I recently submitted some written evidence (or at least some opinions!) to the Treasury Select Committee’s new inquiry reflecting on the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) first 15 years. In case of wider interest, I have pasted the text below (in the format requested by the Committee). Written evidence to the Treasury Select Committee Submitted by … Continue reading “The OBR: 15 years on”
Category: Brexit
How should the UK respond to Trump’s tariff threats over Greenland?
President Trump has surely hit a new low with his threats to impose tariffs on European allies for daring to challenge his ambition to “acquire” Greenland. But the UK should not overreact and especially should not retaliate, whether with tariffs of our own or with other economic and financial sanctions. For a start, Trump’s latest … Continue reading How should the UK respond to Trump’s tariff threats over Greenland?
Where’s the beef?
Last Friday the Daily Telegraph ran a story headlined “Farmers’ anger grows as Australian beef floods into Britain”. It took a couple of days for the usual suspects to pounce on this, but once a few did the rest piled in. Various halfwits and attention seekers rushed to trumpet this story as fresh evidence that … Continue reading Where’s the beef?
Four reasons to resist the siren calls for a new ‘customs union’
The Liberal Democrats have long argued in favour of some new form of ‘customs union’ between the UK and the EU. But it now appears that key figures in the Labour administration are swinging behind the idea as well, including the Prime Minister’s chief economic adviser Minouche Shafik and Treasury minister Torsten Bell. These two … Continue reading Four reasons to resist the siren calls for a new ‘customs union’
Plain-speaking Economics 