Cousin marriage, genetics and uncomfortable truths

This is controversial and will remind some people why they hate blogs. But it’s been nagging at me for months, so I’m saying it anyway. For the past few months I’ve seen a lot of right-wing content circulating online about cousin marriage in the UK — specifically whether it should be banned. Leaving aside the … Read more

The UK Pension Crisis: Where did the money go?

The Office of Budget Responsibility have published their most recent fiscal risks and sustainability report. One of the biggest risks to the UK economy is the cost of pensions. Pensions have been growing much faster than the economy for the last 10 years+. I wrote about this last month which caused howls of anguish – … Read more

Welfare Reform, Market Panic, and the Political Soap Opera

The drama in the Commons on Tuesday and Wednesday — as the government scrambled to push through a controversial welfare reform bill — looked like a major crisis. Even with a large majority, Labour struggled to control the narrative. In truth, this kind of backbench revolt is nothing new. Blair faced dozens of them and … Read more

Crisis in the Welfare State: How Starmer got into such a mess

Keir Starmer is facing the biggest rebellion of his premiership over plans to reform the welfare state. Almost a third of Labour MPs have signed an amendment by Meg Hillier aimed at derailing Liz Kendall’s flagship bill, which is due for debate in Parliament next week. The Government will be working over the weekend to … Read more