Hype, hubris and a solution to England’s penalty shoot-out woes Top of the Charts 29 June 2018 Afternoon all, Everyone being a bit rubbish has made this quite a good World Cup so far. Unfortunately it hasn’t had quite the same effect on British politics as the “no-one really has a Brexit plan” roadshow rolls on – but here’s hoping. After all things will only get tougher when facing Boris, Gavin and … Continued READ MORE
Living standards· Productivity & industrial strategy· Cities and regions Poor productivity and high housing costs are driving a ‘living standards exodus’ from London 27 June 2018 by Stephen Clarke As a Londoner it’s fair to say that as a city we’re quite good at giving ourselves a pat on the back (though apparently self-loathing Londoners are a thing too). It’s often suggested that London is an economic powerhouse, productive, innovative and leaving the rest of the country in its wake. However new research by … Continued READ MORE
Housing Housing stress is up – and has shifted. Our debate on social housing needs to keep up 23 June 2018 by Lindsay Judge and Torsten Bell It’s a year on from Grenfell, a tragedy that has taught everyone that social housing has to return to its proper place in national debate. There’s been good progress on this front already: there are fora that give a voice to those living in social rented homes; projects which seek to define the purpose of social … Continued READ MORE
Under-valued carers, over-valued technocrats and charts win minds Top of the Charts 22 June 2018 Good morning, Everyone likes a surprise – this week we got two. First we learnt that a Conservative government will openly seek to increase public spending by both borrowing more and raising taxes. And then, even more shockingly, it turns out that England are not in fact legally barred from winning the opening game of … Continued READ MORE
Living standards· Prices & consumption· Inequality & poverty· Tax No, the poorest don’t pay higher taxes than the richest 20 June 2018 by Adam Corlett We all know that parts of the tax system are very progressive – and this should be very apparent in the Autumn Statement when the Chancellor unveils perhaps £10 billion of tax rises that will target the wealthy. But wait, some say, when you factor in taxes such as VAT it’s actually poorer households that … Continued READ MORE
Lessons from marshmallows, fertility and Babylon Top of the Charts 15 June 2018 Afternoon all, It’s time for excessive flag waving, daytime drinking and back-of-a-fag-packet maths. And that’s just the Brexit discussion at the upcoming June EU Council… On the World Cup front enjoy the only month when we can all pretend that the most pressing concern around Russia isn’t which election they’ll try to rig next, but … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Women are leading the charge of Britain’s impressive employment record 12 June 2018 by George Bangham Another set of labour market statistics, another round of mixed news. On pay, it’s the all-too-familiar problem of sluggish wage pay growth, with average weekly earnings still £15 below their pre-financial crisis peak (in real terms). On jobs, it’s another familiar tale, but a much more positive one – alongside overall record employment rates, the … Continued READ MORE
Welfare With the benefits of benefit reform diminishing, Universal Credit needs a new direction 11 June 2018 by David Finch Another busy period of Brexit debate has pushed other big domestic issues out of the headlines. This is particularly true of Universal Credit (UC) – where two key government publications last week have slipped under the radar. In the coming year we can expect the profile of UC to rise again, with the pace of … Continued READ MORE
Living longer but still losing to Iceland Top of the Charts 8 June 2018 Afternoon all, Today is the one year anniversary of the 2017 general election. Now no-one’s paying it much attention – but that’s mainly because they’ve spent the week distracted by the idea that David Davis’s resignation threat might be sending us back to the polls. That he’s stayed put will have come as a huge … Continued READ MORE
Feminising foreign policy, remembering Grenfell, and unionising the young Top of the Charts 1 June 2018 Sign up for our weekly Top of the Charts emails here It’s June. Or as we optimistically call it in Britain: the start of summer. And things are definitely heating up political economy-wise. Southern Europe has decided stable governments with parliamentary majorities are so 2017 – as Spain gets jealous of Italy hogging the headlines. Not … Continued READ MORE