Treasury

Student Loans: The Accounting Trick That Got Out of Hand

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At long last, the student loan system is being debated seriously. It should be. Few policies impose marginal tax rates that politicians would tolerate anywhere else: 37% on incomes over £25,000, 51% over £50,270, and 71% over £100,000, before you even factor in interest and postgraduate add-ons. The Conservatives have proposed scrapping interest rates of … Read more

Is PFI Back From the Grave?

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I have lost count of the number of times politicians have declared that PFI is “dead”. It has been blamed for everything from collapsing NHS finances to dirty hospital wards and dodgy light fittings. In reality, PFI was never a policy as such. It was a capital-sourcing mechanism — a way of bringing private investment … Read more