An asset Britain cannot afford to toss in the bin
30 Jan 2012
The edited electoral register is too important to British business to leave it in limbo, when all the evidence is that we need it more than ever before
Locking the front door but leaving the back door wide open
30 Jan 2012
Question marks about Britain's new model financial regulation stem from an over-concentration on 'who' should regulate rather than 'how' to regulate, and a failure to appreciate the limitations of solely national solutions
The challenge of the century
09 Jan 2012
'It has been widely accepted that the UK's economics performance reflects a significant competitive disadvantage, in institutional and policy terms, when compared with its major competitors'
The swan song of Britain in Europe
07 Dec 2011
The Eurozone problem 'is not in the technical detail of what needs to be done, but in the political will to do it'
Not making good
07 Dec 2011
The challenge of deindustrialisation and the need for rebalancing is decades old. In 1992, UK manufacturing output was less than one per cent above its 1973 peak.
The value of Northern
07 Dec 2011
Northern is the largest train operator in the country, connecting people with jobs, education and leisure facilities across the north of England. We provide 2,500 local and regional train services … » more
EZs sound like a good idea, until you remember the 1980s
26 Oct 2011
Ask any minister about the government’s 'growth strategy' and top of the list of initiatives will be Enterprise Zones (EZs), which are an ‘unashamedly localist’ initiative to stimulate growth. However, … » more
Why UK growth policies may now be a beacon for the Western world
26 Oct 2011
The times we live in are not without some interest. Or, put differently, in 2007 the world was turned upside down. The Western world is facing its biggest crisis since … » more
Thank you Gordon, at least you kept us out of the Eurozone
26 Oct 2011
Had Gordon Brown acted differently it may well be the case that we would now be evaluating his record rather more favourably. He was widely regarded to have been a … » more
Together we win
26 Oct 2011
The UK aerospace industry is number one in Europe in terms of revenue and second only to the US worldwide with a 17 per cent global market share. Our existing market share in large civil aircraft alone is estimated to be worth £352bn for the British economy up to 2029. It was worth £23.1bn in 2010 alone, with 70 per cent of that — just over £16bn — being exported
An industry in which Britain leads the world, so let's back it
26 Oct 2011
The UK Aerospace industry is one of Britain's few remaining successful manufacturing industries. High-technology, R&D-intensive and high value-added, it has some world class firms, including BAE Systems (aircraft; avionics; missiles), … » more
One sex doesn't fit all
07 Oct 2011
‘Once governments start pushing the purchase of a commercial product for social policy purposes, distinctions between public policy and private commercial activity become unsustainable’
Could cash-rich big firms fuel UK economic growth
06 Oct 2011
There's been very mixed news on the state of UK manufacturing in recent weeks, with welcome news over a new Jaguar Land Rover engine plant in the West Midlands and … » more
Going for broke
06 Oct 2011
If it is to succeed in achieving growth in its private sector, Britain needs not only to reshape its industrial policy but to recognise that the one it has is no longer fit for purpose
Vickers is home but not yet dry
06 Oct 2011
The Independent Commission on Banking was established by the government in June 2010 to consider structural and related non-structural reforms to the UK banking sector to promote financial stability and competition. … » more
All words, no action
29 Sep 2011
‘Thus far, the leadership of the major economies and international financial institutions have failed the most important test of individual and collective statesmanship for at least a generation'
Growth? Back exports, finance for SMEs, youth employment and proven business sector
29 Sep 2011
Our government faces a dilemma. The promise of strong economic recovery based on resurgent exports, new and growing SMEs and vigorous big company investment has not materialised. The best we … » more
Landowners should not pay the price of clamping down on the cowboy
29 Sep 2011
The Freedom Bill is set for its third reading before it heads off to the Lords. Yet there is one provision, which was slipped in rather quickly, that has no … » more
Growth? The very hi-tech British industry we need to keep flying
11 Jul 2011
The jury is still out on whether the UK can succeed in rebalancing its economy and in stimulating a return to sustained economic growth. Earlier this year, George Osborne and … » more
A licence system could be the 'sensible way forward'
11 Jul 2011
The future of the edited electoral register has been debated extensively since the Association of Electoral Roll Administrators (AEA) told the Data Sharing Review back in 2007 that the edited … » more
As safe as the Bank of England?
