Last month, the government voted in favour of increasing national insurance contributions by 1.25 percentage points. This led to the breaking of their manifesto commitment in 2019 of not increasing national insurance. The main criticism of this decision is that…
The mania surrounding Bitcoin appears to be more popular than ever and the widespread appetite for cryptocurrencies has encouraged more countries and corporations to dabble in this emerging market. Only this month, El Salvador introduced Bitcoin as its legal tender,…
The UK has recently received warnings from various industries of potential shortages in the coming months. As reported by the Bank of England, there have already been shortages in “furniture, car parts and electrical goods”. Supermarkets have also signaled that there…
Jane Austen once wrote that “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” Well, a more recent universal truth is that a bank holiday without…
In 1970, the economist Milton Friedman laid out what he believed to be the ultimate role of enterprise within modern society – ‘There is one and only one social responsibility of business – to use its resources and engage in…
Over the coming months, Backbench will be partnering with Torrin Wilkins, Director of Centre Think Tank for a series of comment pieces. In his column, Torrin will explore prominent policy issues – some of them related to the latest news…
Like much of life, economic theory is not black and white. In an age of uncertainty, people are understandably looking for clarity. This desire for certainty does not always fit well with academic theory. Broadly, whatever your view on a…
As the economic devastation brought on by the pandemic becomes more evident, more and more high street brands find themselves falling victim to the changing times. The collapse of both Arcadia Group and Debenhams show that stores are finding their…
A report this week released by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) showed three concerning developments; 1 in 10 workers have been told to reapply for their jobs on worse terms or face being sacked, working hours have substantially decreased, and…
GDP has historically been the lens through which we viewed our success: high GDP growth meant that the economy was booming and that lives were improving, while a drop in GDP in real terms meant that the economy was in…