If you want to join the House of Lords, there’s never been a better time. The Con-Lib coalition needs to appoint more than 100 lords to ensure it has a voting majority there. Once would-be peers made generous donations to parties to obtain titles; now Westminster may have to bribe us to join.
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For all the talk of Greece leaving the euro, this is a club you can only join. A country cannot resign and cannot be expelled, so the rest of the eurozone is stuck with its wayward member.
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The Conservatives spent the election campaign threatening £6bn of immediate spending cuts. The Liberal Democrats argued against because of the risk of returning the economy to recession. Now the Liberals’ Vince Cable is in cabinet he backs the Tory cuts. But that’s not political pragmatism it’s economic necessity: Britain’s position has changed because the world changed.
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Housing got the economy into this mess but it is still the best bet for getting us out of it. It’s in everyone’s interest to see prices rise, so the Con-Lib government is wise to axe Hips immediately – and right to keep mum on stamp duty.
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Another weekend and another tabloid sting.
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If so many economists and retailers are so certain that VAT is to be increased, how come the politicians forgot to mention it during the general election campaign? With a budget deficit of £165bn, however, it seems just too easy not to squeeze spenders a little harder.
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Prudential Plc (LON:PRU) had the chance to reform rights-issue underwriting fees with its £14bn share issue but has instead chosen to bribe big investors with their own expensive money. It is a missed opportunity.
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Who will be the heroes of the next revolution? Political idealists? Trade union activists?
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Strong profits from Britain’s banks may indicate a return to normality but surely it shows they are overcharging their customers. Shouldn’t the competition concerns about retail banking be extended to corporate and investment banking too?
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The government statisticians’ forecast that the UK population will rise from 61m to 71m by 2033 gives 10m more reasons why the pension age needs seriously reforming. Lifting the retirement age to 68 by 2046 is far too late.
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