Will regressive alcohol duties destroy Britain’s drinks industry?
What is duty on alcoholic drinks for: to raise revenue or to make us better, more sober people? A close…
The collateral damage of lockdowns on children is still emerging
There has been plenty of evidence published over the past three years of the severe effects on children’s education and…
How we could reach net zero without dumping oil
Rishi Sunak has shown no indication that he is considering dumping the government’s legal commitment to achieve net zero by…
Backing motorists won’t save Rishi Sunak
The lesson from the Uxbridge by-election was clear to both parties: the public will not accept green policies at any…
The triumph of oil
If you want a laugh, I recommend an article which appeared in the March 1998 issue of Scientific American, ‘The…
Tories should never have taken their Ulez challenge to court
Expanding London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) may be a bad policy, a regressive tax which will impact on people…
The UN’s climate alarmism has gone too far
UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres has declared that ‘the era of global warming has ended, the era of global boiling has…
The damage of Covid lockdowns is only now becoming apparent
There are still those, like Matt Hancock, who think that lockdowns were an unalloyed good – who, indeed, believe that…
Sunak will have to water down net zero sooner or later
The Uxbridge by-election has thrown Labour into a civil war, or at least a civil skirmish. Keir Starmer has told…
Is global warming behind Greece’s wildfires?
Summer wouldn’t be complete without hordes of disgruntled British tourists being evacuated from their hotels, flown home early or spending…
Road rage: the great motorist rebellion has begun
The backlash against Ulez is only the beginning
The Ulez rebellion has started
It was, to adapt the famous Sun headline from the 1992 general election, Ulez wot won it. The Conservatives’ narrow…
Has Britain avoided falling into recession?
Earlier in the week, the stock market responded very positively to news that inflation had come out a little lower…
Striking consultants aren’t likely to get sympathy
Today and tomorrow’s strike by NHS consultants underlines how industrial action has become the preserve of the well-paid. The consultants…
Why have the Tories given up on London?
Have you ever heard of Susan Hall? Until a month ago, I hadn’t. Now that she has been selected as the…
How investors could benefit from the cooling housing market
There are, of course, many people struggling with their mortgage repayments. There are first-time buyers who have been especially hard…
The strange glee over the European heatwave
You could almost sense climate campaigners willing those thermometers in Sardinia to nudge into the unknown – a reading above…
It’s not for Sunak to save students from themselves
Rishi Sunak is not wrong to write, as he does in the Telegraph today, that too many young people are…
If the Tories scrap inheritance tax, I’m voting Labour
I have been playing a game with myself recently: asking just what would it take for me to vote Labour…
Cruise liners should apologise to Faroe Islanders
It is not pleasant to think of a poor bunch of creatures in distress, but the passengers who visited the…
Would road pricing be fair?
Sometimes there is a problem so glaring that you wonder why no one is addressing it. Sooner or later, the…
Should people with big gardens pay more for their water?
According to Cathryn Ross, Thames Water’s co-interim chief executive, householders with large gardens should be paying a higher price for…
Is Jeremy Hunt following in Gordon Brown’s footsteps?
Anyone fancy having a flutter with 5 per cent of their pension fund on unlisted start-ups? It is not necessarily…
Is Joe Biden really a close friend of Britain?
According to Joe Biden on the steps of Downing Street, by travelling to the UK he ‘couldn’t be meeting with…
The BBC is falling short on its climate protest coverage
According to a YouGov poll this week 64 per cent have an unfavourable view of Just Stop Oil (only 17…
