
Brace for impact – the sorry state of the UK’s public finances
WHEN NUMBERS become big they start to lose meaning. Today’s public sector borrowing numbers published by the ONS are big. But let’s make no mistake,

WHEN NUMBERS become big they start to lose meaning. Today’s public sector borrowing numbers published by the ONS are big. But let’s make no mistake,

PLAYFAIR’S unfinished monument to the fallen Scottish soldiers and sailors who fought Napoleon has been given the nickname of Scotland’s Disgrace. This monument – which was

THE MOVE to CBDC is likely to be global: 134 nations are currently exploring the feasibility of CBDC with every OECD nation in the advanced

CENTRAL BANK Digital Currencies (CBDCs) are coming, whether we like it or not. What are they? How do they compare in the context of our existing currencies? Should

IT SEEMS people like parables. Even those not familiar with the Bible can probably tell you about the parable of the Prodigal Son, or the

LAST SATURDAY I had the pleasure of speaking at the Reform UK conference in Perth. It was actually Reform’s fourth Scottish Conference, but the three

SYMBOLISM MATTERS. Rachael Reeves choosing to ditch a picture of Nigel Lawson for Ellen Wilkinson, one of the founding members of the Communist Party of

WE HAVE SEEN how Britain is failing. Its growth rate per head has collapsed to the worst in 200 years and the country is in

THE SHORT ANSWER is your guess is as good as mine, save for raising yet more tax. Rachel Reeves has claimed there is a £22bn

THE UK’s relative and material economic decline can be pinpointed almost exactly to the onset of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) starting in 2008. As

THIS WILL BE the first in a short series of essays leading up to the budget exploring the current state of the UK economy. The

WE ALL SUFFER selective amnesia, ‘rose tinted glasses’ if you like. For instance, the past may be a foreign land and I recall it sort