House price boom should be treated like national debt

Not much time for blogging at the moment, but I thought I should flag this up now: The National Institute for Economic and Social Research says in its latest journal that the surge in house prices is one “of the major adverse developments affecting the UK economy over the past 20 years”. The thinktank’s director,… Continue reading House price boom should be treated like national debt

Salmond proposes an independence loop-de-loop

You may have noticed I gave myself a miliband or two of wriggle room when I said that my Friday post on Scotland was ‘possibly’ my last one. Euan Ferguson’s hagiographic, and appallingly badly written, article about Alex Salmond in the Observer today got me hopping: The border, slow epoxy, is setting. Every indication, every… Continue reading Salmond proposes an independence loop-de-loop

RoboCop comes out against elected mayors

An interview in the Guardian: Looking colourful in a salmon pink shirt and maroon pair of braces that contrast with his grey, brushed-back hair, Mallon claims that the mayoral model is open to abuse by the power-crazy. He realised that after meeting another mayor early in his tenure – whom he refuses to name. “I… Continue reading RoboCop comes out against elected mayors