Quaequam Blog!

Month: January 2012

  • Why aren’t landlords “in this together” as well?

    The government’s response to its defeat in the Lords last night over benefit caps has been notable for its lack of substance. Iain Duncan Smith has taken two lines: that the policy is enormously popular, and that Bishops and left-leaning peers ought to be as concerned by the people paying for the benefits as they…

  • Why Zoe Williams’ tale of Tesco subsidies only tells half the story

    Zoe Williams makes a good point in the Guardian when she questions why the taxpayer effectively subsidises companies like Tesco by paying out tax credits which would be unnecessary if they paid decent wages, whilst executives reward themselves massive bonuses from the profits they make as a consequence. There is clearly something wrong here. But…

  • Why Charlotte Henry’s purity test of “real” liberalism is misguided

    Charlotte Henry has a curious article on the Total Politics blog, suggesting that Clegg’s speech on a more participatory form of industrial democracy will help us to seperate the “real liberals” from the “SDP-statist-sandal wearers”. There are several problems with this diagnosis. For one thing, the famed “sandal wearers” and the SDP members are very…

  • The Unions are “too big to bail”

    Even by Ed Balls’ standards, the mess he has got himself into explaining Labour’s economic policy really is quite spectacular. As far as I understand it, Labour’s policy hasn’t actually changed. They are opposed to the way the government is tackling deficit reduction but accept they are unlikely to be able to reverse all the…

  • Labour Needs A Plan B

    It has been odd watching the Labour party over the last 18 months. If ever an opposition has had a golden opportunity, it has surely been this. With the economy in a mess, any government would be forced to make tough, unpopular decisions right now. Combine that with the nature of coalition, and scoring some…