By backing a new Charter for Budget Responsibility, the main political parties in Britain want to persuade you that they’re legally obliged to balance the books within three years. Fortunately, it’s not…
Runners and riders: Lining up for 2015.
UK Parliament
David Cameron has conjured up his very own “weather bomb”. The prime minister has warned that Labour’s economic policies hang over Britain like a brooding, blackening cloud. If we weren’t already sure…
How many Osbornes does it take to change an economic outlook?
Anthony Devlin/PA Wire
An opinion poll taken in the wake of George Osborne’s Autumn statement reveals that just 27% of people think the British economy is in good shape. This was a decline compared to a survey taken just three…
The Autumn Statement was supposed to be a celebratory moment for the coalition government – with its deficit-reduction strategy nearing completion and the 2015 election on the horizon, pre-election giveaways…
Refuting the charge that he opposes “green crap”, George Osborne has become a recycling champion. His Autumn Statement is built on re-announcements of existing projects (including the £15 billion road…
The chancellor of the exchequer, George Osborne, has delivered the financial package he hopes will convince voters to deliver a Conservative majority in May 2015. Here, our team of academic experts responds…
Some people definitely aren’t convinced.
Anthony Devlin/PA Wire
George Osborne has delivered his latest Autumn Statement, announcing there has been no recession during this parliament and forecasting that the British economy will grow by 3% this year. This final Autumn…
Alarm call: election battle lines are becoming clearer.
Kevin Friery
When he delivers his autumn statement later today, George Osborne will inevitably highlight any good economic news he can. With a general election barely five months away he will ride the jeers of Labour…
Hi-Vis and hard hat; Osborne into the breach.
Number 10
Britain’s chancellor of the exchequer will aim to deliver an election-winning financial package on Wednesday. But he will effectively have one arm tied behind his back. It wasn’t meant to turn out this…
Those of us that follow the mainstream media encounter information but few genuine insights. Recently one jumped off the page at me in a Financial Times piece. In an otherwise undistinguished endorsement…
It’s all a blur. NHS cuts are relying on an ageing, flawed business concept.
Robert Emmerich
Usually when great national institutions are perceived as being under threat people start to get anxious. And as we know, anxious people can sometimes do strange things. Sometimes they announce grand but…
Whichever way you look at it, tax cuts cause losses for all.
PA Wire
One of the Conservative Party’s major promises to emerge in its party conference was the promise of tax cuts to reduce the burden of government on hardworking families who do the right thing. Many critics…
Wealthier pensioners might be full of cheer. But prepare for a bitter aftertaste.
Diariocritico de Venezuela
It took about a decade to construct the cross-party consensus, and the support of trade unions and employers, that made automatic enrolment into private pension schemes a realistic prospect. The achievement…
George Osborne performed his main role at conference: to produce some good news to deflect attention from defection and deviance. Abolishing death taxes while targeting tax avoiders sounds good and the…
The currency model used after Irish independence could work for Scotland too.
Of all the currency arrangements cited in the debate over the future of Scotland’s currency, the ones conspicuously missing are those closest to home. While supporters and opponents of Scottish independence…
The news was taken badly by some bankers.
thehutch
Imagine having to wait seven years before you could be sure that what you were properly paid for your job. If it sounds like a bad deal then maybe it’s time to spare some empathy for bankers at UK financial…
Something strange is afoot in the Office of National Statistics. Every time the Chancellor of the Exchequer takes a bow for his outstanding economic management, the ONS dumps cold water on him. The ONS…
The answer… 56.
Multiplication table by extender_01/Shutterstock
The British Chancellor George Osborne recently refused to answer a simple times table question posed to him by seven-year-old school boy Samuel Reddings. Osborne was asked the question 7x8, but declined…
The swingeing report of the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission that the Child Poverty Act 2010 targets for 2020 cannot be met is no surprise. The commission was responding to the government’s…
“We are all in this together” has been one of George Osborne’s mantras. And it worked. Substantial parts of the public remain convinced that a noble, collective belt tightening was and remains the right…