A recurring feature of politics is that of politicians and parties claiming to be acting as the heirs of a … Continue reading “Why is everyone suddenly mad about Teddy?”

Yesterday saw the government announce the latest in a line of restrictions on the benefits immigrants can claim. New jobless … Continue reading “Migrant benefit reform: doing the right thing for all of the wrong reasons”

The Chancellor’s Autumn Statement certainly contained some good news – but not enough to justify the self-congratulation that we saw, … Continue reading “The Autumn Statement brought good news – but not enough for the self-congratulation we saw”

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”

There are some ideas that keep on coming back, even though they are foolish and have always had bad results … Continue reading “Why we’d end up paying more for rent controls”

Payday loans and pawnbrokers are a common feature of the nation’s high streets today, as they have been for centuries. … Continue reading “Cracking down on payday lenders will hurt the poor”

Liberalism as a political doctrine has had an enormous amount written about it over the years, mainly by philosophers. Surprisingly, … Continue reading “The System of Liberty: Themes in the History of Classical Liberalism”

In an earlier blog post, Philip Booth discussed the likely scenarios for Scottish monetary policy in the event of Scottish … Continue reading “Free banking was robust and effective”

The government yesterday announced major plans to clamp down on the practices of payday loan companies like Wonga. Although sensibly … Continue reading “Ban payday lenders and the vulnerable will be forced to use loan sharks”