Brexit has humiliated Britain’s failed economic soothsayers February 8, 2017 The Trojan prophetess, Cassandra, was given powers of foresight by Apollo, the Greek god of culture, in a bid to seduce her. She refused him and, as one version of the legend goes, he spat into her mouth to inflict a curse that no one would ever believe what she said. She prophesied doom and [...]
Punish HMRC for arbitrarily bullying the victims of our complex tax code February 8, 2017 A good rule of thumb for a system or process: if you sat down and designed it from scratch, would it look like it does now? Ask that question of the tax system and the answer, of course, is a resounding “no”. It is a hideously complicated mess that punishes families and businesses, while destroying [...]
Government has the skeleton of a plan to fix UK housing: Now it needs the drive to actually do it February 7, 2017 The government’s Housing White Paper, released yesterday, was an attempt to get England to the 250,000 new homes a year required to reach housing need. It went in many good directions and created a skeleton of a system that could meet need – but in places it did not go far enough, and perhaps pulled [...]
The government has defeated a plan to strengthen the “take it or leave it” Brexit 50 vote February 7, 2017 MPs have rejected a plan to strengthen a "take it or leave it" Brexit vote, as Parliament continues to debate the Article 50 Bill. The amendment, tabled by Labour backbencher Chris Leslie, would have expanded upon Prime Minister Theresa May's previous offer of a vote for both MPs and peers on the UK's trading relationship with the EU. [...]
Commons speaker John Bercow has defended his controversial Trump intervention February 7, 2017 House of Commons speaker John Bercow has defended his controversial intervention over Donald Trump speaking in Westminster. Bercow faced criticism after telling MPs he would fight any plans for Trump to address MPs and peers within the Palace of Westminster. However, speaking to MPs in the House of Commons, Bercow maintained he was “commenting on a matter [...]
More than 90 per cent of European goods could clear customs within seconds after Brexit February 7, 2017 Customs clearance for European goods in the aftermath of Brexit could still take just seconds if the UK secures tariff-free trade with the continent, one of the UK's most senior customs officials has said. Addressing parliament's Treasury committee earlier today, an HMRC official said that while tariff-free trade with the EU would require customs declarations, the manner and [...]
Is speaker John Bercow an embarrassment to the House of Commons for refusing to allow Trump to address parliamentarians? February 7, 2017 Alex Deane, a Canada common councilman, says Yes. In some ways this question is redundant as John Bercow has been a standing embarrassment to our Parliament since he became speaker, lavishing great chunks of cash on, well, his own comforts immediately after being elected – mostly by mischievous Labour MPs, but without the [...]
Parliament offered “deal or no deal” Brexit vote before terms are considered by the European Parliament February 7, 2017 Parliament will be able to vote "deal or no deal" on the final terms of the Brexit negotiation before it is presented to members of the European Parliament, the government has conceded. MPs had been pushing for a "meaningful" ballot on the deal ever since Prime Minister Theresa May announced a vote will take place [...]
What did Parliament decide on Article 50 and Brexit last night? And what will they discuss today? February 7, 2017 The government last night defeated four amendments to the Article 50 Bill, but with debate today kicking off around lunchtime, what's the state of play in the House of Commons? Today's Debates This afternoon will be focused on two different categories of amendments. Firstly the Commons will discuss tweaks to an offer of a vote on [...]
Government should let us make free choices, not subsidise our productivity February 7, 2017 Often the most misguided ideas in politics sound the most innocuous. If we were to hear a minister say that the government wanted to ensure that “every man or woman achieved their full potential”, it would be tempting to nod along unthinkingly. Who could disagree with such a positive-sounding goal? The problem is that things [...]