Language is powerful. In some countries around the world that use our student finance system, repayments are called a contribution. In the UK we call it a loan – that’s killing us. With the increase in tuition fees, we risk damaging a generation of youth because of it. This isn’t solely about the fear-factor of huge ‘debts’,...

Last week, on the BBC’s Daily Politics, I commented that the new universal credit system is likely to cause a budgeting bloodbath. Yesterday I was pleased to see a report from the Social Marketing Foundation echoing this (see the Monthly benefit payments ‘risk backfiring’ MSE News story). This is all about a nightmare transitional issue. As part...

For too long, we’ve had speed-bump financial services with products launched, sold heavily by highly incentivised, ill-trained staff, then the brakes put-on with mis-selling reclaiming campaigns. That’s bad for both consumers and the industry. The regulator, the Financial Services Authority (FSA), yesterday launched its report into how banks and other financial services staff are incentivised to flog...