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In today’s newsletter:
Why are doctors striking again?
BBC chaos
The GDP fallout
Britain’s war on landlords
Despite the exasperated pleas of Wes Streeting, the ‘resident’ doctors – now all grown-up and no longer ‘junior’ – have gone ahead with their latest five-day strike. This is their 13th bout of ‘industrial action’ since 2023. Despite hefty pay increases granted by the incoming Labour government, way ahead of most other NHS workers, these doctors are self-prescribing further regular injections of cash into their bank accounts. They are also resisting even the most modest reforms: they have registered a dispute over government attempts to ensure that all GPs offer online booking, for example.
I can’t see, given the farcical uncertainty over the budget, that Mr Streeting can quickly conjure up anything more than his current offer to pay membership and exam fees. So this weekend’s action will no doubt be followed by several more such episodes. With flu cases rising sharply at the moment, it is hoped that shortages of doctors won’t lead to any preventable deaths. But with 1500 NHS hospitals and tens of thousands of vulnerable patients in the community, BMA leaders cannot say for certain that nobody will peg out prematurely as a consequence. And in any case, there will be huge frustration amongst patients - and their families - about delays to diagnosis and treatment at a time when people naturally feel apprehensive about their medical condition.
The Employment Rights Bill, now nearing its final stages in the amendment ping-pong between Lords and Commons, will make it easier for doctors and other public sector workers to organise strike action. Perhaps it is beginning to dawn on the Health Secretary and his colleagues that this might not be quite the good idea it seemed when Labour was in carefree opposition.
Over the summer, Kemi Badenoch made a small ripple by announcing that if she were in charge, the Conservatives would ban strikes by doctors. She is not currently in a position to do anything, of course, and as things stand, she may never be. It would be nice if Wes Streeting could persuade his colleagues to follow Ms Badenoch’s line, which (for the benefit of Keir Starmer, Lord Harmer, and other prissy lawyers) is perfectly compatible with our commitments to the International Labor Organization. However, that possibility seems remote.
Marginally more plausible would be decisive action to break up the monolithic structure of the NHS, something Mr Streeting has hinted at in the past. This might have the side-effect of introducing a genuine market for the services of doctors rather than the current bilateral monopoly, which produces depressing stalemates such as the current strike. Again, though, I haven’t seen squadrons of pigs overhead.
Len Shackleton
Editorial & Research Fellow
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IEA Podcast: Managing Editor Daniel Freeman is joined by Editorial Director Kristian Niemietz and Energy Analyst Andy Mayer to discuss the BBC’s turbulent week following misleading edits of a Trump speech, the Government’s U-turns on child benefit caps and income tax thresholds, and Britain’s potential nuclear renaissance — IEA YouTube
Growth fizzles out as the Budget looms
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Commenting on today’s GDP figures, Julian Jessop, Economics Fellow at the free market think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs, said:
“The latest news on the UK economy confirms that the apparently strong growth in the first half of the year has already fizzled out. The monthly data are not very reliable, but it is still striking that GDP fell (before rounding) in every month of the third quarter.
“The 0.1% monthly fall in UK GDP in September was due in part to the disruption at Jaguar Land Rover – if manufacturing of motor vehicles had been flat rather than slumped by 28.6%, GDP would have risen by 0.1%. However, that would still have been a feeble rate.
“More timely business surveys suggest that manufacturing recovered in October, led by the restart at JLR. But overall GDP growth is still likely to have been subdued, mainly due to pre-Budget uncertainty.
“It is still possible that the Budget itself is not as bad as feared, or at least that uncertainty eases sufficiently to allow some hiring and investment to resume. The reaction in the bond markets will also be crucial.
“For now, though, everything appears to be on hold.”
News and Views
There’s no less deserving group in Britain than the Waspis, Public Policy Fellow Matthew Lesh, The Telegraph
Nobody has or ever should be entitled to compensation because they failed to take responsibility for understanding the rules that govern benefits. The state cannot be expected to indemnify individuals for inattention or failure to plan; doing so would undermine fairness to those who took the time to prepare and respect the system as intended. It would also set a terrible precedent for future reforms.
Building Brexit: Inside Vote Leave with Campaign Director Lord Matthew Elliott, Lord Syed Kamall interviews Lord Matthew Elliot, IEA YouTube
Britain’s War on Landlords, Head of Media Reem Ibrahim writes for FEE
The Renters’ Rights Act is not a victory for tenants. It is an act of economic vandalism that will wreck the housing market and hurt the very people it claims to protect.
Britain Has Changed Forever: Lessons from 1945 | Kit Kowol | IEA Live, Managing Editor Daniel Freeman interviews Dr. Kit Kowol, IEA YouTube
Tax treachery will cost us ft. Reem Ibrahim | The Capitalist, Head of Media Reem Ibrahim’s article in The Capitalist
How to fix the BBC, the IEA was quoted in Rod Liddle’s article in the Spectator
Then in 2018 the Institute for Economic Affairs examined a perceived lack of balance regarding Brexit on the BBC’s Question Time and Any Questions? and concluded: ‘The imbalance on the two programmes is substantial, consistent and at odds with public opinion.’ Have you noticed, following that report, a sea change in the way the Beeb goes about reporting the ramifications of Brexit?
The UK Budget 2025: Are Old Economic Orthodoxies Dooming Britain?, Head of Media Reem Ibrahim joined Douglas Carswell and Jason McKenna, Left, Right and Reasonable Podcast
The Residential-Property Tax Trap | ||||||
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by David Starkie | ||||||
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INVITATION: After the Budget - Where Will the Growth Come From? | ||||||
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