Duncan Robinson

While writing The Economist’s Bagehot column, Duncan Robinson has focused on the political-economy of Britain, exploring the peculiar politics of tax and changing demographics, and how the future of the British economy is to be found in King's Cross.

In “British voters care less about tax rises than politicians think”, Robinson warned that Rachel Reeves would face a “cornish pasty moment” if she attempted to raise lots of little taxes and that voters were surprisingly forgiving of often very large tax rises. It duly came to pass. Ms Reeves cranked National Insurance by £26bn, which attracted surprisingly little criticism considering the size of the increase. Outrage instead focused on the fiscally insignificant decision to bring farmers into inheritance tax for the first time–something Robinson warned would happen in the piece.

In “British boomers are losing out for the first time”, Robinson argued that older voters would start to lose out as the British state focuses more on the demographically dominant cohort of boomers. A stark example of this came at the start of Labour’s tenure when it removed the winter fuel allowance from pensioners.

In "The miracle of King's Cross", Robinson explained how a corner of north London turned from a derelict goods yard into the best hope for the British economy.