Fact check: the truth about the asylum backlog
When is a backlog in asylum applications not a backlog? When it is made up of ‘complex cases’ and of…
Why is it so hard to leave the country?
This should have been the year when we could finally put Covid behind us and return to normal. But as far…
What James Daly’s parenting jibe says about the Tories
I am guessing that Tory MP James Daly has given up trying to defend his majority of 105 in Bury…
The Conservatives are indulging in fantasy economics
Finally it seems to be dawning on many Conservative MPs that abolishing – or seriously cutting – inheritance tax at…
The foul truth about wood-burners
My first instinct is to rush to the attack against any think tank which calls for stuff to be banned.…
Is Britain heading for a recession after all?
Are we going to end 2023 with a recession after all? The great non-arriving recession of 2023 has so far…
Are Red Sea ship attacks the start of a crisis for the global economy?
Covid provided a revelation of the vulnerabilities of the global supply chain, but now war in Yemen has provided another.…
Is the cost of living crisis over?
This morning’s inflation figures are good news. The fall in the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) to 3.9 per cent, from…
A Trump presidency could be good for Britain
Donald Trump may be offensive in many ways. He may have defiled his office during his previous stint as president…
Cop’s pledge to move away from fossil fuels is a farce
So, a deal has been reached. The world has agreed on what Cop 28 president Sultan al-Jaber has called a…
Does a fifth of the population think we should still be in lockdown?
That shutting people away in their homes for weeks on end was going to have a bad effect on mental…
Net zero has doomed Europe’s car industry
The decision of the European Commission to delay, for three years, tariffs on car exports between Britain and the EU…
Why are fewer people buying electric cars?
The rebellion of 26 Conservative MPs against the government’s zero electric vehicle (ZEV) mandate couldn’t have come at a worse…
Get used to Labour being the party of low taxes
It takes some to get used to Labour posing as the party of low taxes, but it is something that…
Curbing work visas won’t solve Britain’s migration issues
Why can’t we seem to distinguish between good and bad migration? Brexit allowed the government to do what the Leave campaign…
The desperation of Olivia Colman’s climate change video
When you have a surname like Colman you might think it would be best to avoid appearing in an advertising…
Cooking oil won’t help the aviation industry reach net zero
Two decades ago, motorists in South Wales realised that they could power their diesel cars with used cooking oil, thereby…
Climate reparations are an awful idea
There is a word that we are going to hear once COP28 gets underway in Dubai later this week: ‘reparations’. While…
What good would forcing cyclists to have number plates do?
There was little competition for the oddest and most obscure bill to be announced in the King’s Speech: the proposal…
Bailey pours cold water on hopes of inflation falling quickly
Should we bother taking any notice of what Andrew Bailey says about inflation, given that he and his colleagues on…
Are the richest 1 per cent really to blame for climate change?
Oxfam used to be a worthy charity through which donors in wealthy countries could help fund famine relief in developing…
Why the Tories shouldn’t cut inheritance tax
‘We know it is painful, especially with inflation at what it is. But there really is no option other than…
Fewer shoppers are hitting the high street than before Covid
The UK economy has so far defied those, like the Bank of England, who confidently predicted a recession. But the threat…
Is the trade agreement with Florida a Brexit win?
A trade deal with the US has long been a holy grail for Brexiteers, not least because it is something…
Liz Truss lives on: a look at her Growth Commission’s ideas
Liz Truss may be long gone, but one fragment of her premiership still remains: the Growth Commission she set up…
