Monthly Archives: August 2009

National Savings has announced increases in its savings rates on certain products. I do not tell you this to recommend them, nor am I on commission! The rates are still quite low. I tell you because it shows that even the government now accepts that the bank rate of 0.5% is a nonsense when it [...]

Yesterday’s figures for CPI price rises should have been no surprise to all those who have been following the fall and rise of the pound, quantitative easing, and UK tax policy. The distinctive policy being followed by the UK compared to most other advanced countries was always likely to produce higher inflation this summer, and [...]

A reader of this site contacted me yesterday to give an example of rip off local government. Venturing into deepest Camden, the people’s very own borough, our blogger parked on a single yellow line on a Sunday. There was no parking sign nearby to inform drivers of the hours of operation of the single and [...]

This site has slipped to second place from first last year in the annual Total Politics Blog Poll of MPs websites. This is not of course an MP’s website as narrowly defined – it is a running commentary and an invitation to my readers to a debate on the state of the nation and the [...]

We learn today that the nationalised Northern Rock needs more capital from taxpayers. Pending its further financial reconstruction, it is deferring payments on interest on money it has borrowed by issuing bonds. I would be interested to hear Ministerial comments on how much they are going to put in, over what time scale, and what [...]

We have been so busy at UK PLC that I have not written to you the shareholders for some time. Now there is a little August pause I am able to do so. I am pleased to report that our recently acquired bank subsidiaries remain loss making. Some of you were concerned in case the [...]

Mr Darling has now said in an interview that he will consider legislating to control excessive pay and bonuses for banks. He will find that is not easy when he turns to his advisers. We first need to know what the problem is, then ask how do you fix it? There are three political problems [...]

Yes, it’s true. David Cameron has used private planes to fly around, so he can fit more engagements in and get back to Parliament or his family in good time. The good news is, taxpayers are not paying for this. Busy people doing important jobs do need to use the best means available for carrying [...]