It’s all about fairness, that slippery, subjective term which dominates so much of our political discourse. Following his resignation from … Continue reading “IDS is right to attack protection of pensioner benefits”

The central plank of the coalition’s welfare reform programme is finally being rolled out. By merging several major benefits and … Continue reading “Coalition welfare reform will make work pay – but still not by enough”

With many ifs and buts, Iain Duncan Smith’s welfare reforms are broadly moving in the right direction. Rather than just … Continue reading “IDS and the CSJ on child poverty: a critique and a defence”

Today’s announcement by Iain Duncan Smith that there will be a simple state pension of £140 for all has been … Continue reading “IDS’s pension reforms: The Good, the Bad and the Unexplained”

There is much to be said in favour of the coalition’s welfare reform bill. Perhaps its main achievement is that … Continue reading “Does the Welfare Bill really make work pay?”

Here at the IEA, it is something of a rule that if Hayek endorsed an idea then it probably wasn’t … Continue reading “A Hayekian solution to welfare reform”

“The purpose of my life here is to improve the quality of life of the worst off in society.” Such … Continue reading “A cheer for Iain Duncan Smith – but he will make enemies”

In a radio debate with Mark Littlewood, Adrian Sinfield, Professor Emeritus of Social Policy at the University of Edinburgh, was critical of IEA proposals to … Continue reading “Tax credits and the Negative Income Tax: a house cat is not a Bengal tiger”

Iain Duncan Smith deserves credit for fully understanding the nature and scale of the welfare problem. But that’s the easy … Continue reading “Going beyond the IDS reforms”