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Articles by Len Shackleton
The hounding of the RNLI is revolting
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The hounding of the RNLI is revolting
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution has been saving lives at sea for more than 200 years. For most of that time, its amazing volunteer crews have been seen as heroes, out in all sorts of weather to rescue people in distress. Yet now, to a growing number of angry people, they are seen as villains for facilitating the never-ending procession of asylum seekers in small – and not so small – boats.
The hounding of the RNLI is revolting
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution has been saving lives at sea for more than 200 years. For most of that time, its amazing volunteer crews have been seen as heroes, out in all sorts of weather to rescue people in distress. Yet now, to a growing number of angry people, they are seen as villains for facilitating the never-ending procession of asylum seekers in small – and not so small – boats.
We can restrict doctors’ strikes
Well-paid doctors should not be allowed to endanger patients uninhibited As “resident doctors” are on their 15th strike of a dispute which began three years ago, politicians are talking tough. Kemi Badenoch has repeated her pledge of last summer, that the Conservatives would ban strikes by doctors. More significantly, Health Secretary Wes Streeting has for the first time suggested that a ban is an option which could be considered.
Labour’s 'cack-handed' policies leads to ‘predictable deterioration’ - London Business News
Tuesday’s labour market figures show a predictable deterioration. The headline is the 5.1% unemployment rate, which, apart from a brief blip for Covid, is the highest in a decade. It is worryingly high for new entrants to the jobs market – 13.4% for 18–24-year-olds. If you are effectively locked out of a job in your first years after graduation or leaving school, it is very difficult to build a sustainable career in the years ahead. No wonder mental health problems are surging for young people.
The needs of residents should come before pampered four-day weekers
Housing Secretary Steve Reed Good to see that Steve Reed, the Communities Secretary, has woken up to the dangers of South Cambridgeshire’s move to a four-day week for council workers. As predicted, this may be stimulating potential copycat action from across the country, with 25 other councils apparently interested in introducing a similar arrangement.
'Gloomy picture' for labour market - London Business News
The labour market continues to present a gloomy picture. While not as bad as some have feared, most of the important indicators are negative. Employment and vacancies are slightly down, inactivity remains a problem, and unemployment is up again.” One particular issue is entirely predictable.
Not-so free speech
In today’s newsletter: Free speech concerns reach fever pitch Is the UK in a debt crisis? The nonsensical energy drinks ban Concerns about free speech have been gathering steam for some years following Covid restrictions, the ‘hate crime’ allegations against journalist Allison Pearson and the severe penalties, including the substantial period of imprisonment received by Lucy Connolly for an ill-advised tweet, imposed after the Southport riots. This week things reached fever pitch.
Kemi is right. We must clip the BMA’s wings
Kemi Badenoch’s announcement that the Conservatives would ban strikes by doctors represents a clear break with the consensus of the recent past. It is a determined response both to the Government’s slow progress with NHS reform and to the Employment Rights Bill, which will make it much easier for unions to call damaging public sector strikes. At present the “right to strike” – formally an immunity, dating from 1906, from being sued for breach of contract – is almost universal amongst UK employees.
A four-day week could be the final nail in our economy’s coffin
South Cambridgeshire District Council, after a lengthy trial, is to adopt a permanent four-day (32-hour) week. On Friday it published a report supposedly justifying this. The report claimed that its exciting new way of working had saved the council just under £400,000 in a full year. The savings came from sharply reducing the number of voluntary leavers and attracting 120 per cent more applicants for vacancies.
The death of the university may soon be upon us. Good riddance
Our higher education system has been in crisis for ages – excessive student debt, universities in financial Queer Street, excessive dependence on foreign students, rampant wokeism, degrees in silly subjects, trivial research projects – it’s a familiar story. Somehow, it all trundles along, aided by vested interests and politicians who kick as many problems as possible into the long grass. But now technology is bringing a new threat to academic business-as-usual – in the form of AI.
The death of the university may soon be upon us. Good riddance
Our higher education system has been in crisis for ages – excessive student debt, universities in financial Queer Street, excessive dependence on foreign students, rampant wokeism, degrees in silly subjects, trivial research projects – it’s a familiar story. Somehow, it all trundles along, aided by vested interests and politicians who kick as many problems as possible into the long grass. But now technology is bringing a new threat to academic business-as-usual – in the form of AI.
