I think it's too cynical to say no lessons have ever been learned from any inquiries. On the railways for example a lot of safety standards have changed in response to investigations. (View Post)

The parallel I'm thinking of is business rates - where indeed central government takes a cut. Otherwise a lot of councils would have a way to outsource costs onto non-residents. (View Post)

Yes, it's essentially ahistorical. Merkel wasn't borrowing or investing in capital. France didn't ever get unemployment below 7%. (View Post)

It's mostly due to the devaluation of sterling, and that happened between 2007 and 2009, with a small addendum after the Brexit vote. Why this is not reflected in the FT's stats is a puzzle… (View Post)

It's not really Cameron's fault that Gordon Brown stoked a credit-fuelled boom, or that the UK had the largest financial sector in the EU at the time. (Edit: and don't forget that $ ra… (View Post)