You must buy most things you want. But not healthcare. Healthcare is supplied at no charge by the state, funded … Continue reading “How the NHS hurts the poor”

Jeremy Corbyn’s rise in popularity has gone hand-in-hand with an increased focus on inequality – a word that, these days, … Continue reading “Populists have hijacked the concept of ‘inequality’ for their own political aims”

In the film Groundhog Day, the protagonist is trapped in an infinite time-loop, constantly repeating the same experiences over and … Continue reading “Oxfam would rather make us all poorer than feed the world”

Twice in the last seven days, Pope Francis has made major statements about the economy. Most recently he referred to … Continue reading “Believe it or not, global inequality is falling”

I recently visited a foodbank at the invitation of the Trussell Trust, the admirable charity which runs the UK’s largest network … Continue reading “Three cheers for the Trussell Trust – but we still need a free market agenda to truly cut poverty”

Before reading this article, I would like you to ask yourself, “Have poverty and inequality in the world increased, decreased, or … Continue reading “Poverty and inequality: Separating fact from fiction”

I was on The Big Questions (BBC1) recently talking about poverty. Specifically I was trying to help answer the question ‘Will … Continue reading “It’s not all doom and gloom. Beware politicised forecasts”

On Conservative Home, Paul Goodman defended Theresa May’s defence of the state as the entity that does good. When the … Continue reading “You want ‘the good that government can do’? You’ll get the bad as well”

It’s “Living Wage Week”. For seven days, the Living Wage Foundation’s campaign for employers to pay workers at least £8.25 … Continue reading “We need a ‘Living Cost Week’, not a Living Wage Week”