Five years ago, the then Chancellor George Osborne launched Help To Buy, which would become his flagship policy. Help To … Continue reading “The Resolution Foundation’s ‘Citizen’s Inheritance’ would be like Help To Buy on steroids”

Two weeks ago, Tim Gurner, an Australian property developer, caused a wave of social media outrage. Gurner had suggested that … Continue reading “On housing and avocados: why Tim Gurner is wrong”

Many politicians use the UK’s cost of living crisis as a talking point, but Javid’s blueprint for a new housing policy … Continue reading “A tentative, preliminary cheer for the Housing White Paper”

Mention the name Philip Hammond in Westminster, and invariably someone will describe him as “a safe pair of hands”. The … Continue reading “Hammond is wrong to assume an infrastructure splurge will boost growth”

Government debt in the UK often makes headlines, but the high level of household debt in the UK is arguably … Continue reading “The problem with high household debt, and what to do about it”

Most of the time, the role of think tanks is to engage in holistic, ‘big picture’ thinking. Think tank work … Continue reading “Cameron’s housing speech: terrible economics, but not even good politics”

The government’s ‘Help to Buy’ scheme, soon to enter its second phase, is one of the most misguided and short … Continue reading “Help to Buy scheme is one of the most misguided initiatives ever”

Milton Friedman once observed that, “with some notable exceptions, businessmen favour free enterprise in general, but are opposed to it … Continue reading “Help to Buy is worrying but the real problem is inflexible housing policy”

Apart from George Osborne, nobody really seems to like the Help to Buy scheme, the programme under which the government … Continue reading “Help to Buy issues won’t be solved by taxing speculators”