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We don’t need to nationalise our railways to fix them
One of the new Labour Government’s first acts was to hand a big wedge of taxpayer cash to already well-paid train drivers, along with a promise of more as rolling rail renationalisation steadily tightens its grip over the next few years.…
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Knowing ‘What Works’ Will Help Good Growth
Fed up with a Britain where nothing works anymore? This article for Academy of Social Sciences proposes a single, simple but fundamental change to Government procurement rules to start fixing the problem. John Penrose makes the case for stronger evaluation…
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Want better-behaved Tory MPs? Here’s how…..
This week saw the publication of Ungovernable, the diaries of former Tory Chief Whip Simon Hart. Here’s how to turn Conservative MPs into a team that’s not only governable, but ready to govern the country as well. Infighting, splits,“effing useless” Ministers…
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New Policy Thumbnail: Cheaper Energy
UK energy costs are already amongst the highest in the world and current Government policies will make them even more expensive; limit household choices (for example by forcing people to buy particular types of cars or home heating); and cost…
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Small-State Conservatives need to revive the mission to deliver supply-side reforms
Churchill is supposed to have said that America can usually be relied on to do the right thing, but only after they’ve tried everything else first. It’s a phrase that applies just as strongly to today’s Conservative Party as well.…
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Britain’s pension system is bust – it’s time for radical reform
With all the fuss about Labour’s ‘heat or eat’ decision to means-test pensioners for their winter fuel allowance, and the ‘did-she-or-didn’t-she’ media hyperventilation about Kemi Badenoch questioning the future of the pension triple lock, it’s easy to forget that Britain’s state…
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Dear Pat McFadden: We’d Like A Pony For Christmas Please……..
Pat McFadden, a senior cabinet minister, has called for “responsiveness” and “calculated risk-taking” within the civil service, as reported by the Institute for Government. But just wishing for something won’t make it happen, as John Penrose, founder of the Centre…
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Sacking Chair Of Competition Watchdog Creates Fresh Questions Over Chancellor’s Growth Plan
Marcus Bokkerink, Chair of the Government’s top competition watchdog the Competition & Markets Authority, has been forced to resign by Government Ministers. John Penrose, author of the Government-commissioned report on competition policy…
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If Only They’d Asked Us First…. Ministers Ask Regulators How To Grow Faster
PM Keir Starmer, Chancellor Rachel Reeves & Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds have written to regulators, including Ofwat, Ofgem & the Environment Agency, asking for ideas on how to boost economic growth. The move has been greeted with a mixture of…
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Betrayal Is Never Pretty: Why Labour Should Rethink Their Response To WASPI Women
This week Labour Cabinet Minister Liz Kendall announced that ‘WASPI’ (Women Against State Pension Inequality) women won’t get any redress for Government mistakes which caused injustice to some (although not all) of them. That’s in spite of her (along with…
