pretty bold”, echoing the comment from CPS Director Robert Colvile, available here. CPS External Affairs Director Emma Revell was quoted by the Financial Times, criticising the downgrading of targets in London. She said was “madness”… View Article
CPS responds to Labour housing announcements
Responding to the announcement of a draft new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), CPS Director Robert Colvile said: ‘This announcement contains some overwhelmingly positive changes, many of which the Centre for Policy Studies and others have been calling for for some time. Reviewing green belt land, streamlining planning, forcing local authorities to have up-to-date local… View Article
CPS: Labour is paving the way for tax rises
Responding to the Chancellor’s statement following a review of the public finances, CPS Director Robert Colvile, said: ‘The war of words between Rachel Reeves and Jeremy Hunt should not obscure the most important consequence of what we heard – that Labour is set to increase taxes at the October Budget. ‘The Chancellor is presenting this… View Article
CPS responds to King’s Speech housing announcements
Responding to the planning reforms announced in the King’s Speech this morning, Samuel Hughes, CPS Head of Housing, said: ‘Britain needs a huge increase in housebuilding, focussed in the places where it is needed most, like London and the South East. It is therefore welcome to see the Government being ambitious in its proposals, but… View Article
CPS welcomes Chancellor’s focus on planning reform
Responding to the new Chancellor’s speech this morning, Robert Colvile, CPS Director, said: ‘Rachel Reeves is absolutely right to focus on the need for growth, and reforming the planning system as key to unlocking that growth. The devil will be in the detail, but today’s announcements on speeding up infrastructure delivery and holding councils’ feet… View Article
The Times splashes on CPS map of the ‘grey vote’
CPS research from ‘Justice for the Young’, which calculated that over 55s would be a majority of voters in a majority of constituencies at the next election, was updated to reflect new boundaries and featured in a splash for The Times. The paper reproduced an interactive map which allows readers to check their constituency and see… View Article
