Poorest families lose the Budget 2013 childcare war
The Budget announced measures to help parents pay for childcare. But those in most need miss out on the biggest chunk of the support, argues Helen Barnard.
Guest
Why is Obama hugging Israel today?
Britain and other European countries can play an important supporting role in a US-led process, but the stronger their relationship with both Israelis and Palestinians, the more constructive a role they will be able to play.
Road building is not the answer to Britain’s transport problems
As the UK economy continues to flat line, at the centre of the chancellor’s Budget plans to stimulate growth is a £3 billion annual infrastructure budget much of which is earmarked for damaging and regressive road building projects. But experience shows that new roads seldom solve people’s transport problems.
Budget 2013: Osborne’s hidden borrowing pays for tax sweeteners
When we assess the Osborne borrowing record, let’s be clear that it’s not just headline borrowing that is much higher than he promised a couple of years ago. Buried in today’s budget is also the hidden borrowing of future pension promises where he’s already spent some of the money designed to pay for them.
Budget 2013: The fight for tax haven transparency has a long way to go
The budget will increase inequality and the bias against the small business sector. It is another opportunity lost, but if you drink 1,000 pints to drown your sorrows you will save £10. Doesn’t that say it all?
Budget 2013: The chancellor must build, build and build
Housing development is a cost-effective way out of recession that doesn’t suck in imports but tackles a number of problems.
Budget 2013: Reducing inequality should be at the forefront of Osborne’s mind today
The defining societal trend in the UK over the past 30 years has been the growth in inequality, with an ever higher share of the national income captured by a wealthy elite, while the wages of ordinary working people stagnate. Redressing the balance need not come at a cost to enterprise.
Hinkley C go ahead will see consumers ripped off for the next 40 years
New nuclear power stations fail every possible test – economic, consumer, environmental and arguably legal. Hinkley C will lock a generation of consumers into higher energy bills and distort energy policy by displacing newer, cheaper, cleaner technologies.
Budget 2013: Watch out for budgetary backtracking on aid
Supporters of international development should watch this week’s budget announcement very carefully. As is so often the case, what is missing from the chancellor’s announcement could tell us as much as what is included about where the Coalition’s priorities lie.
Budget 2013: Immigration ought to be encouraged to support economic growth – but don’t hold your breath
Across the country the very firms which are supposed to be seizing opportunities to return the economy to growth are encountering the tangle of immigration regulations which obstruct a significant part of their business plans to win export orders and expand into new markets.