The worst thing about the Budget? The tax cuts
This post originally appeared on LabourList. You can download our election guide to tax here. My plan for this week’s column was “pick something you hate about the Budget and…
Involuntary idleness represents a massive waste of economic resources
This blog first appeared on the LSE Politics and Policy Blog on 29 April As part of the ongoing Social State project, Howard Reed reflects on the macroeconomic significance of…
Labour Market Realities: Privatisation and the Railways
Record levels of employment and unemployment are once again back in the headlines with the release of the first labour market statistics of 2018. Yet these numbers remain distract from…
More likely to go to prison than university? But a degree doesn’t close the pay gap
David Cameron’s front page of the Sunday Times announced a concerted Government anti-discrimination drive. Targeting universities, the police, the courts and the armed forces he said steps must be taken…
Brexit update: parliament is back in session
This has been a very busy week for the UK government. Parliament is back in session after the summer recess, Brexit Minister David Davis has spoken to MPs about EU…
Trump’s Muslim Ban is a Warning: We Must Reject Anti-Migrant Narratives
The left are currently in agreement over one important policy: they have condemned Donald Trump’s “Muslim ban” in the strongest possible terms and castigated Theresa May for her unsurprisingly lacklustre…
Coffin-sized existence pods: Grandparent legacies to Generation Rent?
Is this what Theresa May had in mind in her conference speech last week when she called for government intervention to tackle the UK’s “dysfunctional” housing market? You couldn’t make…
Investment, Brexit & A Progressive Alternative
As Britain goes into a General Election to break the Brexit impasse, the economic effects of Brexit uncertainty have already taken its toll on private investment. Business investment is 1.2%…
Obesity and Inequality, Two Peas in a Pod?
This week saw new figures showing a rise in childhood obesity in Britain. On average, one child in every Year 6 classroom is severely obese and a further one in…
Fish out of Water: A Working Class Student in an Elite Institution
To the young people from working class backgrounds who are celebrating A-Level results, be proud, because you’ve won the fight against an education system that has been engineered to make…
With this budget, the Chancellor is taking us into unknown territory
George Osborne has often been described as the most political of chancellors. His economic strategy prior to the election consisted of fuelling a housing boom, whilst continuing with austerity policies…