Long-term economic growth is a prize both parties should be fighting for October 30, 2018 Ah yes, post-Budget week. That time when a modest tax change here or a spending announcement there generates reams of analysis about who’s been made “better off” or “worse off” at the stroke of the chancellor’s pen. When, for a second, the decision to try to implement VAT on warm takeaway foods or announce a [...]
Philip Hammond chooses to splash the cash in his Budget rather than pay down the deficit October 29, 2018 Chancellor Philip Hammond declared “austerity is coming to an end” as he unveiled a raft of spending increases and tax cuts on Monday. Hammond used better-than-expected tax revenues of £12bn to pour extra cash into the NHS and bring forward by a year an increase in the 40p tax threshold to £50,000. The new level will [...]
New NHS service to include mental health ambulances and a hotline for sufferers October 29, 2018 Chancellor Philip Hammond has reiterated the government’s promise for an extra £20.5bn in funds for the NHS, including a new mental health crisis service, as he committed to end austerity. “We made out choice for this budget four months before it was delivered,” the chancellor said. “Our NHS is the number one priority of the [...]
Today’s Budget is a chance to reinvigorate domestic policy October 29, 2018 It has been a year of momentous change for department titles. The Department for Health has added Social Care to its name, while the Department for Communities and Local Government has recently become a Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. So far, those changes have not been accompanied by a new and much-needed domestic [...]
Philip Hammond should be unashamed to show he is a true blue in the Budget October 25, 2018 With extra funding for the NHS and an end to austerity already announced, Philip Hammond must be wondering if it is him or John McDonnell delivering next week's Budget. While the cash boost for the health service is welcome, and the narrative of ending austerity popular with certain commentators, Hammond must use the Budget to [...]
This Budget, I’m dreaming of a tax system fit for the future October 24, 2018 The announcement that the Autumn Budget would take place in October – almost a month earlier than we’ve become accustomed to – surprised a fair few people. It probably shouldn’t have. Philip Hammond understandably wants his finance bill passed safely through the Commons without it getting caught in the crosshairs of ongoing Brexit negotiations and the [...]
High time to rehash drug policy, think tanks say, as legalisation could save taxpayer £900m October 23, 2018 Think tanks have today called on the government to radically rethink its drug policy, as it was revealed that taxpayers could save nearly £900m a year if cannabis was legalised. A report by the TaxPayers' Alliance (TPA) argued that legalising the drug would reduce spending by police, prisons, courts and the NHS and put a [...]
Theresa May’s crude policy is the wrong way to manage immigration October 11, 2018 The government's announcement of a new immigration policy post-Brexit has at least the merit of providing a clearer sense of direction – assuming Brexit happens and does so in a reasonably orderly way (which are some big “ifs”). The news also provides an opportunity to think, from first principles, what a sensible immigration policy should [...]
When it comes to our social care crisis, prevention is the only cure October 8, 2018 Matt Hancock has survived his first party conference as the new health secretary, wearing his NHS pin proudly on his lapel. And top of the list of his departmental priorities is social care. It got a £240m spending boost last week, but that’s not the only approach on the table. One of Hancock’s recent suggestions [...]
The Tories talk the talk on free markets, but the policies don’t match the rhetoric October 5, 2018 Last year’s Conservative party conference marked a change in tone for the Prime Minister and her relationship with the free market. Perhaps it was the 2017 snap election upset that made her roll back her language around “untrammeled free markets”, or maybe there was increased understanding that after Brexit a commitment to competition would be vital [...]