It's GCSE economics: high taxes don't work

Written by | Thursday 7 May 2009

The Chancellor would get a C for his new tax rises and fail history outright. He will also leave the Treasury worse off.

Given the damage that the new 50 per cent tax rate will probably inflict on the UK economy, the Chancellor seems to have been very cavalier about it. When the House of Commons Treasury Select Committee asked how he decided to impose the new rate on everyone earning £150,000 or more, he replied: “There was no science behind it. It was simply my judgment."

Why taxing the rich could make us poorer

Written by | Thursday 30 April 2009

Hope springs eternal in the breasts of politicians. None more so than Alistair Darling's in his Budget speech.

Is Britain Finished?

Written by | Tuesday 28 April 2009

The country's only chance is a leaner, sounder and less indebted government.

Hope springs eternal in the breasts of politicians. None more so than in Alastair Darling, Britain's chancellor of the exchequer, as he delivered his annual budget speech to Parliament last week.

He conceded that Britain's economy was in a bad way. It would shrink by 3.5% this year, rather more than the 1% dip he forecast only in November. But hey, every country is in a bad way right now, and by 2011-12 the U.K. will be growing again at a record, rip-roaring rate of 3.5%. Crisis? What crisis?

With recent police activity, anti-terror adverts and CCTV everywhere no wonder we're all scared stiff

Written by | Sunday 19 April 2009

Big Brother state? Britain has more CCTV cameras than the rest of Europe put together

So it has now become one of the main causes of anxiety. Among all the other worries that people face  -  the recession, crime, hospital superbugs and terrorism  -  a new fear has emerged: that of the Big Brother state.

According to a survey by the Mental Health Foundation, we are a pretty fearful lot. In fact, more than seven million of us are living with some sort of anxiety problem.

What to expect in the Budget

Written by | Saturday 18 April 2009

Do we need a radical shake-up of boards?

Written by | Monday 13 April 2009

The whole issue of bank governance will now be reviewed by two independent inquiries: the first headed up by that old regulatory standby, Sir David Walker, a former chairman of the Securities & Investment Board (SIB);  the second by the Financial Reporting Council, which is rethinking best practice guidelines for boards.