Category Archives: Nick’s Blog

In the coming days, the Commission on London Finance established by Boris Johnson and chaired by Tony Travers is due to publish its final report. The Guardian has obtained an advance copy and it makes for interesting reading.

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Dear Jo, Congratulations on being appointed head of the No10 Policy Unit by the prime minister. I’m sure you’ve received a lot of unsolicited advice in the last week or so, and doubtless much of it has been unhelpful. I … Continue reading

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The debate on the publication today of the statistics on the public sector finances for 2012/13 has focused mainly on whether the deficit is falling or not. The answer is no: the deficit in 2012/13 was broadly the same as … Continue reading

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The introduction in London this month of the government’s new £26,000 benefit cap has generated predictably heated debate. Opinion polls show that the policy is popular because the public believe it is fair. Ministers know this, of course, and to … Continue reading

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The term ‘Thatcherism’ was first coined by Stuart Hall in his seminal 1979 essay, ‘The Great Moving Right Show’. At that time, it was the Eurocommunist intellectuals grouped around the magazine Marxism Today – Hall, Eric Hobsbawm and kindred spirits … Continue reading

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By chance, on the weekend that Ed Miliband was extolling the virtues of George Cadbury’s commitment to his workers in a speech on the economy, a new history of the Barrow Cadbury Trust – the grantmaking foundation that bears the … Continue reading

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With the economic recovery continuing to stall, there was a broad consensus ahead of today’s budget that the chancellor should provide a boost for housing and the construction sector, to help get jobs and growth going. George Osborne responded with … Continue reading

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The government’s announcement of new funding for childcare is a welcome step. Britain badly needs a better childcare system and any increases in funding for childcare are good news. Today’s announcement also tackles some of the unfairness of the current … Continue reading

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There is now a strong, cross-party consensus on the importance of apprenticeships. Rescued from near death in the mid-1990s and expanded under recent governments, apprenticeship places are now much more widely available in our economy. Despite this success, however, British … Continue reading

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It is always sad when someone who has been doing a great job steps down – and the hope has to be that you can find someone who will be an able replacement. Fortunately that is the situation which we … Continue reading

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