Burnham to Starmer: drop dead
Plus: the Brexit architect looks back, and why we should give council houses away
‘I want him to have a big role in government.’ It may have been said through gritted teeth, but Keir Starmer offered a seat at the Cabinet table to Andy Burnham today, ahead of tomorrow’s critical by-election in Makerfield, which Burnham looks set to win.
Burnham’s camp promptly threw the offer back in the Prime Minister’s face. One cruel but accurate ally of the Manchester Mayor put it plainly: ‘The benefit Andy has is the wind of change for not having been associated with the Government’s failings’.
The Burnhamites are demanding Starmer surrender to the King of the North without a fight. Starmer, for now, isn’t playing along.
Still, proof elsewhere today that politicians can find common cause when they choose: there seems to be a stay of execution for the ponies of Dartmoor.
Who knew it was so easy to put Natural England back in its box? Now do bat tunnels.
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
Why we should give council houses away
John Wills
‘Social housing provides a facsimile of the security that ownership creates: it is missing the foundational feature that makes ownership transformative across generations.’
The UK is about to spend £39 billion on social housing. Andy Burnham wants to spend even more. But what if the entire model is wrong? Learning from Thatcher’s Right To Buy and turning tenants into owners would cost the state less, not more, than the current model. Read More
Let the police use AI
Ian Acheson
‘AI is neither a silver bullet nor a dystopian inevitability.’
Properly governed AI offers one of the few realistic ways to square the circle of constrained budgets, rising demand and public expectations for visible neighbourhood policing. Studies suggest it could cut crime by 30-40%. But that opportunity can easily be lost to political grandstanding. Read More
The Capitalist
Ten years ago, Matthew Elliott ran the campaign that changed Britain forever. As the architect of Vote Leave, he helped deliver a result that almost nobody – including many on his own side – genuinely believed would happen.
A decade on, with some senior Labour figures openly discussing a return to the EU, Lord Elliott joins Marc Sidwell to look back at how Brexit was really won, and to make the case for why the battle isn’t over yet.
The CapX Reading List
The best of the web today
Sickness benefits have gone badly wrong
Helen Whately, The Telegraph 🔒
‘People want help to be there for the sickest in our society – but they don’t want to see their taxes propping up a lifestyle they can’t afford themselves.’
Our welfare system was designed with the best of intentions, but it is not up to the job. We are parking people on welfare and running up a bill we cannot afford. This has to change. A root and branch review of sickness benefits will look to rip up the system and build something better. Read More
Fix equality law or your business will be Next
Joseph Dinnage, City AM
‘The Equality Act was used to put the retailer Next on the hook for millions over spurious equal pay claims.’
The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Rather than simplifying our legislative landscape, the Equality Act has complicated our understanding of the law, undermined traditional legal principles, wreaked havoc in the workplace and distorted the free market. Read More
Can we put data centres in orbit?
Kai, Tech Economics
Stat of the day
And if you want more...
– The race to mine the ocean floor (Arena)
– AI is more persuasive than you are (X)
– What makes a Venus fly trap snap? (Reuters)
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