Hello and sorry I’ve not written for this in about 6 weeks – it’s been a busy summer but I will start writing again regularly from September once Parliament returns and politicians start suggesting ridiculous policies/try to govern the country once again.
I have done a bit of writing for various publications over the summer though so here is some Bank Holiday reading for you.
International Trade
Some well-meaning people think that the UK should introduce its own version of the Inflation Reduction Act. I wrote for City AM on why I think that’s a bad idea (and not just because of the unfortunate initialism).
I also wrote for the Evening Standard about CPTPP. I’ve banged on about CPTPP quite a lot over the past few months. I played a very small part in the UK signing up to it but tragically my suggestion for calling the comms around the launch of the negotiations ‘CPTPP: find out what it means to me’ with Liz Truss explaining the benefits to the UK of membership all while Aretha Franklin played in the background was vetoed by the Deep State. I think CPTPP is a good thing but I don’t think it will do much for London. You can read why I think this here.
Immigration
Obviously a hot topic which the government has no idea how to deal with. In an ideal world we’d have open borders and allow anyone to come to the UK. Unfortunately this is politically unpopular but I wrote about immigration policy as well.
I wrote for City AM on why remittances are a good thing. They’re good for the UK, good for immigrants, good for poor people, and good for less economically developed nations. They’re really good!
The way the incompetent and performatively evil Home Office treats refugees and asylum seekers is disgraceful. Perhaps the most cruel and illogical rule is the ban on asylum seekers being able to work. I wrote for the Evening Standard on why the government should lift the ban and let asylum seekers work.
Monetary Policy
Monetary policy is incredibly important and has a huge impact on all our lives. When central banks get it right that it helps create the conditions for stable growth. When they get it wrong then we can see high inflation, recessions, and sometimes even recessions. We’re generally pretty lucky in the UK that the Bank of England does a good job and that on average it has met its inflation target over the 25 years of its operational independence.
However, it has really messed up in the last few years. Monetary policy was too loose during the pandemic and it really took its eye off the ball and allowed inflation to get out of hand. It finally did the right thing by raising rates but will now cause even more damage to the economy by continuing to raise rates despite the crippling impact this will have on firms and households.
I’ve written for the New Statesman on why we need to reform monetary policy and the decision making behind it.
Welfare
Commentators such as Matthew Parris think that people signed off sick are doing so only for the money. These commentators are wrong. The UK has one of the least generous welfare states and the system acts as a massive disincentive to not claim. I wrote about this for City AM which you can read here.
Don’t call it a conspiracy
If you’re unhinged, a grifter, or an unhinged grifter then there is a good chance you believe (or at least pretend to believe) that Bill Gates and the World Economic Forum are working to imprison us all in 15 minute cities and forced to use digital currency to buy bugs for our tea.
On that note, I wrote for the Evening Standard yesterday on why we should abolish cash.
I also wrote for City AM on why schemes such as Low Traffic Neighbourhoods actually enhance freedom. Feel free to read it here.
Anyway, thanks for reading as always. I hope you have a great Bank Holiday if you’re in the UK. See you in September!