The runaway inconsistencies of the Labour government’s handling of the economic crisis in Britain are truly terrifying. Last week, they began printing money to buy back debt they themselves have issued, a process I described as like a snake eating its own tail. Technically, this is considered ...

Standing back to survey Gordon Brown’s Britain, it’s clear to me, and to many other observers, what the main problems are. Foreign Secretary David Miliband and that banana The main areas of concern cluster around two characteristics of Brown’s personality: 1. Stultifying complexity...

Tax evasion is in the news again and, yes, little Liechtenstein is in the thick of it. Glen Moreno, who is said to have advised some of our top banks on “tax evasion” and was appointed to head up the committee overseeing the partly-nationalized British banks, has been named and shamed an...

Geoffrey Boycott was a great English batsman. England could certainly do with him now. David Cameron at the Conservative Party Conference His style was to put up a straight bat to any ball that couldn’t be nudged along the ground for a couple of runs. Gordon Brown is a bit like that at Prime M...

I groaned audibly when David Cameron challenged Gordon Brown in Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) today. Cameron fell plop into an elephant trap when he complained about Brown’s dishonest phrase, “British jobs for British workers”. Brown simply retorted, “Who is not in ...

Protectionism is not for us, says Gordon Brown in exclusive Davos yesterday. So too does Peter (Lord) Mandelson, who has his own vested interest. Brown should realize that if a leader refuses to protect his own nation, he is by default giving comfort to the rest of the world. The Prime Minister can ...

The word “protectionism” is on almost everyone’s lips these days. It’s viewed as a bogey word, depicting the worst that could happen. The fact is, it’s as inevitable as cold weather in winter. In some senses it’s also necessary. When danger advances, creatures ret...

The UK Daily Telegraph’s economics editor, Edmund Conway, writes today about a whisper that an unnamed agency is set to cut Britain’s sovereign credit rating. Given the S&P reduction in Spain’s rating just days ago, it has the ring of truth. In the event, it would put up the i...

David Cameron’s long-hinted-at Shadow Cabinet reshuffle is taking its time. We have to wait, it seems, for Caroline Spellman’s naughty girl investigation by a Parliamentary watchdog. On any scale of comparison with Labour’s and some individual MP’s indiscretions, SpellmanR...

Let’s not beat about the bush, has capitalism failed? We shouldn’t be squeamish about answering “yes”. And “no”. Capitalism has always depended on property, and by extension land, to underpin its activities. African countries that lack dependable property rights, ...