Monthly Archives: September 2009

Personal care gets political, by the King’s Fund

30 September 2009 | kingsfund

If  ‘there is no such thing as a free lunch’, as economists remind us, the same can’t be said for personal care if the prime minister’s pledge at the Labour Party conference is to be taken at face value. Read more...

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Childcare lessons, by the Institute for Fiscal Studies

30 September 2009 | Institute for Fiscal Studies

Gordon Brown’s speech to the Labour party conference gave more detail about an existing ambition of this government to provide free early education and childcare places for 2-year-old children in England. Read more...

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Brown’s new clothes? By Tony Travers

30 September 2009 | Tony Travers

Gordon Brown’s party conference speech has been overtaken by the Sun’s cruelly timed front page announcement that it was switching its support from Labour to the Conservatives. Only time – and YouGov’s daily polling – will tell us what the impact of Rupert Murdoch’s decision will have on the electoral hopes of the major parties.  In the meantime, we can look at the new commitments made by the prime minister yesterday. Read more...

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Labour’s not finished yet, by Heather Wakefield

30 September 2009 | Heather Wakefield

‘A party of restless and relentless reformers’ was how Gordon Brown described us here at Labour Party conference in Brighton yesterday. That felt about right, and in case anyone was in any doubt that the prime minister is serious about Labour’s purpose, he outlined a list of commitments for the next Parliament and beyond that should make David Cameron’s eyes water. Read more...

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CBI suffers from physics envy, by Stephen Court

28 September 2009 | Stephen Court

The CBI – which brands itself ‘the voice of business’ –  is sounding more and more like a political party. Today it published New government in action – its manifesto for whoever wins the next election. Read more...

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Demos revisited, by David Walker

28 September 2009 | David Walker

Polemic is good fun. More urgent – and more demanding – is clear thinking about risk, its mitigation through regulation, and how much local variance in risk the public and their representatives want. Read more...

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Health and deficiency, by Alan Downey

25 September 2009 | Alan Downey

The Taxpayers’ Alliance has continued its assault on what it sees as profligate public spending, this time with a report arguing that many NHS Trusts are underusing expensive equipment. Read more...

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The paradoxical State, by Colin Talbot

24 September 2009 | Colin Talbot

How can we be talking at the same time about shrinking public spending on core services while propping up the banks? Read more...

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Having your cake, by Peter Wilby

24 September 2009 | Peter Wilby

The public expects to have it all – low taxes and good services – and politicians are busy furthering this delusion. Will Labour tell the truth in Brighton? Read more...

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If it ain’t broke… By Kate Green

24 September 2009 | Kate Green

…don’t means test it. Proposals to end universal entitlements, such as child benefit, should be resisted by the government Read more...

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