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
Will the green agenda be killed off by the pandemic?
‘Will the green agenda be killed off by the longer-term coronavirus recovery? Or might the closure of so much business, and the cleaner air that results from planes not flying and factories not working, give us extra years to gain control of our environment?’
Why T.S. Eliot still matters
His contemporaries’ reputations have diminished. But Eliot’s has grown: he is the poet who shows us what can be saved from the ruins
Music’s in the house
Rappers have found a role in lockdown: chronicling coronavirus with topical tunes. Most people, though, are rushing to the safety of the past