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
Tag: Ukraine
The hard sell: Britain needs to step up to fund its own defence
The BBC is reporting today that the Prime Minister is considering a significant increase in defence spending or, more precisely, that Keir Starmer is looking at bringing forward increases that have already been promised. The Labour government has previously committed to raising core defence spending from a little under 2.5% of national income currently to the new … Continue reading The hard sell: Britain needs to step up to fund its own defence
What happens if Russia defaults?
The high probability that the Russian government will stop paying its international debts is well down the list of things to worry about as the tragedy in Ukraine unfolds. But this risk should certainly be somewhere on that list – as the fallout from past defaults has shown. We have been here several times before. … Continue reading What happens if Russia defaults?
Too soon to write off the recovery – or raise taxes
Spare a thought for the staff of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), beavering away on a new set of economic and fiscal forecasts for the Chancellor’s Spring Statement on 23rd March. The fallout from the Russian invasion of Ukraine has made a difficulty task almost impossible. It makes sense to present a range of … Continue reading Too soon to write off the recovery – or raise taxes
Plain-speaking Economics 