Personal debt – the PM should be careful what he wishes for

According to reports this morning, David Cameron will use his conference speech this afternoon to call on Britain’s households to pay down their debts. He will say that dealing with debt means not just paying down public debt but also “households – all of us – paying off the credit card and store card bills.” Such comments … Continued

Lifting the lid on Low Pay Britain

The National Minimum Wage rose by 15 pence per hour to £6.08 over the weekend, providing a timely boost to the incomes of the very lowest paid workers. On Sunday, new research by the Resolution Foundation put that rise into the broader context of low pay in modern Britain. Around one fifth of all employees in the … Continued

The coalition’s £11bn stealth cut

A technical quirk will allow the government to skim small amounts each year from lower income households.What’s the biggest cut George Osborne has made as Chancellor? Scroll through the Budget Red Book and the answer may surprise you. There’s the removal of child benefit from higher rate taxpayers, clocking in at £2.5bn by the end of the … Continued

The coalition’s woes with women

If you want to see a fearful expression, talk to senior coalition members about shifting patterns of support among women voters. Call it a cold-sweat, or a premature onset of mid-term jitters — they are distinctly, indisputably on edge. Which is odd, at least on the face of it, given that the Conservatives — if … Continued

Taxing times for the coalition (contd…)

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Just in case there was any risk of the coalition row on tax policy cooling down for a day or two, along comes a new report today, Tax and the Coalition, to fan the flames.We do, of course, need to bear in mind that in this choppy pre-party conference period, there is bound to be a … Continued

Telling the story of the recession

One of the toughest challenges of economic policy is effective and timely communication.  Few Governments will survive long if their economic message is out of alignment with what people are feeling.  That’s why when ministers point to ‘green shoots’ too early you can expect a speedy retraction.  But in a subtler way, it’s also why the … Continued

Childcare double whammy: help is cut as costs soar

The survey (pdf) published yesterday by the Daycare Trust and Save the Children was a stark reminder of the soaring costs of childcare and the impact they are having on family budgets. Fifty eight per cent of parents in severe poverty said they were no better off working once they’d paid for childcare; 41% said they were considering giving … Continued

Willetts plays snakes and ladders

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Social mobility has become something of a hot topic for the coalition. February’s Social Mobility White Paper made it the government’s number one social policy goal. Yet arguments over tuition fees have rather drowned out much of what they have to say on the topic, particularly when it comes to education and skills. So it … Continued

‘Generation rent’ needs a helping hand

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Without a clear signal from government of its commitment to  build-to-let development, we are unlikely to see  investment take off in a new type of private rented sector Yesterday’s report from the National Housing Federation predicted that by 2021 home ownership in Britain will have fallen to its lowest levels since the mid 1980s. 64 per … Continued

Squeezed households will need higher wages

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While Libya takes the spotlight, the British economy wheezes in the dark. Monday’s survey from Markit showed household finances worsening at their fastest rate since early 2009. Yesterday, a new poll from the Resolution Foundation confirmed that picture. Half of all low-to-middle income households say they’re running out of cash each month; only one in four are … Continued

These tax cut whispers are about to get louder

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With summer over, the skies are darkening in more ways than one. Economic forecasts, previously strong for this autumn, have long been heading south. Last week sharpened the sense of impending crisis. The FTSE has been shaken more violently than at any time since the paroxysms of early 2009. On Wednesday, unemployment stats took their … Continued

Making a Rented House a Home

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Published today, the Resolution Foundation’s Making a Rented House a Home outlines the shocking fact that the average low to middle income household buying a home today would have taken 31 years to save for a deposit , compared to 8 years in 1983. Last week a report by the estate agents, Savills, revealed that for the … Continued

Who ate all the pie?

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You probably won’t be too surprised to hear that for a long time many workers have been receiving an ever smaller portion of the fruits of economic growth. But if we are to properly understand the ‘trickle-up’ tendencies of British capitalism we need to not only register the depressing headline but get under the surface … Continued

Haven’t I seen this revolution before?

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David Cameron’s public service reforms suffer from a serious zeitgeist problem. Buried under the detritus of the escalating News International scandal is the government’s long awaited public services white paper. Assuming you missed it, it’s all about the need for “narrative” and to demonstrate a coherent governing project. Senior politicians, and the commentators they talk to, obsess … Continued

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