TfL criticised over their poor communication during the power outage
A watchdog has criticised Transport for London (TfL) over their poor communication during Monday’s power outage which cause havoc for commuters. London Travel Watch (LTW) said that TfL must do “much better” in communicating to “millions of people” who rely on their services when things go wrong. On Monday afternoon a fault on National Grid’s transmission network caused cancellations and disruptions for many Tube lines across the capital.
There is 335,000 fewer employees on PAYE payroll since Chancellor’s car crash Autumn Budget
The latest research from The Global Payroll Alliance (GPA), reveals that since Labour’s Autumn Statement in October 2024, the number of PAYE staff in the UK has fallen by -334,748, equivalent to -67,000 people going off the books every month as businesses battle to reduce overheads under the strain of increased staffing costs.
ONS data paints a 'gloomy picture' as the Chancellor is 'looking to make her sums add up' - London Business News
This morning’s labour market release from the ONS, largely referring to the first quarter of the year, paints a predictable picture given what was known of forthcoming minimum wage increases and the hike to employer national insurance. Employment is down, unemployment is up and vacancies have fallen back to pre-Covid levels. Inactivity has marginally declined: while this is a positive feature it is probably one of the reasons for the rise in unemployment.
Against the unions, Starmer is running out of options
The threat of renewed strike action in the public sector is back. Memories of those far too generous payouts which Labour authorised on coming into office have seemingly already faded. Unions are now threatening strikes if Rachel Reeves refuses to authorise increased spending to at least meet the costs of Pay Review recommendations, likely to be in excess of what she has budgeted.
Football doesn’t need a regulator
Kemi Badenoch has come out against the Football Governance Bill, and not before time. In November 2021, Tracey Crouch, the former Tory sports minister, led calls for a football regulator in her ‘Fan-Led Review of Football Governance’, and in March 2022, Boris Johnson backed the plans. Once that muddy ball started rolling, even three changes of prime minister couldn’t stop it.
Britain doesn’t need a football regulator
The Football Governance Bill has run into opposition in the Lords. A large number of amendments have been suggested in committee: many may be put to the vote as the Bill enters its report stage. Not before time. The thinking behind this Bill has been too easily accepted. When all political parties are in favour of something, we get inadequate scrutiny and sloppy legislation, creating problems further down the road.
European-style labour laws won’t ‘make work pay’
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European-style labour laws won’t ‘make work pay’
Labour is steaming ahead with its “Making Work Pay” agenda, with a massive Employment Rights Bill which now runs to over 50,000 words. It covers topics such as “day-one” rights to protection against unfair dismissal, entitlement to flexible work, eligibility for sick pay, regulation of pay for adult social care workers, “guaranteed hours of work” (to minimise zero-hours contracts), and considerable extensions to trade union powers.
Britain isn’t working – and neither is Starmer
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Britain isn’t working - and neither is Starmer
The Government’s Get Britain Working White Paper seems at first glance to amount to the square root of nothing much at all. To those with long memories, it’s feeble stuff compared with the Blairite New Deal of the late 1990s. I hold no brief for that series of programmes, but it was an ambitious attempt to grapple with a dysfunctional job market.
The case against Colbertism
We’ve all heard Colbert’s famous one-liner about the art of taxation being that of plucking the goose to obtain the largest possible amount of feathers with the smallest possible amount of hissing. Well, stuff the goose. Jean-Baptiste Colbert may have been an energetic and resourceful finance minister, but I’m not a fan of the over-regulated dirigisme which was his continuing legacy to France – and nor do I approve of his cynicism towards taxpayers.
Militant train unions have left passengers stuck in the 20th century
Andy Burnham, Greater Manchester’s mayor, was astonished to discover the other day that Northern Rail, the recently nationalised passenger operator, . This is apparently because of a decades-old agreement with the trade unions. The managing director of Northern, Tricia Williams, told a meeting of Rail North that they couldn’t switch to newer communications technology without renegotiating arrangements. Burnham huffed and puffed and couldn’t see why it was so difficult to sort this out.
The Employment Rights Bill: what the government's impact assessment misses
The Government’s own impact assessment for its employment rights legislation estimates that the measures could cost businesses up to £5 billion annually. To start, this is a substantial amount. Past economic studies and business surveys tell us that it will largely be passed onto consumers through higher prices, workers earning lower wages and/or job losses.
Starmer could regret trying to woo trade unions
The last two and a half years have seen a dramatic revival in trade union militancy, with working days lost through strikes reaching their highest level for more than thirty years. The arrival of a Labour government has already seen markedly more generous settlements than the Conservatives offered – and the new administration has committed to legislation intended to boost union power.
