Keir Starmer is dangerously deluded October 1, 2025 The prime minister may have insisted yesterday that wealth creation is “the defining mission of this government” but it certainly wasn’t the defining mission of his speech to the Labour party conference. There were roughly 7,000 words in Keir Starmer’s address to party members in Liverpool, with “business” being uttered just four times – and [...]
Rachel Reeves was overshadowed by her future self September 30, 2025 The Chancellor’s speech yesterday was overshadowed by one she hasn’t yet delivered; that’ll be the Budget, on 26 November. The whole country knows that the November Budget is going to be painful, one way or another, and its inevitable constraints (in fact, just the timing of it) meant that Reeves wasn’t able to say much [...]
Watch: Is the UK at risk of recession? September 25, 2025 We were told this would be the most pro-business government in the history of the country – so why have a gang of top chief executives this week fired warning shots at the Treasury – and why has one of them warned that we’re heading into a recession? It wasn’t supposed to be like this. [...]
Reform could yet come crashing down to earth September 25, 2025 Analysing Welsh council by-elections may not be your idea of a good time (it isn’t mine, frankly) but one caught my eye last week. In the ward of Trowbridge in Cardiff, Labour lost the seat as the party’s vote share evaporated, down more than 30 per cent. They came third, behind the Liberal Democrats who [...]
Even in Lib Dem Bournemouth, Farage makes the weather September 24, 2025 Two important speeches took place yesterday, attracting, I suspect, very different sized audiences. At the United Nations in New York, US President Donald Trump disregarded the 15 minute slot he’d been allocated to embark on a rambling, contentious, provocative and interesting speech to the assembled nations. Meanwhile, in Bournemouth, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, [...]
Infrastructure could be rare success story for Labour September 23, 2025 The decision to allow a second runway at Gatwick is entirely sensible and most welcome. As the Chancellor said yesterday on her visit to the airport, the development “will mean that people going on holiday will have a greater choice of destinations [and] it will mean lower costs for a family holiday.” More importantly, she [...]
Was this actually Starmer’s best week? September 18, 2025 £150bn of investment has been pledged by US giants, itching to pour their money into the UK – including more than £30bn to turbocharge our artificial intelligence base. The choreography was masterful, and I don’t just mean the military and Royal welcome dolled out to the Trumps and their entourage, although it was pretty spectacular. [...]
What the US tech investments tell us about the UK’s public markets September 18, 2025 There was some debate in the City AM newsroom on Tuesday over which story should grace the front page yesterday. On the one hand, news of £30bn worth of tech investment offered the kind of optimism we’re always looking out for, but on the other hand news came that global fund managers were pulling out [...]
Tech investment provides Starmer with some light relief September 17, 2025 The Special Relationship will be on display this week, but it will also be tested. On a commercial level, things are rumbling along rather nicely; £30bn of US investment into the UK’s AI infrastructure is nothing to sniff at. Donald Trump’s state visit comes with its own political baggage, on which more in a moment, [...]
I find Tommy Robinson repulsive, so why did so many march behind him? September 16, 2025 I struggled to identify the most significant elements of Saturday’s ‘Unite the Kingdom’ march in London. Was it the fact that 150,000 (mostly) ordinary people took to the streets in a (mostly) peaceful protest against large-scale immigration? Or was it that they were called to do so by a man who has served multiple prison [...]
