If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
The Blog
Ultimately, we must invest in our infrastructure and make the UK the most attractive place in the world to do business. It's time to stop the talk and get spending. If this is the course of action the Government has decided to take - rightly, in my view - let's get on with it.
As the disciples of Eurozone austerity are being unceremoniously booted out of office, now might be a good time for us to discuss whether the backlash against British austerity, which has been growing since the formation of the coalition, has the potential to expand and provoke yet another government to fall.
Let's not forget the humble pasty started life as a portable lunch for ordinary working fishermen and tin miners. Ken McMeikan, CEO of Greggs, summed it up well when he said: "people simply can not afford to pay 20% more for everyday food."
One future quandary may be that as difficult as life is for today's graduates, the situation may be demonstrably worse in 20 years time, and that the 'Lost Generation of 2030' may be vaster and more entrenched than its current poor relation.
France, and the rest of Europe, is still at a crossroads. The path that Hollande could lead his country down could be the road to ruin.
Boris's now infamous "chicken feed" comments - referring to the £250,000 per year income he receives for a second job writing for the Telegraph on top of his Mayoral responsibilities - confirm just how obscenely out of touch he really is. While he rakes in this "chicken feed", more than 400,000 London pensioners have lost money through the Tory 'granny tax' to pay for a tax cut for the super rich. And almost 120,000 London families face losing all of their tax credits because of the Tory tax credit cuts.
Wednesday was a bad day for Adam Smith. We shall return in the moment to the strange case of the crazy Culture Secretary but first, as they say, the e...
David Cameron and George Osborne. There really is something truly unsettling about the hair of these men. Bad hair, evidence indicates, is inextricably linked with bad economic policy...we're now officially in a double dip recession/depression: fine work gentleman! *Two thumbs up*
This government continues to put the economy before people, assuming that serving the economy will automatically serve the common good. Time and again, that's been disproved. And time and again, voters have shouted about putting people first. Politicians ignore those shouts at their peril.
The recession is already damaging the hopes of thousands of young people who are struggling to find a job. Now young people in schools could be next in line.
We need the Treasury to think again and reverse a decision which could cost charities millions of pounds. Philanthropists are not tax dodgers. Claiming tax relief on major donations is not a ploy to save tax.
The proposals for a 'Pasty Tax' have certainly caused a stir in Westminster and across the country. It will have been hard to avoid the media furore on this, one of a series of measures in last month's budget which have attracted criticism from across the board.
After months of pretty boring stability in political polling, a number of recent surveys suggest we're finally seeing signs of change.
The government needs to focus on policies to create confidence - not just for consumers to spend but for businesses to invest. In both cases incentivising this to take place without excessive debt levels once again.
There are not enough incentives in the UK's economy to reward business that chooses to take a responsible, sustainable and long-term approach. Similarly, there is a distinct lack of disincentives to deter businesses from irresponsible choices.
Who cares whose fault it is? I sense that I'm with the majority when I feel a deep irritation that the people whom we rely on to get us on the road to recovery continually conduct a post mortem over what went wrong.
