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The Disraeli Room

The Disraeli Room is a hub for new ideas, commentary and analysis. ResPublica's blog is named after the great reforming Prime Minister of the nineteenth century, Benjamin Disraeli, and welcomes contributions from across the political, academic and professional spectrum.

The Disraeli Room

Blog Posts

Talking to bankers: Maths and morals

12^th December 2014
- Dr Tim Johnson
- 21
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I recently asked a prominent mathematician who once ran a hedge fund, Doyne Farmer, whether seeking to make a riskless profit was ethical. I don’t think he understood the question. Mathematics has always been part of finance but with the re-introduction of derivatives markets in the 1970s and their growth in the nineties, ‘quants’, trained in engineering, physics and mathematics, came to dominate the ‘casino banking’ that is widely criticised.
ResPublica Recommends: Pope Francis’ Strasbourg Address in full

12^th December 2014
- ResPublica
- 28
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I am happy to address this solemn session which brings together a significant representation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, representatives of member States, the Judges of the European Court of Human Rights as well as the members of the various institutions which make up the Council of Europe.
Does Labour’s Green Paper go far enough to end cold homes?

21^st November 2014
- Richard Sagar
- 39
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There is cross-party consensus that we need to improve the thermal efficiency of the UK’s homes. Not only will it help to bring down energy bills for hard pressed consumers, but will also reduce carbon emissions, and the number of deaths caused by cold amongst vulnerable people each winter.
Why the employee ownership sector has the right to be confident

21^st November 2014
- David Fagleman
- 39
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The 2014 Employee Ownership Association Annual Conference in Nottingham was the largest yet. Around 500 delegates attended a day of seminars and keynotes to hear how their membership is successfully laying the foundations for a new economy based on the principle of employee engagement.
Broadcast news is debased, it needs to take itself seriously

17^th November 2014
- Dr. Tim Madge
- 35
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Make your own pick, but mine would be the spectacle, a little while ago, of Kirsty Wark ‘interviewing’ the Cookie Monster from the Muppet Show on Newsnight. The point? Who knows, other than it was someone’s idea of a good laugh, largely at Wark’s expense.
Regulating Banks VS Regulating Bankers

17^th November 2014
- Michaela Costello
- 32
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As argued in ResPublica’s previous report, Virtuous Banking, [1] our financial bodies have the potential to be among society’s most transformative institutions. By placing ethos and purpose at the heart of finance, our financial institutions would be able to reclaim their civic purpose and begin again to promote growth and empower their communities and society.
The triple whammy that cripples our public services

5^th November 2014
- Professor John Seddon
- 139
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A favourite game is the one where you ask friends which of our current practices will look most ridiculous and unacceptable in 50 years’ time. In other words, what will be the early 21st century’s equivalent of slavery?
Why ‘English votes’ is the wrong response to the Scottish referendum

28^th October 2014
- Duncan Sim
- 41
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Former Welsh Secretary Ron Davies predicted in 1999 that devolution would prove to be “a process, not an event”, and the aftermath of the Scottish referendum proves again the accuracy of that assessment.
Towards a more sophisticated debate on payday loans

24^th October 2014
- Carl Packman
- 28
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The debate around payday lending in the UK can often seem very black and white. For a long time, when covered in the mainstream press, much focus was put on APR.
How do you Solve a Problem like Fuel Poverty?

23^rd October 2014
- John Robertson MP
- 32
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The last conference season before the General Election brings with it a flurry of policies, as parties position themselves for the months to come. Top lines spell out top priorities and we see the first glimpses of Governments post-May 2015.

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