In comparison to Greece, cuts in the UK must undoubtedly look like a picnic. But Yanis Varoufakis overplayed the lack of austerity here (on BBC Question Time last night). Both at an individual level and in terms of the macroeconomy, UK cuts have been h…Read more…
The North/South divide in healthy old age
In 1979 pop singer Debbie Harry suggested her preferred life pattern was “Die Young, Stay Pretty”. Ms Harry, as part of the band Blondie, has blithely ignored her own advice and is pumping out records and touring more than three decades later. However, her focus on healthy life expectancy, rather…Read more…
Commission’s proposals for reforms to ISDS: new name, same danger
Last week EU Trade Commissioner Malmström announced proposals for a reformed version of the notorious Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provisions in TTIP. The new system of investment protection she described is called the ‘Investment Court System’, or ISD. Sounds similar to ISDS, doesn’t…Read more…
Osborne’s cuts risking hundreds of billions of green economy exports
The Chancellor may welcome future Chinese investment in the UK, but back home the present-day reality of his cuts to the green economy is beginning to bite uncomfortably hard. The CBI speaks of the government “watering down” its green commitments, while the government’s advisers, the Committee on…Read more…
Balancing the Costs and Benefits of Shale Gas Fracking
Should the Government call on an in dependent body, such as the former Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, to undertake an independent evaluation of the costs and benefits of shale gas fracking? The new Conservative Government has picked up wh…Read more…
As he seeks to borrow even more in China, why doesn’t George Osborne worry about record (net) overseas debts?
As we all know George Osborne came into office promising to rebalance the economy, and to reduce reliance on public and private debts. With no progress on the former and only very limited gains on the latter, one area of severe deterioration has been the UK’s financial relations with the rest of…Read more…
“National Living Wage” – business can cope
The TUC had mixed feelings about the new higher National Minimum Wage (NMW) rate for workers aged 25 and above announced in the July Budget. This will effectively create a new NMW band for older adults – £7.20 from April 2016, rising to more than £9.00 by 2020. We were of course pleased that…Read more…
The Chancellor drops his guard at the House of Lords – continued cuts are about the next financial crisis (and he moves the public debt goalposts to 100% GDP)
There was a significant exchange last week (Tuesday 8 September) ago in the House of Lords Treasury Select Committee. Sir Andrew Turnbull, head of the Civil Service (2002-2005), head of the Treasury (1998-2002) challenged the Chancellor on the real pur…Read more…
White Rose: Helping CCS to bloom
Carbon Capture and Storage is critical to meeting climate change targets. Without it decarbonising the economy would cost £32 billion more a year by 2050.
The post White Rose: Helping CCS to bloom appeared first on ToUChstone blog.Read more…
David, David, David, boy!
The government says a key objective of the feed in tariff “is to give people a direct stake in moving to a low carbon economy.” A new video from the Banister House community solar project makes this appeal to the Prime Minister to stop the proposed tariff cuts: “David, David, David, boy!” an intern…Read more…
Cameron attacks unions, while UN climate President talks to us
I’ve just returned from a Corbynesque country, where the State owns and runs the railways and its energy utilities, productivity is 27% higher than in the UK, there’s more annual leave and the top rate of income tax is 45% for earners over £110,000. It’s France, and just yesterday in its…Read more…
This week’s labour market statistics: the first quarterly unemployment rise in nearly four years
The story in the labour market has switched: headcount figures are weaker, with the first rise on the quarterly measure for nearly four years, but earnings figures are stronger. My take on this week’s statistics was on Left Foot Forward.
The post This week’s labour market statistics:…Read more…
Temps perdu? Government losing the argument to roll back the clock on replacing strikers
Running in parallel with their controversial and wide reaching trade union bill, the government are currently trying to overturn a 40 year ban on employers using agency temps to cover for striking workers. Unions are rather obviously against this move,…Read more…
In this special week, the Queen might like to review her challenge to the economics profession
My personal highlight of the Her Majesty’s now unprecedented reign was the celebrated visit to the London School of Economics on 6 November 2008. So let’s commemorate the occasion by reproducing Hello magazine’s (yep!) account of the event. The visit came at the absolute epicentre of the crisis,…Read more…
Refugee crisis demands solidarity and workers’ rights for all
All those who have been hearted by the outpouring of goodwill and solidarity shown by the public towards refugees in recent weeks – which stands in stark contrast to the xenophobic rhetoric that’s become commonplace in media and politics – will be asking themselves ‘can it last?’ I think it…Read more…
EU court’s common sense decision on time spent travelling to work
The European Court ruling this week was indeed a good decision for people working long hours, a phenomenon that TUC research shows is on the rise again in Britain. But many of those commuters happily seeing the headlines saying “EU court rules travelling to work ‘is work’” could…Read more…
Bill no mates: Growing opposition to the trade union bill from across the political spectrum
Civil liberty groups, voluntary organisations, NGOs, academics, employer organisations, groups representing users of public services, and industry commentators across the UK have joined the TUC in voicing their opposition the government’s Trade Union Bill. A selection of their comments is provided…Read more…
The Importance of Proofreading: how Trade Union Bill equality analysis admits it lacks supporting data
Today the government has published its equality analysis of the Trade Union Bill. For busy readers who may not have time to read to the end of my blog, let alone the government’s 31 page document, I can reveal that the government’s analysis of its proposals to weaken workers’ rights is that there…Read more…
Former BIS secretary Vince Cable attacks ‘vindictive’ trade union bill
Former Business Secretary Vince Cable has today branded the government’s Trade Union Bill as “vindictive” and a threat to “civil liberties”. Speaking to the BBC Vince Cable warned that the Trade Union Bill would worsen industrial relations and make disputes harder to resolve: “I think…Read more…
Twice as many €-millionaire bankers in UK as the rest of Europe put together. Doing what for the rest of us?
(I missed this data release on Monday, but today the FT remind us of the results with a chart on their front page.) In 2013 the UK has 2,086 high-earning bankers (defined as earning more than one million euros a year, £850,000), according to a new report published by the European Bankers…Read more…