This Government can’t get no satisfaction
Even with the economy on the up, approval ratings have remained stubbornly low.
The benefits of a Zombie Parliament
It’s just a shame that we don’t really have one.
The NHS privatisation that Parliament should be discussing
Public spending on health has risen by 344 per cent over the past 30 years. Is it time to look for money from elsewhere?
How the Coalition delivered British workers into British jobs
Yesterday’s employment figures confirmed a new balance in our labour market.
Incumbent parties recover before an election – but don’t expect another 1992
Major’s success was the polling companies’ failure. This time, Cameron must deliver more.
How the Coalition changed its mind about spending
Departments cut their resource budgets faster than originally planned, and have had bigger capital budgets. Politics is part of the reason why.
How the departments have fared in this Austerity Parliament
Total departmental spending has declined by about 13 per cent. But in some departments it’s been cut by much more.
The historic scale of Labour’s probable collapse in Scotland
If the opinion polls are anything to go by, their share of the Scottish vote will descend to a record low. The SNP’s will hit an all-time high.
How Britain banned itself from smoking
In the Seventies, almost half of all people smoked. Nowadays, it’s less than one-in-five – but the smoking ban didn’t make much of a difference.
The problem of productivity
The economy’s doing well, but productivity levels are still to recover from the recession. Should we care?
Where are all the young drivers going?
The proportion of 17 to 20-year-olds with a full driving licence has declined by 13 percentage points since the mid-Nineties. This could undo politicians’ blueprints for the future.
The younger Prime Ministers become, the longer they haunt British politics
Our democracy is manufacturing its own ghosts at the banquet.
The problem of youth turnout
It’s not only lower than it used to be, but it’s declined faster than turnout among other age groups. Which prompts a question: whose politics is this?
How everyone was blindsided by oil prices (but especially Salmond)
With Brent crude trading at below $50 a barrel, the former SNP leader’s promises are now sunk at the bottom of the North Sea.
Welcome to the crazy world of the deficit numbers…
…and also to the first of our To The Point posts: short, revision-style notes on various policy issues.