![Gemma Tetlow](/sites/default/files/styles/wysiwyg_full_width_desktop/public/2022-12/gemma-tetlow-326x326.jpg?itok=EUohv4Gp)
Gemma Tetlow
Chief Economist
Gemma's recent work
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Capital spending in public services
Crumbling schools, hospitals and prisons need a new capital spending plan to turn performance around.
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Ruling out tax rises undermines Sunak's and Starmer's credibility on public services
Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer are making tax pledges that limit their public spending options.
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The job of costing opposition policies should be removed from ministerial influence
The latest row between Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer is a reminder of why opposition policy costings should be viewed with extreme caution.
All work
How Sajid Javid can be a tax reforming chancellor
Lessons from past experience of tax reform can help Sajid Javid succeed where his predecessors have failed
How to be a tax-reforming chancellor
The tax system is in desperate need of reform. The new government’s majority gives it an opportunity that none has had for the last decade and a half.
Labour and Conservative manifestos ignore potentially painful choices ahead on tax
Both main political parties fail to spell out who will pay for their promises of improved public services.
Asking the OBR to cost manifestos could make sense – but would be complicated
While opposition parties would like the Office for Budget Responsibility be cost all parties’ manifestos, such a decision should not be taken lightly.
Creating and dismantling government departments
The direct costs of creating a new department start at £15 million.
Performance Tracker 2019
Performance Tracker 2019 projects the demand and spending on nine public services for the next five years.
Philip Hammond
Philip Hammond reflects on his nine years in government. He discusses his relationship with Theresa May and how Brexit affected the government.
Chancellors should not decide the contents of their Budgets in secret
The lack of scrutiny and debate around the Budget process is as worrying as it can be damaging.
The chancellor’s tax strategy leaves many questions unanswered
Sajid Javid’s talk of a simpler, more efficient tax regime will be harder to achieve in practice than the chancellor's comments suggest.
How can Boris Johnson pay for his promises on tax and spending?
Boris Johnson used his first speech outside Downing Street to reiterate promises to spend more on police, schools and hospitals.