The economics of the "small boats" problem
Migration, as the last couple of weeks have reminded us, is a heck of a problem for politicians. It’s a bit of a challenge for economists too. The classical liberal view is that unfettered migration is a good thing, both on grounds of libertarian principle and practical benefits. Phillipe Legrain and Ilya Somin have made a strong defence of this in IEA publications. The political Left tends to share this view, albeit on rather different grounds.
The New Deal for Working People will have a big downside for many workers
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The New Deal for Working People will have a big downside for many workers
Len Shackleton August 3, 2024 at 5:00 AM·5 min read The UK’s job market has performed well for years, particularly since Covid, which many felt would lead to significantly higher unemployment. But it’s not all rosy: insecure employment for some, inequality, discrimination, occasional dodgy employers. And our new Government is determined to improve matters with its New Deal for Working People. The King’s Speech promised an Employment Rights Bill and an Equality (Race and Disability) Bill.
A review of the election manifestos: the labour market
The UK labour market features in the manifestos of all the major parties, with a range of proposals on offer. Whatever the electoral chances of the parties concerned, these manifestos are worth a look. Even if a party has a zero chance of forming the next government, its ideas tell us something about the mood music for the next few years and the extent to which the new administration may face support for or pushback against its employment policies.
Starmer isn’t prepared for the inevitable union showdown
Len Shackleton June 14, 2024 at 5:00 AM·5 min read Labour may soon be swept back to power by the widespread revulsion against the Tories. If so, the party’s union paymasters are expecting the good times to roll again. But their hopes and the priorities of a new Labour government will surely clash sooner rather than later, not least given their energy plans. Labour has promised a “New Deal for Working People”.
Build more housing in growth centres to boost labour mobility
A BBC Report finds that, forty years after the Miners’ Strike, former coal-mining areas remain economically depressed. The Beeb’s survey suggests that 73% of people living in mining towns and villages have seen little or no progress on ‘levelling up’. With a sad predictability, residents report that there are no suitable jobs in their area and that prospects for young people are grim. But it’s not just former mining communities, is it?
Some practical questions for proponents of "Railway Corbynism"
After a long period of virtual silence on railway matters, the Labour Party has announced a plan for the future of this near-two-century-old industry. Or at least Shadow Transport Secretary Louise Haigh has announced that the plan will be set out ‘in two to three weeks’ time’. For the moment, the headline is that passenger travel will be renationalised ‘with no compensation’. That sounds like red meat for the party’s Left, but really amounts to the square root of nothing at all.
Labour could soon bring Britain’s councils to their knees
The Labour Party has been promising a Race Equality Act for some time. It has this week provided some clarification about what an Act would cover, which is unlikely to give employers much cause for optimism, since its impact will be felt most acutely in the labour market.
Remembering Leslie Hore-Belisha: the man behind the "Belisha Beacons"
At a time when British Jews may feel disrespected and even threatened in a way they have rarely been in my lifetime, we should draw attention once again to the contribution to British life made by Jews and people of Jewish heritage as intellectuals and scientists, politicians and businesspeople, sportsmen and women, novelists, playwrights, musicians and artists.
In defence of ‘fat cat’ chief executives
Are chief executives overpaid? The High Pay Centre thinks so. Every January, it releases data showing the huge inequality between top UK CEOs and average workers.
Militant unions are just getting started
Mick Lynch's RMT, having settled its issues with Network Rail, has now turned its attention to Tube disputes - Jordan Pettitt/PA Expect plenty more union militancy in 2024. The junior doctors’ strike resumes on January 3, GPs are contemplating action, and nurses could well return to the fray, disappointed by their last settlement. Aslef continues with its never-ending claims over pay and conditions.
RIP Nicholas Crafts (1949-2023)
The Institute of Economic Affairs was saddened to hear of the death of Professor Nick Crafts, the distinguished economic historian. At the time of his death Nick Crafts was Professor of Economic History at the University of Sussex, though he had also held posts at Oxford, the LSE, Leeds and Warwick.
The BMA has left the Government little choice. Should it now ban NHS strikes?
The news that junior doctors and consultants are to join forces in further strike action, timed to coincide with the Conservative Party’s annual conference, is a further escalation of disputes which have been going on for over a year. The “junior doctors” – a misleading description of a group ranging wide in age, with pay averaging around £50,000, exceptionally generous pensions, and excellent prospects for future promotion – are claiming an increase of 35 per cent.
