News & Insight

4 August 2015

Britain has the most centralised tax-setting arrangements of any major democracy. In England, all revenues except council tax are the responsibility of the Exchequer. Until Scotland and Wales are given new tax powers, their governments will still be almost entirely...

3 August 2015

The UK’s tax system isn’t fit for purpose and specialists across the board agree on the need for reform. The Institute for Fiscal Studies’ Mirrlees Review provided a comprehensive evaluation of the tax system, stressing its complexity and arguing that there...

30 July 2015

Shortly before the House of Commons rose for the summer recess, Dan Jarvis allowed himself a rare break from work and family. “I went out on my own for a bike ride. It was a beautiful summer’s day, and from...

29 July 2015

The Labour Leadership race has certainly come alive in the last week. At the beginning there was much complaining about the rather dull and formulaic nature of the contest - the hustings were all the same, the candidates too close...

28 July 2015

The polls were the source of false hope. Not just national polls but constituency polls, which appeared to give a more fine-grained and accurate picture of what was happening on the ground. In fact, what the national polls showed in England...

27 July 2015

If McDonald’s wanted to sell upmarket steak, they’d need to do more than put porterhouse on the menu. Similarly, persuading votes to trust Labour on spending required more than the last minute addition of a fiscal lock at the front...