The world asks, what was Donald Trump thinking when he said there should be a ban on Muslims entering the US and that parts of London and Paris are no go areas? December 9, 2015 A petition calling for Donald Trump to be banned from the UK has surpassed the amount of signatures it needs to be considered for debate in parliament, after remarks he made this week. Trump's claim from the Republican Presidential hopeful that police do not go into certain areas of Paris and London because of "radicalisation", as well as his suggestion [...]
Greek Election sesults: Alexis Tsipras’ Syriza returns victorious but will it honour promises of stability and sea-change? September 20, 2015 This weekend Alexis Tsipras’ Syriza secured another resounding endorsement – the third in nine months – despite his about-turn which saw him sign a tough bailout memorandum, lighter versions of which he – and the electorate – had previously opposed. In total 24 political parties contested yesterday’s elections, the fifth in six years and the [...]
EU referendum: Ukip leader Nigel Farage is going on an anti-EU tour of the UK, including Leeds, Essex and London September 4, 2015 Nigel Farage – regarded by some as rockstar-esque for taking on the establishment, and others as something of a comedian – is attempting to consolidate his image by going on tour. https://twitter.com/Nigel_Farage/status/639742568268480512 The “Say No to the EU referendum tour”, which will put forward arguments as to why British people should vote to leave the [...]
The proto-Corbyn years of the 1970s were awful: We must fight what remains of them October 4, 2015 During the late 1990s and early 2000s, think tanks such as the IEA had a difficult time. We were told that the argument for the market economy had been won. A so-called neo-liberal hegemony had been created, and even a Labour government had accepted free markets. Meanwhile, water was being poured into the foundations [...]
New CBI director-general Carolyn Fairbairn takes the reins at Britain’s biggest business group November 23, 2015 Speaking to City A.M. at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) headquarters on Cannon Street last week, Carolyn Fairbairn said that she is “proud” to be the first female director general in the 50-year history of Britain’s biggest business group. “I think business is a great career for women,” she said. “If my being here [...]
Jamaica reparations and chief executive pay: Two sides of the same rent seeking coin October 6, 2015 David Cameron’s visit to Jamaica last week led to vociferous demands for the UK to pay the Caribbean island billions of pounds in reparations for slavery. Most people here reacted with predictable eye-rolls and sighs. Slavery was abolished throughout the British Empire in 1833, nearly two centuries ago. Jamaica has been independent for over 50 [...]
UK wages rise at the fastest pace in six years as employment unexpectedly falls September 17, 2015 The pound leapt against the dollar as official data showed UK wages rose at the fastest pace in six years, while employment unexpectedly fell. Annual average weekly earnings, excluding bonuses, increased by 2.9 per cent in the three months to July, the fastest growth since 2009. Including bonuses, average weekly earnings growth also rose by 2.9 [...]
Labour leadership race: Andy Burnham raises concerns of “several thousand” Conservative infiltrators in vote August 21, 2015 Thousands of Conservatives could be intending to vote in the Labour leadership election, according to Andy Burnham’s campaign. An “urgent meeting” of candidates' teams is necessary, the BBC reports Michael Dugher, who is leading Burnham’s campaign, to have said. Read more: Now Labour is blocking genuine party members from leadership vote Burnham's team has written to [...]
Tory party conference 2015: David Cameron is a slave to defunct economics with his One Nation big state conservatism October 7, 2015 Keynes was famously quoted as saying that “practical men, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influence, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist”. Those words could not be more apposite than at present. David Cameron and George Osborne appear to be plotting a pragmatic economic policy, instead of an [...]
Yanis Varoufakis to Matteo Renzi: Europe bullied and blackmailed Alexis Tsipras, but you still haven’t got rid of me September 22, 2015 Greece's former finance minister and one-time golden boy Yanis Varoufakis has hit back at his critics, claiming Europe's leaders 'bullied' Alexis Tsipras into agreeing the final terms of the bailout this summer. In an open letter to Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, the game theorist claims Tsipras was subject to "unbearable bullying, to naked blackmail, [...]