10 Jul 2011
By design, central banks are not supposed to be political animals. When Gordon Brown charged the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee with setting interest rates to achieve the government’s … » more
Keeping tabs on the bank
10 Jul 2011
Who guards the guardians of monetary stability and financial stability? That is the key question behind the debate about the accountability of the Bank of England. According to the new … » more
Brussels bank law must not wreck EU energy reforms
27 Apr 2011
Thursday, March 3, should have been something of a red-letter day in the long, hard slog towards liberalising Europe’s gas markets. It was the day that member states were due … » more
More questions than answers
27 Apr 2011
The global financial crisis that began in 2007 has cast a long shadow over the British economy and the health of its banking system. The cost of the crisis to … » more
Rumbled: the councils that don't register they are breaking the law
27 Apr 2011
The campaign to Save the Edited Electoral Register (STEER) has garnered support from a wide spectrum of society and there can be few left still doubting its value to local … » more
The pensions web that Mr Webb must unweave
27 Apr 2011
A discussion on private pension costs is unlikely to pull in the crowds. Faced with the question ‘do you think pension charges are too high?’ most of us lose the … » more
A flawed budget that nonetheless signals the right way forward
03 Apr 2011
Thirteen years of Labour rule has left us with a business environment in need of repair. Latterly we got the 50 per cent top tax rate, in blatant contradiction of … » more
We've been here before, George, so don't plan on this making any difference
03 Apr 2011
The reference to the problems of the planning system as outlined in George Osborne's Budget statement on 23 March 2011 should seem remarkably familiar to parliamentarians and students of politics … » more
Tax will always be taxing; but we can make it simpler than it is
03 Apr 2011
In 1853, members of parliament urged the then Chancellor, William Gladstone, to make income tax law intelligible to everyone. He replied that this was ‘far from being easy’ because ‘the … » more
Simpler tax law might mean lengthier tax law
03 Apr 2011
Tax specialists have become used to two rallying calls from those that pay tax: Simplification and Tax Avoidance. Everyone seems to want a crackdown on the latter and lots more … » more
Their Lordships touch a regulatory nerve
03 Apr 2011
At the end of March the House of Lords Select Committee on Economic Affairs reported on the audit market and auditors’ roles. The report got a lot of media coverage … » more
Don't blunt the sharp end of British industry
05 Mar 2011
Rebalancing the economy remains at the centre of the economic and political debate. The deputy prime minister in a recent speech asserted that ‘... gone are the days of government … » more
Growth? Don't bank on it
05 Mar 2011
During its first ten months in office, four essential truths have become apparent about the Cameron-Clegg government’s economic policies. First, as the government’s own official statistics have revealed, the idea of … » more
Cameron recovers Keynes from Mrs Thatcher's dustbin
05 Mar 2011
The prime minister's speech at the CBI on Monday, 25 October, 2010, was inspired, perhaps historical. It put an end to what I call the ‘Keynes curse’. Since Mrs Thatcher … » more
Powering ahead
05 Mar 2011
Just over a year ago, Oil & Gas UK boldly stated that the UK oil and gas industry had a major role
Were it not for the edited register, Kate Adie wouldn't know who she is
05 Mar 2011
When the last government launched a consultation on the future of the edited electoral register eighteen months ago, it precipitated over 7,000 responses in support of the edited register from … » more
Aerospace is one UK manufacturing sector flying high
17 Jan 2011
Karel Williams' article ('To rebuild British industry you need first to face the truth', 30 November) rightly points to the limited understanding of manufacturing amongst most of our politicians. It … » more
Osborne's British bank bailout (via Ireland)
17 Jan 2011
The deal is done. Ireland is to receive a bail-out from the EU, IMF, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. A grand total of €85bn is made available to the Irish … » more
Just the ticket for parking mayhem
17 Jan 2011
The recent proposal put forward by Lynne Featherstone, Lib Dem MP for Hornsey & Wood Green, to ban wheel clamping on private land may play well initially: sparing motorists from … » more
Time to scrutinise the EU regulators, not our navels
17 Jan 2011
Rosa Lastra reports on European Commissioner Michel Barnier's evidence to the Treasury Select Committee
To rebuild British industry you need first to face the truth
30 Nov 2010
Our British political elites have recently rediscovered British manufacturing through their discourse about the need to rebalance the economy away from reliance on finance in London and away from reliance … » more
British farmers draw the short straw again
30 Nov 2010
On 18th November the European Commission published a ‘Communication’ setting out its thoughts on the future direction of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) after 2013. This still costs £47bn a … » more
Play it right and trade can be aid
30 Nov 2010
The Department for International Development's (DFID) plan to create a new private sector development group will unleash CEOs on a policy stage usually inhabited by brainiacs, do-gooders and rock stars. … » more
So where's the Big Bang for British
business?
