Economic Policy Centre

Vision is to close the gap between economic policy & knowledge in new & innovative ways. See & .

[Economic Policy Centre @EPCfuture]

@robsaker @DavidPrice96469 @afneil last cheque to USA paid off in 2006 by Ed Balls https://t.co/FfkLV6D7jN - that's not a gift

[Economic Policy Centre @EPCfuture]

@DefenceGeek but I thought point about f35A was that it's nuclear capable and f35b isn't? That's why government is buying it to restore tactical nuclear strike?

[Sir Jeremy Hunt MP @Jeremy_Hunt]

Here are the top 20:
1. DEBT: Bring down debt with a new fiscal rule saying that, outside emergencies, public spending will not grow faster than the economy.

2. WELFARE #1: Remove mild/moderate anxiety, depression and musculoskeletal conditions as criteria for claiming benefit and replace it with a guarantee of rapid NHS treatment as happens in Denmark.

3. WELFARE #2: Cap the DWP benefits budget just as defence and NHS budgets are capped. Otherwise the DWP has little incentive to find savings or stop abuse.

4. WELFARE #3: Devolve administration of the welfare system to elected mayors allowing them to keep a proportion of any savings made.

5. WELFARE #4: Require face-to-face benefit assessments with no telephone applications except in exceptional circumstances.

6. WELFARE #5: Replace the triple lock with a guarantee the state pension will always match inflation.

[Economic Policy Centre @EPCfuture]

@DanNeidle Excellent work, very useful. I tried to do something similar myself years ago, finding out how many taxes we have is not straightforward. I also wanted to know the revenue for each tariff, but this was not revealed on confidentiality grounds.

[Economic Policy Centre @EPCfuture]

@BrutalMindset Switzerland didn't take part in WW1 or WW2 which was financially ruinous for all European countries who did. A massive advantage. Switzerland had the same standard of living as Czechoslovakia in 1939

[Economic Policy Centre @EPCfuture]

@QPR_FR @Brent_Council Yes, quite correct, disappointing job on presentation of results compared to other councils, slow and incomplete

[Economic Policy Centre @EPCfuture]

@Brent_Council it still doesn't work! This is all I see, can't get any further

[Economic Policy Centre @EPCfuture]

@BladeoftheS if you knew anything about him, you'd know that he came from humble beginnings - yes, poor - and is 100% self made. And shock, horror, a successful actor chooses to live in LA where the business is - perhaps you didn't know that either?

[Nicholas Drummond @nicholadrummond]

20 UK DEFENCE INVESTMENT PRIORITIES
1. Rebuild munition stockpiles across all three services
2. Ensure that the Dreadnought SSBN programme is delivered on schedule
3. Acquire a ballistic missile defence system
4. Get on with the Type 45 destroyer PIP
5. Acquire additional land-based SkySabre Air Defence systems (minimum of 48 launch sets)
6. Equip all three forces with a full range of UAS, UGV, USV, and UUV for surveillance and strike tasks
7. Order 4 additional Type 26 frigates
8. Ensure that all 7 Astute Class attack submarines are ready and deployable
9. Ensure that GCAP / Tempest is fully funded
10. Accelerate the Bowman replacement programme, including investment in AI and a Starlink equivalent satellite system
11. Accelerate programme to replace Crowsnest with a UAS-mounted AEW&C system
12. Continue to invest in Boxer, including artillery version, but refocus it around 1st (UK) so that we field fully deployable brigades sooner (See note below)
13. Invest in land-based SHORAD including Stormer HVM replacement and 35 mm cannon system.
14. Invest in a wheeled GMLRS system like HIMARS
15. Fund development of a UK equivalent of GMLRS ER and PrSM
16. Loan or lease 5 additional C-17A transport aircraft from wherever we can (or buy 10 additional A400M)
17. Ensure that at least 4 Multi-Role Strike Ships are funded for the Commando Force
18. Acquire 24 additional F-35B to provide a surge capacity for the carriers and to reduce attrition risk
19. Increase Army headcount to 80,000, and Navy headcount to 35,000
20. ……(What have I missed?)

(Note: I’m an advisor to KNDS so my Boxer recommendation (No. 12) is not impartial - but I still think it is the right thing to do!)

