“Read my lips: no new taxes.” Older readers may remember US Presidential nominee George H W Bush saying those words at the 1988 Republican National Convention. Of course, this pledge was then broken, playing a large part in Bush’s defeat by Bill Clinton four years later. Labour’s Rachel Reeves may just have made the same … Continue reading Rachel Reeves’ tax pledges are a hostage to fortune
Category: Politics
Thoughts on inflation, interest rates – and a surprise July election
Some personal reflections on today’s news (as usual, all views here are my own only). First, the economics. The fall in UK inflation from 3.2% to 2.3% in April was slightly smaller than expected, but still another big step in the right direction. Admittedly, the ‘core’ rate excluding food and energy, at 3.9%, was still … Continue reading Thoughts on inflation, interest rates – and a surprise July election
Could the economy still save Rishi Sunak?
Voters will obviously need to believe that the "economic plan" is working if the Conservatives are to have any chance of winning the General Election. But while it's not yet showing in the polls, some essential parts of the jigsaw are now falling into place. Indeed, Labour’s Rachel Reeves appeared worried enough to launch a … Continue reading Could the economy still save Rishi Sunak?
The libertarian case for Brexit – restated
Back in January the IEA published a blog post by Emmanuel Comte with the title “Why Brexit was a mistake, from a libertarian perspective”. I believe this judgement is wrong – or at best, premature – but the libertarian case for Brexit does often need restating. Dr Comte, a Senior Research Fellow at the Hellenic … Continue reading The libertarian case for Brexit – restated
Plain-speaking Economics 