It’s the economy, stupid. Oh, and the Iran war. And the corruption (see below). But if you want one big reason for the Republicans’ shellacking in the US midterms, the state of America’s economy under Trump 2.0 has to be front and centre. If the GOP are honest about their crushing defeat, keeping JD ‘economics is fake’ Vance as Trump’s presumptive successor would be a yuuge mistake.
Not that we in the UK can afford to throw too many stones. Liam Halligan, Director of the Centre for Policy Studies, spoke with City AM’s editor-in-chief Christian May about how Britain got stuck in its current debt doom loop.
And on The Capitalist this week, I interviewed Ross Clark about his new book ‘Britain is Bust’. Ross argues it isn’t too late to follow the example of Ireland and make radical cuts before we end up like Greece. The real question is: do we have any politicians with the stomach for it?
Below you’ll find all the latest pieces from CapX, plus what we’re reading from around the web.
Marc Sidwell
Editor, CapX
Today’s Takes
Fresh thinking from CapX
An AI boom could save Britain's finances
Matthew Sinclair
‘In the transformative scenario, still far from science fiction, the fiscal headroom created rises to £52bn. It is hard to overstate how game-changing this would be for UK politics.’
Britain’s finances are in a disastrous state. Chancellor John Healey’s shrinking fiscal headroom has left him little wiggle room or opportunity to properly fund defence. AI may offer a way out, by delivering much-needed growth. Faster AI adoption could pay for increased defence spending – but only if the Chancellor cuts the red tape in the way. Read More
Why your gig tickets cost an arm and a leg
David Clement
‘The near-monopolisation of the market is no win for fans, because when one company has so much control, it ends up setting nearly all the service terms, inflating prices and unnecessarily adding fees to extract more from consumers.’
‘Gigflation’ has increased the cost of tickets for live events in the UK by 212% since 2000 – well above inflation. Part of the reason for this is the near monopolisation of the market by Live Nation, Ticketmaster’s parent company. But the solution isn’t to restrict the market even more by banning resale – we need more competition, not less. Read More
The Capitalist: Ross Clark – Britain’s coming crisis
This week on The Capitalist, I spoke to veteran journalist Ross Clark about his new book, Britain is Bust: The coming sovereign debt crisis and what it will mean for you.
We discussed why he thinks neither tax rises nor growth alone can get us out of the hole, and why he would cut the state pension by 10% to unwind the effect of the triple lock.
Then we turned to the politics: why he doesn’t expect this Labour government to take a penny off welfare, why both the Conservatives’ and Reform UK’s plans fall short and whether voters can still be persuaded to back fiscal responsibility, as they did in 2010.
Best of the Web
How corruption decided the midterms
John Fund, The Spectator
‘The exit polls in the midterm elections revealed that corruption in government was almost as much an issue as the cost of living for voters.’
During the recent midterm elections, the Republicans suffered heavy defeats, ceding control of both houses of Congress to the Democrats. One of the biggest issues, yet often overlooked, was the widespread sense that the administration is corrupt: even Donald Trump’s own voters believe he is acting dishonestly. The next Republican presidential candidate needs to have much cleaner hands – another obstacle for JD Vance, given his close ties to Trump. Read More
Paris gets one thing right
Jethro Elsden, ConservativeHome
‘Walking around its streets, the main thing that struck me is how dense it is compared to London, yet in a way that doesn’t feel claustrophobic and crowded.’
Paris is a beautiful city still manages to pack in a lot of homes, unlike London. Our capital city desperately needs more housing, and if it learns the lesson of densification, it can add billions to the economy without sacrificing more space. Read More
The midterms have a lesson for Burnham
Fraser Nelson
Stat of the Day
And if you want more...
– Democracy is stuck in the 19th century (Arguably)
– How nuclear regulation lost all sense of proportion (Notes on Growth)
– The new case for government restraint (The Telegraph 🔒)
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