Let’s park the negativity and remember how incredible the Olympics can be August 1, 2016 Incredibly, it is now less than two weeks until the Olympics starts in Rio de Janeiro. Yet rather than hype, excitement, and expectation, it has been an avalanche of negativity. Rarely has a city been buffeted by so many crises leading up to a major event. London had its wobbles, but our road to hosting [...]
Labour’s love affair with fantasy economics August 1, 2016 In a recent interview Jeremy Corbyn was asked to identify his successes of the past year. Alongside saying sorry for the Iraq war, the Labour leader said “turning the party into one that challenges the economic orthodoxy” comes high on his list of achievements. He may be challenging it, but he's far from forging a [...]
It’ll be Clinton who destroys the transatlantic alliance – not Trump August 1, 2016 I will never vote for Donald Trump. In line with the classic modern American demagogic tradition – from Huey Long to George Wallace – the present Republican nominee often plays fast and loose with the truth. He either outright lies, as when he said large crowds of Muslims were cheering in New Jersey when 9/11 [...]
It’s more vital than ever after Brexit that the Northern Powerhouse is a success August 1, 2016 I have just returned from a tour of the “Northern Powerhouse” cities: Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, and Sheffield. While this is a trip that nearly all my recent predecessors as lord mayor have made, this programme had added weight following the country’s vote to leave the European Union. It goes without saying that UK trade and [...]
Iceland’s reticence to unwind financial crisis capital controls will prove costly in the long term August 1, 2016 Whether because of the enthusiasm of its football commentators or interest in its EEA arrangement as a model for post-Brexit UK, Iceland has been in the news frequently recently. Its economy has been growing fairly rapidly in recent years, up around 30 per cent from its 2009 trough, though still more than 20 per cent below [...]
As French growth grinds to a halt, is the country’s economic model fundamentally broken? August 1, 2016 Tim Worstall, senior fellow of the Adam Smith Institute, says Yes. France’s economic model is irretrievably broken. Along one axis we have a spectrum of possible economic models. We can have low tax and redistribution market economies and high tax and redistribution ones. Non-market economies do not work. Further, the more we tax and redistribute, the [...]
Legislators must not be fooled by the latest insolvency figures July 29, 2016 The latest insolvency statistics released yesterday by the Insolvency Service paint a positive picture for UK businesses, renewing hopes that struggling firms can gain access to the help they need. However, business owners and legislators must look beyond the figures and act now to prepare for future market shocks. In the second quarter of 2016, the total [...]
This is why Byron Hamburgers’ immigration scandal backlash isn’t fair July 29, 2016 Following the detainment of 35 illegal immigrants found to be employed by popular restaurant chain Byron Hamburgers, many former customers have mobilised on social media, vowing to boycott the restaurant and shaming them for their recruitment practices. But is the backlash the restaurant has received fair? I would argue not. From a legal perspective, employers [...]
PM’s takeover test may do more Arm than good July 29, 2016 We're less than a month into Theresa May’s administration but there’s already a worrying air of economic policy schizophrenia drifting through Whitehall. The new Prime Minister has the most daunting in-tray of any incoming Premier for decades, but she needs to flesh out her vision for corporate Britain fast; what she has offered so far [...]
Hinkley Point C: Prioritising the politically sexy over the economically rational is a waste of money July 29, 2016 The new nuclear plant at Hinkley Point, which has finally been approved by EDF’s board, will be the most expensive power station anywhere in the world. Beset by delays (first proposed in 2006, it was meant to come online in 2017), it won’t be operational until 2025 and EDF will still receive its enormous £30bn [...]