A committed fiscal conservative like UK Chancellor George Osborne was never going to deviate from Government’s hard-wired policy of austerity. Nobody really expected a change of course in his 2013 Budget, not even after his recent humiliation by Moody’s downgrade of Britain’s triple A credit rating – a humiliation not because of the fundamental impact of the downgrade, which was negligible, but because Osborne himself had placed such high importance on retaining the AAA status.
Promoters of the new high speed rail line (HS2) between London and Birmingham claim that it will generate £2 of economic benefit for every £1 spent. The Government says the benefit will be lower, around £1.40. But if a number is the answer, then people are asking the wrong question. What is the real benefit […]
“The real issue at stake is how the EU can maintain its influence and its relevance in a changing world”, said Lord David Howell, UK Minister of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, in his keynote speech of the conference. “There is no distinction between Eurozone and non-Eurozone members at all”.
Karl H Richter 