Pay bankers no more than civil servants, says ex-Cameron aide
Steve Hilton says banks rely on implicit backing of taxpayers, and capping pay could encourage reformDavid Cameron’s former strategy guru Steve Hilton has suggested bankers should be paid no more than...
View ArticleGeorge Osborne welcomes negative inflation – video
The chancellor, George Osborne, says Tuesday's negative inflation figures – the first since 1960 – are good news for families and are not a sign of deflation, which would be a prolonged period of...
View ArticleIs the UK in the early stages of deflation?
The short answer is no, but a number of unknown factors means even an outside risk needs to be taken seriouslyBlink and you’ll miss it. That sums up what the experts think about inflation turning...
View ArticleEU vote: CBI tells employers to 'turn up volume' on benefits of UK membership
Employers’ organisation urges businesses to make stronger and clearer case for Europe as isolation fears growBritain’s leading employers’ organisation will urge its members “to turn up the volume”...
View ArticleFresh spending squeeze has already begun, says George Osborne
Chancellor tells government departments to make immediate start on finding £13bn of further cuts – with goal of announcing savings by JulyGeorge Osborne has told Whitehall departments that the fresh...
View ArticleTemporary and part-time jobs surge promotes inequality, says OECD
In the UK, non-standard work including zero-hours contracts accounted for all net jobs growth since 1995A surge in self-employment and temporary or part-time jobs over the past two decades has been a...
View ArticleNow the Bank of England needs to deliver QE for the people
We propose that the government legislates to empower the Bank with the ability to make payments directly to the household sectorFor all the talk of policy change now that the Liberal Democrats have...
View ArticleThese children of Thatcher are free to cut, cut, cut – and they’re loving...
George Osborne and David Cameron have been waiting for this moment – to take us back to a prewar, pre-welfare governmentEvery new chancellor wants to set their own budget after an election. But George...
View ArticleUK retail sales: while politicians campaigned, the voters shopped
April’s big rise in retail sales is down to the falling cost of oil and shops cutting prices. But getting consumers to spend is the easy part of George Osborne’s long-term economic planBritons love a...
View ArticleUK budget deficit narrows after VAT and corporation tax boost
Office for National Statistics says government borrowing was £6.8bn in April, down nearly 27% from a year earlier Britain’s public sector budget deficit narrowed more than expected in April, giving the...
View ArticleReducing inequality benefits the many, not the few. Labour has to show that |...
The London mayoral elections are Labour’s first big test since the election. We must show that security and equality are the only path to real economic growthWhile picking ourselves up from our...
View ArticleUK public borrowing fall: four reasons not to gloat
There are many good reasons why the government offered a guarded welcome to the better than expected deficit for April No short cuts. Plenty of hard work left to do. That was the Treasury response to...
View ArticleUK budget deficit narrows after boost from taxes and duties
Rise in VAT, corporation tax and stamp duty takings helps improve finances but analysts warn a balanced budget by 2020 remains trickyA sharp fall in Whitehall spending and lower interest bills on...
View ArticleBorders are closing and banks are in retreat. Is globalisation dead?
In the days before the Great Recession, the liberalisation of world trade seemed a certainty: now fears over ‘hot money’ and migration have changed the moodGlobalisation is under attack. It was meant...
View ArticleBank of England under pressure to publish planned Brexit risks report
Andrew Tyrie says MPs will demand to interview officials involved in Project Bookend, set up to investigate impact of EU referendumThe head of an influential parliamentary committee has demanded the...
View ArticleTory commentators on how the Conservatives can hold on to power
MPs and pundits give their views on ways in which David Cameron and George Osborne can extend the Tories’ reign Continue reading...
View ArticleDavid Cameron's desperate plea to Europe
Chris Riddell on the prime minister’s renegotiation strategyContinue reading...
View ArticleJoseph Stiglitz: ‘GDP per capita in the UK is lower than it was before the...
Nobel prize-winner Joseph Stiglitz is the world’s foremost critic of economic and political inequality. He thinks the lessons of the global crash are being ignored, and he’s not much taken with the...
View ArticleWill George Osborne's productivity plan help make Britain a world-beater?
When chancellor says he wants economy to find another gear, it’s not so much speed at which UK is expanding that concerns him, it is quality of that growthIt’s Monday morning and you arrive at the...
View ArticleGrowth at all costs: climate change, fossil fuel subsidies and the Treasury
The UK oil and gas industry receives huge government subsidy, while support for renewable energy is cut. Is Treasury control of Whitehall fuelling a shortsighted economic agenda?There are no oil rigs...
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