The BMA has left the Government little choice. Should it now ban NHS strikes?
The news that junior doctors and consultants are to join forces in further strike action, timed to coincide with the Conservative Party’s annual conference, is a further escalation of disputes which have been going on for over a year. The “junior doctors” – a misleading description of a group ranging wide in age, with pay averaging around £50,000, exceptionally generous pensions, and excellent prospects for future promotion – are claiming an increase of 35 per cent.
What are the real costs of the recent strike wave?
Last summer a wave of strikes began, which still continues. This has mainly affected the public sector, with the NHS, education and the civil service being prominent examples. In the private sector, ex-public sector businesses such as Royal Mail and the hybrid rail sector have also been involved. Both sides tend to exaggerate the costs these strikes impose.
Beware the unseen consequences of labour market regulation
Jobs in today’s Britain are dramatically more attractive than even in the recent past. Pay in real terms is two to three times what it was fifty years ago. We work shorter hours and have longer holidays. Jobs are far less dangerous and far less dirty. We have employment protection, parental and caring leave and a range of mandated benefits. Despite a shaky economy, we have low unemployment and plenty of job vacancies. But people aren’t happy.
Len Shackleton: Reducing the demand for government. 6) Jobs. A flexible, productivity-focused labour market. Original
Professor Len Shackleton is an Editorial and Research Fellow at the IEA. Jobs in today’s Britain are dramatically more attractive than even in the recent past. Pay in real terms is two to three times what it was fifty years ago. We work shorter hours and have longer holidays. Jobs are far less dangerous and far less dirty. We have employment protection, parental and caring leave and a range of mandated benefits. Despite a shaky economy, we have low unemployment and plenty of job vacancies.
Oxfam is up to its old anti-capitalist tricks again…
What is it with Oxfam? This huge international charity, founded in 1942 as the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief to help the starving citizens of Nazi-occupied Greece, has over the decades done excellent work in the developing world, or what we must now call the Global South. But in recent years it seems to have lost its way.
State control is not the answer to our water woes
The shenanigans at Thames Water, which borrowed £14 billion against a revenue of about £2 billion a year, have cast a shadow over the whole of our privatised water industry. Hosepipe bans in a rainy country, excessive leakages and regular sewage spills polluting sea and rivers: the market has failed, it’s asserted, and we should renationalise. But is the indictment fair? Is state control really the answer? The water industry in England and Wales is hardly rampant Wild West capitalism.
Diversity? What diversity? — Institute of Economic Affairs
The IEA’s occasional left-wing sparring partner, Richard Murphy of the Tax Justice Network, tweeted this week about the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee’s decision to raise interest rates. He noted that all the men on the MPC voted for an interest rate rise, but ‘two-thirds of the women voted to keep rates where they were. If only we had an economy run by women….’ Maybe we shouldn’t have hiked interest rates so sharply. It’s a view, though not mine.
Why the current strike wave is not a 1970s re-enactment
This week we have been enduring yet another round of ‘industrial action’ on the railways. It’s very difficult to keep tabs on all this, but I calculate there will have been 23 days of national rail strikes, mainly by RMT and ASLEF, over the last year. And of course it’s not just the trains: very many other strikes have occurred or are occurring in the NHS, the civil service, schools and universities.
Working from home is becoming the preserve of the less ambitious and less productive
productivity home working Many companies are frustrated with flexible working, a sentiment which Rishi Sunak appeared to share back in 2020. Discussing the benefits of being in an office at the start of his career, he said it was “really important” for young people in particular to be in a workplace. They make contacts, learn from their seniors, and absorb the culture of the firm. Their development can be monitored on a regular basis.
The anti-productivity coalition that is holding back Britain — Institute of Economic Affairs
“Productivity isn’t everything, but in the long run, it’s almost everything.” Paul Krugman’s truism came back to me last week when I was talking to a classroom of surprisingly well-informed sixth-formers. We were discussing ways in which productivity could be increased. Without productivity increases, average living standards can’t rise over time.
The Social Housing (Regulation) Bill: an expensive smokescreen — Institute of Economic Affairs
The Government has announced that all social housing managers in England will now be required to gain formal housing qualifications. This requirement will be tacked on to the Social Housing (Regulation) Bill, currently going through Parliament. This seems to be a response to two egregious tragedies: first, the Grenfell Tower fire of 2017, which killed 72 people in west London and second, the sad death of little Awaab Ishak who was fatally exposed to mould in run-down social housing in Rochdale.
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