Give the international student market the credit it deserves
The Economist has stated that in 2008 the international student market was worth £2.9 billion in fees and another £2.3 billion in spending to the UK economy.
Green Politics
The Taxpayers’ Alliance declares war on the Carbon Trust
The Taxpayers’ Alliance (TPA) has today taken the extraordinary step of writing an open letter to the Energy Secretary, Chris Huhne, calling for the abolition of the Carbon Trust. This is in direct contravention of the truth – that climate change is, in the words of Lord Stern, “the greatest market failure the world has seen.”
IMF assessment out of date: weakening service sector highlights growth risks
On Monday the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said the UK economy was improving steadily from recession and that it was strong enough to cope with the cuts in public spending and tax increases proposed by George Osborne. But their assessment is out-of-date. The economy was recovering prior to Osborne’s June budget, but growth has clearly weakened since then
Northern Ireland – splits over cuts “a recipe for disaster”
Northern Ireland’s coalition partners the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Fein are at odds on cuts – with a very public spat this week opening up old wounds.
Davis joins Miliband with warning on growth
David Davies today warns that David Cameron and the Conservative party that he must develop a growth strategy. It follows Ed Miliband’s call yesterday for a focus on growth.
The real “squeezed middle”
In his leader’s speech tomorrow Ed Miliband is expected to announce his intention to reach out to Britain’s struggling middle classes.
The big split on deficit reduction is between Labour and Tories
The big split on deficit reduction is between Labour and Tories. The totality of Tory cuts’ plans are almost twice as severe as Alistair Darling’s proposal.
High hopes ‘Green Ed’ will put climate change back up agenda
Greenpeace has “high hopes” about Ed Miliband’s ability to hold the coalition to account, while Friends of the Earth describe as Labour’s greenest ever leader.
The second dimension of deficit reduction
Labour’s economic direction is far from determined. But the ratio of taxation to spending is just as important a discussion as the speed of deficit reduction.
Scrap 50p to introduce a land tax
The Fabian Society organised a policy Dragon’s Den earlier today. I suggested scrapping the 50p rate of tax to pay for a land tax.