Stephen Beer Articles

This month will see George Osborne deliver the final budget speech of this parliament. It will be the final budget too of this coalition government. Since this coalition will not survive beyond 7 May, we might see a few formal budget announcements setting the stage...

The UK economy is growing at a relatively fast rate at present. The first estimate of GDP growth in 2014 is that the economy expanded 2.6 per cent. Recent survey data suggest the rate of expansion increased across the economy last month. Lower fuel and food costs are...

The new year has begun with a political battle about spending. Labour focused on the deteriorating state of the NHS under this government, highlighting its pledge to inject extra funding to recruit more frontline staff. It was no surprise that the Conservatives...

Labour is right to stress that it will cut the deficit it will inherit after the election in May. The party has continued to lag in polling on economic credibility, and in particular on cutting the deficit (see a recent YouGov poll). Ed Miliband’s speech was an...