Economy and public finances Conservative Party conference special: Fighting non-Brexit battles on multiple fronts Top of the Charts 28 September 2018 Afternoon all, Labour conference and their Brexit bun fight* is done. Luckily nothing like that is going to happen when the Conservatives gather in Birmingham this weekend. They don’t call Boris Johnson a backstabber team player for nothing… More interesting in Liverpool than Labour’s Brexit shuffle was the extra detail of and focus on the Party’s plan for economic … Continued READ MORE
Budgets & fiscal events· Public spending· Economy and public finances Five charts to chill the Chancellor’s blood ahead of the Budget 28 September 2018 by Matthew Whittaker We now know that this year’s Budget will be delivered on 29 October, making it the first Monday Budget since 1962. The traditional Wednesday has been avoided, we’re told, to side-step negative Halloween-based headlines. Yet there’s still plenty of scary stuff for the Chancellor to deal with – from finding the £20 billion needed to … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Did you feel happy yesterday? Broadening the measurement of living standards 26 September 2018 by George Bangham Today the ONS released their latest statistics on well-being in the UK, as they have done since 2011. These stats have their sceptics, both over the maths involved and over the very idea you can measure happiness over time (let alone orient policy towards it). But they matter: self-assessed well-being gives us an insight into … Continued READ MORE
Demographics· Intergenerational Centre· Political parties and elections Demography is the new class war 21 September 2018 by Torsten Bell The real question about this year’s Labour Party conference is what on earth everyone will talk about for four days. The supposed Brexit barney will be a damp squib and leadership rows have disappeared. So here’s a suggestion to fill the awkward silences: it’s time Labour talked about the arrival of generational divides in our … Continued READ MORE
Labour Party Conference special: Fully automated luxury communism Top of the Charts 21 September 2018 Afternoon all, I have the absolute pleasure of spending large parts of this weekend and the next fortnight up in Liverpool and Birmingham for the main party conferences – and don’t think I’m just going to suffer alone. Oh no, when it comes to the state of British politics we are all in this together. … Continued READ MORE
Labour market· Migration MAC to the future 18 September 2018 by Stephen Clarke This morning the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) released the final report in its year-long (plus) investigation into EU migration. The report is arguably the most comprehensive assessment of how migration has affected the UK over the past two decades, dealing with topics as diverse as the labour market, housing, public finances and subjective wellbeing. In … Continued READ MORE
Labour market· Skills Alternative paths to success? The jobs landscape facing young non-graduates today 18 September 2018 by Conor D’Arcy and Kathleen Henehan From photos of jumping A level students to guides to freshers’ week, at this time of year it can feel like university is the only route taken by teenagers. But in fact, fewer than half of young people follow this seemingly well-trodden path at 18. And, as this morning’s ONS publication about non-graduates’ employment patterns … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Lehman Brothers Anniversary special: The cause of, and lessons from, Britain’s pay squeeze Top of the Charts 14 September 2018 Afternoon all, Top of the Charts is in a reflective mood this week – what with tomorrow marking the 10th anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers. So, instead of the normal selection of pieces, I’ve written a long read on both what caused the unprecedented post-crash pay squeeze that we are still living with … Continued READ MORE
Labour market· Intergenerational Centre Welcome to adulthood, millennial 13 September 2018 by Laura Gardiner 2018 is the year in which the babies of the millennium reach adulthood. Back in January, this was mainly marked by existential online angst about how those born when Britney Spears’s ‘Oops!… I Did It Again’ was in the charts are reaching legal drinking age. Today’s 18 in 2018 publication from the Office for National … Continued READ MORE
Labour market· Pay Labour market statistics analysis: a tepid pay recovery is emerging 11 September 2018 by George Bangham The monthly labour market stats have followed a similar pattern for a while now; new employment records set, while pay continues to stagnate. Today’s figures haven’t quite followed the script. Take pay growth first. Nominal wage growth has nudged up to 2.9 per cent for only the second time since mid-2015, with real pay growth … Continued READ MORE
Bad Policies And The Benefits For Working In Berlin Over Boston Top of the Charts 7 September 2018 Afternoon all, It’s been an emotional week – separation anxiety, tears, tantrums and every parent’s worst fear – bullying in the playground. Yes, it’s been an emotional return to Westminster for our elected officials, and the school run’s back too. One of the features of modern politics is lots of depression about the inability for any … Continued READ MORE
Inequality & poverty· Wealth & assets· Cities and regions Regional wealth inequality: a nation divided 1 September 2018 by Conor D’Arcy On Monday, families across the country will be feeling a mix of excitement, anxiety and relief as kids go back to school (with Scotland having already gone through it). Experiences that unite every corner of the UK feel rarer these days, with talk of division and left-behind places common. Differences between South Shields and South … Continued READ MORE