I want to live like Common People | Spend my money on takeaways, beauty salons and dog grooming

Poor people waste their money away on takeaways, beauty salons, cafes and dog grooming. The idea of feckless poor people frittering away their meagre incomes is well engrained in our culture. Normally accompanied by calls to make benefits less generous. or conditionality more stringent. Stupid, feckless, and untrustworthy. Mostly it is Conservative politicians and similarly… Read More I want to live like Common People | Spend my money on takeaways, beauty salons and dog grooming

Is Britain run by a liberal conspiracy? | What do Conservatives want to conserve?

I wrote this before Gary Lineker, David Attenborough and the crazy events of the last 24 hours, but it seems more relevant now, not less. In an email to thousands of Tory supporters this week Suella Braverman blamed “an activist blob of leftwing lawyers, civil servants and the Labour party” for the government’s failure to… Read More Is Britain run by a liberal conspiracy? | What do Conservatives want to conserve?

More than half of people in Britain claim more in benefits than they contribute in tax | Is this true?

No, of course it’s not. But that didn’t stop the Mail and other papers from making this their lead story this week, knocking financial scandals with Nadim Zahawi and Boris Johnson off the front page temporarily. The story in the Mail comes from a report published by Civitas, a right wing organisation based at 55… Read More More than half of people in Britain claim more in benefits than they contribute in tax | Is this true?