The Office for National Statistics released data for both Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Gross Value Added (GVA) on September 23rd. The data set covers the years 1998 to 2024. GDP and GVA are measures showing the value of output in an economy. GVA data is available for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. The data used is the ‘chained volume measure’ where values are in real terms as opposed to nominal and are expressed in 2023 prices. One way of looking at the data is t

The Office for National Statistics released data for both Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Gross Value Added (GVA) on September 23rd. The data set covers the years 1998 to 2024. GDP and GVA are measures showing the value of output in an economy. GVA data is available for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. The data used is the ‘chained volume measure’ where values are in real terms as opposed to nominal and are expressed in 2023 prices. The retail sector What do the figur

There are some policy proposals out there which sound quite plausible yet do not provide useful solutions. Very often these proposals are mooted by various groups and some unfortunately make it into official policy. So lets look at some. Building more dwellings will reduce house prices Sounds a good common sense idea, everyone has heard of supply and demand and its role in determining price. However, in the real world price setting is not as simple as that and with regard

One of the mistakes made by those arguing for more taxes on wealth is that they ignore the impact of high earnings. Higher earners: can purchase more wealth; pay any extra taxes on wealth; compete for housing; create more greenhouse gas emissions. An individual on £150,000 has 2.9 times the net pay of the average person, while someone on £300,000 has 5.4 times the net pay. Compared to the majority of people on benefits or mainly reliant on the state pension such individuals

Introduction Data from the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), is a useful source of holiday let (*1) and related data. However, there is an important caveat. It only includes those properties registered for business rates (2). This means some properties may be used for holiday lets but because they fall outside the criteria are not included in the figures. It should also be considered that not all dwellings paying business rates could be used as permanent residences. Ideal as a

The government has decided that building new dwellings near railway stations is a good idea. One reason given is that people are being priced out of housing. Yet house prices are not high due to a lack of supply so anyone thinking these new dwellings will somehow be cheaper is deluding themselves and the general population. Anyone hearing or reading about this could be forgiven for thinking that such rail links would enable residents to travel to major cities for work in a

Various groups, free market lobby groups in particular, trot out a variety of assertions about housing issues. Governments obediently accept such myths. In essence they want more houses built as they live in a mythical world where supply and demand are the only shows in town. Lack of supply The lack of supply theory of why there are housing problems falls apart when any analysis of the evidence is performed. Its dominance reflects its simplicity ‘its supply and demand inni

With the fifth heat wave on the way, hosepipe bans in place for many and an increasingly scorched landscape there have been the usual calls for building more reservoirs. This apparently sensible idea is however not really an option. It fails to recognise that the cause of a lack of rain is a consequence of climate breakdown. These has long been predicted by climate scientists but ignored by politicians and policy makers obsessed as they are with growth at all costs. S

Summary The Prime Minister has suggested that local authorities could get a share of income tax receipts to use in their area. This proposal is promoted as a means of increased devolution giving local authorities more power over spending. An important and relevant question is how much funding could be derived from this source. Data from HMRC provides estimates of the income tax paid in each local authority. Using this data it is possible to calculate how much money could b

Summary High earners consume more energy and thereby create more greenhouse gas emissions. One way of reducing both would be to cut energy usage of the top earners and thereby carbon emissions. If emissions were capped at the average for all earners then those in the top four income deciles – 7 to 10 would see cuts in their output. High earners (10) would see the largest fall (58%), followed by 33% (9) and 20% (8). Overall emissions would be cut by 15%. Most people would

Summary High earners consume more energy and thereby create more greenhouse gas emissions. One way of reducing both would be to cut energy usage of the top earners. If energy use were capped at the average for all earners then those in the top four income deciles would see cuts in their usage. High earners (10) would see the largest fall by 44% followed by 29% (9) and 18% (8). Overall energy use would be cut by 15%. Most people would not see any reductions at all. The

A tax on property values is deeply regressive. As lower income households would have greater difficulty in paying the tax they would be more likely to have to sell up which would be a very perverse result creating greater inequality in society. The analysis clearly indicates that any tax for local government services should be based on earnings levels. Introduction One of the many features of the United Kingdom is its strange persistence in looking to the past to provide

Introduction Much is made of inequalities in the Council tax system. Invariably it seems commentators, lobbyists and politicians focus on the fact that people with more valuable properties pay less than those in less valuable properties. Ostensibly this appears unfair yet this approach fails to recognise that what is actually important is what share of income is taken by council tax or any other value based tax. Another feature of British policy is that it invariably resu

One of the many features of the United Kingdom is its strange persistence in looking to the past to provide policy. Perhaps not so odd when you consider that we still have a House of Lords for an upper chamber, which includes clerics! It still has an hereditary head of state with all the pomp and circumstance that entails. Traces of the past linger on in other ways particularly when it comes to taxes to fund local services and alternatives to the current system. The previ

Let us assume that all local authorities paid council tax with the same share as the England average. Namely 3.1% for the full tax and 4.6% for those on 0.75 of the full tax. This is an exercise designed to further display the current inequalities in council tax as a means of funding local government. Results As might be expected, where earnings are higher people would pay more and vice versa. Of those analysed Nottingham would see the biggest fall of 40%, followed by Corn

Much is made of inequalities in the Council tax system. Invariably it seems commentators, lobbyists and politicians focus on the fact that people with more valuable properties pay less than those in less valuable properties. Ostensibly this appears unfair yet this approach fails to recognise that what is actually important is what share of income is taken by council tax. Methodology This analysis attempts to address that issue. To do so council tax for Band D properties

When discussing taxes on income lobbyists invariably refer to the marginal rate of tax for high earners implying that this is a significant level of taxation. But the correct figure to use is the total tax paid as a share of total income. This gives a more realistic number. Data on earnings and tax and National Insurance paid can be derived from the PayPrecisePremium UK Salary Tool. This allows for a comparison of different levels of earnings. It does of course not allo

Various groups, free market lobby groups in particular, trot out a variety of assertions about housing issues. Governments obediently accept such myths. In essence they want more houses built as they live in a mythical world where supply and demand are the only shows in town. Lack of supply The lack of supply theory of why there are housing problems falls apart when any analysis of the evidence is performed. Its dominance reflects its simplicity ‘its supply and demand inn

Where land use is changed through the granting of planning permission from agricultural to residential development its value increases. The same applies when land changes use in an urban area. Critics of this uplift usually suggest that it is unearned and therefore should be captured through taxation and used by central or local government to fund local activities. Summary Where land use is changed through the granting of planning permission from agricultural to reside

Main points From January to December 2025, there were 100,911,620 guest nights spent in short-term lets in the UK. There was an 11.5% increase in guest nights in 2025 from the previous 12-month period, January to December 2024 (90,507,070). Wales had the largest increase in guest nights among individual UK countries, rising by 17.4%, from 6,282,250 in 2024 to 7,374,780 in 2025. The North East saw the biggest percentage rise in guest nights, increasing by 22.2%, from 2,2