Perversely, today’s surprise GDP figures have provided meat to all sides. Labour claims it was their action while in government that helped grow the economy 1.1% in the second quarter compared to the first. The Coalition claim the figures validate their approach of expedited deficit reduction, pointing to the fact that the majority of the …
Con-Lib Coalition
The government is right to address the pensions issue
Firstly, let’s separate out two different issues relating to pensions – the pension entitlement (essentially a benefit), and public sector pensions (part of a contract between the government and its employees). The Coalition government has made proposals relating to both this week, which is likely to confuse the issue of how specific measures might decrease …
VAT is the problem?
Detail is gradually emerging on the sorts of economic measures the new coalition government are likely to pursue. David Cameron insisted on Ministerial pay restraint for the duration of the current Parliament, The Guardian today suggests child benefit for middle-class families will be cut, while a BBC survey of economists points to increasing VAT as …
Devil in the detail
While David Cameron and Nick Clegg were having their love-in in the Downing Street rose garden yesterday, details emerged of the terms upon which their coalition was founded. Most of the document represented a mix of the Conservative and Liberal Democrat policies outlined in their manifesto. Some of those – like immigration caps – are …