Economic growth and fiscal prudence demand more than tax cuts

By John Kroencke

In my last blog post from the early days of the leadership contest I stressed the need for the next prime minster to care about economic growth. We now do, but will this be sufficient?   The Importance of Growth The growth rate of the UK after the financial crisis (...)

CEME Video Podcast: What does the Bible say about Economics?

  Graeme Leach, CEO & Chief Economist of Macronomics Consulting interviews Paul Williams, Professor of Marketplace Theology and Leadership at Regent College in Vancouver on the relationship between scripture and Economics. Full video available below.        

Richard Turnbull: Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (1926–2022)

The longest reign of any British monarch came to an end on the afternoon of Thursday, September 8, 2022. Queen Elizabeth II died peacefully at Balmoral Castle, her favorite residence, in the northeast of Scotland. She occupied a unique place in the hearts of the British people and countless millions (...)

Brian Griffiths: Why Cutting Inflation Tax is the No. 1 Priority

Who can you trust to manage the public finances and cure inflation? This is the key issue in this election campaign. Liz Truss wants to cut taxes, borrow more and start paying back after the next general election.  Rishi Sunak wants to get inflation under control first as a foundation (...)

The Next Prime Minister Needs to Care About Growth

By John Kroencke

The confluence of events in the last few years have done no wonders for the economic performance of any country, but the longer-term performance of the British economy in the wake of the financial crisis is even more worrying. With the prospect of a sustained fall in real disposable income (...)

Andrei Rogobete: The Cost of Living Crisis Will Hit Savings Hard

  The economic headwinds facing Britain seem to be evermore penetrating – recently we have seen: Inflation hit a 40-year high of 9% Largely driven by the increase in utility prices and the higher energy price cap that came into effect (see chart below). ONS chief economist, Grant Fitzner said (...)

Brian Griffiths: Inflation, the Bank of England and the Blame Game

UK inflation is at a 40-year high and rising. The consumer price index has hit 9%, the retail price index 11.1%. As the Government’s official target is 2%, the blame game is in full swing, with the main target being Bank of England and its Governor, Andrew Bailey.   The Government’s (...)

Philip Booth: Taxing Families as if They Cause Harm 

It is common amongst politicians and economists to suggest that we should tax bad things and subsidise good things. It is on these grounds that, for example, we have sugar taxes and cigarette taxes. The justification for taxing “bads” becomes stronger if the ill effects are felt more widely through (...)

Richard Turnbull: The Ethics of P&O

The P&O debacle has become a touchstone for business ethics. Few would like to be in the shoes of Peter Hebblethwaite, the Chief Executive, who admitted in oral evidence to a joint sessions of the Transport and the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committees, that he had broken the law (...)

Competing Institutional Solutions to Housing Supply Restrictions

By John Kroencke

In the last few years, increasing numbers of people across the political spectrum and across the developed world have begun to recognize the effects of restrictive housing rules on high housing prices in many global cities. In these cities, the physical cost of producing an additional unit of housing is (...)

Richard Turnbull: The Public want Goods, not Politics

Terry Smith, chief executive of investment management company, Fundsmith, began his January 2022 letter to investors, ‘This is the twelfth annual letter to owners of the Fundsmith Equity Fund.’ Pretty routine stuff one might think. Except. Unilever was the second worse performing stock in the Fund. Smith did not hold (...)