It's the halftime coffee break here at the launch of the Institute for Fiscal Studies' Green Budget, so I thought I'd send CoffeeHousers a quick update. But first, just to be clear, that's green meaning green, not green meaning environmental. This is the IFS's annual, different-hued version of the Treasury's Red Book. It's their overall take on the economy and pu...

The BBC reports: University applications from UK students for the first year of higher tuition fees are down by 8.7%, according to figures from the admissions service. With fees rising to up to £9,000 per year, the impact has been biggest for England’s universities – down by 9.9%. The LibDem Voice team have been quick

A couple of quick notes. First, episode 2 of Foreign Entanglements is up; this episode feature Matthew Duss of the Center for American Progress against Daveed Gartenstein-Ross of FPI: Not much maritime content, but certainly some national security talk. In the near future I hope that have a more maritime-themed episode. Second, my WPR column last week was yet another unhinged screed against airpow...

Banker bashing has become something of a national pastime, and politicians have been quick to join in. But rather than devoting their energy to avenging past sins, our political leaders might be better off learning the lessons of Dan Ariely’s book, The Upside of Irrationality. In this valuable work, Ariely shows that the incentive of big bonuses can actually damage performance, not improve i...

There are Lib Dems everywhere today, CoffeeHousers, and they're differentiating like crazy. We had Nick Clegg himself on the Andrew Marr show earlier, waxing lukewarm about Boris Island, and there have been moments of assertiveness from his party colleagues as well. Here's a quick round-up: 1) Chris Huhne. The embattled energy minister hasn't taken to the airwaves today, but he is o...

‘Politics and religion should not mix’. This is the mantra that is lazily wheeled out by self congratulating lefties as they marvel in their own enlightened wisdom. This lingering stereotype of FBOs not only alienates billions around the world but also pragmatically restricts social movement’s ability to bring about the change they are so desperate to see.

News that one of China’s leading wealth funds has taken a 9 percent stake in Thames Water is significant. The investment comes quick on the heels of a Gulf sovereign wealth fund taking a similar size stake in Thames Water’s parent company, Kemble. It’s a measure of confidence in Britain’s infrastructure technology and role in

Perhaps the lack of concrete policies at this stage is not such a problem for the Labour Party. Policies are often designed to be no more than quick hits or media sound bites, often trying to be a magic bullet for a multi-faceted problem. But this approach only panders to the current media culture rather than delivering change. The electorate says they want a change in politics so let’s gran...

Hey, "tyranny" was his word, not mine. Sid Ryan writes in the Guardian:There have been some serious incidents at the camp in the last few months including: thefts, tents being slashed and minor assaults. These problems are not of Occupy's making, but they're happening on its watch. When anyone is challenged about people's behaviour they're quick to cry "persecution" and appeal ...

As Radio 4's Evan Davis suggested David Cameron should be played by Flashman star Malcolm McDowell, quick-witted Twitter users have created the hashtag #cameronmovienames. Here's the best of the Prime Minister's potential films.