Tuesday, 11 March 2025

The moves to weaken Germany’s debt brake are welcome, but ultimately higher defense spending should be matched by higher taxes. Public spending cuts will promote right wing populists.

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  To say I have never been a fan of the way Germany views government debt is an understatement. Here I asked whether Germany’s debt brake m...
Tuesday, 4 March 2025

Current UK stagnation may have many causes, but one we know about is the UK media. Plus why the UK definition of a recession is no longer fit for purpose.

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  In the UK the definition of recession used by most people is two successive quarters of falling GDP. This definition always involved a kn...
Wednesday, 26 February 2025

A New World Order

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  I don’t write about international power politics because normally I just don’t know enough about the countries and actors involved, even t...
Tuesday, 18 February 2025

Is Trump a Populist or a Fascist?

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  Answering questions of this type inevitably involves a discussion of definitions, in this case about what populism and fascism actually me...
Tuesday, 11 February 2025

Quantifying the continuing UK public spending squeeze

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  In her October budget the Chancellor raised total government spending by 1.8% of GDP compared to the plans of her predecessors, which mean...
Tuesday, 4 February 2025

A government of small change

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  Since the end of the 1970s, when a new party has taken power in the UK they have started with a reasonably loud bang. Thatcher brought mon...