Welfare State
Third Time Unlucky
“We should never trust the government — any government — to look after us in old age”
Something For Nothing Just Won’t Do Any More
To provide for Britain’s ageing population, Iain Duncan Smith should embrace the contributory principle in his welfare reforms
Pension Pot Luck
Imagine being allowed to own your own pension. Why, you might do something silly with it.
Time For An NHS Mark II
“The most radical health reforms will be made necessary in the next Parliament by events, dear reader, events.”
We Can Fix The Economy But Not Human Nature
In the Church of England’s new book the Archbishops of Canterbury and York are too focused on inequality rather than poverty, greed and folly
The Turbulent Minister is Right
British churchmen look to America’s example on welfare
Pension Pretense
‘Pensions do not grow on trees and never did. That was an illusion’
School Meal Deal
The Deprived Pupil Premium — the eligibility criterion for two years’ free university tuition — favours the work-shy and discriminates against working single parents
The Aged: “Help!”
‘If you’ve always paid your way in your working life, you’ll pay your way as you die’
Back to Beveridge or Welfare Will Go Bust
Iain Duncan Smith has made a good start on reform but he needs to restore the insurance principle
Why Remoaners should back Boris
“Boris, ironically, now offers Remoaners the best chance of a soft Brexit, or at least a sensible one. And to those who want a second referendum—’the people’s vote’—there may even be a chance of that too.”
On the road
“In the summer of 1980, in the grip of some Kerouac-ish fantasy, I opted to hitch-hike from Laredo to New York”
Discovering the Great War of China
A third of a million Chinese labourers helped the Allies defeat the Kaiser, but their huge unsung contribution ended in betrayal