Author Archives: Elizabeth Truss and Lucy Parsons

Opinion: Shifting the unequal state

By Elizabeth Truss and Lucy Parsons | Mon 21st April 2008 - 1:27 pm

Raising social mobility: an opportunity to empower individuals to improve their own capability

There is a cross-party consensus that the UK has a social mobility problem. Gordon Brown has called it “the great mission of the next decade”. Recent discussion has focused on the abolition of the 10p tax rate which is seen as a blow to those on low incomes. The Liberal Democrats have called it a “betrayal of the most needy in our society”. However, income taxes are just one piece of the vast tax and benefits jigsaw puzzle.

What is required to improve social mobility is a comprehensive …

Posted in Op-eds | 20 Comments

Opinion: The Budget – an opportunity for a new approach to fiscal policy

By Elizabeth Truss and Lucy Parsons | Mon 10th March 2008 - 1:53 pm

The economic debate of recent weeks has centred around the credit crunch and the changing times of Northern Rock. The Liberal Democrats have shown leadership with Vince Cable’s well-respected comments on the nationalisation issue.

This week, the focus will shift to the Government’s plans for fiscal policy for the coming years. In Wednesday’s Budget, the Chancellor has the opportunity to set out a new model for government spending, based on long term sustainable public spending policies. If he does not take it, he will leave the field open for the Opposition parties, and the Liberal Democrats could capitalise on their …