Category Archives: Economics
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Labour’s ‘kitchen sink’ manifesto shows they don’t think they will win
Leave a commentNovember 26, 2019 by Paul Goldsmith
I’ve read the Manifestos so you don’t have to. Kudos to the Labour party, who have been completely honest about …
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The Green Party Manifesto – changing our lives to save them?
1November 21, 2019 by Paul Goldsmith
I’m reading the party manifestos so you don’t have to. Today, it’s the Green Party. I love the Green Party …
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In the end, there will be a price to free broadband
Leave a commentNovember 18, 2019 by Paul Goldsmith
Labour’s commitment to providing free broadband by 2030 may seem attractive on the surface. After all, who is going to …
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The Cost of Corbyn – the lies and false assumptions prove the @Conservatives are scared
1November 14, 2019 by Paul Goldsmith
The Conservative Party’s assessment of Labour’s spending plans betray a massive lack of confidence in themselves. They are full of …
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Question for Labour – who exactly is in ‘the many’?
3November 11, 2019 by Paul Goldsmith
Jeremy Corbyn’s campaign launch asked the question of whose side everyone is on – the many or the few. …
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How the Economics Profession got it wrong on Brexit
5July 29, 2018 by Paul Goldsmith
In today’s febrile political atmosphere, in which information that doesn’t fit a person’s bias is immediately discarded, it is refreshing …
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Why Carillion may be the final death knell for an entire economic model
5January 22, 2018 by Paul Goldsmith
You know someone’s lost the argument by the arguments they use. In this political age it is either when they …
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Why the deliberate obtuseness of Remain-supporting journalists demeans the Brexit debate
2November 20, 2017 by Paul Goldsmith
Whilst lying is worse, being deliberately obtuse to make a point demeans the Brexit debate. At no point did places …
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Universal Credit – a professional idea implemented by amateurs
1November 9, 2017 by Paul Goldsmith
Sometimes it is important to differentiate between an bad policy and incompetent implementation. Universal credit gets a bad rap, but …
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Why the UK has no financial obligations to the EU legally, but they do politically
Leave a commentNovember 6, 2017 by Paul Goldsmith
In the end it comes down to money and uncertainty. The one big card the UK has to play is …
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Why interest rates should rise now
Leave a commentNovember 2, 2017 by Paul Goldsmith
Economies work in cycles. Yes yes I know Gordon a Brown said he had abolished Boom and Bust, but in …
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Why Ireland might have to leave the EU too
2October 29, 2017 by Paul Goldsmith
At some point the people of Ireland are going to have to choose between Britain and the EU. There are …
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Why Labour will go into the 2022 promising to reverse Brexit
Leave a commentSeptember 28, 2017 by Paul Goldsmith
Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell are sharing many things at the moment. For the purposes of this blog is their …
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Explaining Tony Blair’s immigration proposals
Leave a commentSeptember 14, 2017 by Paul Goldsmith
The ad hominem attacks were quick in coming, but the political and economic arguments were much slower to arrive. Former …
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If they want to ‘win’, Remainers will need to be patient
1September 1, 2017 by Paul Goldsmith
As you may know, there is a strong and well-supported movement to reverse the EU referendum result. In one sense …
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A view from Iowa on why people voted for Trump
3August 17, 2017 by Paul Goldsmith
The problem with refusing to listen to messages or engage in debates on issues that make us feel uncomfortable is …
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The real Brexit Debate: Fairness between Consumers and Producers
1August 10, 2017 by Paul Goldsmith
Since the Brexit vote, there has been a lot of talk about effect of immigration controls on our public services …
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Free trade: Why who gets the losses and gains makes it hard to defend
1August 3, 2017 by Paul Goldsmith
During his inauguration speech, Donald Trump made the case for instituting protectionist measures against free trade by claiming that ‘protection …
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Should we tie our own hands behind our back on free trade?
Leave a commentJuly 31, 2017 by Paul Goldsmith
Pro-Brexit politicians and activists will constantly invoke the benefits of lifting our eyes to distant horizons, of heading out into …
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Corbynism is impossible within the Single Market
Leave a commentJuly 27, 2017 by Paul Goldsmith
In 1986, Jeremy Corbyn voted against the Act of Parliament that created the EU Single Market. He saw it as …
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Are some Brexiter politicians ignorant or are they lying?
Leave a commentJuly 24, 2017 by Paul Goldsmith
You know that feeling you get when you can’t work out if a set of politicians are ignorant are lying? …
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Grenfell Tower: What is ‘Social Murder’?
Leave a commentJuly 16, 2017 by Paul Goldsmith
On the Andrew Marr Show this morning Labour Chancellor John McDonnell was asked whether he was prepared to take back …
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Which is more virtuous or effective: Paying Tax or Giving to Charity?
Leave a commentJuly 4, 2017 by Paul Goldsmith
Rather excitingly, we here at Goldblog Towers received a packed mailbag of responses to yesterday’s blog, particularly the final question …
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What is ‘anti-austerity’?
