Budget 2021: Rishi’s economic placebo | Joseph Robertson
For what seems like a long time, budget announcements (or for now, perhaps we should call them ‘spending announcements’) from the Chancellor of the Exchequer have seemed to be a placebo to the common man rather than an attempt to stabilise the economy. Rather like living in a comfortable house that is built over a subterraneous cavern and has no foundations, we are waiting for a collapse of our comfort. Many are beginning to see cracks in their floors appearing and see dust seep in from fissures in the walls. The government is sent to inspect the property frequently but as a solution, keeps adding new floor levels to the property, building upwards, rather than inspecting the lack of foundation underneath.
A review of Budget 2021
All in all, this budget is an honest and balanced attempt by the government at sustaining demand while outlining a longer-term plan for fiscal restructuring. What is clear is that the government is deeply committed to ensuring that it does everything in its power to restart the economy in the near future. This is not a problem per se, but it will have to make sure it gives back control of the economy sooner rather than later.
If not, the risk is that the public becomes too comfortable with, and dependent on, this type of government intervention, triggering a slow return of the Big State and a new normal economic policy based around a combination of high taxes and high spending, all with the approval of the Conservative party.
Rishi’s big fork out | Alex Brown
The 2021 Budget is a mixed bag of policies that do not have our long-term economic recovery at the fore. The Chancellor is using his ‘fiscal firepower’ to keep on spending – resulting in a further £65bil to support the economy – which translates into borrowing 17% of the national income. To some extent, the reality that some spending is not being cut is an indictment – especially as the Prime Minister has outlined our road to recovery and the gradual Great Unlocking. But it is welcome news that the government’s economic intervention has prevented peaks in unemployment. Can we be sure of this after the taps are turned off and the handouts cease?
The sanctity of history | Dan Mikhaylov
What Britain so desperately requires is a stronger emphasis on national history – on producing a comprehensive and convincing historical narrative that would both reflect our civic values and transmit them from one generation to another. This undertaking is what the British philosopher Ernest Gellner would have considered a “nationalism-inducing situation”; in his renowned 1983 publication, Nations and Nationalism, he presents a strong argument that nationalism in the form we concatenate to the advent of European nation-states was a nineteenth-century phenomenon, which originated in something called the “national consciousness”. The latter in turn constituted a product of cultural homogenisation, linguistic standardisation, political centralisation, and the creation of a shared history.
A Summary of Localism | Local Matters
A Localist is somebody who places the local community as the primary and most important political and economic entity. This ideological stance is therefore opposed to many notions of Modernity; a mindset which professes a linear view of historical progression, a notion of an 'end of history', individualism and universalism. In contrast, Localists see the world in plurality: there is no linear societal progression, nor is there any penultimate ideology or political structure.
Overdue tax reform in Britain for the common good | Laura Sánchez Pérez
If marginal tax rates are too high in the UK compared to other developed economies, investment is likely to go elsewhere, and economic growth is likely to suffer. This will have a detrimental effect on society. After all, investment brings employment opportunities and with that, economic growth for households up and down the country.
An analysis of support for disabled people from the State | Sam Hall
The question of ‘Do Disabled People receive enough support from the State?’ is unlikely to be satisfactorily answered by an abled-bodied man in anything less than a report from a Royal Commission. I would love to be able to say that being disabled in Britain doesn’t disadvantage you in any way — but statistically that isn’t the case. As we (hopefully!) wrangle our way out of this pandemic, there are takeaways from working from home. For some, it might mean less car travel, more time spent with the family because of skipping the commute, and a better environment with less air pollution. But for others, it might mean more employment opportunities in higher paid jobs where wrestling the logistics of public transport, the unavailability of disabled toilets or poorly adapted workplaces is less of an issue. I would hope that the government encourage this for at least part of the working week going forward.
Tackling obesity with healthy lifestyles task force | Alex Brown
The key to making Britain’s children healthier is found in encouraging a positive attitude towards exercise; and ensuring that this is integrated into the school curriculum of our young people.
Is Britain prepared for a major war? | Dominic Lawson
Pentagon researchers agree and have explicitly stated that the American-led world order is “fraying”… Being aware of the possibility of the world’s powers stumbling into war… the question needs to be asked whether we are prepared for such a conflict- and whether the government has a clear understanding of what our role would be within it.