Economics writer. Author.
Expect history, economics, finance and other stuff.
Wrote Two Hundred Years of Muddling Through.
Blood and Treasure, on the economics of war, out now.
Duncan Weldon
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Look, trust me on this.
If you know your pre-1914 naval arms race history then this is a truly excellent post.
Healey:
We don’t want 0.08 and we won’t wait.
There is too much news.
Can only hope that this seizure of Kharg is as ‘imminent’ as a peace deal.
This is very good.
I see today’s headlines are “Trump issues Iran with an ultimatum” and “investors buy the dip”. Again.
The DIP has been a case study in how not to make policy.
And the ultimate failure has been Number Ten avoiding making a call between the MOD and HMT for as long as humanely possible.
It goes back further. The original error was to run a SDR floating free of financial reality. Set MoD up for a fight with HMT from the start - one which should have been resolved - if necessary by PM intervention - behind closed doors before the SDR was even published.
If it really is that important to spend 3% of GDP on defence by 2030, then raise taxes! Or cut spending on something else! Or come up with and argue for a framework which allows you to borrow for it!
Don't just say we're going to spend 3% but refuse all of the ways of actually getting there
Duncan Weldon
Duncan Weldon
Duncan Weldon
Duncan Weldon
Duncan Weldon
Duncan Weldon
Duncan Weldon
Jonathan Boff
Wow. UK defence sec'y John Healey resigns. His resignation letter says DIP settlement he was given "falls well short of what is required for defence and the country" and that UK would be spending just 2.68% of GDP in 2030.
