Why final stage of Tory plan is a taxing problem
Convincing voters that tax cuts are for real is no easy task when the budget deficit is on course to be around £100bn this yearDavid Cameron and George Osborne had a plan when they arrived in office in...
View ArticleRuthless George Osborne can miss all his targets and still win | Anne McElvoy
Voters are unconvinced by the Tory chancellors credibility. But they also doubt the alternativesForget the sunlit uplands of recovery and let the lean times roll. Admittedly, this is not the economic...
View ArticleInterrogating the entrepreneurial state
This week, Mariana Mazzucato will give the inaugural New Statesman/SPERI prize lecture for political economy. Her 2013 book, The Entrepreneurial State, has provoked widespread debate about the role of...
View ArticleRoyal Mail may reap £662m from planned sale of London sorting office
Nine Elms centre joins Mount Pleasant and Paddington sites destined for redevelopment into luxury flatsRoyal Mail has put its former south London mail centre at Nine Elms up for sale, which analysts...
View ArticleBank of England expected to cut growth forecasts
Quarterly inflation report is likely to cement the view that interest rates will remain at 0.5% until after the general election in MayThe Bank of England is expected to cut growth forecasts when it...
View ArticleLabour received £600,000 of advice from PwC to help form tax policy
Transparency International director says the findings present a serious issue about exerting influence at the heart of politicsThe Labour front bench has accepted over £600,000 of research help from...
View ArticleFilm shows Nigel Farage calling for move away from state-funded NHS
Farages September 2012 remarks contrast with Ukips new claims that it is opposed to privatisation of health serviceNigel Farage has been caught on camera telling Ukip supporters that the state-funded...
View ArticleThe Queensland G20 leaders wont see: bikies, cuts and bruisers video
As the G20 begins in Brisbane, the state of Queensland has undergone radical political reform and unprecedented attacks on civil liberties. Guardian Australia's Joshua Robertson and Bill Code delve...
View ArticleEd Milibands zero-zero economy speech scores crucial points | Tom Clark
Amid plunging ratings, his speech sought to remind voters what Labour is for, showing integrity in its focus on inequality and insecurityIf you want to hear a politician lift their oratory, push their...
View ArticleEd Balls told to take clearer line on budget deficit
Some shadow cabinet members have privately expressed concerns about recent statements on Labours fiscal plansShadow cabinet members are privately expressing concern that Ed Balls needs to adopt a more...
View ArticleBritons fear rich-poor divide is harming society, poll finds
Almost half of people polled feel the UK has become less fair since the 2010 electionA majority of people believe the gap between the richest Britons and the rest of the country has a corrosive effect...
View ArticleA Tory nightmare: what if Red Ed is right on wages? | Rafael Behr
The Conservatives think theyve beaten Ed Miliband on the economy. They should listen to austerity-hit votersEven the finest political insights congeal into received wisdom over time. Then they rot into...
View ArticleCentral Asia pays the price for Russia's tumbling ruble
Sharp decline in the value of Russian currency is hitting Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistans economies hard. EurasiaNet.org reportsPensioner Jyparkul Karaseyitova says she cannot afford meat...
View ArticleMarkets mixed ahead of decision to end US stimulus - business live
US Federal Reserve expected to call time on QEUK mortgage approvals fall to 14-month lowWorkless households down to lowest level since records began4.56pm GMTAs investors waited for the US Federal...
View ArticleUKs £1.7bn EU bill: Clegg turns to French PM for support
Deputy prime minister to meet Manuel Valls in hope of strengthening case for cut and delay in payment of EU surchargeNick Clegg will deploy his pro-European credentials to try to win the vital support...
View ArticleQuantitative easing: giving cash to the public would have been more effective
The impact of quantitative easing was blunted by unconventional monetary policies and conservative fiscal policiesIts 2008. Your name is Ben Bernanke, the worlds most powerful central banker. The...
View ArticleSimon Stevens, PFI and the need for realism about NHS funding |@guardianletters
Perhaps Simon Stevens should rethink his defence of private finance initiative contracts in the NHS (The NHS is on life support. Can this plan revive it?, 24 October). Last year it required a massive...
View ArticlePaying the price of war: Britain makes good on historic debts
Debts from bonds issued in 1927 by Winston Churchill going back to the South Sea Bubble, Napoleonic and Crimean warsA century on, the UK government will start paying back the nations first world war...
View ArticleCalm down, financial markets: the message on UK and US growth is good |...
The US has stopped printing money, and both countries seem likely soon to be back in step with modest, gradual interest rate risesThe special relationship between the US and the UK when it comes to...
View ArticleDavid Camerons tax credo is incoherent, immoral and economically illiterate |...
The prime ministers claims about taxation were wrong on every single economic and moral groundBelieve the prime minister and it is morality, rather than economics, which requires him to cut taxes. In...
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