Why didn’t the Tories nationalise the railways?
The Conservatives can crow all they like about the benefits of privatisation – and make whatever claims they like about tickets…
Who will pay the price for the boost in defence spending?
Rishi Sunak’s announcement that the government will increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP has been warmly welcomed,…
What happened to the Tory promise to balance the budget?
There is one big reason why a summer general election is unlikely, however tempted the Prime Minister might be to…
Desperate manufacturers are struggling to shift electric cars
By 2024, UBS confidently predicted in a October 2020 report, the cost of manufacturing an electric car would have fallen…
Welsh Labour’s speeding U-turn shows devolution is beginning to grate
The tragedy of Wales’ 20 mph speed limit, which is now to be relaxed, was that it took a good…
Labour should think twice before taxing pensioners
Labour, according to Rachel Reeves, is now the party of low taxes. She has said she won’t raise income tax,…
Inflation is down again – but don’t expect interest rates to follow suit
Interest rate cuts are beginning to look like a mirage: the closer we seem to get to them the more…
Why one-man plays are all the rage
Well, it’s nice to feel on trend. The Today programme this morning carried an item on the popularity of one-man…
The truth about ‘boardroom diversity’
We all know that increasing the diversity of your boardroom increases the success of your company because politicians, business leaders…
Are we really reaching ‘farmaggedon’?
I happened to be walking in the Cambridgeshire fens this morning while listening to the latest instalment of ‘farmageddon’ –…
The irresponsibility of ‘two years to save the planet’
Hurrah, we can all relax. We have been granted an extra two years to save the planet. So suggested Simon…
Sadiq Khan’s Ulez has spectacularly backfired
What was that about Sadiq Khan’s expansion of London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) supposedly helping to reduce our dependence…
What’s the truth about Sure Start?
Labour, unsurprisingly, is crowing about a paper published by the Institute for Fiscal Studies claiming that Tony Blair’s Sure Start…
The problem with Rachel Reeves’ non-dom tax plan
By abolishing non-dom status, Jeremy Hunt was supposed to have clipped the wings of the shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves. Given…
Scrapping Ofsted would suit teachers – but be terrible for children
There is one thing that seems to have gone missing from the campaign by the National Education Union (NEU) to…
Don’t trust Labour to build houses
Could a promise of more housebuilding win an election, or does the Nimby vote still rule the shires? Labour, it…
House prices aren’t falling any time soon
The thing about having three prominent house prices indices, all of which publish monthly figures, is that they are forever…
Why the council tax rise on second homes helps no one
What a surprise. Given the choice of whether or not to double council tax for second home owners from next…
Martin Lewis is wrong about the ‘energy poll tax’
Given that a fair proportion of the UK public seem to want Martin Lewis to be prime minister, the government…
Thames Water proves privatisation has failed
Why do the Conservatives find it so difficult to admit that the privatisation of public utilities has in many cases…
You’re not being paranoid: smart meters are out to get you
If anyone was still in doubt as to why the government is keen to press ‘smart’ meters onto us, those…
The pension triple lock is a drain on the taxpayer
Jeremy Hunt’s promise that the Conservative manifesto will protect the ‘triple lock’ on the state pension is a desperate measure…
Britain’s high street is still stuck in recession
So, is the recession over? The Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) retail sales figures show that sales volumes were flat…
Gove’s ‘war on landlords’ is not going to plan
Levelling up the housing market, it is fair to say, is not quite going according to plan. Rents in the…
Jeremy Hunt should listen to James Dyson
All Sir James Dyson wanted was to do what hundreds of business people and lobbyists have done before him: spend…
