Monthly Archives: August 2017

Three reports on Brexit came out last week. Two of them were risible. The one by Economists for Free Trade (the re-branded Economists for Brexit), advocating what trade expert Samuel Lowe called “unilateral tariff disarmament“, has been well and truly … Continue reading →

I said years ago that if we ever had an authoritarian movement in Britain it would not have uniforms, goose-stepping marches and torchlight parades. It wouldn’t be that interesting. Ours would be a shabby poujadism, led by golf club bores, … Continue reading →

The most interesting proposal in Matthew Taylor’s report on employment is this one: Government should ask the Low Pay Commission (LPC), in its next remit, to advise on the impact of bringing in a higher National Minimum Wage for hours … Continue reading →

Dick Whittington, Vic Brown, the Three Girls and the crowd in London Irish all moved to the capital to seek their fortunes. Or to escape from the places they grew up in. Either way, as our films and literature tell us, the … Continue reading →

Strange times these. This time last year the IMF and OECD were urging governments to borrow more, now we have central bankers urging workers to demand higher pay. Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe did just that last month. The Bank … Continue reading →