The demand for government: investing in family
Conservative Home has started a series of posts at looking at ways to reduce the demand for government. The first post, by David...
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May 23, 202210 min read
The Least, the Last and the Lost should include the long-term unemployed
I was recently recommended Mez McConnell’s latest book, The Least, The Last and The Lost (I think that’s the right order!). Church Action...
Dec 20, 20206 min read
The Myth of the Undeserving Poor
I recently finished reading The Myth of the Undeserving Poor: a Christian response to poverty in Britain today by Martin Charlesworth and...
Oct 25, 20203 min read
Is Philanthropy Christian?
I have been thinking recently about what Christian lending and borrowing would look like if we tried to incorporate Biblical principles,...
Sep 27, 20205 min read
Why I'm opposed to UBI
I am opposed to the idea of a Universal Basic Income on economic grounds – I don’t think that the sorts of money needed to lift those...
May 25, 20193 min read
(satirical) UBI critique – when the robots take over
UBI imagines a world in which all jobs are carried out by robots. The increased use of robots in work is assumed to mean that we can...
May 25, 20192 min read
(satirical) UBI critique – what happens when no-one needs charity or earnings?
Let us imagine that a UBI is paid that is at the minimum income standard (MIS). The MIS is enough money for social participation and...
Jan 8, 201920 min read
Consequences of cuts 2010-2018
I wanted to find data on the consequences of Conservative cuts since 2010, in the hope that I might remember some of them to use in...
Jan 27, 20183 min read
Not another job miracle: the mirage of full employment
Another quarter-year, another labour market release. Cue the DWP praising itself for record numbers of people in work, and record rates...
Jun 28, 20162 min read
Democratic Process
Whether rightly or wrongly, the government gave the people the choice whether to stay in the EU or leave. Cameron said that he would...
Dec 21, 20133 min read
Government vs Reality – the big society
Dear government, Let’s stop talking about what you think happens in theory and start talking about what is happening in reality. In...
Oct 12, 20132 min read
Ministers don’t get it. Policy should be based on reality, not on misinformation
Ah Bah. I am sick of hearing about what politicians think, or about what they think the public thinks, or about what the public thinks....
Oct 3, 20133 min read
The Contributory Principle
There is a debate continuing around the social security system on whether those who have paid in more should get back more when they need...
Aug 19, 20132 min read
Conflicting Policies
Just as nature takes millions of years to regain diversity after a mass extinction, so neighbourhoods take years, even decades, to build...
Jul 8, 20133 min read
Something for nothing cultures
I’m getting sick of this ‘something for nothing’ attitude that MPs seem to have regarding social security. They complain about giving...
Jun 24, 20135 min read
Beveridge Principles
When Sir William Beveridge wrote his report on social insurance he identified five giant evils: squalor, ignorance, want, idleness and...
Jun 6, 20133 min read
A week of poverty statistics
It seems to be a week of poverty. Median income is below its level in 2009-10. Work isn’t a route out of poverty. Being in full-time work...
May 17, 20133 min read
The reality of benefit cuts is shocking
When I first started on disability research, I just saw the numbers. I saw that 40% of ESA claimants told they are fit to work then...
May 14, 20134 min read
Shoukld disabled people be euthanased?
Disabled children should be euthanased, according to Cllr Colin Brewer. According to Baroness Warnock, disabled adults should be...
Dec 12, 20122 min read
Benefits and the Budget
George Osborne has decided that benefits will be up-rated at 1% for the next three years. Previously, they would have been uprated in...
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