Leave a commentJune 24, 2017 by Paul Goldsmith
There are very few areas where proponents of a policy, or those who are against it, seem so incapable of …
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Explaining the direct line from ‘contracting out’ to the Grenfell Tower disaster
2June 19, 2017 by Paul Goldsmith
In 2015 a £10m project was started to refurbish Grenfell Tower. Last week the the Tower burned down, killing an …
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Why we should spend that ‘£350m a week’ on education instead
2June 17, 2017 by Paul Goldsmith
Just after last year’s referendum, a friend of mine commented that the Leave campaign had ‘missed a trick’ with their …
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The proper case for free university tuition
Leave a commentMay 31, 2017 by Paul Goldsmith
The debate over university tuition fees rumbles on. Abolishing them would cost over £11bn a year. Labour has committed to …
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Why public finances cannot be compared to personal finances
1May 26, 2017 by Paul Goldsmith
Have you ever heard someone compare the public finances to personal finances? Have you ever heard the accusation that Labour …
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Labour debt-pointers are risking their party’s economic credibility again
1May 21, 2017 by Paul Goldsmith
I actually can’t take it anymore. It is economically illiterate and it is self-defeating and it has to stop. It …
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Why energy price caps will worsen the energy market for consumers
1May 16, 2017 by Paul Goldsmith
The energy market is a target for both the mainstream political parties. Both Labour and Conservatives have suggested price caps …
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No ‘Tax lock’ would be sensible economics.
Leave a commentApril 26, 2017 by Paul Goldsmith
Back during preparations for the 2015 General Election, there was a hole in the ‘media grid’ political parties use to …
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The falling pound has been good for British firms. Hasn’t it?
Leave a commentApril 24, 2017 by Paul Goldsmith
The fall of the value of the pound, which has been about 20% against the Dollar and the Euro since …
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It’s #Brexit – so what happens now?
2June 24, 2016 by Paul Goldsmith
1. We don’t immediately leave the EU. This is an advisory vote to the government, who choice choose to ignore …
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Why I will be voting #Remain in the #EuRef – a guide for those on the fence
6June 21, 2016 by Paul Goldsmith
This blog is quite long but if you stick with it you may find it useful, particularly if you are …
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The chart that explains why Britain is about to #voteleave
1June 16, 2016 by Paul Goldsmith
“Inside Labour’s London HQ, I joined young volunteers manning the “Labour In” phones with every fact at the ready. We …
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EU referendum – Points systems for immigration could wreck the UK’s economy
Leave a commentJune 2, 2016 by Paul Goldsmith
I’ll start by declaring an interest. Yesterday I had my hair cut in at a barber’s set up and staffed …
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Why tax credits can be the wrong type of incentive
3November 23, 2015 by Paul Goldsmith
Tax credits can remove the incentive to improve your skills and productivity so you earn a higher wage on your …
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How economics and politics are causing our labour market to fail
Leave a commentNovember 3, 2015 by Paul Goldsmith
Nowhere is the tone of public discourse and the facts on the ground so different as the jobs market. The …
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Why tax credit reforms are a “jobs penalty” on the very people the Conservatives affect to want to help.
4October 18, 2015 by Paul Goldsmith
The row about the Conservatives’ reforms to tax credit isn’t about politics. It’s not even really about economics. It is …
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Corbyn’s rail re-nationalisation is the right first policy, but the devil will be in the detail.
2September 21, 2015 by Paul Goldsmith
Margaret Thatcher didn’t privatise the railways. Her main intellectual guru on privatisation, Nicholas Ridley, didn’t think they should be privatised. …
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Trade Union Bill – don’t believe the hype!
3September 14, 2015 by Paul Goldsmith
Today Parliament has been debating, and will continue to debate, the Trade Union Bill brought forward by the Conservative Government. …
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How Labour should respond to Osborne’s plan to legislate for budget surpluses during growth
1June 11, 2015 by Paul Goldsmith
Given I have been stating for a while now that Labour should not have arrived at the 2008 recession, …
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Why “Right-to-buy” Housing Association properties will never happen
2June 1, 2015 by Paul Goldsmith
I would have loved to have seen the Conservatives’ manifesto planning whiteboard. I can imagine there were quote a few …
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The Greek government is learning what happens when you treat the public like children
Leave a commentMay 19, 2015 by Paul Goldsmith
Good news, I have just received a mandate from my loyal subjects not to pay back my mortgage. In the …
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Why Labour would gain from explaining why they overspent in Government
Leave a commentMay 18, 2015 by Paul Goldsmith
The candidates for the Labour Party leadership are already organising themselves into two groups on Labour’s economic record when …
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We need to talk about Privatisation
1May 5, 2015 by Paul Goldsmith
I’ve read a lot this past year. When I decided to write a blog every day from May 7th last …
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Tories’ Tax promise speaks volumes about..Tory promises
1May 1, 2015 by Paul Goldsmith
Before the 2010 election, the Conservatives said that they wouldn’t raise VAT should they be in government after it. They …
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Why what happens to Greece could decide our election
Leave a commentApril 28, 2015 by Paul Goldsmith
A few days ago, I ventured the opinion that foreign affairs don’t win General Elections. I was premature. There is one …
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“Labour’s rent controls” are nothing of the sort. Just redressing imbalances in the provision of a basic need.
Leave a commentApril 27, 2015 by Paul Goldsmith
Pollsters released some interesting data just after Labour made their announcement on Saturday about the “rent controls” they are going …
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