George Osborne was Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2010 until July 2016. Now he is, among other things, editor of … Continue reading “George Osborne does not have a clue what a ‘free market’ is”

“Businesses and markets hate uncertainty”. How many times have we heard that recently? In the aftermath of the referendum result, … Continue reading “Osborne and the government share some of the blame for post-Brexit uncertainty”

It’s what the great economist Milton Friedman described as “the tyranny of the status quo”. Every Budget week, we hear lots … Continue reading “Budget week: The tyranny of the status quo”

Dr Laffer provides insight on the US tax system, the state of the US Presidential race, and gives his advice … Continue reading “Dr Art Laffer: Tax Policy in the US and UK”

This article was first published by The Independent. One of the good ideas in yesterday’s Autumn Statement was the scrapping … Continue reading “Autumn Statement: splashing central government money around is not ‘devolution’”

There have been four budget or budget-like statements in less than a year now. That’s four opportunities for the Chancellor … Continue reading “Damian McBride is right: George Osborne maintains broad spending aim, but increasingly resembles Brown”

For the third time in a year, tomorrow, George Osborne will take to the despatch box to deliver a budget … Continue reading “This Autumn Statement could significantly change the UK state”

George Osborne’s desired message was clear. He claimed last week’s Budget was a new settlement for a “higher wage, lower … Continue reading “Ignore the rhetoric: George Osborne’s July Budget was a retreat from market liberalism”

Given the proximity to the election, most commentators predicted a ‘Budget of giveaways’, full of populist gimmicks. Judged against that … Continue reading “Osborne’s Budget delivers too little bang for the buck”