Is this the best Labour can do?
Will Andy Burnham call an autumn general election and take advantage of his prime ministerial honeymoon, or will he go…
There’s one rip-off Andy Burnham will never crack down on
Trying to pay my taxes via the HMRC website the other week, my bank thought it had sniffed a rat. “Could…
No, Westminster isn’t banning ‘vertical drinking’
Well, Andy Burnham’s commitment to devolution didn’t last long. It has failed to survive the mildest of challenges: a proposal…
Our airports have won the battle against net zero – but not the war
For anti-airport campaigners it is a double setback. In the space of 24 hours, legal challenges against the expansion of…
Why Burnham’s levelling-up drive is sure to backfire
‘Growth in every postcode’, ‘levelling up’ – whatever you call it, it is easier to sympathise with the general aim…
Why a ‘social care levy’ is a bad idea
I am not having an election because I am going to stick to the 2024 manifesto on which Labour was…
Will Labour ever cut the benefits bill?
Does anyone really believe that Andy Burnham will succeed in cutting welfare benefits for 16–24-year-olds, as is being reported? Good…
Is Andy Burnham really ready to hand power to Reform councils?
Keen to keep up the momentum on his big (or not so big) ideas, Andy Burnham will apparently announce on…
Only North Sea oil can save Burnham’s cost of living drive
Andy Burnham has made it clear that he doesn’t much like free markets. And they are making it equally clear…
Has Miatta Fahnbulleh learned her lesson on net zero?
Many were the voices arguing that Ed Miliband would be a disaster if appointed Chancellor, frightening markets and sending Britain…
Would a social care levy work?
We keep hearing that Andy Burnham’s government will be the most left-wing since the 1970s, when the namesake of the…
Andy Burnham’s plan to reverse Thatcherism is a little ridiculous
Why not blame Herbert Asquith or Lord Aberdeen? Andy Burnham’s line about reversing ‘40 years of neo-liberalism’ – i.e. since…
Nationalising British Steel is not the worst idea
Keir Starmer won’t leave much of a legacy, but his last week has brought one thing which will be seen…
A land value tax would be disastrous
Earnings are taxed too highly, Andy Burnham has hinted, and wealth too little. I don’t hold much hope for a…
Is Ed Miliband really changing his tune on North Sea oil?
I’m a little sceptical of reports that Ed Miliband is prepared to back down and accept new drilling for gas…
Badenoch would be wrong to boot net zero backers from the Tories
No-one has spent more time opposing Britain’s net zero target than me. I wrote a whole book on it as…
What is Farage’s game?
It is a mark of Nigel Farage’s position on the nation’s consciousness that he has succeeded in pushing the judgement…
Do doctors think tax rises shouldn’t apply to them?
‘Only the little people pay taxes,’ New York hotel tycoon Leona Helmsley was once reputed to have said. She later…
Only bad parents will let their kids skip school to watch the England game
Is Thomas Tuchel a secret agent sent by Friedrich Merz’s government to ruin the UK economy and education system so…
The problem with Burnham’s ‘cost of living populism’
Is Andy Burnham plotting to base his premiership around a policy of ‘cost of living populism’? That is what is being…
Is Andy Burnham really ready to become prime minister?
Andy Burnham is not prime minister yet, but he has already outdone John Major. Whoever thought of putting him in…
Prime minister Andy Burnham spells trouble for the southeast
Andy Burnham is not giving much away as to what a government led by him would look like. Given that it…
Why aren’t conservatives more excited about Kemi Badenoch?
Is the Right ready to take advantage of a fractious Left in the increasingly unlikely scenario that Andy Burnham will…
Streeting’s surrender is bad for Britain
Government bonds haven’t had a great few days, but there is one asset which has plummeted far quicker in value…
How much is PM Burnham going to cost Britain?
The Makerfield by-election – in which Andy Burnham swept to victory overnight – has been presented as a fight for…
