Britain is facing a crisis of confidence – a pervasive regulatory culture driven by the belief that whenever something goes wrong, no matter how minor, it must be regulated out of existence. This mindset, which seeks to eliminate risk at all costs, may sound protective, but it is profoundly destructive. Eliminating all risk means suffocating […]
This is a young Government. Labour have only been in power for five months. Yet already it has a tired, worn out feel about it. There is a sense of drift and pessimism. Every couple of days, a new sleaze scandal appears in the media. This should be the phase when ministers are swanking and […]
Health policy, and the politics of health, are two very different things. When Otto von Bismarck set about his mammoth social insurance reforms of the 1880s, he was motivated by one thing: politics. Specifically, he wanted to stifle and negate the allure of the Social Democrats, who had been steadily gaining support in the Reichstag. […]
According to the prevailing narrative, it is a disadvantage to be non-white as compared to white. To be LGBTQ as compared to straight. To be a woman as compared to a man. To be a religious minority as opposed to a Christian. To be neurodivergent or disabled as compared to being neurotypical and able-bodied. Undergirding […]
If you want to understand Keir Starmer’s approach to government – and why his new administration already seems to be struggling – there was an important clue in his conference speech this week. In what must have struck his speechwriter as a dazzling rhetorical trick, the Prime Minister attempted to hijack the Brexit slogan ‘Take […]
Releasing prisoners early is a dangerous business for any government. Not only is it likely to lead to more crime (and indeed, it already is), but those crimes can be traced directly back to ministers in a way others cannot. If anyone released early goes on to do something truly terrible, it could get very […]
For this week’s edition of ‘Nimby Watch’, we’re off to north west London, where councillors are ganging up to keep the housing crisis going… So, where we going this week? To Edgware, in the north west London suburbs. Oh, where the trains go. What’s there now? The Broadwalk Centre, a rather grim low-rise shopping precinct […]
For this week’s edition of ‘Nimby Watch’, Jonn Elledge takes us to London’s South Bank, where Nimbys are fighting to protect an abandoned brutalist tower block from the scourge of sophisticated new office space… Where are we off to this time? A little known city by the name of ‘London’. Specifically, the South Bank of […]
A common refrain heard from ‘wellness’ influencers on Instagram and motivational recruiters on LinkedIn is that the key to a happy life is to surround yourself with positive people. One can only assume they’re referring to the sort of person who would tell you to slow down after your fourth pint rather than pat you […]
‘You do not get to make up your own rules… And do you – do you – do you think you’re special? A contract means something. It’s the law, and it’s enforceable. Deal with it.’ This monologue, delivered by lawyer Kim Wexler in Breaking Bad prequel Better Call Saul, came to my mind when I […]
The image of Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai in handcuffs as two hundred police officers raid the offices of his Apple Daily newspaper, symbolises yet another brazen attack on Hong Kong’s rapidly evaporating civil liberties – and a death knell for press freedom. As the last Governor of Hong Kong Lord Patten said yesterday, “this […]
News that the Oxford covid vaccine candidate induced strong immune responses has led to renewed hope that we may have a vaccine – either to stem the spread of the virus or reduce the severity of the disease – some time soon. However, as with nearly anything coronavirus-related, there are several issues which are far […]
The Department for International Trade has now set out the UK government’s strategic objectives for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the US. After all the negativity about Brexit over the last few years, this paper is a welcome breath of fresh air. Indeed, even many traditional sceptics have praised the objectives as sensible and realistic. On […]
With the support of the Atlas Network, CapX is publishing a series of essays, podcasts and interviews on the theme of Illiberalism in Europe, looking at the different threats to liberal economies and societies across the continent, from populism to protectionism and corruption. Frank Lawton: Is there such a thing as historical thinking – and is it […]
We want more greenery. We want to address climate change. We want to attract people back to our small towns and villages. We want to improve health and well-being. We want devolution. We want to empower people with more control. Perhaps more than anything, we want to rebuild active communities – indeed the drift away […]
“My Government’s priority” the Queen told us yesterday “is to deliver the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union”. Let that sink in. For years, those of us who advocated leaving the EU were frequently demonised by the mainstream media. We were, it was routinely implied, extremist – indeed, xenophobic! – for wanting Britain to […]
A little over two weeks ago, in typically unorthodox fashion, Dominic Cummings uploaded his thoughts about the ongoing election onto his personal blog. For the most part, the Prime Minister’s strategist stuck largely to his campaign’s core script, albeit with more capital letters and tirades about Dominic Grieve. Yet towards the end of the article, […]
With the support of the Atlas Network, CapX is publishing a new series of essays on the theme of Illiberalism in Europe, looking at the different threats to liberal economies and societies across the continent, from populism to protectionism and corruption. Why is it that people in Sweden, as well as other parts of Europe, […]
Last week, back-of-a-fag-packet calculations disclosed that I’ve written about thirty thousand words on Brexit for various outlets — locally, in the US, and in Australia. Quite apart from revealing that the definition of Hell is re-fighting 2016’s referendum for all eternity, writing this much made it clear that Brexit is hard. Not only to achieve […]
Back in 2014, when the Obama administration imposed sanctions on Russia over its annexation of Crimea and aid to pro-Russian rebels in Eastern Ukraine, it anticipated that the resulting economic pressure would eventually force Moscow to stand down. Well, it’s late into 2019 and the opposite has happened. Now, it appears the West wants to […]
The outcome of every General Election, we are always told, is critical. And for those politicians whose names are on the ballot papers, you can see why they might say that. But what about for the rest of us? Was the 1992 or the 2005 General Election really that important? Had say, John Major lost […]
The basic problem with today’s world isn’t the fires, it’s the lack of firemen. The problems faced by the West —dealing with a rising China, containing a dangerous but declining Russia, thwarting Iran’s over-grand Mideast ambitions, safeguarding global prosperity—are not historically that out of the ordinary. Instead, the increase in today’s political risk is the […]
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