Ryan Shorthouse

More people should have second jobs

Long gone are the days when you had a job for life. But, for young folks especially, it seems we don’t just do one job in a week. The strivers are scrambling for second jobs. Though it is hard to ascertain exact numbers through official statistics, some surveys suggest more than two-thirds of British Gen Zs are

Theresa May’s tuition fee review is a grave political mistake

Reforms to the funding of higher education over the past decade, although not perfect, have been broadly successful. There’s now record levels of individuals and investment in English universities. Theresa May, though, thought differently. Immediately after the last election, in response to a staggering number of young people turning their back on the Tories, she

The quality, not quantity, of childcare needs improving

The Chancellor has found himself a treasure chest: childcare. In his quest for full employment, it’s seen as crucial for boosting maternal employment. Helping parents with punishingly high childcare costs appeals to and supports those on modest incomes – the so-called ‘blue-collar’ voters – that Conservatives still need to woo. Nothing quite encapsulates the modernisation

Nonsense over childcare ratios

The outcry against the government’s plans to allow nurseries and childminders to relax staff-to-child ratios is scaremongering, driven somewhat by showboating rather than evidence. The government is proposing that nurseries should be able to relax staff-to-child ratios if they employ higher-quality staff. Ratios will be relaxed for childminders too: but this should also be dependent on

Why liberal conservatism isn’t dead

David Cameron led the Conservatives out of the political wilderness by pursuing the modernisation of the Tory brand, which had become associated with reactionary social attitudes and a dog eat dog economy. In today’s tricky economic climate, the Tories need to focus on challenging perceptions that they are the ‘party of the rich’, offering policies that