Month: December 2014

My top ten posts of 2014

I’m not 100% sure I can decide what sort of year 2014 has been for this blog – good, bad or indifferent. The overall level of traffic has been the same as 2013, give or take a few hundred hits. I’m grateful to everyone who takes the time to […]

King speaks

Mervyn King’s stint on the Today programme yesterday was curious. It was much anticipated in some quarters. The reality then proved to be less revelatory than some might have hoped. I’m not sure what people were expecting – after years of buttoned-up discretion it was unlikely he was […]

Green on yellow sniping

Yesterday’s Telegraph carried a piece about the rise of the Green Party, largely at the expense of the Liberal Democrats. It opens: Nick Clegg has “betrayed” his voters and traditional sandal-wearing Lib Dems are switching to the Green party across the country, the party’s leader has said. Natalie […]

Podcasts caught during 2014

I was listening to the Guardian Tech Weekly podcast last night while everyone else was watching the Christmas Dr Who. The first item discussed whether, with the rise of Serial in particular, podcasting was one of the tech and social media highlights of 2014. The conclusion was that […]

Debtornation

Recent economic news is unlikely to fill many with Christmas cheer. Estimates of recent growth have been revised downwards. The current account has deteriorated sharply. The deficit is now in “worst since records began” territory. And it is consumer spending, rather than investment, that is sustaining the growth that […]

Playing catch up on contracting

The Public Accounts Committee report on government contracting, published earlier this week, secured substantial press coverage. The focus was on the report’s finding that G4S and Serco continued to be awarded additional work from government while they were under investigation for overcharging. And this fact rather contradicts previous […]

Economics in the bubble

My plan was to write something following up last week’s Autumn Statement. But what with having to do other things – work and that – I’ve not had the chance. In the interim there has been bucketloads of analysis. So I’m not sure there is more to say […]

Visible liberalism goes AWOL again

Back in 2011 Nick Clegg famously said: you shouldn’t trust any government, actually including this one. You should not trust government – full stop. The natural inclination of government is to hoard power and information It’s a position embodying impeccable liberal principles. It demonstrates a clear understanding of […]