Ben Caldecott, associate fellow at Bright Blue, writes for Conservative Home on how Brits should not believe exaggerations that the phase out of coal will result in the lights going out.
Bright Blue Associate Fellow Ben Caldecott and Researcher Sam Hall wrote an opinion piece on ConservativeHome about the Green conservatism project and why it's necessary
Yesterday on this site, George Osborne declared that of all the measures he has introduced as Chancellor, the introduction of the National Living Wage is the achievement he is proud of the most. The policy, which came into force yesterday, has raised the legal wage floor for workers aged 25 and over to £7.20 per hour, with an estimated 1.3 million benefiting. The Government has set a target of over £9 an hour by 2020.
Self-employment is on the rise. Since 2008, there has been a boom in people becoming self-employed – up by 732,00 between 2008 and 2014. It has been forecast that the number of individuals who are self-employed will soon overtake the number of individuals working in the public sector.
Britain’s labour market is one of the most flexible in the world, and increasingly, workers are opting for the most flexible part of it: self-employment. Between 2008 and 2014, the number of individuals self-employed rose by 732,00. Casting aside the traditional workplace, self-employment can offer more choice over how to work and when to do it.
What was most interesting in the Prime Minister's speech on Monday was his discussion of the importance of social networks in influencing life chances.
Traditionally, the Prime Minister focuses on the value of strong families and a good education, both of which are strongly associated with a lower likelihood of being in poverty. But there is a growing body of evidence that shows that having not just strong but also diverse social networks can have a small but significant effect on life outcomes.