EU migrant crisis: Accepting more refugees is not just the right thing to do – it’d be good for us too September 3, 2015 Most people think that we have a duty to help refugees fleeing totalitarianism or war, wherever they come from. Our sense of duty, however, is tempered by concerns that taking too many refugees will harm us, or that some are merely economic migrants. But these costs are overstated. Though, in general, the evidence [...]
As the migrant crisis intensifies, is this the beginning of the end of Europe’s Schengen Area? September 3, 2015 Alan Mendoza, executive director of the Henry Jackson Society, says Yes As with many of the European Union’s practices, institutions and ambitions, the Schengen Agreement is fraying in the face of circumstances vastly different to those it was drawn up to cater for back in 1985. The abolition of internal border controls was only ever [...]
Labour must be a credible government-in-waiting to win over Morning Wire readers September 2, 2015 The first speech I gave in the Labour leadership contest was on the economy and business. I acknowledged that, despite many pro-growth policies, too many businesses, their owners and employees looked at the Labour Party in recent years and did not see a party that understood their challenges or was on their side. This [...]
EU referendum: Anti-Europeans do UK voters a disservice by obsessing about process not policy September 2, 2015 With the Rugby World Cup due to kick off in just a couple of weeks, fans are already desperate to see their teams and the world’s best players competing on the pitch. What they do not want is for the beginning of the tournament to be dominated by debate over the refereeing and rules [...]
As the Walkie Talkie is awarded the Carbuncle Cup, is it really the UK’s worst new building? September 2, 2015 James Hughes, conservation adviser at The Victorian Society, says Yes The Walkie Talkie’s “victory” in this year’s Carbuncle Cup is a vindication of our director’s argument in Morning Wire in January that it is London’s ugliest building. It was the most nominated entry and its crowning demonstrates that it’s not just conservationists who feel that [...]
NHS orthodoxy is dying: Here’s how to put patients at the heart of healthcare September 1, 2015 Surveys often suffer from what is known as “social desirability bias”: when people sense that an opinion they hold, or a habit they engage in, is unfashionable, they are unlikely to be entirely honest about it in a survey. Instead, they may simply tell the interviewer what they think they are socially expected to [...]
Folly of the Corbynistas: There’s nothing mainstream about Labour leadership hopeful Jeremy Corbyn’s economic plans September 1, 2015 A group of economists recently hit the headlines with their claim that Jeremy Corbyn’s policies are supported by mainstream economics. Perhaps the best known of them is David Blanchflower, a Monetary Policy Committee member when Gordon Brown was chancellor. He predicted before the 2010 General Election that, under the Conservatives, unemployment would rise [...]
The collapse of satanic capitalism: Global economic analysis Isil-style September 1, 2015 At the end of a week in which financial markets experienced immense volatility, advice on the underlying, structural issues afflicting the global economy came from an unlikely source. While short-term concerns were soothed by comments from key figures at the US Federal Reserve, it was left to the so-called Islamic State (also known as Isil) [...]
Chinese financial crisis 2015: Is there cause to be upbeat about China at the moment? September 1, 2015 Mark Williams, chief Asia economist at Capital Economics, says Yes The collapse of China’s equity bubble doesn’t matter. One in 30 people in China owns shares, foreign ownership is tiny, and the implosion tells us nothing about economic trends. Focus on the economic data and the picture is not that bad. Property and heavy industry [...]
Ready for Hillary? Don’t be surprised if Clinton’s campaign crashes and burns August 31, 2015 Washington DC – While Donald Trump has shot across the summer political sky like a meteor, the more important story of the season has gone less remarked upon: the surprising difficulties of Hillary Clinton. The odds-on favourite (again) for the presidency has run into a series of problems, culminating in the self-inflicted wound of [...]