The special Anglo-American relationship is still worth celebrating – and defending June 25, 2019 To understand how close the relationship between Britain and America really is, consider a conversation that took place in December 2003, between the heads of the US National Security Agency (NSA) and the UK’s GCHQ. There was intelligence, the US intelligence chief said, to suggest that al-Qaeda was planning a nuclear attack. So if [...]
Chuka failed – but the centre ground isn’t as empty as you’d think June 18, 2019 It’s been a sad, strange journey for Chuka Umunna. Only a few short years ago, he was being touted as Britain’s Barack Obama, the telegenic answer to Labour’s prayers – at a time when their then leader couldn’t even eat a bacon sandwich without looking like his face was pulling in three different directions. But [...]
Enough of Brexit, time for a Tory vision of modern Britain June 11, 2019 Theresa May’s premiership is almost over – but there is just time for one last undignified squabble. The Prime Minister reportedly hopes to spend a few billion on her key domestic priorities, in an attempt to add some black ink to the sea of red in her political ledger. But Philip Hammond is insisting on [...]
Britain’s small businesses deserve a simpler, fairer tax system May 21, 2019 “When you look after small business,” Sajid Javid said last week, “you look after Britain”. But too often, he admitted, the government has focused its attention elsewhere – big government finding it easier to talk to big business than small. Britain has an enviable record of company creation. Indeed, alongside our stellar job creation rates, [...]
Business risks ‘Corbygeddon’ if it doesn’t learn to speak up May 15, 2019 The headline in the Sunday Times was stark: “Rich prepare to flee Corbyn’s Britain as Tories desert PM”. The country’s millionaires and billionaires were, according to the compilers of the paper’s annual rich list, preparing for “Corbygeddon” – the prospect of a hard-left Labour government making an irreparable dent in both their own finances and the [...]
Labour’s renationalisation plan isn’t just illiterate, it’s immoral May 8, 2019 Want to buy something, but can’t quite afford it? Just use a simple trick from John McDonnell. Here’s how it works. You say: “We’ll pay a fraction of the actual price.” They say: “Sorry, you can’t do that.” You say: “Yes, we can. We’re the government.” That, in essence, is Labour’s plan to renationalise the [...]
DEBATE: Will this year be as politically tumultuous as the last? January 3, 2019 Will this year be as politically tumultuous as the last? Robert Colvile, director of the Centre for Policy Studies and author of The Great Acceleration, says YES. Sorry to puncture the New Year cheer, but the turmoil of 2018 wasn’t a one-off – in fact, it’s the new normal. The parliamentary situation, with the Tories supported [...]