7pm Local government: Liam Byrne wants to be Birmingham's Mayor 5.15pm ToryDiary: Only 23% of Tory members expect an outright Tory majority after next election 4.30pm Eamonn Butler on Comment: Disillusionment with politicians is so great there is serious talk of clipping their wings 3.45pm ToryDiary: David Davis warns remoteness from working class Britain could […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter. Pasted below are some reactions to the GDP growth figures announced this morning. Updated at bottom. Prof Philip Booth, Editorial Director at the Institute of Economic Affairs, said: “It is not surprising that the latest economic growth figures are grim given the headwinds from the Eurozone. However, this should […]
Dr Eamonn Butler, Director of the Adam Smith Institute: “A £40bn business loan scheme, mortgage guarantees, £5bn of infrastructure spending, 'youth contract' apprenticeships, start-up tax reliefs, new R&D tax credits, extending free child care – these are all Gordon Brown-style tinkering measures that look good in the papers but end up being bureaucratic and wasteful. […]
7.30pm ToryDiary: "Britain will never condone" torture. It is "abhorrent" and "wrong", says William Hague 6.30pm WATCH: Vince Cable: There's no "silver bullet" to help tackle youth unemployment Ed Balls: Youth unemployment is dangerous for young people and the taxpayer 5.30pm Brian Binley on Comment: Whose self-interest was it that led to this Euro mess? 5pm: Today's […]
6pm ToryDiary: Despite what William Hague wrote, Monday's EU vote will NOT mean an immediate referendum 4.45pm MPsETC: 22 MPs have signed George Eustice's compromise EU motion (THIS MEANS 90 TORY MPs ARE NOW TAKING A DIFFERENT POSITION TO GOVERNMENT) 4pm LeftWatch: In a new autobiography, Ken Livingstone claims Boris threatened to punch his lights out 2pm […]
5.30pm WATCH: Crone and Myler "certain Murdoch saw hacking email" 3.30pm Anne Widdcombe on Comment warns Downing Street to study the electoral defeat of Evan Harris. She says "that a small group of members of the present Government joined by an even smaller group of Lib Dems leading them by the nose have no concept […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter. On our Comment pages today Mark Field MP sets out the two great truths of the economic debate: One: We must carry on with the Osborne deficit reduction programme. When you are in a worldwide debt crisis you have to get your debts under control. Two: The Coalition hasn't […]
This week, I was glad to hear David Cameron say "I'd rather be a child of Thatcher than a son of Brown" but what does that mean for policy and society? Famously, Lady Thatcher settled a discussion by taking a book from her handbag and banging it on the table, declaring, "This is what we believe." The book […]
7.30pm ToryDiary: Any questions for the end-November survey? 5.30pm International: People can't afford left-wing governments in hard times 4pm WATCH: Jeffrey Archer mocks the "failed" Lib Dem candidates who oppose tuition fees Rory Stewart dances to Lady Gaga with one hundred Santas 2pm ToryDiary: Is George Osborne really more influential than Cameron? 1.15pm John Glen […]
Eamonn Butler is Director of the Adam Smith Institute, which has just published On Borrowed Time by Miles Saltiel. There’s another financial crisis facing the UK, according to the award-winning analyst Miles Saltiel in a report for the Adam Smith Institute, On Borrowed Time. And this time we won’t be able to blame the Americans, […]
By Tim Montgomerie The London think tank with the best blog is the Adam Smith Institute. If you don't have it as one of your favourites I strongly recommend that you do. This conservative often disagrees with its more libertarian conclusions but it is always thoughtful, newsworthy and polite. Here is a selection of recent […]
9.45pm LeftWatch: Prescott admits that Labour is "on the verge of bankruptcy" and dependent upon "the goodwill of the Co-op bank" 6pm WATCH: Last U.S combat troops leave Iraq 3.15pm BREAKING NEWS: The Daily Mail sinks the Tory Treasurer 3.15pm Alex Deane on CentreRight mocks the David Miliband Campaign's guide to hosting a party 3pm […]
10pm ToryDiary: "Do you want the United Kingdom to adopt the 'alternative vote' system instead of the current 'first past the post' system for electing Members of Parliament to the House of Commons?" 7pm Local government: Eric Pickles completes abolition of regional government 6.30pm WATCH: Mark Hoban announces compensation payments for Equitable Life policyholders from […]
John Phelan is a Contributing Editor of The Commentator and fellow of The Cobden Centre. He blogs at TheBoyPhelan. When I told a friend of mine three years ago that I was interested in Austrian economics she asked “Isn’t that just selling cuckoo clocks and lederhosen?” True, she wasn’t the brightest, but Austrian economics was fringe stuff. […]