Millennials will be hit hardest by tax rises Opinion The generation that’s about to reach the most rewarding of years of their careers face spending their entire working lives earning less and paying more for worse public services, says John Oxley Few will have been cheered by Sir Keir Starmer’s speech this week. While Harold Macmillan might have told voters that they’d never had [...]
It’s not just taxes, rent, childcare and a decrepit NHS are driving talent out of the UK Opinion High taxes are a problem, but the list of factors driving talent away from the UK is far more extensive, writes John Oxley One of the first criticisms levelled at Labour’s intended tax rises is their potential to drive high-productivity workers away from the UK. It is a fair one. In a world where capital [...]
A year on from the election, Boris is ensnared in the classic Conservative leadership trap It seemed like all of Boris Johnson’s plans had come together. The Red Wall had tumbled, turning Labour heartlands blue for the first time in history. The Prime Minister would return to the Commons with 364 MPs backing him and his oven-ready Brexit deal. He had vanquished his own party rivals, outplayed a divided Commons, [...]
What next for one-term President Donald Trump? November 11, 2020 There perhaps nothing that will hurt Donald Trump more than being a one-term wonder. Politics is a cruel game, there is no second place, and falling short is both brutal and public. For a man with an ego that the world has come to know, the last six weeks as a caretaker President will rankle. [...]
How the Democrats threw away their shot to topple Trumpism November 4, 2020 The US election has not delivered the Joe Biden landslide that many were anticipating. Instead, the Democratic candidate appears to be limping towards a narrow Electoral College victory, which may well end up in the courts. Even if The Donald is beaten, he is hardly vanquished, and the Democrats also look like they’ve failed to [...]
Ennobling your mates maintains the finest tradition of the House of Lords August 4, 2020 Britain’s upper chamber is a place of tradition: the Woolsack, the ermine, the outrage over who a Prime Minister has placed there. Boris Johnson’s latest ennoblements have been no exception. Since the honours were announced last week there has been much said about both the size and content of this newest cohort. Yet really, his [...]
With its own Magnitsky Act, Britain can make it clear that international wrongdoers are not welcome here July 10, 2020 The new government sanctions regime, which has seen restrictions imposed on around 50 individuals accused of orchestrating human rights abuses, is a major step in Britain’s post-Brexit place in the world. Dubbed the “Magnitsky Act”, after the Moscow lawyer murdered after uncovering a massive tax fraud, this approach allows the UK to pursue a new [...]
Coronavirus crisis is putting the public good back at the heart of commerce March 26, 2020 Conservative chancellors are not usually known for their inspirational quotes. Rishi Sunak, however, channelled the mood of the nation when he unveiled his bold package to tackle the coronavirus crisis. Ending his speech on a stirring note, he set out how history would judge our response, highlighting the acts of kindness and decency that would [...]
The Covid-19 crisis can move us past the politics of easy answers March 13, 2020 The Black Death begat the end of feudalism and the start of the Renaissance. In the seventeenth century a golden age of architecture and science emerged from a London ravaged by fire and plague. Pestilence can be the cradle of creative destruction, and perhaps it can move us past the age of populism and the [...]
If we want better immigration policies, we first need better immigration debates February 25, 2020 It seems odd to suggest that we should talk more about immigration. It is the policy area which attracts perhaps the most wide-ranging and outraged of political commentary, and was undeniably a key driver in the vote to leave the European Union. Yet the quality of the debate, concerned primarily with numbers and rules, has [...]
