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Category: Economy

A new furrow. The changing nature of work and what that might mean for the future

A new furrow. The changing nature of work and what that might mean for the future

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Imagine, if you will, that you are a horse. Take that extra step and imagine that you’re a horse capable of reasoning, a Houyhnhnm if you will. As you stand in your stable at the end of the day, imagine you are reflecting on your species’ relationship with humans. It got off to a poor start, with humans seeing you as a food source. Fortunately, humans in general saw greater possibilities in you, learning that you could be a far…

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Facts and fantasies about public ownership. Don Brind looks at the evidence from abroad

Facts and fantasies about public ownership. Don Brind looks at the evidence from abroad

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Did you Know? • “In Singapore 20% of GDP comes from state owned enterprises, 90% of land is state owned and 85% of housing is public.” • “48 million Americans, in over 2000 cities and districts, get their electricity from the public sector, at a price on average 12% lower than the price charged by private energy companies.” So, it seems, it’s not just Venezuela that inspires those “Marxists” Corbyn and McDonnell in their ambition to use public ownership as…

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Is nationalisation really making a comeback? Don Brind doubts it.

Is nationalisation really making a comeback? Don Brind doubts it.

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I’m a bit of a fan of the old Clause Four  of Labour’s constitution drafted by Sidney Webb in 1918. I love that line about securing “for the workers by hand or by brain the full fruits of their industry”. Pure poetry. And the idea of getting “equitable distribution … upon the basis of the common ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange,” is a good one. I believe, too, that each industry or service should have “the…

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What’s wrong with this picture?

What’s wrong with this picture?

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Under the Conservatives, there are more people in work than ever before. pic.twitter.com/SCWM2LoAuW — Conservatives (@Conservatives) September 13, 2017 High employment and low wage growth Another month goes by and another month of extremely confusing employment data.  The good news is astoundingly good: record levels of employment, 40 year lows of unemployment and record numbers of job vacancies per unemployed person.  These are statistics that would indicate a booming economy and you would normally expect rapid wage growth.  Indeed, economists…

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The DUP deal has cost a lot more than £2bn: it’s blown apart the Tories’ economic case

The DUP deal has cost a lot more than £2bn: it’s blown apart the Tories’ economic case

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Austerity is dead – but what can replace it? YouGov published the results of an innovative survey on Thursday, where it found that the British public seemed more willing to pay a Brexit bill of £25bn (where 29% said they would find that acceptable), than one of £10bn (backed by 18%). Good news for Monsieur Barnier? Not exactly. The survey was designed to assess the effect of the options presented on the answers elicited, with the sample split into two…

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Today Corbyn’s Labour lead the ABC1s by 12%

Today Corbyn’s Labour lead the ABC1s by 12%

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Corbyn’s Labour now have a 12% lead with the upper and middle classes, let that sink in. I think whilst this might be an outlier it is probably a result of Mrs May and her close advisers decision to abdicate from focusing much/any time on the economy during the general election campaign lest Philip Hammond had a good campaign and made it impossible for Mrs May to sack Philip Hammond on June 9th. The Tories must hope whomever succeeds Mrs…

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It’s the economy, stupid. And Team Corbyn aren’t stupid.

It’s the economy, stupid. And Team Corbyn aren’t stupid.

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Don Brind on final phase of the LAB campaign It may all end in tears but for now the diverse team of Corbyn fans and old media sweats who make the Leader of the Opposition comms team can pride themselves on helping the party and their leader to narrow the yawning gap in the polls since Theresa May called the snap election the best part of a month ago. Because they are smart I expect them to make a decisive switch to highlight…

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ComRes Indy/SMirror poll finds sharp rise in the economic trust lead for May/Hamond over Corbyn/McDonnell

ComRes Indy/SMirror poll finds sharp rise in the economic trust lead for May/Hamond over Corbyn/McDonnell

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In March the LAB pair were a net 16% behind CON leadeship – that’s now 33% Ahead of the Autumn statement, May & Hammond are seen as much more trusted on the than both Corbyn & McDonnell and Cameron & Osborne. The brutal fact is that the twice elected leader hasn’t got an earthly with numbers like these. The vast influx of new members into the party since GE2015 have made the main opposition party unelectable As is repeated so…

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