UK Government
UK Budget 2025? Get real. The world has changed
John McLaren explains in no uncertain terms why the UK Budget is such a disappointment, doing nothig when so much needs to be done, further eroding trust in mainstream politicians, pushing voters towards outlying parties…
Insurgent, disruptive or flailing Labour?
A six-hour cabinet meeting last Friday appears to have done little to give the flailing Labour government much of a new strategy. It came at the end of a week when a YouGov poll put…
Ending child poverty – hard facts vs empty promises
“All of this highlights the need for a well-constructed plan, not just pious words and hollow pledges. We’ll have to wait and see whether the UK Government’s Taskforce comes up with something concrete and viable.…
Starmer can’t afford to be cautious
Labour “is caught between the public policy need for bolder action and an even more sober presentational approach than that of 1997. Bold policies are not incompatible with sober campaigning. But sober campaigning may not…
Can muscular unionism save the Union?
“Muscular unionism didn’t work in Ireland in 1921 and there is no reason to expect it to work now. Ignoring the votes, and the people elected, in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, is not unionism.…
The ‘markets’ ease the return to economic reality
“But there may be a silver lining here. This may be a wake-up call that populist policies need to pass the credibility test when it comes to foreign exchange and bond markets,” writes economist and…
Fantasy economics: alive and well on both sides of the border
“Where Scotland differs (from the UK) the most is in its lack of engagement on economic issues. If this continues then the £1.5 billion (fiscal) shortfall will continue to grow and taxes will continue to…
Mixed messages on migration
Why will EU citizens find it more difficult to come to the UK to live and work after the end of the transition period? Because UK policy and laws will be designed to deter them…
Boris Johnson: Covid-19 and the dark side of optimism
‘Our prime minister has discovered the hard way that cheery optimism alone will not protect us from this virus; the only certainty about the future is that it is uncertain. Bad things can, and do,…