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Weird and wonderful policies

It has come as no surprise that Conservatives have been falling over themselves to denounce a report calling for a major population shift from the North of England to London and the South. Read

Bank has to wait for its best chance

Independence for the Bank of England was seen as a masterstroke when Labour first came to power. Read

We’re the centre of attention - once again

The days when party conferences were solely for politicians and activists have come to an end. Read

Investment in city welcome in current climate

As the property crisis mutates and deepens, policymakers should be thinking hard about how to help get people out of this mess. Read

Plans to boost power of RDAs no cause for joy

The TaxPayers’ Alliance report into the performance of regional development agencies was always going to be a brutal condemnation of what is termed “wasteful bureaucratic excess by unaccountable quangos”. Given the TPA’s mission to act as self-appointed scrutineers of the finances, an investigation into RDAs would have been akin to hitting a barn door from five paces. Read

Behind veneer of crime and punishment

The Government says it is keen to promote enterprise, but helping criminals to profit from their activities is probably not what ministers had in mind when they promised to support British business. Read

There’s nothing Labour can do about its crisis

The what-to-do-about-Gordon problem will become much easier for Labour to solve once the party accepts there is almost certainly nothing it can do now to win the next General Election. No Government in history has recovered sufficiently from such disastrous opinion poll ratings, and by-election defeats on the scale of Crewe and Glasgow East, in time to win the confidence of voters at the polls – especially not when the economy is on the rocks. Read

Exactly what will the Tories do about poor?

It is always tempting for politicians to paint a bleaker picture of social decay than is really necessary in order to score points against their opponents. And it is a pity that shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Chris Grayling somewhat over-eggs his message today by suggesting that the gap between rich and poor in Birmingham is as bad now as it was in Victorian times. Read

Energy chiefs must keep their house in order

The Commons Trade and Industry Committee has just about steered clear of accusing six major energy companies of operating a cartel in respect of gas and electricity prices, although the MPs are making it clear they regard the marketplace as far from fair. In a worrying report published today, the committee says it has uncovered evidence that the big players are “abusing their market position” in order to prevent smaller companies from gaining a toe-hold in Britain, while in Europe Governments have conspired to make sure energy prices are lower for consumers and industry. Read

Now the brick's unlikely to stop at green belt

If a week in politics is a long time then a year must be an eternity, but it is now almost 12 months since West Midlands council leaders reluctantly offered Whitehall a compromise by agreeing to plan for 362,000 new homes to be built across the region by 2026. Read

A divided flock

If taken at face value, the suggestion by the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Birmingham Vincent Nichols that Catholics across the West Midlands should pray for the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, and for the success of the Lambeth conference must be seen as a positive intervention. Read

We need India to be a partner, not a challenge

The prediction that India is expected to become the second largest economy in the world is not new, but it is worth considering. Read

No complacency – and no exaggeration

Knife crime has been top of the agenda in recent days, for understandable reasons. Read

Restore our faith in pensions to control housing

The contradiction between Government housing policy and the reality on the ground has been clear for some time. Read

Home secretary cannot win the knives debate

If there is a sense of hopelessness about the Home Secretary's latest pronouncements on knife crime, that is because Jacqui Smith knows she is almost certainly on to a hiding to nothing no matter what she says or does. Read

Labour falls out with Mondeo man

Almost as every week passes the Government appears no longer in charge of its own destiny, stumbling from one disaster to another, hoping against hope to borrow the immortal words of Mr Micawber that something will turn up to save it from defeat at the next General Election. Read

Scrutiny bodies are a welcome development

The way we are to be governed in the West Midlands is at least becoming clear. Read

The rush to find dishonesty within politics

The continuing controversy about MPs’ expenses brings with it a number of dangers, not least the risk of treating all of our politicians as potential criminals. Read

A question of leadership we need to answer

London’s mayoral elections earlier this year demonstrated that a contest between two heavyweight contenders could grip the public’s imagination. Read

Good business to offer rewards for school performance

Schools are not businesses. At least not in the way we normally consider them. You cannot, for example, compare running a school to managing a supermarket. Read

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