By: Simon Clarke

Sir Simon Clarke director of Onward, the centre-right thinktank. He previously served as chief secretary to the treasury and secretary of state for levelling up.

All 24 Articles

We will all pay the price for Starmer’s weakness on welfare

July 2, 2025

Keir Starmer is a weak Prime Minister and parliament has proved it can’t condone any reduction in public spending. This will end very badly, says Simon Clarke The collapse of Labour’s plans for welfare reform marks the end of its first year in government – and perhaps the end of any kind of serious reforming [...]
Labour is locking Britain into a high-tax, low-growth doom loop

June 18, 2025

Tax, borrowing, the cost of borrowing, unemployment and inflation are all going up, while growth is going down. Yet in the face of this, Labour’s instinct is to tax more, spend more and centralise more, says Simon Clarke When in a big hole, muddle the figures so nobody can understand them. That’s what Paul Johnson [...]
Britain’s biggest growth threat is giving into doomsterism

June 4, 2025

As the Spending Review looms over Westminster, Britain must not just lie down and accept decline, writes Simon Clarke.
Reform would be an economic disaster (trust me, I worked for Liz Truss)

May 21, 2025

I’ve seen first-hand what happens when politicians promise huge tax cuts without acknowledging difficult trade-offs – and that’s exactly what we’d get from a Reform government, says Sir Simon Clarke It’s time to take Reform seriously, because one day soon, they might run our country. Stranger things have happened. Look at France, where the traditional [...]
To be the party of opportunity, Conservatives must be the party of YIMBYs

May 7, 2025

Britain’s housing shortage is now so severe that even if we hit Labour’s now abandoned building target, it would still take half a century to close the gap, says Sir Simon Clarke Last night I was delighted to launch Conservative YIMBY (“Yes In My Back Yard”), a campaign group which aims to transform Conservative attitudes [...]
Bankrupt, rat-infested Birmingham shows why local government matters

April 23, 2025

With local elections across much of England, it’s time we took regional accountability much more seriously, says Simon Clarke Next Thursday, there are local elections across much of England. For many people, these events will pass them by entirely. For others, they will be purely an opportunity to send a message about national politics: it [...]
What’s gone wrong with the police?

April 9, 2025

Britain’s police forces are facing three interlinked crises – of people, purpose and poor technology, says Simon Clarke Policing is in peril. The performance of our police is at an all-time low, with fewer than seven in a hundred crimes leading to a charge or summons, down from 17 out of 100 in 2015. Sexual [...]
City AM readers: Join the fight for the centre right

March 26, 2025

Simon Clarke is calling on City AM readers to play their part in a once-in-a-lifetime battle for the survival of the centre right. Unless Conservatives can renew their arguments, they will be replaced by populists who only offer anger an no ideas “Strategy is an overworked and thus devalued word, and strategic thinking can be [...]
What do Conservatives really think about climate change?

March 12, 2025

The public is clear that it wants action on climate change, but don’t want to pay more for it – and Conservatives are particularly opposed to higher taxes. The future of the centre-right depends on resolving this tension, says Simon Clarke What do the public think about the environment and the UK’s commitment to climate [...]
Ed Miliband’s net zero obsession is harming the green energy transition

February 27, 2025

Every industry expert agrees that Ed Miliband’s target for a 95 per cent clean energy grid is unattainable and the sacrifices required will alienate the public. There is a better way, says Simon Clarke It is a deep irony that Ed Miliband, who as energy secretary gave us the Climate Change Act in 2008, risks [...]

Salah offered Liverpool escape route as Saudi Pro League chief talks up interest

Salah offered Liverpool escape route as Saudi Pro League chief talks up interest

Sartoria Dei Duchi at The Royal Exchange: Redefining Luxury

By: Simon Clarke

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