Articles

UK Politics

The Tories can win London – if they’re smart

I was in a field in Kent as the local election results came in. As an unapologetic adherent of the metropolitan elite, it’s not my natural environment. But over the weekend it became increasingly clear that I’m not the only Londoner who’s out of touch with the rest of the country. The capital is now […]

Economics

Zack Polanski’s economic illiteracy would doom us all

The Green Party is proposing that CEO salaries should be capped at ten times the minimum pay within a company. Given the current leadership of the Greens, this is not surprising. But what is surprising is that, according to a YouGov poll 65% of Brits seem to agree – including 77% of Labour, 58% of […]

Economics

Zack Polanski’s CGT plan will make Britain poorer

We are facing one of those delightful clashes between equity and efficiency. Sadly, it looks like equity might win, which would mean a ‘fairer’ society – by the estimation of some people – but also a decidedly poorer one. I refer to this from Zack Polanski – the unthinking man’s Left populist du jour: ‘And […]

UK Politics

How to beat Zack Polanski

The Green Party’s victory in last week’s Gorton and Denton by-election was a grim indicator of where British politics could be heading. With 40% of the vote, Hannah Spencer won her campaign by stirring the pot of local sectarianism; releasing campaign videos in Urdu and Bengali, accusing the Government of funding ‘genocide’ in Gaza, and […]

Politics

Gorton and Denton has changed everything

There is something endearingly ridiculous about Matt Goodwin. The gamekeeper turned poacher of national populism is like the Alan Partridge of political studies: self-important but not self-aware and in a relentless pursuit of self-promotion. He was responsible, during his (very) brief time as a ConservativeHome columnist, for the funniest article that I have ever edited. […]

Politics

Thatcherism’s ownership revolution isn’t over

How can people without capital be expected to believe in capitalism? This is the challenge of our age, as ‘own nothing and be happy’ hardens into a new dividing line in Western politics. Westminster risks ignoring the emerging political economy of housing, even as public anger grows. Green Party leader Zack Polanski is already courting […]