My regular review of news over the past seven days, including thoughts on Burnham’s first policy announcements, overseas aid, “anti-social businesses”, and the latest economic data (good, in parts). A week may be a long time in politics, but the new team at No.10 has navigated it well. A polished sequence of flashy policy announcements … Continue reading Weekly wrap: a perfect 10 for stagecraft, a shaky 3 for substance
Category: Geopolitics
Weekly wrap: don’t forget the US-Iran war…
The spotlight is on Andy Burnham, but the immediate prospects both for UK markets and for the economy may depend more on events in the Middle East than in Westminster for quite a while yet. Welcome to the latest summary of news that caught my eye over the past seven days. Theme of the week … Continue reading Weekly wrap: don’t forget the US-Iran war…
Three quick points on the economics of defence spending
Raising defence spending will be a hard sell. But politicians must not shy away from this fight, and innovative "defence bonds" may help to win it. John Healey’s resignation as Defence Secretary today may well be the fatal blow to Keir Starmer’s premiership, leaving Andy Burnham to deliver the last rites. Everything that has happened … Continue reading Three quick points on the economics of defence spending
Weekly wrap: more heat than light from the politicians
Politics is heating up for the summer, but there were at least a few more reasons to hope that underlying inflation pressures may be starting to cool. This is the second weekly wrap of the key points from my social media posts on the UK economy, on the markets, and occasionally on the politics too. … Continue reading Weekly wrap: more heat than light from the politicians
Plain-speaking Economics 