Nobody can expect Boris to solve the banking crisis. But where he has the powers to improve London’s quality of life – especially in transport and housing – he must do so: for the sake of the city’s inhabitants, but ultimately also to maintain its position as an attractive place to do business. […]
For reasons unknown there is a persistent prejudice about Britain on the Continent. In Europe they appear to believe that some kind of Anglo-Saxon capitalism is practised on this island. There must be a terrible fog in the Channel which prevents the rest of the world from seeing clearly what is actually going on, but in some respects the UK economy has more in common with Soviet Russia than with free-market capitalism. […]
Policy Exchange commissioned research about five countries that have reformed the way in which they provide employment services to jobseekers: Australia, the United States (Wisconsin), Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands. These countries are most frequently mentioned in welfare reform debates. Their experiences are assessed with regard to the lessons they hold for the UK by former Secretary of State for Social Security, Peter Lilley MP. […]
The Prime Minister’s reaction to the news from the housing front was as hapless as it was helpless. But given his record dealing with the housing market when he was Chancellor you wouldn’t have expected anything else. […]
To be sure, the creation of a world class service sector is something that Britain can be proud of. But, blinded by its success, it was a mistake to let the country deindustrialise to a point where it does not have much else to offer to the world. […]
If there is one topic that over the past decade has steadily climbed up the ladder of political priorities, it is housing. In the first years of the latest housing boom, which started in the mid-1990s, rising house prices were almost universally regarded as a good thing. As prices went up, people felt wealthier. And wasn’t a steady rise in house prices also a sign of economic strength? […]
Britain is proud to be a rich country with a modern and dynamic economy. But unfortunately Britain’s transport infrastructure is, quite simply, not fit for purpose. Whether it is airports, roads or rail, the UK’s transport infrastructure does not live up to the expectations of a developed economy. […]
The regeneration of entire cities, and even regions, is one of the most ambitious objectives of public sector action. It requires picking through large-scale social and economic trends and reversing the effects of anything up to several decades of decline. James Swaffield and Oliver Marc Hartwich, from the think-tank Policy Exchange, argue that the results are not as impressive as many people have thought – and that we may need to start using a new set of policies. […]
Before the Budget, there was widespread agreement around what to expect. It was to be a tight plan for difficult times with not much room for manoeuvre, let alone the opportunity of fiscal stimuli. This forecast was pretty accurate, but hardly anyone seemed to notice. […]
Regeneration, and urban policy more widely, are worldwide issues. Many cities around the globe face similar issues to British cities – bringing business in, developing labour markets, addressing poverty and segregation, and encouraging people to migrate back to the city. Learning from this wealth of international experience is critical to improving the design, delivery and success of policy in the UK. […]
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