Green Politics
Experts line up to distance themselves from Fallon’s deregulatory push
Business minister Michael Fallon MP this week blamed both the financial crisis and the deaths in Mid Staffordshire hospital on the “regulatory culture” of the Labour years. However deregulation risks babies and bathwater territory. What we need is better and more effective regulatory systems so that failures cannot be ignored again and stakeholders are protected.
There is no disguising the fact: these are disastrous figures for the chancellor
Today’s figures from the ONS confirm that GDP fell by 0.3% in the fourth quarter of 2012. Whilst the upward revision is obviously good news, there is no disguising the fact that these are disastrous figures.
FT pulls apart austerity economics
The Financial Times has this morning produced a blinding set of graphs which highlight how fiscal austerity has negatively impacted on the GDP of various European economies.
The Triple-A failure: Iceland and the failure of the rating agencies
Iceland is a good example of the fallibility of the rating agencies. During Iceland's financial crisis, no one – and least of all the rating agencies – seemed to wonder why three banks from a tiny island with no history of banking could out-earn foreign banks despite borrowing at a relatively high cost.
Welsh Tories propose tax cut for the wealthy
The Welsh Conservatives are aping their colleagues in Westminster by calling for tax cuts for the very highest earners at a time when living standards are falling for the majority.
Why is the pound falling and does it matter?
Sterling has been in apparent freefall of late, as currency traders have looked at the UK economy with increasing pessimism. Left Foot Forward explains what a falling pound means for the UK.