Scandinavia provides the evidence for George Osborne’s war on welfare July 14, 2015 George Osborne’s Budget has been met with predictable outrage from the poverty lobby. The cuts to the welfare budget will allegedly create shocking levels of deprivation. Young people in particular, it is stated, have been singled out for punitive measures. On the face of it, the arguments seem plausible. Many people on benefits will get [...]
Will Cameron help women in the workplace by forcing large firms to disclose gender pay data? July 14, 2015 Vicky Pryce, chief economic adviser at CEBR and author with Stefan Stern of Why Women Need Quotas (Biteback, 2015), says Yes Voluntary arrangements have not worked and forcing organisations to publish pay differentials is now essential. Interestingly young women do better than young men in their 20s. But thereafter the trend changes and the pay [...]
Gender pay gap: Why Cameron’s announcement is good news for the economy July 14, 2015 Like David Cameron, I want to look back at the gender pay gap in the same way we look back at women not voting and working – as something archaic, delusional and fundamentally wrong. Cameron’s announcement that large firms will have to disclose the average salary for both male and female employees will highlight the [...]
Heads up, George Osborne: The tooth fairy gave £20m to children last year July 14, 2015 In George Osborne's quest for tax receipts, this might be one to investigate: it turns out the Tooth Fairy has given kids £20m in the past year. And it's all tax free… Yep – a study by The Magic Door Store, which (of course) sells miniature doors for fairies, showed the Tooth Fairy has become [...]
Iran’s nuclear deal: Everyone from Bashar al-Assad and Vladimir Putin to Barack Obama and David Cameron has welcomed the agreement July 14, 2015 It's not often world leaders from the UK and US agree with those from Russia and Syria, but today is one of those rare moments. David Cameron, Barack Obama, Vladimir Putin and Bashar al-Assad have all welcomed the historic nuclear deal inked between the world's leading powers and Iran today. This morning the [...]
Chancellor George Osborne: No UK cash will be used in the making of a Greek bailout July 14, 2015 Chancellor George Osborne is moving to block any attempt to use British taxpayers’ money as part of the Greek bailout, Treasury sources have announced. The chancellor has apparently said he will block any move by the EU to use UK taxpayers’ money as part of Greece’s €12bn (£8.5bn) bridging loan. Osborne is reported to have [...]
Top UK firms to reveal wages for male and female employees as David Cameron vows to “end gender pay gap” July 13, 2015 Large companies will soon be required to publish what they pay male and female employees, under new rules to be announced by Prime Minister David Cameron today as part of a commitment to “end the gender pay gap in a generation”. The rules will apply to companies with more than 250 workers. A consultation with [...]
Ignore the rhetoric: George Osborne’s July Budget was a retreat from market liberalism July 13, 2015 George Osborne’s desired message was clear. He claimed last week’s Budget was a new settlement for a “higher wage, lower tax, lower welfare country”. The Tory media duly reported it as such. But political rhetoric often doesn’t match reality. Osborne’s Budget fails on his own terms, and marks a retreat from the market-based consensus of [...]
David Cameron’s housing construction shake-up fails to build market confidence: Experts disagree residential planning overhaul is game changer July 12, 2015 Housing developers had a bit of a rollercoaster ride last week. First the Budget rocked shares, with changes to tax relief on buy-to-let mortgages – and then, on Friday, the government unexpectedly put house building at the centre of its plan to boost the UK’s productivity. With the cost of a home jumping by 45 [...]
Business secretary Sajid Javid defends “regressive” Budget on Marr July 12, 2015 Business secretary Sajid Javid has defended criticism of the government's Budget as regressive, following an analysis by the Institue of Fiscal Studies, concluding it was "not the Budget of a tax reforming chancellor". "As in every Budget, there will be some losers and some winners," said Javid, responding to questioning on the BBC's Andrew Marr [...]
