Archive for economy
Andrew Marr bids for record-breaking number of different topics in one interview
I wonder if somewhere deep in the BBC there is a target for how many different topics must be asked about in political interviews each month and someone woke up this morning to realise that January’s quota is about to be missed. Or perhaps there was a typo in Andrew Marr’s contract and his BBC [...]
The Liberal Democrat challenges for 2012: The Budget
Political pundits rarely get their predictions right. It isn’t that they are particularly bad at punditry, it is just that – as research has shown across several fields – experts generally have a pretty poor predictive record. One prediction, however, that is rather safer than leaving your chocolate in my safe-keeping is that the economy will continue to be the dominant political issue.
For once, some good news about the European economies
Good news about the economic situation across Europe has been in short supply recently, but there has been one piece of good news this week. One which, moreover, shows politicians learning the lessons from the 1930s (although quite what some of the right lessons are is a somewhat controversial topic). In the 1930s, depression caused [...]
Liberal Democrats and the budget deficit: two policies often forgotten
In the debates about what the government’s fiscal policy should be, how wise Danny Alexander is and whether or not the Liberal Democrats are sticking to what they previously believed, there are two policies from the party’s general election manifesto which are often forgotten. (In fact, I’ve not seen anyone quote them though given what [...]
Blogging, the Socratic way: what do you think?
This week my Lib Dem Voice Co-Editor Stephen Tall and I tried out a slightly different approach to blogging. Rather than running into the usual problem of not enough time in the day to write a proper post solo, we did a short email exchange which we then published. Writing a post this way both [...]
Nick Clegg on the Autumn Statement
Here is Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg on his three priorities for the Autumn Statement:
Thinking long-term: the government’s alternative to PFI
Back in February I wrote about the government’s aim to think long-term and the problems with turning that rhetoric into action: “We must think long term” is a common cry in politics and government. Far easier said than done, but whether it is investing in early years education, making decisions over building new physical infrastructure [...]
Three cheers for inflation?
Economist and economic historian Nicholas Crafts is back in the public eye with a new pamphlet for CentreForum. Those with long memories of his previous controversial stances won’t be surprised to know this pamphlet does not take a mainstream approach to economic history or economic policy, instead praising part of the 1930s and calling for [...]
The Liberal Democrat challenges for 2011: the economy
This is the first in a series of posts on the main Liberal Democrat challenges for 2011 we’re running over the festive season. You can find all the posts as they appear here. The state of the economy is central to the fate of the Liberal Democrats, both because it is so important in shaping [...]
What will deficit politics look like?
Even the keenest, most aggressive deficit cutting rhetoric used in any of the main political parties still envisages a large deficit for many years to come. Politics over the next decade is likely to be hugely shaped by this backdrop. It won’t squeeze out all other issues but, just as the 9/11 terrorist atrocities caused [...]
