Tag Archives: niesr

Stephen Tall

Are employment levels one of the “better stories” of the Coalition, as Fraser Nelson claims? Not really.

By Stephen Tall | Thu 6th June 2013 - 2:15 pm

The Spectator’s editor Fraser Nelson is — rightly — very hot on politicians being accurate in their use of stats. For instance, he’s — rightly — called out both Nick Clegg and David Cameron for confusing (whether accidentally or deliberately) the terms ‘debt’ and ‘deficit’, claiming the former is falling when they mean the latter.

However, Fraser is sometimes a bit casual with facts himself — for instance, wrongly claiming that an old report for the Department for Education ‘proved’ the pupil premium was flawed when it did no such thing.

And today he makes a point of highlighting …

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Posted in News and Op-eds | Also tagged , , , , , , and | 10 Comments
Stephen Tall

The double dip recession that never was?

By Stephen Tall | Sat 11th May 2013 - 12:35 pm

Did the double-dip recession ever happen? It looks increasingly possible that it didn’t — the BBC reports the latest revision to the data:

A revision by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has cast doubt on the UK’s double-dip recession last year. Revised growth estimates now suggest the construction industry shrank in the first quarter of 2012, but by less than previously thought. Analysts say the revision may be enough to mean the overall economy narrowly avoided falling into recession for a second time. The ONS is due to give official confirmation of this in June.

In fact there was a …

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Posted in News | Also tagged , , , , and | 17 Comments
Jonathan Portes

Jonathan Portes writes: If you want to get serious about growth, you need to be positive about migration

By Jonathan Portes | Tue 26th March 2013 - 1:45 pm

On Monday, I did seven interviews on David Cameron’s immigration speech. Each time I’ve tried to get across one simple fact: that all the available evidence suggests that immigrants – and immigrants from the new EU member states, in particular – more than pay their way. That is, that they pay more in taxes than they cost in benefits and services; overall, from being a burden, they make it easier to finance our welfare state not harder.

It is that basic fact that all three party leaders should be explaining to their constituents. Instead, they seem to be engaged …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , , and | 23 Comments
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Recent Comments

  • Paul WalterPaul Walter
    Here is the answer to the question above “why, historically, is the Isle of Man not part of the UK?” “The Isle of Man isn't part of the UK because it was...
  • expats
    May I suggest a slogan for 'Count Binface'... "If I get given £5million for being your MP, I'll spend it on Clacton Not Ferraris!"...
  • Ruth Bright
    Dear Mathew, You have been 100% successful in paying tribute to your Mum with your recent work. Thank you for raising the issue of UTI where the risks for all w...
  • Russell
    Really nice piece. Thanks. Comments re Anne Widdecombe are a refreshing change from social media. Those who knew her seemed to really like her. Sorry to hear ab...
  • 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...