Stephen Beer Articles

Economic data out this week has highlighted the challenges the next government will face. Yet the latest Conservative election pledge on public finances further eroded what economic credibility they had. The official preliminary estimate of British GDP for the first...

Labour’s manifesto tackles head on the issue of economic credibility, in terms of fiscal prudence and household finances. In contrast, the Conservatives seem to be undermining their own economic arguments. When Labour lost the 2010 general election, its economic...

It is no surprise that economic policy is dominating debate during the election campaign. Labour's message is that it can offer hope on living standards and growth in combination with a credible fiscal strategy. It faces claims that it wants to borrow up to £30bn more...

The last budget of the coalition did not substantially change the economic policy debate ahead of the election. It did provide yet another example of how that debate departs from reality. The budget avoided addressing the key challenges for the British economy. It was...