Published on 9 February 2026 and as previously published by IREF Europe on 28 January 2026 (within Online Articles on https://en.irefeurope.org)
Introduction
The UK government’s November 2025 Budget supplied ample corroboration of our report published by IREF in October 2025 (‘the report’), showing that the governing Labour Party plans to greatly expand the state’s direction of the […]
Published on 6 February 2026 (as previously published on 31 January 2026 by https://conservativepost.com)
Introduction
Angela Rayner has not stopped being ‘on manoeuvres’ since her removal as Deputy Prime Minister for failing to adhere to the Ministerial Code in the matter of paying the correct Stamp Duty on her flat purchase in Hove.
She must fancy her chances […]
Published on 24th January 2026
Once again a letter published in the Daily Telegraph, which goes very well with the one preceding it, from a correspondent in Bergh Apton.
Last week’s letter attested to my intention to stay on the Tory ship until it sank; this week it has.
Published on 16th January 2026
My letter published in the Daily Telegraph of today’s date.
Revised calculations over 15 years from 2016
Published on 2 December 2025 and updated on 7 December 2025
It now turns out that the OBR’s ‘long-run’ was 15 years, rather than 20, and that their time series began in 2016, and not in 2021 when they made the statement.
The statement thus included the presumption that GDP growth […]
Cover page of the report
Published on 12th November 2025
We have put together a summary of the numbers contained in our report published in October 2025 by IREF – the Institute for Research in Economic and Fiscal Issues – entitled ‘The United Kingdom as a sandbox for state-directed investment: major increase in ‘shadow debt’, and in […]
Cover of our IREF report
Published on 26th October 2025
We have had a major report published by the Institute for Research in Economic and Fiscal Issues.
It is about the plans of the UK government to launch a decade-long programme of ‘investment’ in industry, infrastructure and Net Zero, greatly expanding the state’s role in the economy.
You can […]
Headline of Daily Telegraph article on 25 September 2025
Published on 10th October 2025
Richard Tice of Reform UK recently argued, in a Daily Telegraph article entitled ‘I know a way to avoid tax rises at the next Budget’, that the Bank of England (BoE) should stop paying interest on its funding for its Quantitative Easing (QE) […]
Published on 26th September 2025
My letter published in the Daily Telegraph on 25th September 2025
That’s it: Andy Burnham’s chances of becoming Prime Minister are dead-in-the-water, thanks to this devastating verdict passed by a leading economic and political commentator.
One could also have mentioned that Burnham is as keen as most other Labour politicians to tax the […]
The ECB, which holds the monetary policy tools over the euro
Published on 13th September 2025
Introduction
France had its credit rating cut from AA- to A+ by the Fitch credit rating agency on 12th September 2025. This is not the disaster it may appear to be at first sight, because all the other four agencies approved by […]