Fri 13 Jun 2025 Fiona Hill’s assessment of the Russian threat to Britain is a classic example of how a seemingly rational argument based on a false premise and scanty evidence can lead to a mad conclusion (Russia is at war with Britain and US is no longer a reliable ally, UK adviser says, 6 … Continue reading Letter in The Guardian: Russia adviser Fiona Hill’s alarming conclusion
Category: Guardian
Britain’s insistence on total Ukrainian victory was misguided – it’s time for a realistic compromise
The Guardian - 25th of February 2025 "By refusing to back negotiations for the past three years, the UK has become irrelevant to the search for peace – we must change course" On the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, British policy towards the war is in a mess. The continuing official British position, echoed … Continue reading Britain’s insistence on total Ukrainian victory was misguided – it’s time for a realistic compromise
The Guardian view on a four-day week: policies needed to make it a reality
After the first world war, workers wanted a peace dividend for their sacrifices. Within three years they got it. Almost every industrialised nation – with the exception of Japan – accepted the newly established International Labour Organization’s call to limit working hours to eight a day and 48 a week. While most developed countries enacted … Continue reading The Guardian view on a four-day week: policies needed to make it a reality
Universal Man: The Seven Lives of John Maynard Keynes review – more than the sum of its parts
Review of Universal Man: The Seven Lives of John Maynard Keynes by Richard Davenport-Hines Splitting a biography of the influential economist into parts pays dividends I admit I came to Universal Man: The Seven Lives of John Maynard Keynes with a certain prejudice. I knew Richard Davenport-Hines as an accomplished writer and biographer. But he has … Continue reading Universal Man: The Seven Lives of John Maynard Keynes review – more than the sum of its parts
Cameron is right to warn of another recession, but wrong to blame the world
Ministers are up to their old game of blaming everyone but themselves for Britain’s economic woes. First, they said they were “clearing up the mess” left by Labour. When recovery stalled in 2010, it was because of the Greek crisis. Now David Cameron warns of a new recession even before it has happened– because Europe … Continue reading Cameron is right to warn of another recession, but wrong to blame the world
Labour must expose the fallacy of George Osborne’s ‘recovery’
Where has the conference silly season left the debate on economic policy? George Osborne claims to have routed his critics: fiscal austerity has produced recovery. Labour, seemingly amazed that recovery has happened, has promised that a Labour government will continue to cut the deficit, albeit a little more slowly. The Liberal Democrats would join them … Continue reading Labour must expose the fallacy of George Osborne’s ‘recovery’
Labour should hammer home one simple message on the economy
The Labour party faces a political dilemma. Barely a day goes past without the more excitable parts of the British press trumpeting some new signal of Britain's economic success. Every other headline screams that Britain is "booming" or that its factories are "roaring to life". Every little jump in the flimsiest of economic indicators, every … Continue reading Labour should hammer home one simple message on the economy
High-speed rail could set Britain – and Europe – on the path to recovery
The chancellor's fiscal policy has been a disaster – a growth-first strategy driven by a bond-funded HS2 could be the answer When George Osborne took over the Treasury, he decided that fiscal policy would be governed not by the state of the real economy but by the state of the public finances, as measured by … Continue reading High-speed rail could set Britain – and Europe – on the path to recovery
Why we need weekends
By Robert Skidelsky and Edward Skidelsky Did you think that it was only in Victorian England that debtors were forced into the workhouse? Think again. This week a leaked letter revealed that Greece's eurozone creditors are demanding a six-day week as a condition of the latest bailout. Of all the far-out ideas for solving the … Continue reading Why we need weekends
The Olympics should have taught us the benefits of picking winners
Despite the Olympic euphoria, there is growing pessimism about the short-term prospects of the British economy. The new orthodoxy is that Britain is too sickly to be cured by a short-term fix; policy should concentrate on bringing about sustainable long-term growth. This rules out an immediate boost to public spending and swings the debate to … Continue reading The Olympics should have taught us the benefits of picking winners
Robert Skidelsky 