Worrying, nay shocking, news has reached me that Brexit might provoke a gin drought. Without a shade of irony ‘Harper’s Wine and Spirit’ reports: “If Britain were to leave the EU without a deal, distillers fear that supplies of juniper and other botanicals such as lemon peel, liquorice, orris root and angelica root would be… Read more
Posts by:
Peter May
The essence of our age – Reverse Luddism
There is rather an interesting article in the London ‘Evening Standard’. I know it is now highly suspect as a source – and additionally of course, it is nominally at least, edited by George Osborne. This piece however, is really opinion and I think it is actually opinion worth considering. It certainly has a bearing… Read more
Neoliberalism is driving us nuts
– if we live to realise it at all. Interesting short article in (remarkably) the ‘Telegraph’ from the Health Foundation think tank. People, since 2010 (I wonder what happened then?) have been – and, as far as I can see, this is unique in Europe – been living less long, and so too, are current… Read more
The secrecy of the secret ballot
Having been uneasy at the recent voting identity trials which were completely unjustified by the evidence, I wrote to my MP, taking advantage to raise at the same time the question of a lack of any actual secret ballot – as an identifying number is put on each ballot paper stub. To my surprise he… Read more
Justice for Serco?
Oh dear. It seems the replacement Justice Minister for Philip Lee is a former top boss of outsourcing firm Serco, which enjoys millions of pounds from UK government contracts and which manages five prisons in England and Wales. As far as I can remember it is still under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office over… Read more
Has the ‘Guardian’ got it?
This must be the first ‘Guardian’ editorial to quote Prof Stephanie Kelton – and the first one for a long time to suggest that deficit financing is a good idea. Before spending more money on the NHS, British politicians should take the advice of the US economist Stephanie Kelton: in a UK lecture this week,… Read more
An American Economist’s View on Brexit
Top economist @AdamPosen discusses the UK going global after Brexit. pic.twitter.com/wAUs2B7W9G — Our Future, Our Choice (@OFOCBrexit) June 15, 2018 I add this because it is nice to see an economist who is not British and therefore with ‘no skin in the game’ say it like it is. Even for a minute and a… Read more
Job Guarantee or Income Guarantee – which to prefer?
This is the happiness U shape of life satisfaction, which doesn’t suggest many of us are that happy at all. But it does suggest that we are least happy when we are supposed to be ‘earning’, rather than just ‘kept’. I wonder whether this means that the Job Guarantee (JG) would therefore just be… Read more
Minister Resigns on Principle Shock
Philip Lee, the – Secretary of State for Youth Justice in the Justice Department resigned yesterday, Tuesday 12 June. Whilst most attention shone on what it meant for the Prime Minister, the man himself had, in his resignation statement, some interesting things to say, which are well worth highlighting. …as the [Brexit] negotiations are unfolding,… Read more
Money for nothing is everything
There is an excellent summary in one easy blog on TRUK of Modern Monetary Theory* (MMT), which should more properly be called Modern Monetary Practice or the Modern Monetary System (MMS). As usual, below the article are the comments, many of which are highly critical, usually on the basis that if you are stupid enough… Read more