Budget: the Chancellor’s obsession with the deficit will drive our economy...
The country needs economic stimulus and an increase in the disposable income of ordinary people from the budget next month. But on both counts, the Chancellor is so constrained by ideology and existing...
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Could Osborne’s budget plans actually work?
The chancellor is proposing a new fiscal rule for the UK government. In his annual speech from Mansion House, George Osborne announced plans for legislation which would ‘in normal times’ ensure the...
View ArticleIFS accuses SNP of misusing figures to push for full fiscal autonomy
As Left Foot Forward reported yesterday, the SNP have brought forward an amendment to the Scotland Bill that would provide full fiscal autonomy (FFA) for Holyrood. The amendment would allow the...
View ArticleWe need a progressive, alternative spending review – not more salami-slicing
This Friday, 4 September, marks the beginning of the long awaited spending review process. How it pans out could go a long way to determining the future of our public services. A business-as-usual...
View ArticlePFI is still crippling our public services
Tackling the public debt and austerity is a key issue in British politics. The debate needs to focus on the issue of profiteering from public contracts by the private sector, a key cause of the...
View ArticleWill tomorrow mark the end of housing associations?
Wednesday’s Autumn Statement could mark the beginning of the end for the country’s 1,700 housing associations. The chancellor, announcing the results of the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) for...
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Osborne’s economic plan is built on three myths
As stock markets tumble across the world and the Office for Budget Responsibility downgrades its economic growth forecast for the UK, chancellor George Osborne clings to the fantasy that he has a...
View ArticleIMF urges UK to roll back austerity
The International Monetary Fund has urged the government to roll back its austerity policies and increase infrastructure spending if the economy slows further. While it commends the stability of the...
View ArticleCould Brexit turn the tide on George Osborne’s austerity economics?
Cracks are emerging in the government’s signal policy of a ‘long-term economic plan’, and of the post-crash economic consensus, in the wake of Britain’s vote to leave the EU. Sold as a way to ‘clean...
View ArticleCameron’s arrogant promises will rightly define his legacy
Image: Number 10 David Cameron genuinely believes that he’s one of the good guys. That’s why he bounced on to the front line of politics in 2005 with promises to mend a broken Britain, to build a big...
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