Five things George Osborne won’t say in his Autumn Statement
We know most of what’s going to be in the Autumn Statement. But here’s what the chancellor won’t tell you today.
spending
Exclusive: Do the party conference tax announcements stack up?
Spencer Thompson has picked apart the conference announcements of Labour, the Conservatives and the Lib Dems – so which party will benefit whom?
The welfare cap ties a Labour government to ‘predistribution’
The welfare cap could help focus attention on the drivers of benefit spending.
Ed Balls is right: the Marriage Tax Allowance is perverse and unfair
Just 28 per cent of couples in a marriage or civil partnership will benefit from the policy.
They’re called ‘primary’ schools for a reason
If we are serious about raising school results, we’ll have to target resources towards early years and catch-up classes in primary schools. This will require the government to make tough decisions about spending on secondary education.
There’s something badly wrong with our welfare system
Today’s figures should open up debate on how to reform the current system of tax credits and benefits. What is clear is that more needs to be done to address the growing number of people who are actively contributing to society but yet are finding it increasingly difficult just to get by.
Did the welfare bill really get out of control under Labour?
The idea that social security spending got out of control under Labour isn’t really backed up by Department of Work and Pensions evidence.
Disposable income hits 12-month low
The average weekly disposable income has fallen to a 12-month low, the second consecutive year-on-year decline in two months, according to Asda.
Michael Gove should be held to account over the crisis facing London’s schools
I would like to see Michael Gove asked the following question: does he stand for every school child, or just those who attend academies and free schools?
School spending cannot be cut like this without compromising standards
I cannot be the only person with personal experience of managing schools whose jaw dropped at reading the headlines of the Reform report launched last week: Must Do Better: Spending on Schools. Based on lots of number crunching of data tables, it came to the conclusion that school spending could be cut by close to 20 per cent without compromising standards.