[Thomas C. Theiner @noclador]

🇬🇧 Royal Navy: We need to replace 16x Type 23 frigates, as they are falling apart.
🇬🇧 HM Treasury: You only get money for 13.
RN: Then the new ones must be highly capable.
(RN proceeds to develop the Type 26 frigate)
HMT: Those are too expensive, you can only have 8.
1/4

[Shanker Singham @ShankerASingham]

Ireland exports 254000 to new of beef to the UK every year tariff free and quota free, massively supported by EU farm programmes. The US Deal increases US access to 5% of what the Irish have. The real challenge to UK beef farmers is EU access to the UK, a market they have long described as Treasure Island.

[John Redwood @johnredwood]

Since 2016 Brexit the UK trade deficit has reduced from 2.2% of GDP to 0.8%. Service exports have surged. Total exports up 59%. We still run a large deficit with the EU and a surplus with non EU. Non EU now 58% of our exports. The pessimistic Remain forecasts were wrong.

[Harry Phibbs @harryph]

Ronald Reagan on tariffs: "We're in the same boat with our trading partners. If one partner shoots a hole in the boat, does it make sense for the other one to shoot another hole in the boat?"

[Economic Policy Centre @EPCfuture]

@robert_zubrin So it's an immediate import ban to the USA on any company buying Russian oil and gas. But it's not clear if it's on companies or countries.

[Economic Policy Centre @EPCfuture]

@robert_zubrin Sorry, but that's not actually what a secondary tariff is - “anybody buying oil from Russia will not be able to sell their product, any product, not just oil, into the United States” - so any country

[Dietmar Pichler @DietmarPichler1]

Little experiment: Since President Reagan is no longer with us, I was curious and asked ChatGPT what he might say about the current situation. The results are quite interesting. AI-generated photo by Grok.

AI generated "Reaganesque" speech (ChatGPT):

"My fellow Americans,

I speak to you today not as a Republican, not as a Democrat, but as an American who believes in freedom, in democracy, and in the sacred duty we have to stand against tyranny wherever it may rise.

For decades, the United States has been a shining city on a hill—a beacon of hope for those oppressed, a defender of liberty, and a friend to those who fight for their own freedom. That is who we are. That is who we have always been. And that is who we must remain.

Today, we see a tyrant in Moscow—Vladimir Putin, a man who mourns the fall of the Soviet Union, not because he seeks peace, but because he longs for empire. A man who crushes dissent, silences opponents, and wages war against a free and sovereign Ukraine.

And yet, we hear voices here at home—some even within our own party—who would rather appease this dictator than oppose him. Who would rather shake his hand than stand firm against his aggression. Who mock and belittle a man like President Zelensky, not because he has failed, but because he has dared to succeed. Because he has dared to resist. Because he has dared to stand on his feet and say, not today, not ever!

Let me be clear: America does not cower before tyrants. America does not abandon its allies. America does not betray those who fight for the very ideals upon which this nation was founded.

Some would have us turn inward, retreat from the world stage, and cozy up to those who despise our way of life. But we have seen this story before, and we know how it ends. Weakness invites aggression. Silence encourages oppression. And appeasement? Appeasement is but a prelude to disaster.

So I ask you, my fellow Americans: Shall we stand with the man who jails his critics, poisons his opponents, and invades his neighbors? Or shall we stand with the man who fights—not for conquest, but for the right of his people to live in peace and liberty?

If America is to remain the last, best hope of Earth, we must choose wisely. Because the free world still looks to us, as it always has. And I say, as I have always said: Mr. Putin, we will not yield. And Mr. Zelensky, we stand with you.

God bless you, and God bless the United States of America"

[Gully Foyle #UKTrade @TerraOrBust]

🎉 75 Brexit Benefits - Mega Thread 🎉

I have collated 75 tangible #BrexitBenefits, fully evidenced and demonstrably true.

Some may not like that they exist - but facts just don't care about their opinions at all.

⬇️Scroll down to see this epic list ⬇️

[Economic Policy Centre @EPCfuture]

@susannareid100 It's not the service provider, 1 router never covers a whole home. Don't use extenders but dual band WiFi mesh nodes. Plug one into the back of your router, add 2 more wirelessly. Linksys are good and support answers the phone quickly.

[Economic Policy Centre @EPCfuture]

@markjenk well done