Has the Office for Budget Responsibility achieved genuine independence from government?

Having been established by the government to take the politics out of fiscal and economic forecasting, the independence of the Office for Budget Responsibility is fundamental to its credibility and legitimacy. The appointment of Robert Chote as Chair in 2010 appears to have enhanced the OBR’s standing in this regard, but has not completely swept away all concerns about the OBR’s relationship to government. On the day the OBR releases its latest analysis of the UK’s public finances, Craig Berry and Richard Berry ask whether the agency has yet been able to break free from the political grasp of the Treasury

As UK society ages, ‘nudging’ older people to self-regulate the way they drive may improve road safety and improve their wellbeing

As society ages, it is inevitable that there will be an increasing numbers of older drivers on our roads. Yet there is no evidence that older drivers are less safe than other age groups or that restrictive regulatory systems produce safer roads. Dr Craig Berry of the International Longevity Centre-UK considers whether this is a policy area amenable to the government’s ‘nudge’ agenda

The flow behaviour of inorganic - wood fibre slurries in pressurised pipes

Understanding the flow behaviour of inorganic-wood fibre slurries is important for developing new process equipment for the cement fibreboard industry. Little is reported in the technical literature and generally slurry flow knowledge is limited to a few engineers within the industry. Pipe friction loss characteristics and the settling behaviour of inorganic-wood fibre slurries were studied and data were obtained in pressurised horizontal pipes ranging from 25 to100mm diameter at flow velocities up to 8m/s. The inorganic solids studied were cement and fine silica of size range 10 to 150 m. Solids concentrations ranged from 5-20% and fibre concentrations from 0- 2%. Wood pulp fibre suspensions at low fibre concentrations form a structured carrier medium with the ability to support fine particulate solids. Unlike fibre-free suspensions, no permanent stationary deposit formed and therefore no minimum settling velocity exists. At low flow rates particles are trapped in the fibre plug and the friction loss is above water. At high flow rates the particles are still supported but the fibres dislodged from the central plug core damp turbulence and friction losses for the cement-silica-fibre system are less than water (drag reduction). The overall flow behaviour is similar to and consistent with previous data reported for coal-fibre slurries. Fibre concentration has a significant affect on the onset of drag reduction and friction loss increases with fibre concentration as with conventional fibre suspensions. Pipe diameter has a minimal effect on the onset of drag reduction but friction loss decreases with diameter as with conventional fluids

Scots living overseas or elsewhere in the UK should have been given the right to vote in the independence referendum

Record numbers of voters have registered to take part in the Scottish independence referendum this month, and a very high turnout is expected. But the franchise for the election does not include Scottish citizens overseas or those living in the rest of the UK. In this post Craig Berry and Richard Berry argue that the exclusion of these voters is not justified, and violates established democratic principles

A referendum on lowering the voting age would generate a wider national debate about youth participation in democracy

A number of countries allow their citizens to vote at 16 in national or local elections, including Brazil, Argentina, Austria, Norway and Germany. In the latest post from our series on youth participation in democracy, Craig Berry suggests the UK should also consider lowering the voting age. Holding a referendum on this issue would, he argues, focus attention on youth disengagement and initiate a wider conversation about the need to involve young people in democracy

Unless greater heed is paid to political economy, devolutioncould become a red herring of democratisation

Following the Scottish independence referendum, devolution for England is back of the agenda, with regional devolution being revisited as an idea. But are we wrong to equate devolution with democracy, given that most consequential powers will still be in the hands of Whitehall? Craig Berry argues that the inadequate attention paid to political economy risks leaving us with an under-developed view of the way the economy works, with the possible effect of leading us to misunderstand the potential democratising impact of devolution

Financialisation, home-ownership, and how democracy became a threat to economic growth

A consensus on the desirability of promoting ‘financial inclusion’has occurred over recent years, with both main parties similarly keen to promote home ownership – despite the methods used to pursue this goal often making the issue of access to afforable housing worse. Craig Berry argues that this broad agenda – financialisation – carries with it big risks

We are seeing the emergence of a new pensions divide

Automatic enrolment into workplace pensions has led to increased attention on the vehicles into which employees will be expected to save for retirement. While the demise of ‘defined benefit’ pensions at the expense of ‘defined contribution’ seems irreversible, Craig Berry of the TUC argues that we need to recognise that a new divide is unexpectedly opening up and that the growing concentration of employees in low-contribution schemes is a particularly worrying trend

Austerity is over?: It never really began

UK fiscal policy has never conformed to the textbook definition of austerity. In this sense, and contrary to what Theresa May has been declaring, austerity is not over: it never really began. Craig Berry explains what more the 2018 budget tells us about the austerity-ending hypothesis

Craig Berry on Global Ethics and Civil Society edited by John Eade and Darren J. O’Byrne. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate, 2005. 180pp.

A review of: Global Ethics and Civil Society edited by John Eade and Darren J. O’Byrne. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate, 2005. 180pp