Monthly Archives: September 2011

Tobin’s time has come

30 September 2011 | Richard Murphy

The path to a Tobin tax on financial transactions has been unconventional and is not yet complete. But adoption could bring a number of benefits and is surely just a matter of time Read more

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Backward step on bins

30 September 2011 | Nicola Peake

The government’s announcement of a £250m fund to encourage councils to collect waste on a weekly basis smacks of populism and runs contrary to moves to encourage localism Read more...

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The stakes are high

30 September 2011 | Philip Johnston

David Cameron will be facing down his critics in Manchester and holding firmly on to the political centre ground Read more

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Market mania in the NHS

30 September 2011 | Anna Dixon

Is the coalition focusing too much on market reforms in its health plans? The real problems facing the NHS – improving care for people with chronic conditions, the elderly and those at the end of life – are not going to be solved by hospital competition Read more

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Obsessive personality disorders

28 September 2011 | Dan Corry

The chattering classes tend to get much more excited by the personality clashes at party conferences than by the politics Read more

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Miliband speech: produced the goods?

28 September 2011 | Conor Ryan

Ed Miliband’s ‘producers vs predators’ speech to Labour conference helped the party leader move out of the political shadows. Now he needs to supply some detail  Read more

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Keeping it personal

27 September 2011 | Claire Lambert

Personal budgets, and direct payments in particular, can enable those within the social care system to use funding in innovative ways. But support planning and a well developed provider market are needed to make the process work effectively Read more

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Localism: no longer a fringe issue

27 September 2011 | John Tizard

Localism is being debated across the party conferences, including at yesterday’s Public Finance/CIPFA fringe event. It needs to move centre-stage Read more

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States of mind

26 September 2011 | Mike Thatcher

Ronald Reagan famously claimed that ‘government is not the solution to our problems, government is the problem’. Read more

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Lansley’s hypocrisy on NHS cuts and PFI

26 September 2011 | Mark Hellowell

The PFI is being blamed by Andrew Lansley for the NHS’s financial problems. But the policy has been supported by successive governments, including this one – and the bigger cause of cuts lies elsewhere  Read more

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