Category Archives: Economics

A strange subject to write about for someone who sometimes struggles to add up. However this is economics as it applies to the social and cultural fabric of our lives together.

Dear Jason, Warren and Geoffrey

Posted on February 11, 2014 by ianchisnall

My open letter to the leaders of the three Political Parties with Councillors on Brighton & Hove Council. This follows on from “The Big Debate” which took place last night at the Metropole Hotel, organised by the Brighton Independent. Dear … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Parliament and Democracy | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments

A tragic story

Posted on February 9, 2014 by ianchisnall

Seven years ago a young member of the shadow cabinet called Mark Harper with a background in Accountancy employed a lady to clean his home. At the time he claims he insisted on checking that she was entitled to carry out this … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Justice Issues, Parliament and Democracy | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Fairtrade Chintz?

Posted on February 4, 2014 by ianchisnall

Ikea extolled the virtue of ‘Chucking out our Chintz’ and have been replacing it with Cotton, most of which was sourced from unsustainable sources until last year. Each year they purchase around 110,000 tonnes of Cotton, yet in 2012 only 34% of … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Environment | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Lets be £air to Local Government

Posted on February 1, 2014 by ianchisnall

The eccentric mechanism for funding local Government known as the Barnet Formula creates many opportunities for Government Ministers to ‘reward’ councils whose politics or behaviour they approve of. This seems bizarre in the 21st Century when Ministers claim that their actions … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Parliament and Democracy | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The right sort of red tape

Posted on January 28, 2014 by ianchisnall

It would be a strange Government that openly promised to introduce more red tape. Just as train companies announce the wrong sort of rain, snow or leaves on the line, there appear to be different types of red tape. Yesterday David Cameron was … Continue reading →

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Are we ready for change?

Posted on January 24, 2014 by ianchisnall

Yesterday I attended two significant meetings each with a focus on the work of local statutory services in the period 2015-2020. Although substantial cuts have been made to many of our services (Police, Local Government, Health, Fire and Rescue) to … Continue reading →

Posted in Charities, Community Safety, Economics, Education, Parliament and Democracy, Policing, Welfare Reform, Youth Issues | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The real cost of Party Politics

Posted on December 31, 2013 by ianchisnall

I wrote previously on the official cost of party politics to our nation through the official funding that is provided from the so called public purse. The annual amount of £7M as divulged on 18th December by Lord Marland is not one … Continue reading →

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More measurement is needed

Posted on December 30, 2013 by ianchisnall

The stereotypical view of business is that they despise red tape, almost more than the Government which tends to dislike the red tape that others have imposed (either previous Governments or the EU), preferring their own much free-er restrictions and … Continue reading →

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Some notes of optimism

Posted on December 17, 2013 by ianchisnall

According to the Bank of England website, there are currently four Banknotes in circulation and after a very disturbing campaign, we now know that after the Elizabeth Fry image is removed from the £5 note in 2016, that Jane Austen will replace … Continue reading →

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Two and half city living

Posted on December 3, 2013 by ianchisnall

According to the Brighton & Hove Economic Partnership, we have 1450 retail outlets across the city centre area, which compares to about 580 in cities and towns of a similar size and profile elsewhere. They are suggesting that at some … Continue reading →

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