Monthly Archives: May 2010

In the first week of the Coalition government, whilst their minds were elsewhere, Labour’s policy of devaluation and higher prices continued. Sterling fell against the dollar and other important currencies like the yen. The Coalition government reached agreements which included some increases in public spending which were specific, but has yet to spell out how [...]

The favourable reaction to the $1 trillion package of loans and guarantees for Euroland states in difficulty did not last long. Yesterday markets fell sharply again on renewed worries that Euroland will not grow quickly enough or in places at all. A failure to grow will keep tax revenues depressed and social spending high, leaving [...]

This morning we learn the new Foreign Secretary has been booked to go to Washington, and we are assured he will shortly thereafter be visiting Paris and Berlin. If they wanted to show they understood how the world is changing, Foreign Office officials would buy him a ticket from Washington to Delhi,and then on to [...]

Whilst the new Coalition government in the UK considers its options for budget reductions next month, many EU countries are revisiting their large public sectors and taking action to bring down costs. Cutting Ministerial salaries is popular. The 5% UK cut is similar to the cuts in Portugal. Spain has cut Cabinet salaries by 15% [...]

Some of you have written in wanting me to cut loose from the Coalition and speak out for doctrinal purity. Others have written in urging me to support the Coalition. I wish the Coalition every success. I have been arguing for months that this country needed to get rid of Mr Brown’s government, and needed [...]

The new government has lined up behind the Conservative proposal in the General Election. They say they will cut earlier and faster than Mr Brown was planning in his deficit reduction bill. I agree they need to do just that. In their Coalition Agreement they say: ” The parties agree that modest cuts of £6 [...]

I have been frenetically busy for the last 48 hours, so please be tolerant. I have not had time to moderate longer or more richly phrased pieces, but will do so as soon as possible. PS I am now up to date. If you want something posted quickly please avoid personal attacks on individuals and [...]

One of the main constitutional innovations the new coalition government wishes to bring in is a fixed term 5 year Parliament. Apparently the Lib Dems were especially keen to have this, as they feared the Conservatives would use their support until the polls suggested the Conservatives could win an overall majority and then go to [...]

I assumed the Lib Dems would negotiate with both sides, even though they said they would just negotiate first with the Conservatives to see if they could do a deal. We now learn Vince Cable was meeting his Labour friends in private whilst David Laws was meeting Conservatives in public. Why didn’t the Lib Dems [...]

The immediate market crisis of last week should subside today. The Euro member states have realised the serious threat of the Greek crisis spreading to Portugal and Spain. They have decided to put in place huge credit lines in case member states can no longer borrow from the markets at sensible rates of interest. The [...]