By: John Oxley

John Oxley is a corporate strategist and political commentator. He publishes a weekly Substack, Joxley Writes, and frequently appears in other print and broadcast media. He is an associate fellow of the Bright Blue think-tank and an adviser to the Conservative YIMBY campaign.

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A New Year’s resolution for government: Stop setting targets

January 9, 2025

From HS2 to Net Zero, governments have a habit of setting ambitious long-term goals and failing to deliver. Instead of targets, we need long-term plans to fix the nation’s problems, says John Oxley The New Year almost always brings with it talk of resolutions, intentions and targets. This is true of governments too . In [...]
Junk food advertising ban defies common sense

December 5, 2024

The government’s ban on advertising foods deemed unhealthy is a big fat win for the nanny state, but it will end up costing us, says John Oxley Christmas is coming, and that means a deluge of seasonal advertising and, for most of us, overindulgence. This might be the last time we can enjoy those two [...]
Kemi Badenoch’s Tories need a corporate overhaul

November 7, 2024

Like the Manchester United owner, Kemi Badenoch must get a tarnished brand back on winning form, says John Oxley The “other” election this week may already feel like a distant memory, but for Kemi Badenoch, the work is just beginning. Winning the contest to be Leader of the Opposition may briefly feel like a triumph. [...]
Maternity pay is an investment, not a cost

October 3, 2024

Shortsighted criticism of the cost and admin involved in maternity leave do not take account of the wider benefits to society, says John Oxley There may be some businesses that bristle at the costs and admin of maternity leave. While the state essentially picks up the tab for statutory leave, this doesn’t stretch to the [...]
Pensioners and the politics of perceptions

September 12, 2024

The furore over winter fuel payments is driven by the false idea that pensioners are uniformly old, frail and poor. But in politics, feelings often matter as much as facts, says John Oxley This week’s tussle over the winter fuel allowance has highlighted one of the problems of our politics – how much of it [...]
Millennials will be hit hardest by tax rises

August 29, 2024

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

August 1, 2024

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

December 11, 2020

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 [...]

Oil prices could race past $150 as ceasefire in ‘difficult phase’

Deloitte enters rugby league as NRL Super League investment talks near

Why I love hotel restaurants – and two of my favourites

By: John Oxley

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