28 June 2018 PPI – The Sequel The next mis-selling scandal to hit your phones will be pension transfers. by Frank O’Nomics Is it me or have those intensely irritating PPI calls started to drop off? Once we got beyond the stage of actually wondering whether we really might have a valid claim, the equivalent… Continue reading Issue 160: 2018 06 28: PPI – The Sequel
Article Category: Comment
Issue 159: 2018 06 21: Kids in America
21 June 2018 Kids In America With apologies to Mark Twain. By Neil Tidmarsh So there I was, ‘bout midnight, standin’ in the pumpkin patch out back of Tom’s Aunt Polly’s house, throwin’ stones at Tom’s window to wake him up. Soon enough, up slides Tom’s window and out pops Tom’s head. “That you, Huck?”… Continue reading Issue 159: 2018 06 21: Kids in America
Issue 159: 2018 06 21: A Matter Of Discretion
21 June 2018 A Matter Of Discretion The demands on officialdom. By John Watson Everyone will be pleased that Billy Caldwell has got his cannabis-based medication, and if that results in a change in the law (as seems likely to be the case) which enables a similar line taken elsewhere , that too seems to… Continue reading Issue 159: 2018 06 21: A Matter Of Discretion
Issue 159: 2018 06 21: Imagination and Words
21 June 2018 The importance of imagination – and words The state of children’s literature, inter alia. By Lynda Goetz There were eight shortlisted books on the CILIP (Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals) Carnegie Medal Award list. The winner, announced a few days ago, was Geraldine McCaughrean for her novel Where the World… Continue reading Issue 159: 2018 06 21: Imagination and Words
Issue 159: 2018 06 21: Politicising the Bank
21 June 2018 Politicising the Bank A narrower not wider remit is the way forward. by Frank O’Nomics Britain has a productivity problem and the Labour Party wants the Bank of England to solve it. Our productivity growth considerably lags that of Germany, France and the US, progressing at a mere 0.2% per annum on… Continue reading Issue 159: 2018 06 21: Politicising the Bank
Issue 159: 2018 06 21: A Pain in the Chest
21 June 2018 A Pain in the Chest The NHS dilemma. By J.R.Thomas The chest is that of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, hidden away in the Treasury, but the pain will be felt by nearly all of us. And the sickly fingers reaching into our chest – or pockets – for more, are… Continue reading Issue 159: 2018 06 21: A Pain in the Chest
Issue 159: 2018 06 21: Diary of a Corbynista
21 June 2018 Diary of a Corbynista Mrs May’s Credibility Gap by Don Urquhart 14 June The Supreme Court has found in favour of Gary Smith and against Pimlico Plumbers. He argued that he had worked for the firm for 6 years without receiving the normal employee benefits such as holidays and sick pay. The… Continue reading Issue 159: 2018 06 21: Diary of a Corbynista
Issue 158: 2018 06 14: Grenfell Tower
14 June 2018 Grenfell Tower The Rice-Davies Rule. By John Watson True or apocryphal? It could be either, but the story that senior civil servants pencil the initials “MRDA” into the margin of documents is good enough to satisfy any fan of Yes, Minister. The reference, of course, is to the trial of society osteopath… Continue reading Issue 158: 2018 06 14: Grenfell Tower
Issue 158: 2018 06 14: The Singapore Summit
14 June 2018 The Singapore Summit And the absent giant. By Neil Tidmarsh Yes, it really was the meeting of the century. Some disappointed observers are already beginning to write it off as a damp squib adding nothing new to the situation, but the two most interesting comments from the summit suggest they’re mistaken. The… Continue reading Issue 158: 2018 06 14: The Singapore Summit
Issue 158: 2018 06 14: More Bull
14 June 2018 More Bull Change in Spain by J R Thomas Sorry, Senor Rajoy. The curse of the Shaw Sheet struck the affable bearded Spanish Prime Minister within days of our article saying that his handling of the Catalonia crisis had strengthened his position in office. Almost needless to say, he is now an… Continue reading Issue 158: 2018 06 14: More Bull
Issue 158: 2018 06 14: Diary of a Corbynista
14 June 2018 Diary of a Corbynista Nobody Panic by Don Urquhart 7 June One of Theresa May’s factoids in PMQ’s was the assertion that there were now fewer than ever impoverished children in working families. I prefer to get my facts from a reliable source. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation today published a report calling… Continue reading Issue 158: 2018 06 14: Diary of a Corbynista
Issue 158: 2018 06 14: Time to be a SKIN
14 June 2018 Time to be a SKIN Spend Kids Inheritance Now. by Frank O’Nomics Frugality is generally heralded as a virtue. A reluctance to plan for our old age is regarded as one of the biggest threats to our ageing society, as the falling proportion in work are seen as having to support the… Continue reading Issue 158: 2018 06 14: Time to be a SKIN
Issue 158: 2018 06 14: Ford Revolution
14 June 2018 Ford Revolution Ontario Results. by J R Thomas The big wheel of Ontario politics turned dramatically indeed last Thursday (see our article None of the Above in last week’s edition). No, not an overwhelming victory for the None of Above Party, who did not appeal, it seems, to any Canadian urge for… Continue reading Issue 158: 2018 06 14: Ford Revolution
