Why make RBS back small businesses, but not renewables?
There is much to write about yesterday’s budget, but I thought I would highlight just one paradox – one I genuinely don’t understand. Alistair Darling announced a £1bn fund for…
Why I’m not complaining (much) about Vice Chancellors’ pay
The annual story about university Vice Chancellors' pay rises is in the papers again today. I have to admit that some of the stats are a little eye watering. The…
Are working class people just nicer?
Much bemused wryness in lefty workplaces across the land as an article in The Guardian goes slightly viral by reporting that people who buy ethical products are more likely to…
Tories propose corporate tax break?
It wasn't just Greens keeping a close eye on our spring conference. Tory candidate for Brighton Pavillion, Charlotte Vere, was regularly tweeting about the event. This particular one caught my…
If Robin Hood tax is stealth tax, then banks must be broken up
So, the Financial Times reports today that the Robin Hood tax - or Tobin Tax to it's old chums, may be a 'stealth tax'. The argument, which comes from Oxford…
21 hours a week: time to aspire to fun?
In 1930, the great economist John Maynard Keynes predicted that, by the 21st century, we'd be working an average of 15 hours a week. The argument was a pretty simple…
Super Tax
An almost invisibly small amount is shaved off each one of millions of transactions in the global banking system. No-one involved in the transactions has any cause to notice, but…
Clueless Cameron u-turns on the economy – again
The Tories have backed off proposals to appeal to the frothy mouthed party loyalists and funders. They’ve decided not to drive the economy back into a recession in the first…
UK climate leadership comes a cropper in Shetland
Last month, the UK government was claiming to lead the world on climate change. Ed Miliband genuinely seemed to be working hard to get a deal at Copenhagen. But today…
We can’t go on like this. Cut the deficit obsession, not the deficit.
There have been a number of mash ups of the David Cameron “We can’t go on like this” poster. Possibly the most entertaining is this: There has been, however, a…