Green party’s flagship economic policy would hit poorest hardest, say experts
Citizen’s income – an unconditional income for every individual – would not work as hoped unless means-tested, say researchersThe Green party’s flagship economic policy, the £72 a week “citizen’s...
View ArticleRail passenger satisfaction fell prior to London Christmas chaos
Autumn 2014 survey of 27,000 passengers by Passenger Focus found 81% expressed satisfaction, 2% down on previous yearMore UK rail passengers are becoming dissatisfied with their train journeys,...
View ArticlePolly Toynbee on David Cameron: Don't underestimate him, he's a ruthless man...
That modernising, hoodie-hugging, all-in-it-together politician who took office five years ago has implemented some of the most savage cuts of recent times, says Polly Toynbee. A good government should...
View ArticleGreece's debts: what happens next?
The new Syriza government in Greece now faces the challenge of renegotiating its debts. Phillip Inman explains the options on both sides in a game of high-stakes brinksmanshipContinue reading...
View ArticleGilts hit historic low as fall in oil price brings deflation closer to Britain
Downward move in gilt yields may have implications for the cost of servicing the government’s near-£100bn budget deficitFalling inflation and the prospect of official interest rates being kept on hold...
View ArticleThe Guardian view on statistics in politics: over-counting
Big data doesn’t settle the big arguments. Too many of the statistics thrown around reflect nothing but noise, confusion or damned liesIn Britain “empiricist” is a compliment, a fancy way of saying a...
View ArticleBeyond GDP: Greens spark debate on a better measure of progress
The suggestion that there’s more to life than growth at all costs caused a furore, but many economists agreeDaffodils do it; babies do it; kittens do it: growing seems like the most natural thing in...
View ArticleCutting spending would boost the economy and raise living standards
Countries such as Korea, Hong Kong and the US have all had government spending levels around or below 35% of GDP. So can weThe economy is growing and measures of spare capacity are falling quickly....
View ArticleThe economy: we are stymied by greed and fear of change at the top | the big...
Governments of both major parties have landed us in this positionReading Will Hutton on inequality and the over-empowered and overpaid corporate and financial elite, I can’t help thinking that we are...
View ArticleWe need big tax increases, but no party will admit it
There is only one way to provide what the politicians have promised and what the public wantsCurrent government plans imply a fall in public spending to the smallest share of the economy since the...
View ArticleA cry for help from the health service
Chris Riddell on Ed Miliband’s pledge to ‘weaponise’ the NHSContinue reading...
View ArticleSyriza’s cleaners show why economics needs a new broom
The theoretical, rational model of Economic Man has a major shortcoming – he’s not, and never could be, a womanAmong the most uplifting images from Syriza’s victory in Greece last week were the elated...
View ArticleThe UK’s rock-bottom wages and immigration from within the EU | Letters:...
Your lead story (The great wages crash, 30 January), about a finding by the Institute for Fiscal Studies that young workers in the UK’s private sector are among the biggest victims of falling living...
View ArticleEd Miliband must decide: is Labour austerity-lite or Syriza-lite? | Matthew...
Labour’s leader has been attacked by the Blairite rump, but his far bigger problem is a lack of clarity on spendingIn an otherwise assured performance on Sunday’s Andrew Marr Show, Douglas Alexander –...
View ArticleUK manufacturing growth picks up pace as prices dive
Speed of growth surprises forecasters with demand rising even from eurozone but widespread price-cutting dampens moodBritain’s manufacturers enjoyed faster growth in January, easing their costs as oil...
View ArticleGeorge Osborne meets Greece's finance minister – video
Chancellor George Osborne warns Greece to act responsibly in its standoff with its eurozone partners. The chancellor is speaking after meeting Greece's new finance minister Yanis Varoufakis at Downing...
View ArticleBritain’s epidemic of private despair makes this an economic crisis like no...
There is no public spectacle to observe. But behind closed doors an everyday wretchedness blights livesLooking back, you can boil down the story of the financial crash to a sentence: the bankers ran...
View ArticleTory strategists enforce rigid discipline as election approaches
Lynton Crosby, backed by a youthful No 10 aide, keeps tight focus on ‘long-term economic plan’ and party’s ‘competence versus chaos’ messageAn unlikely alliance of a seasoned strategist and an...
View ArticleIFS predicts £50bn spending cuts if Conservatives win election
Institute for Fiscal Studies says UK austerity will be the toughest of all major economies, and warns of across-the-board tax increases in the early years of the next parliamentGeorge Osborne’s...
View ArticleAnother economic crash is coming. How did this happen? – video
David Cameron says a second financial crash is imminent. If he's right, it's because the government bailed out the wrong industry, argues Renegade Economist host Ross Ashcroft. He says the last...
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