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About Oliver Huitson

Oliver Huitson works in financial services and as a freelance writer. He is reading for a Masters in Politics and Government at Birkbeck University.

Articles by Oliver Huitson

Friday 27th January

Britain needs a transformative budget

Oliver Huitson, 27 January 2012
Britain is on the brink of a double-dip recession. She needs to begin the fundamental reshaping of her political economy... and this is where I'd start.
Wednesday 21st December

Time for Tax Transparency in the UK

Oliver Huitson, 21 December 2011
In the wake of the PAC report on HMRC's failure to tax corporations fairly, what other solutions might there be to bridge Britain's £25bn "tax gap"?
Wednesday 30th November

Plan A has failed - alarming times ahead

Oliver Huitson, 30 November 2011
Thursday 24th November

UK party funding: no cash, no democracy

Oliver Huitson, 24 November 2011
Proposed reforms to party funding would help to remove 'big money' from British politics. But they won't address the underlying problem: the gulf between Westminster and the public.
Tuesday 27th September

Deckchair protest for Syria's future

Oliver Huitson and Luke Manzarpour, 27 September 2011
Can drawing attention to the regime's excesses force Spain and other countries to put pressure on the Syrian government?
Friday 23rd September

What a carve up! England's new planning regime

Oliver Huitson, 23 September 2011
Developers are rubbing their hands in glee. Soon, the presumed decision on any planning application in England will be "yes". What does the government have to gain from pushing through these reforms, unpopular with their own voters and the wider public?
Tuesday 20th September

Private Finance Initiative: the scandal that refuses to break

Oliver Huitson, 20 September 2011
The PFI scheme puts money from the British taxpayer into the pockets of private companies. Parliament has found it to be expensive and unsound. So why are British people still paying hundreds of billions of pounds to continue the scheme?
Thursday 14th July

Anger at Murdoch must be built on swiftly

Oliver Huitson, 14 July 2011
Anger at News International needs to be used, fast, and with firm goals in mind: to re-establish proper boundaries between corporation and state, to reform our laws on media ownership and to remove Murdoch from Britain.
Friday 8th July

'Responsibility' starts with fair wages

Oliver Huitson, 8 July 2011
We can no longer have a welfare system where recipients get something for nothing. So says the Labour leader, but before lecturing benefit claimants on their rights and responsibilities, he would do well to examine the root causes of wage inequality and unemployment in this country
Monday 4th July

A Crime against the British Justice System

Oliver Huitson, 4 July 2011
Britain's top crime-solving body is soon to close. The state-owned Forensic Science Service is being sold off by the Coalition as part of its privatisation programme, despite warnings that the sale could compromise justice being done in Britain
Wednesday 15th June

NHS: still on the road to privatisation

Oliver Huitson, 15 June 2011
The Coalition has agreed to modify the NHS bill, based on recommendations made during the "listening exercise". We must not accept the bill due to these minor tweaks, which simply present a few more bumps on the road to privatisation
Friday 10th June

"Jam" vs "Jilted": interview with co-founder of the Intergenerational Foundation

Oliver Huitson, 10 June 2011
The Intergenerational Foundation is a new think-tank founded to research fairness between current and future generations in the UK. We interview the co-founder, Shiv Malik
Saturday 7th May

What went wrong, and what now for reform in the UK

Oliver Huitson, 7 May 2011
What a shocking day for progress in the UK outside Scotland. The minor improvement of AV spurned, hopes of PR dashed, and the Tories escaping not just unscathed, but positively emboldened. Today was not ‘a good day for the left’; it was a victory for tribalism and mendacity.
Sunday 1st May

The strange world of the AV campaign, and why it must be a Yes

Oliver Huitson, 1 May 2011
It has been said that AV would be a “beautiful British compromise”. But for its combination of madness, naked lies and bile, the campaign surrounding it has seemed distinctly American. The Yes side, on which I sit, has been slightly dull. The Noes have been fascinating, not only for their outrageous campaigning methods, but for their surreal patchwork of supporters.
Wednesday 27th April

The Royal Wedding Reality Check

Niki Seth-Smith, Clare Sambrook, Oliver Huitson, YouGov, and GarethYoung, 27 April 2011
The Royal Wedding Reality Check invites you to express your genuine opinions on the event, whether you're a republican, a monarchist, or would never define yourself by either term
Thursday 17th March

Britain must use March 26 to call for an election

Oliver Huitson, 17 March 2011
The TUC's march through London, in less than a fortnight, is billed as a chance to tell the government to change course. This call is no longer adequate. The Coalition lacks a mandate for its "revolution", and the people must call for another general election.
Saturday 5th February

Is Britain a plutocracy? According to the NHS reforms...

Oliver Huitson, 5 February 2011
The effective privatisation of the NHS, currently passing through the Commons, manages in one bill to sum up so much of what is wrong with British politics.
Tuesday 25th January

The Coalition's interests lie in business, not fairness

Oliver Huitson, 25 January 2011
Osborne claimed in his June budget that the Coalition's economic strategy would be fair and progressive. Yet the brunt of their attack on the deficit will be borne by the poor, while business has been shown some astonishing largesse.
Wednesday 29th December

Kettling - an attack on the right to protest

Oliver Huitson, 29 December 2010
The British police have developed a controlling method of containing demonstrators in addition to their usual techniques. But up against large numbers and used as collective punishment it is a threat to liberty
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