News & Insight

Collateral damage: why international student numbers are falling

29 November 2013

This week, two telling statistics highlighted the state of the immigration debate in the UK and its impact on international students. First, “net migration” was reported by the ONS as rising from 167,000 in June 2012 to 182,000 in June this...

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The real life state

29 November 2013

Picture the scene. A 50-year-old man arrives at a job centre. He lost his job in heavy industry some years ago and has spent his life since living on government benefits. The economy moved on past his skills, and there...

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The benefit of the doubt: Germany's coalition deal

28 November 2013

This Wednesday, German politics produced a big buzz. The final draft of the coalition treaty between the Union parties (CDU and CSU) and the Social Democrats (SPD) was signed. The 170 pages contain much ‘styrofoam language’, designed to cushion the mentalities...

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Why Scotland's white paper missed the mark

28 November 2013

As Alex Salmond launched the white paper this week, he proclaimed that it was a “mission statement and a prospectus for the kind of country we should be and which this government believes we can be.” Now, I am a self-confessed...

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Immigration: Learning from the local

27 November 2013

As David Cameron sets out more benefit restrictions on EU migrants today, he responds to genuine anxiety in Britain about the numbers of Romanians and Bulgarians who might come to the UK in 2014. But those of us on the left can...

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The loan danger: Capping payday lending isn't enough

26 November 2013

George Osborne’s astounding U-turn on a payday loan costs cap was greeted with glee from the left and confusion from the right. It is a victory for the legal loan sharks campaigners, but it isn’t complete. The growth in payday lending has...

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