Let’s go fly a kite? There has been rather less briefing about proposals to be announced in next week’s Budget than in recent years. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, John Healey, has been far less forthcoming than his predecessors, Rachel Reeves and Jeremy Hunt, whose plans were dribbled out weeks in advance. Some have suggested […]
‘Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in,’ says Michael Corleone in ‘The Godfather Part III’. A decade after we voted to leave the European Union, much of the establishment is still in denial about the verdict that was delivered. Andy Burnham has been absolutely shameless. Campaigning in the Makerfield by-election, […]
Among the eye-catching announcements from the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool is a proposal to allow councils to seize privately owned homes. Matthew Pennycook, the Housing Minister, tweets: ‘It’s not a silver bullet, but bringing more empty homes back into use can help solve the housing crisis. Today, we’re announcing strengthened powers for councils to […]
A rare glimmer of sanity as Reuters reports that the British clothing retailer Next ‘has won an appeal allowing it to keep paying warehouse workers more than sales consultants’. The report adds that: The ruling on basic pay overturns a key part of a 2024 Employment Tribunal decision in favour of over 3,500 current and […]
Most of those who, despite all discouragement, continue to invest in the UK have a sense of foreboding over an Andy Burnham premiership. We know that he will try to reconcile two irreconcilables. First, he will offer bold, exciting change from the uninspiring couple of years under Keir Starmer. Second, he will resist holding an […]
The British are coming! The British are coming! As the United States celebrates 250 years of independence from the British, millions of Californians wish to put themselves under British rule. The primary is taking place tomorrow, and Steve Hilton, a British-born former adviser to David Cameron, is not only expected to make it through to […]
It’s back to the 1970s. The Scottish First Minister John Swinney proposes the adoption of price controls on supermarket groceries to ease the pressure on the cost of living. The SNP’s Manifesto, for the election to be held on May 7, declares: To help with the cost of the weekly shop, we will establish legal […]
A report from Healthwatch England has found a dramatic increase in the number of people in Britain using private healthcare. It says: In 2023, 9% of those we polled had accessed private healthcare in the last year. By 2025, this figure nearly doubled to 16%. The use of private dental care increased from 22% to […]
More class war in the classroom. The Times reports the Government is determined ‘to end middle-class domination of top schools’. It says: The education secretary Bridget Phillipson’s reforms will make it easier for poorer children and those with special needs to get a place at popular schools. The education White Paper declares: The school admissions […]
It is easy to be cynical. When Tony Blair was Prime Minister, he once sent a memo to his team demanding ‘eye-catching initiatives’ and adding: ‘I should be personally associated with as much of this as possible.’ The Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is on manoeuvres. The speculation that Keir Starmer will be replaced as Prime […]
Forget all the cloak-and-dagger machinations of the past week: the deception and spying, the sneaking and snitching. Both Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage are free marketeers. Both the Conservatives and Reform UK are likely to fight the next general election on pretty similar manifestos that each contain some pretty bold free market policies. Most significantly, […]
An eternal optimist, I cheered when Labour, in opposition, U-turned and backed liberalisation of the planning system to allow an increase in the housing supply. The 1.5 million housing target, an annual average of 300,000, would not have been transformational. It would still have left the young (and the not so young) struggling to save […]
There is widespread public exasperation over the failure of the Labour Government and its Conservative predecessor to deal effectively with illegal immigration. Such feelings are entirely justified. It’s almost a tautology to say that if you think it’s right that something should be illegal then it’s also right that it should be prevented from happening. […]
The extent of the hubris is remarkable. The BBC has been caught out in an appalling act of disinformation. Panorama doctored a Donald Trump speech to falsely show him supporting rioting. This has been described as ‘a mistake’ – as if it were some kind of technical glitch. But the misrepresentation was clearly deliberate – […]
‘We must not speculate.’ That is a phrase that has been oft repeated over the airwaves in the days following the Huntingdon train attack. We know that Anthony Williams has been charged with 10 counts of attempted murder, one count of actual bodily harm and one count of possession of a bladed article following a […]
There is nothing wrong with the zeal of a convert – if you happen to be an adherent to the cause that has been embraced. St Paul’s decision on the road to Damascus to stop persecuting Christians and become an apostle was thoroughly welcome. So I am keen to take the Housing Secretary Steve Reed’s […]
Steve Reed is on a journey. In 2021, he was the shadow housing secretary and was busy denouncing proposals from his opposite number, Robert Jenrick, to liberalise the planning system. Reed warned the Conservative government would ‘reap a political whirlwind if they went ahead with their plans to silence communities and hand control over planning […]
‘Where is the money coming from?’ That is a familiar question to hear from broadcasters to politicians. It is also a perfectly valid one. Often, it is almost intended to be a rhetorical one, given that the anticipated answer is so evasive as to lack any substance. So kudos to Mel Stride, the Shadow Chancellor, […]
Pity the Labour MPs huddling in the bars of Liverpool during their party conference. Most of them were elected for the first time last year. They might have expected to be swaggering in the annual shindig as masters of the universe. Instead, it is more of a therapy session. Naturally, when things are going badly […]
For decades, the class divide was the dominant theme of British politics. Labour’s election pitch would be that the Tories were the party for the rich. Labour championed the working class majority. Labour was funded by the trade unions. The Conservatives had donations from large companies and wealthy individuals. It was never absolute, of course. […]
