In 1970, Ted Heath unexpectedly became Prime Minister, replacing Harold Wilson for what turned out to be a turbulent four years. His Chancellor, Anthony Barber, embarked on one of the most ambitious — and disastrous — economic experiments in modern British history. The resulting “Barber Boom” was a huge dash for growth: tax cuts, relaxed … Read more
I used to work in Redcar. Every morning I would drive past the steelworks. It dominated the landscape, physically and psychologically. You could see it from miles away: towers, chimneys, flames, steam, conveyors, endless geometry in rust red and grey. Whatever else Teesside was, it was a place that made things. Even if you never … Read more
There has been a lot of comment about the latest UK growth figures. The headlines are undeniably good. Britain is now the fastest-growing economy in the G7 on recent quarterly measures, and since the General Election only the US has grown faster. That is particularly notable because the US is running a budget deficit of … Read more
Clearly this was a big night for Reform, a bad night for Labour, and a mixed night for everyone else. Labour lost seats to the Greens, to a lesser extent Reform, and to Plaid Cymru and the SNP. The Conservatives lost seats heavily to Reform. But for the Government to lose seats at this point … Read more
Over the last few weeks I’ve been travelling up and down the East Coast, visiting places that already have Reform MPs, and places they are targeting in the upcoming local elections. You can find the other pieces below. I’ve saved the most interesting for last: Sunderland. I’ve never hidden the fact that I’m a Sunderland … Read more
Starmer has survived a key vote in the House over the Mandelson affair. This isn’t a shock. Contrary to the popular press and the internet, he was never likely to lose. I don’t normally comment on people or events. Normally I stick to rather policies, but this affair does reveal some important things about how … Read more
UK ministers are reportedly considering triggering a break clause in Palantir’s £330 million contract for the NHS Federated Data Platform (FDP). The clause, available from February 2027, would allow the government to exit the seven-year deal early. The review follows mounting pressure from the British Medical Association, MPs and campaign groups, who have raised concerns … Read more
One of the daftest things I read on line is the assertion that “you can’t rewrite history” This, of course, is nonsense, history is rewritten all the time, that is how history works. Each generation writes it’s own history, attitudes change, new facts emerge, documents are found in the archives, things are dug up from … Read more
After the Gorton by-election, a number of stories circulated about so-called “family voting” — Muslim families voting together, with the husband supposedly directing how others should vote. This narrative was quickly seized on as an explanation for Reform’s failure to win the seat and for the collapse of the Conservative vote. The Conservatives, in particular, … Read more
Brexit has damaged the UK’s exports. I know this from first-hand experience. Before the vote, we exported to Ireland, Spain and Japan. After the vote, nothing. Japan might seem an odd market to lose. But like many small exporters, we sold through a distributor that bundled together drinks products for Asian markets. Mixing UK and … Read more