Expert insight, analysis and comment on key public policy issues
By John Bercow MP Filed Under: All posts, Devo, Westminster Watch, Whitehall Watch Posted:
As part of Parliament Week and after delivering the annual Sammy Finer Lecture at The University of Manchester, John Bercow MP writes on how he has sought to use his time in office as the Speaker of the House of Commons to bring about Parliamentary reform. Reforming the legislature One of the roles of the […]
By Gibson Burrell Filed Under: All posts, Westminster Watch Posted:
Theresa May and her colleagues will soon be returning to Parliament following the summer recess, when the real test of her premiership begins. Her use of sociological research in her maiden speech was noteworthy, says Gibson Burrell. What was remarkable about Theresa May’s rhetoric outside Number 10 as she returned from kissing the Queen’s hand […]
By Douglas Bamford Filed Under: Featured, Westminster Watch Posted:
IT has fundamentally changed how we work and spend our spare time. Recent and future developments can do the same for the tax system, argues Douglas Bamford. The ideal tax system would tax economic good fortune, subsidise those with poor fortune and improve economic incentives. These aims tend to conflict with one another, but I […]
By Colin Talbot Filed Under: All posts, Westminster Watch, Whitehall Watch Posted:
More fast reaction from Colin Talbot to the Comprehensive Spending Review 2015. One thing has puzzled me since the introduction of “Quantitative Easing” (QE) in 2009. Between then and 2012 the Bank of England ‘bought’ £375bn of government bonds from their previous private sector owners. This is a pretty sizeable chunk of the total Government […]
By Kieran Walshe and Judith Smith Filed Under: Featured, Westminster Watch Posted:
The NHS deficit is unprecedented and unsustainable. All eyes are on the forthcoming Comprehensive Spending Review and on some promising ideas for reform, explain Professor Kieran Walshe and Professor Judith Smith. The first quarter financial returns for the NHS, published just after the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, are the worst ever. Trusts were £930m […]
By Colin Talbot Filed Under: All posts, Westminster Watch, Whitehall Watch Posted:
The Government has only itself to blame for its House of Lords defeat over Tax Credits, which it could easily have avoided says Colin Talbot. Normally, major financial changes introduced in a Budget are put through the normal House of Commons mechanisms for ‘supply’ (spending) and finance (tax). As these measures were about tax (credits) […]
By Douglas Bamford Filed Under: Featured, Westminster Watch Posted:
Cutting tax credits is the wrong way to reform the benefits system, argues Doug Bamford. Earnings subsidies will reduce the incentive to work in the shadow economy, he explains. Recent government plans to reduce tax credits have generated a lot of interest and controversy. I propose a further reason to think that the proposals are […]
By Jill Rubery Filed Under: Featured, Westminster Watch, Whitehall Watch Posted:
Jill Rubery makes a passionate case for retaining unsocial hours compensation for trainee doctors. A recent BBC Newsnight item on the current contract dispute for trainee doctors began by asking why trainee doctors should be compensated for weekend working when Saturday was ‘just another working day’. This immediately took me back to a research project […]
By Colin Talbot Filed Under: All posts, Featured, Westminster Watch Posted:
Colin Talbot asks if we have reached a tipping point where ‘first past the post’ finally fails to hold together the two big coalitions that have dominated British politics for nearly a century ? Could we be seeing the end of the Conservative and Labour Parties? The Tories are having a great summer: an unexpected […]
By Colin Talbot Filed Under: All posts, Featured, Westminster Watch Posted:
The entire Labour Party leadership debate is being framed by the question “how can Labour win again?” But what if it can’t, asks Colin Talbot? There are several reasons for believing it might be impossible for Labour to win an outright majority in the House of Commons again, at least for any foreseeable future. (Let […]