28 Oct 2010
In its 1979 white paper on Government Expenditure Plans 1979-84, the first Thatcher government (in)famously claimed: ‘Public expenditure is at the heart of Britain’s present economic difficulties’. Indeed, the white … » more
Just keep off the sofa
28 Oct 2010
The argument that has raged around this Comprehensive Spending Review for months before and no doubt for months to come is about its effect on the economy. Labour (New Generation Labour … » more
The message for the Bank: Britain might just have got it right
28 Oct 2010
Economic forecasters and policy makers always feel uncomfortable when the economic indicators move off the charts. In this situation, as the FSA health warning says: past performance is not necessarily … » more
If you think this is tough try living in Ireland
28 Oct 2010
How quickly a nation’s fortunes can change. Only a few years ago Ireland was a poster child of economic progress and, among other things, a shining light for Scottish nationalists.
The new look, old look Treasury under Mr Osborne
28 Oct 2010
The Treasury underwent a transformation under New Labour. Its power in domestic policy-making was substantially strengthened. This reflected the ‘dual monarchy’ relationship between Tony Blair and Gordon Brown which made … » more
Clear away the mists around PFI and maybe we'll see its true value
30 Sep 2010
Since the creation of the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) in 1992 nearly 700 projects have been completed in the UK at a combined cost of about £60bn. PFI has been … » more
Regulators should wake up to the Dream of Joseph
30 Sep 2010
Banking is typically regulated at the national level. Yet global markets need global rules. In the absence of ‘formal’ international rules, soft-law rules, like the rules of the Basel Committee, … » more
Lobbying parliament without the press calling foul
31 Aug 2010
The government risks the introduction of a statutory register for lobbyists backfiring rapidly if they do not go a step further and require that those included in the register should … » more
To pre-tick or not to pre-tick ...
31 Jul 2010
It has been over eight months since Parliamentary Brief first began its investigation into the proposed abolition of the edited electoral register. Following the 2007 Data Sharing Review and the … » more
Osborne's private gamble
23 Jun 2010
On becoming leader of the Conservative party, David Cameron commissioned Built to Last, a statement of party aims and values. The first of the eight aims was the encouragement of … » more
Back to the Bank of England
23 Jun 2010
The wind of change that a new Government brings focuses on the big questions that affect the country and tries to provide a cure to a number of malaises. The … » more
Careful with that axe, George
14 Jun 2010
The condition of the country's public finances formed the backdrop to the recent election. This is not surprising since government borrowing reached £156.1bn in 2009-10 (11.1 per cent of GDP); … » more
A £6bn own-goal
18 May 2010
The election campaign is over -— ending with more of a whimper than a bang but, electoral reform aside, the economy unsurprisingly has taken centre stage. However while the Conservatives … » more
Budget 2010: fiddling at the edges
29 Mar 2010
Expectations going into this budget were that policy changes of macroeconomic significance were unlikely. Relative to those already limited expectations, this budget under-delivered. The sum total of 45 specific new … » more
The reality and rhetoric of deficit reduction
29 Mar 2010
At the heart of the coming election is a paradox. The main political parties spar endlessly about how, and when, to correct the UK government’s financial deficit. Yet, despite all … » more
Simpler tax? Let the Lords in on the Act
28 Mar 2010
It is fundamental to the effectiveness of tax law that the policy underlying tax legislation is accurately and transparently translated into statute in a clear and unambiguous way. However, successive … » more
Building banks that don't go bust
28 Mar 2010
A financial crisis is marked by no one willing to swap real things for paper today because they aren’t sure the paper will swap for real things tomorrow. The paper … » more
Budget 2010: Ducking the fiscal challenge
28 Mar 2010
The Budget is roughly neutral. The overall effect is a marginal net fiscal loosening for 10/11 (£1.4bn, 0.1 per cent of GDP), with a marginal net tightening (less than £1bn, … » more
The black mark on the electoral register
28 Mar 2010
Antonia Tildesley reports on a Parliamentary Brief enquiry into the organisation which represents the guardians of our voting system
The human legacy of the debt-fuelled boom
28 Mar 2010
As we approach another general election, a ‘Clintonism’ still holds true; the number one priority in politics at the moment is ‘the economy, stupid’. The Bank of England’s debt statistics … » more
The check book that the banks cannot bounce
02 Mar 2010
The financial crisis has triggered a revolution in regulatory thinking. Once relegated to the obscure universe of the specialist, financial regulation has now come to the forefront of economic and … » more
For this bill to succeed, it needs to think global
08 Dec 2009
The Financial Services Bill contains welcome features, not least the imposition of 'living wills' on significant financial institutions; but to confront the real regulatory challenge, argues Rosa Lastra, we need mechanisms we can deploy in Europe and internationally.
A solution that will cost more than the problem
18 Nov 2009
After asking economists at the LSE why no one had seen the credit crunch coming, the Queen is said to have also put the same question to Gordon Brown. … » more