Devolution and growth

There is no evidence that devolving power to regional governments in the Uk foster more economic growth.Indeed there is evidence the opposite is true. SNO Scotland and Labour Wales have grown less than England. The NHS in Scotland and Wales both cost more per head but perform less well than NHS England.

There is no reason why an additional layer of government with more officials would make somewhere more prosperous. Regional governments want to impose more and different regulations than the national government. Both the Welsh and Scottish governments wanted longer and tougher lockdowns for covid to add to the damage lockdown policies did.

The regional governments become campaign platforms for their First Ministers and ruling parties who use their position to criticise and undermine national policies. They lobby for more money and get more spend per head than England. They then prove more public spending does not lead to faster growth or better economic performance.

Many Councils in England use their positions similarly. Politicians like Kahn use their platforms to try to undermine the national government. They pursue their own vendettas against van and car drivers, damaging local businesses and shopping centres. They claim be short of money yet they spend a fortune on wrecking the roads. Many buy up portfolios of commercial property and renewable power generation , risking  taxpayers money. Some lurch to bankruptcy as a result.

The Opposition parties who want more of all this will level down any more successful place they win, whilst failing to tackle poverty, lack of successful business and run down urban centres elsewhere.




The NHS

I usually agree with the electorate whose opinions reflected  in issue polls are often more sensible than the views of government and opposition parties.

I agree with current polls that reveal a deep dissatisfaction with the NHS. I do not agree that the answer is more money. If only it were that simple. If more money on its own would fix it we would have fixed it this decade.

Spending on health has shot up from 2019. At £180 bn this year, it is £56 bn or 45% higher than in 2019. It is true prices and wages have gone up. Adjusting for this the NHS is receiving more than 20% extra. That is a much bigger rise than the Brexit savings on the side of the bus. They and tax rises have all been absorbed into the NHS budget.

The NHS will each year need some extra  money.We want nurses and doctors to be well paid and the NHS to be able to afford new medicines as they become available. It would help reduce the strains on the service if there was a large reduction in legal migration, as recent years  have brought in plenty more patients.

It is also true that in recent years there has been a big increase in non medical staff numbers and an expansion of senior grades of management. There has been a big drop in output per person implying the extra management has made the lives of those doing the medical work more difficult and bureaucratic.

More money should only be committed to achieve better outcomes for patients. We need better management, probably with fewer managers.




The NHS

I usually agree with the electorate whose opinions reflected  in issue polls are often more sensible than the views of government and opposition parties.

I agree with current polls that reveal a deep dissatisfaction with the NHS. I do not agree that the answer is more money. If only it were that simple. If more money on its own would fix it we would have fixed it this decade.

Spending on health has shot up from 2019. At £180 bn this year, it is £56 bn or 45% higher than in 2019. It is true prices and wages have gone up. Adjusting for this the NHS is receiving more than 20% extra. That is a much bigger rise than the Brexit savings on the side of the bus. They and tax rises have all been absorbed into the NHS budget.

The NHS will each year need some extra  money.We want nurses and doctors to be well paid and the NHS to be able to afford new medicines as they become available. It would help reduce the strains on the service if there was a large reduction in legal migration, as recent years  have brought in plenty more patients.

It is also true that in recent years there has been a big increase in non medical staff numbers and an expansion of senior grades of management. There has been a big drop in output per person implying the extra management has made the lives of those doing the medical work more difficult and bureaucratic.

More money should only be committed to achieve better outcomes for patients. We need better management, probably with fewer managers.




My visit to Tepeo’s new site

Tepeo recently moved into a new building on the Winnersh industrial estate. I went to the opening and was photographed with the electric boiler they manufacture which runs off mains electricity. They see it as a cheaper and better alternative to a heat pump. It uses a storage heater system to heat the water for your radiators when needed.




The road to net zero. The $275 trillion bet

I am bringing out a short book updating my work on green policy. Titled “The $275 trillion Green Revolution. Will consumers buy it? “it is published by Bite sized books and available on Amazon.

It looks at two main problems  with this top down movement led  by an international Treaty based elite and by most national governments. It asks how will this all be paid for. It sets out how consumers currently do not buy into the products the governments want them to adopt, from battery cars to heat pumps and from smart meters to non meat diets. It takes the Mc Kinsey global forecast of expenditure needed for transition in the period 2021 to 2050.