Tag Archives: infrastructure spending

Adam Corlett

Opinion: Nick Clegg’s fiscal target – splitting the difference

By Adam Corlett | Sat 14th June 2014 - 10:15 am

Calculating Taxes Up And DownStephen Tall writes that “in terms of policies, there wasn’t much that was new” in Nick Clegg’s Bloomberg speech. Giles Wilkes and others have suggested that, on the contrary, Nick’s fiscal targets are a welcome change from the excessive deficit reduction the Coalition has pencilled in for the next parliament.

These commentators think that Nick’s deficit target (below) is a continuation of Labour and current Coalition policy – to balance the budget excluding capital spending. My understanding, however, is that what Nick said …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , , and | 17 Comments
John Whitehouse

Opinion: The Opportunity Costs of HS2

By John Whitehouse | Mon 2nd December 2013 - 4:21 pm

HS2 Brick WallToday’s publication (pdf) by the Liberal think tank Centre Forum, “Build the infrastructure: bin the wish list”, ought to make every Liberal Democrat stop and think again about the wisdom of spending £50 billion on HS2.

The report concludes that “projects must be prioritised with full consideration of opportunity costs”, saying:

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged | 23 Comments
Danny Alexander MP

Danny Alexander MP writes… Investing in Britain’s future

By Danny Alexander MP | Thu 27th June 2013 - 1:08 pm


Video by hmtreasuryuk on YouTube.

Yesterday, we set out a Spending Round that delivers Liberal Democrat priorities on investment and improving our public services while making responsible choices to deal with the financial problems Labour left us. It demonstrated that the Liberal Democrats will remain firm in our commitment to tackling the deficit, but fair in the way we go about it. Our number one priority in Government has been to fix the economic mess we inherited from Labour.

Today I have set out how we will invest in our country’s economic future by creating balanced growth and delivering lasting prosperity. I have announced the most comprehensive, ambitious and long-lasting capital investment plans this country has ever known.
In doing so we are putting long term priorities before short term political pressures and we are ending the culture of short-termism that plagued so many of our predecessors.

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , , , and | 22 Comments
Richard Carr

The Independent View: how Liberal Democrats can provide Clegg’s “gear shift” in infrastructure spending

By Richard Carr | Wed 7th March 2012 - 11:25 am

As Nick Clegg has recently noted, there needs to be a ‘gear shift’ in infrastructure spending. Whilst George Osborne dots the i’s and crosses the t’s on his third budget, it is worth considering how such a ‘gear shift’ may be enacted. Localis has undertaken just such an analysis, and this week launched Credit Where Credit’s Due – produced in partnership with Lloyds Banking Group – that illustrates how local government can help deliver a step-change of this type from the bottom-up. Though our report alights on many policy areas, from increasing the powers of LEPs to astute asset management …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds and The Independent View | Also tagged , , , and | 3 Comments
Advert

Recent Comments

  • David Raw
    Agree with Mick Taylor, but would also suggest Count Binface is no mug..... he's an Oxford graduate in classics and classical languages, literatures and linguis...
  • Mick Taylor
    Some posters on here are real killjoys. If Binface were to beat Farage it would end Farage's political career. And let's face it, Binface could hardly be a wors...
  • Jana
    A thought just occurred - maybe Farage was hoping to have no serious competition in this by-election as it always his party activists to canvass extensively whi...
  • David Raw
    When a person living within the historical territory of the Duchy of Cornwall dies without a valid will (i.e. intestate) and with no surviving relatives, their ...
  • Paul WalterPaul Walter
    I primarily wrote this piece as a travel blog. But for clarity, while I admire the independence (current overall status) of the Isle of Man, I support a revi...