Search Results: public spending

The combination of inflation, a productivity collapse and higher interest rates means public spending is up by £350 bn this year compared to 2019. No wonder taxes are so high. If the public services got their productivity back up to 2019 levels they would cost £30 bn less. Productivity was down 15.2% in 2020,...

The government has allowed a huge increase in public spending since 2019. Some of this was meant to be temporary relief or offsets for the grave economic damage lockdowns caused. Some of it has been further reliefs and subsidies to offset the inflationary effects of  the Ukraine war and the Bank of England’s inflationary...

It is hard work persuading government to cut out waste and remove marginal or undesirable programmes. There is a vocal group of MPs who want the rest of HS2 cancelled. The business case was always poor, relying on diverting a lot of passengers from the existing network. The sharp fall in commuting and business...

The role of Chief Secretary needs strengthening as the Treasury’s second Cabinet Minister. Working for and under the general direction of the Chancellor the Chief Secretary needs to probe and challenge the bids for additional funds and the way in which existing budgets are  being spent. He or she should be the voice to...

Last week some of you complained I did not point out in the housing debate that high levels of inward migration add substantially to housing demand. I have regularly pointed this out and called for more control of economic migrant numbers , as well as regularly urging  tougher action against people smuggling and illegal...

There is renewed interest amongst Conservative MPs in value for money and controlling public spending. We have just lived through an extraordinary two years when public budgets were increased hugely to combat the virus, find a vaccine, set up a nationwide free test and trace system , boost benefits, pay furlough  incomes , subsidise...

The Director General of the BBC has asked all the BBC staff to try harder to ensure impartiality and fairness. The BBC has long favoured every kind of diversity save for diversity of opinion. It pursues its own agenda, often mistaking a one sided presentation or propaganda for the truth, as it sometimes  finds...

I reproduce below a piece I published recently on Conservative Home:   I’m all in favour of levelling up. Our country needs all the talent it can get. I want more people who have bought their own home, found a good job, built their own business, developed a passion for dance or sport or...

This autumn will see a major public spending review. There will be the usual pressure for higher sums for the NHS, for education and other crucial services.There will be some good cuts to announce , as the subsidies and support payments needed during lockdown fall away. There also needs to be some detailed work...

The government is right to spend substantially to offset the lockdowns and other anti pandemic measures, all the time they stop people working or prevent businesses trading. Once they do at last remove the regulations which damage jobs and the economy there should be a sharp fall in public spending and a large rise...