Green Politics
When economists are wrong we all suffer. And we now know the debt obsession is wholly misplaced
It was argued by Reinhart- Rogoff that high debt essentially meant that the state captured all resources, used them inefficiently, prevented the private sector using them and so curtailed growth at cost to everyone. There’s just one problem.
The weakness of the wider economy is catching up with the labour market
Whilst important not to read too much into one set of figures, it may now be the case that the weakness of the wider economy is catching up with the labour market.
Unemployment up 70,000 to 2.56 million
Unemployment rose by 70,000 between December 2012 and February 2013 to 2.56 million, and the unemployment rate has risen to 7.9%, today’s labour market statistics reveal.
Thatcherism and Ukip are the perfect match
Writing in The Times yesterday (£), Nigel Farage claimed that if Margaret Thatcher was still leader of the Conservative Party there would be no need for Ukip. More specifically he said: “Had she still been in power in 1992, there would have been a referendum on [the Maastricht] treaty, and the need for UKIP would probably never have arisen.”
IMF calls on Osborne to ease up on austerity
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has cut the UK's growth forecast more than any other major economy and called for the government to spend more to stimulate growth.
Rebel Tory MEPs decisive in failure of vote to reform EU Emission Trading Scheme
A European Parliament vote on the future of the beleaguered Emission Trading Scheme (ETS), with implications for international climate change policy, failed to deliver a vital reform today when a majority of Conservative MEPs voted against the government.