When you drive through the potholes and your suspension gives out, or when you sit fuming at temporary traffic lights because of roadworks, it’s for a reason. It’s because the cost to you in delays and disruption doesn’t figure much in the council’s budgeting or the contractors’ work schedules. The familiar ‘I don’t give a […]
Andy Burnham has made social care his early priority. After three decades and more than 20 reviews, the system remains a lottery that punishes thrift, leaves local authorities overstretched and offers no sustainable answer to rising demand driven by longevity and the growing numbers of working-age adults with complex needs. One in seven people still […]
‘Today, on time and on budget, the environmentally friendly pride of Scottish engineering, MV Glen Sannox, makes the first of its four ferry crossings from Ardrossan to Arran, the busiest route on the islands network.’ That’s how it was meant to be. But there’s no pride, only relief, that this island lifeline has finally arrived, […]
This is an edited extract from Eamonn Butler’s latest book, ‘An introduction to taxation‘. The moral arguments against taxation are heard rarely, though they are surprisingly numerous and strong. First, taxation might be necessary, but it still relies on the use of force. Taxation at today’s historically high levels is possible only because non-payers face […]
Rishi Sunak has raised ‘strong concerns’ with the Chinese Premier after a young parliamentary researcher with links to security minister Tom Tugendhat and the Foreign Affairs Committee chair Alicia Kearns was arrested amid reports that he has been spying for China. But the PM knows that this is just the thin end of a very […]
It’s obvious to anyone who has encounters our creaking bureaucracy that Whitehall is ridiculously, and expensively, overstaffed. The last government’s plans to reduce the headcount by 20% seem like one of their better ideas, especially given that civil service numbers have grown by far more than 20% over the last seven years. It wouldn’t be […]
Linda Whetstone, who died on 15 December, was a tireless, forthright, no-nonsense and effective campaigner and organiser for the cause of a free society and free economy. Her commitment to these principles, and the seemingly inexhaustible energy by which she promoted them – even into her late 70s – saw her become a friend and […]
State spending is the highest it’s been since the 1970s. The tax burden is the highest it’s been since the 1950s. Government debt is at record heights too – twice as high as 20 years ago as a percentage of GDP, and seven times as high in cash terms – over £2 trillion, or around […]
“We promise not to raise the rates of income tax, National Insurance or VAT,” said Boris Johnson’s 2019 election manifesto. How times change. Ministers were floating a plan to raise National Insurance in order to pay for social care, before yet again delaying any announcement on this crucial area of reform. Of course, the Tories […]
It’s Adam Smith’s birthday. Well, sort of. The birth of the great Scottish philosopher, economist and author of The Wealth of Nations was registered on 5 June 1723, so he was probably born on 3 June – we can’t be quite sure. Then in 1752 the Gregorian calendar replaced the less accurate Julian one, and […]
It was a weak joke, delivered to (supposed) friends, instantly regretted and best forgotten. But Boris Johnson’s equation of capitalism with greed is a common mistake on both sides. The caricature Wall Street financier Gordon Gekko proclaims that “Greed is good!” while Marx rejects the “werewolf greed” of capitalists. Indeed, people often define capitalism in terms of greed, concluding […]
As soon as B&Q announced it would reopen some of its DIY stores, their website crashed and long queues started forming. Traffic this last week was up 10-15% on the previous week, according to the AA, who announced that callouts had quadrupled. The sun is shining. Many aren’t giving each other quite such a wide […]
