by Paul Goodman Some of my anti-bailout Euro-sceptic contacts are setting great store in a working alliance with Labour over bailouts. When I reply that Labour has no credibility as an anti-Brussels party, and that the party is strategically pro-EU, they agree – but point out that Labour could echo John Smith's tactical manoevering in […]
Ryan Bourne is the Economic and Statistical Researcher at the Centre for Policy Studies. Last week, I wrote an article for ConHome explaining how Budget forecasts had tended to be over-optimistic on future growth prospects for the UK economy. Today, I turn my attention to the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, whose remit is to […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter. Overnight we had confirmation that Angela Merkel's CDU/FDP coalition has abandoned plans to extend the life of Germany's ageing nuclear reactors until 2036. By 2022 Germany will become a nuclear-free power and, in preparation, reports Reuters, Merkel will "present five or six bills in Cabinet on June 6, including […]
9pm ToryDiary: Aides to Cameron want Coalition to continue even if Tories win a majority 6pm International update: Berlusconi's party fares badly in Italian local elections 2pm ConHomeUSA: Time for Tea Party 2.0? 11.15am International: Will the Liberal Democrats follow Germany's example and abandon nuclear power? ToryDiary: Whatever The Guardian may say, Osborne's deficit strategy […]
The Independent reports that allowing councils to scrap by-laws without permission from Whitehall is having a practical benefit for cyclists. Local Government Minister Grant Shapps says: “There have been some crazy by-laws in place from the year dot stopping cycling from taking place. This should enable local people to scrap laws stopping people from getting […]
Bad news for rats. The Daily Telegraph reports pretty emphatically (with a more hesitant follow up in The Guardian this morning) that the Government are going to give an incentive for councils to provide weekly bin collections. At present the financial motive is to switch to fortnightly collections. This is not just because it is […]
Cllr Andrew Povey, the Leader of Surrey County Council, is delighted by the response of residents invited to help run local libraries Libraries are a hot topic in the news at the moment, especially as Local Authorities try to find ways of maintaining service levels with ever-dwindling budgets. Against this backdrop of library closures across […]
Peter King is Reader in Social Thought in the Department of Public Policy at De Montfort University. His new book, The New Politics: Liberal Conservatism or the Same Old Tories?, is being published by Policy Press. A year into the coalition is a good time to take stock: so do we have a new politics […]
Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter The merits of current French finance minister Christine Lagarde for the position of head of the International Monetary Fund have been discussed elsewhere by others more au fait with macroeconomic matters than I. But what is politically significant is Alistair Darling's support for Lagarde over a candidate from this country. […]
9pm ToryDiary: And in other news… The British taxpayer saves four million lives – David Cameron pledges an increase in aid spending 4pm Peter King on Comment: Is David Cameron leading the "same old Tories"? 1.30pm LeftWatch: A year out of office, Alistair Darling backs Gordon Brown's rival for head of the IMF 11.30am WATCH: […]
Private Eye's Rotten Boroughs reports on the "vindictive pursuit" by South Tyneside Council of one of their independent councillors Cllr Ahmed Khan. The Council are taking legal action to seize his communications records to uncoover the identity of a whistle blower. The case concerns payments to Newcastle Airport executives. The article says: Newcastle Airport is […]
Neil Hudson is a Veterinary Surgeon and Senior Lecturer and former Admissions Tutor. He was the Conservative candidate in Edinburgh South in 2010 and Newcastle North in 2005. As a University Senior Lecturer and having been an Admissions Tutor, I am very aware not only of the pressures faced by our young people trying to […]
Tom Clougherty is executive director of the Adam Smith Institute. Congratulations, Britons! Today isn’t just a bank holiday, it’s also Tax Freedom Day, the notional day in the year when you’ve collectively earned enough money to pay the country’s annual tax bill, and can start earning for yourselves. So light up the barbeque, pop open […]