Jos Gallacher 🕊️

@jos.gallacher.be

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Scot, European citizen, economic policy aficionado, green tinged democratic socialist, social democrat, book lover, coffee addict and pedant. In that order.

‹ Home Above all, the incoming government needs to develop a plan for growth that revives animal spirits in the private sector, rather than Burnham's push for a more interventionist state that harks back to the pre-198os era. This means building on existing efforts to streamline planning rules, simplifying the tax system, and reducing red tape. The incoming prime minister's pledge to deliver "growth in all postcodes" should not distract from efforts to realise the full potential of other key growth sectors such as the City of London, technology and life sciences.
An image of Robert Owen, sometimes called “ the father of socialism” with New Lanark in the background.
Ferdinand Knopff I lock My Door Upon Myself
The Herald Offord says rivals 'feart of Farage' as parties boycott Clacton by-election
Image of the stalls, grand gallery and upper gallery full of anticipation
FT headline Prime property How to sell your home in a slow market
An image of a few Brussels Labour types in the company of the Labour leader on the day of the referendum.
Le Forth Bridge sous un ciel nuageux
I have calculated the increase in GDP in the 15 years up to 2007 and the 15 years after 2009, that is before and after the financial crisis.* Time period Increase in GDP 1992-2007 54% 2009-2024 26%
An economy should work first and foremost for those who earn their living through their labour rather than through rent-seeking. It should back entrepreneurs and businesses that invest, innovate, and take productive risks over the long term.
The Diagnosis • Britain has become an economy where position too often pays better than action and contribution. We call this the extraction economy: a settlement in which holding scarce assets, protected licences, legal leverage, regulatory position or the power to shape and navigate broken systems can pay better than working, building, investing, caring, competing or taking productive risk.
One executive said that business "has long memories" and would be nervous given Miliband's "predators versus producers" economic slogans during his time as Labour leader in 2010-15. "He'd need to demonstrate early that he's changed his thinking or, at least, is far more amenable to the private sector than he once was."
A chart showing that the UK has spent more on defence proportionately than other large European countries since 2006.
Line chart of defence spending as a share of GDP by UK, Spain, Italy, France and Germany from 2006 to 2025.
The words WARFARE NOT WELFARE against a background of lines on a chart.
A empty stage with a dramatic organ and RSNO projected on the side walls.
FINANCIAL TIMES SpaceX SpaceX's $1.78tn IPO asks investors to buy Musk's moonshots Public markets asked to price in advances in Al, Starlink and space-based computing long before lift-off
Sustainable government debt depends partly on growth, which is hampered by lacklustre household consumption. If no action is taken, the Bank of England predicts that low demand will continue to depress growth. To address this, essentials need to
"And if there is no military solution for this, we have no choice but to find a diplomatic solution."
The much bigger, but rarely mentioned, development, is that Germans buy many fewer cars than before - 750,000 fewer in 2025 than in 2019. Germany's frugality, then, is a greater hit to its car industry than China. Add in the rest of the EU, and another 1.5mn car sales have been lost. The real challenge for European industry is the lack of robust, predictable domestic demand. That is something EU leaders can
If you are already rich, here is how to become richer. Step 1: buy a company; Step 2: get the company to take on massive debt; Step 3: use the cash to pay yourself a dividend; You are now richer. The company you own now has the debt. You might think that the company is now worth less than before. According to finance theory it's actually worth a bit more. (It's to do with how interest payments reduce the company tax.)
An image of Tinkerbell as seen by Disney
“There is no doubt that private credit offers significant benefits to the financial system and can support much-needed economic growth by offering alternative credit solutions to borrowers, providing financing to underserved sectors and diversifying lending.”
凸 Did the us president really say "Only drive downhill whenever possible" as a means of saving fuel? 1 step completed > 添perplexity There's no solid evidence in the sources I found that the U.S. president actually said that exact line; it appears to be a social-media meme or parody quote circulating online rather than a verified presidential statement. x +2 The wording is being shared across platforms with no original speech, interview, or official transcript attached, which is a strong sign it's not a confirmed quote. One related, real thing he has done is push for looser fuel-economy rules, but that is different from saying people should "only drive downhill whenever possible". facebook +3 If you want, I can help track down the earliest appearance of the quote and see whether it was ever linked to a specific rally, interview, or campaign event. Ask a follow up... 0+
An image of the proposed Trump library. The square shape and blue light on the top recalls the old police boxes once common in the UK.
Curve relating the pleasure of coffee drinking in relation to temperature. The curve dips from hot to neither hot nor iced and the rises to frappucino
But the minister said: "The data suggests that leaving the customs union lost Britain 2 percentage points of GDP, while all the new deals we have struck have only added an estimated o.4 percentage points."
musicians tuning up
Screenshot from Labour's National Policy Forum consultation. 1. How can we restore Britain's natural environment? What steps can the Labour Government take to improve access to nature d green spaces while delivering on the Plan for Change? 3. What further measures are needed to ensure water companies are held accountable?
Asia House's advisory board and management are a roll call of powerful British businessmen and diplomats with longstanding interests in Asia. They include Lord Stephen Green, former chief executive and chair of HSBC, Stuart Gulliver, also a former chief executive of the bank, and Sir Douglas Flint, also a former chair of the bank.
Israel has assassinated hundreds of people overseas, including militant leaders, nuclear scientists, chemical engineers - and killing many innocent bystanders in the process.
Trump said the bombing would continue as long as necessary to 'achieve our objective of peace throughout the Middle East'
In his speech, Sir Keir said he wanted to see "peace and security" in the Middle East and the "protection of civilian life" He added: "Iran can end this now.”
An image of a border collie from Andalusia.
Watchdogs are worried that the private credit playbook has become standard practice and the risks building up in insurance could destabilise the financial system.
Faced with a problem look for a solution not a scapegoat.
More importantly, the model is a computational tool - it is the forecaster using it, applying judgements, that bears responsibility for producing a coherent forecast. That means that two forecasters using exactly the same model could end up with very different forecasts because the judgements underpinning them differ.
The Forth Bridge obscured by haar. Only the lowest parts are visible.
An image of snowdrops growing under trees based of leaves.
“One ally of Starmer said: "Most sequels aren't as good as the original and the original was rubbish. The public booted the Tories out 18 months ago - now they're all scuttling off to Farage's lifeboat in the hope of saving their careers. It just won't wash with the public."”
Reed wants to cap ground rents on existing properties, building on a previous Tory intervention that limited ground rents on new builds. But Reeves is seeking to block the proposal, having been urged to do so by influential institutional investors who fear that the changes would damage the value of their property portfolios.
The Scottish Chamber Orchestra ready for the matinee.
Adam Smith’s name written inside his school book.