Could Jacob Rees-Mogg soon be off to 11 Downing Street? April 12, 2019 The Conservative party has a shortage of the political equivalent of rock stars. These are the politicians that the public would not merely recognise (already a rather an elite cohort), but actually might cross the road to ask for an autograph – or, more usually these days, a selfie. Boris Johnson has this star quality, of course. [...]
Emojis are a better metric for national wellbeing than traditional data methods March 20, 2019 HMRC’s programme to make tax digital continues to roll out. Anyone with a small business will know about the imminent deadline of 1 April, when VAT returns become digital. Quick to seize an opportunity, several companies have developed software to ease the task. The digitisation of tax raises the wider issue of whether technology will [...]
Want to break the Brexit deadlock? Change the negotiating terms March 18, 2019 Who knows, Theresa May’s deal may yet get through parliament at the third attempt. It seems unlikely given the scale of previous defeats. But making predictions about what will happen next in the Brexit saga is a mug’s game. If the deal fails again, the UK will request a long extension to the Article 50 [...]
No more ties in the office? Suit yourself in a world beyond workplace dress codes March 12, 2019 “A man cannot dress, but his ideas get clothed at the same time,” wrote Lawrence Stern in Tristram Shandy in 1759. More recently, Caitlin Moran pointed out that when a woman says she has nothing to wear, what she means is “there’s nothing here for who I’m supposed to be today”. Clothes are text. From [...]
The Conservative party needs to rediscover its economic way March 12, 2019 For most people, the Conservative’s 2015 “long-term economic plan” is now a distant memory. But as someone who was deeply immersed in that election campaign, I still sometimes wake up at night reciting its contents. Though much mocked for its repetition, the plan was more than just a catchphrase. From deficit reduction and tax cuts [...]
DEBATE: MPs are about to get a pay rise – but do they deserve it? March 4, 2019 MPs are about to get a pay rise – but do they deserve it? John Oxley, a Conservative commentator, says YES. MPs will soon earn £79,468. It’s far more than most people, but still not enough to lure the most talented individuals into our legislature. An ambitious and highly capable graduate in the City or [...]
Britain lost faith in its politicians – and then it voted for Brexit February 27, 2019 What do Bill Clinton, the Beano, and moat cleaning have in common? Answer: they all contributed to Brexit. We are about to reach the tenth anniversary of the MPs’ expenses scandal, the fifteenth anniversary of the launch of the TaxPayers’ Alliance (which I co-founded in 2004), and in 30 days’ time we should be leaving [...]
Anna Soubry urges Tories to put their country first and thwart a no-deal Brexit February 20, 2019 The Conservative party is being infiltrated by former Ukip members bent on ousting sitting MPs they view as traitors over Brexit, ex-Tory MP Anna Soubry warned today. Read more: Conservative split: Three Tory MPs quit party In a devastating attack on her former party, the Broxtowe MP said the Conservatives were now being controlled by [...]
China: How George Osborne’s ‘golden era’ lost its shine February 17, 2019 When former chancellor George Osborne visited China in 2015, he pronounced it the start of a “golden era” of Sino-British relations. Britain threw itself into tens-of-billions of pounds worth of trade deals, Osborne turned a blind eye to a litany of Chinese human rights abuses and President Xi Jinping even joined David Cameron for a pint [...]
Downing Street slaps down Sajid Javid over net migration target January 29, 2019 Downing Street has insisted reducing net migration to below 100,000 is still government policy – despite the home secretary saying there are no more targets. In the Commons on Monday, Sajid Javid was asked if the government was “formally dumping” its longstanding aim of getting net migration into the tens of thousands. The home secretary [...]