Burnham's poisoned crown
Plus: Farage's bin fight, and why your air con sucks
Don’t get too comfortable, Andy. Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown – just ask Gordon Brown.
Andy Burnham now has an unassailable level of support for the Labour leadership, and looks certain to become our next prime minister before the month is out. But he’d better not count on a quiet start to his time in No 10 – foreign policy experts, including John Bew, are warning that Putin could escalate the Ukraine war within weeks, and perhaps even attack Poland to test Nato’s resolve. It’s a lot easier when you just have to pick the colours of the buses.
Speaking of invasions, the Bayeux Tapestry is back in Britain for the first time in nearly a thousand years, after a secretive overnight lorry journey through the Channel Tunnel. Your chance to see the original small boats crisis, medieval-style.
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
Farage is fighting a bin, but I still have hope
Reem Ibrahim
‘The world is not saved by politicians. It is improved by ordinary people who wake up every day and make something better than it was yesterday.’
Economic growth is practically non-existent, one in four working-age people don’t work and the government is busily eroding our civil liberties. Meanwhile the person who many on the Right have touted as ‘our only hope’ is competing with a satirical bin. Some may think it is time to give up hope altogether. But hope was never going to come from Westminster anyway. Read More
Burnham’s double death tax would be a disaster
Harry Phibbs
‘Inheritance tax is complicated enough. But making CGT into a second death tax would be an administrative nightmare.’
The PM-in-waiting is considering changes to the capital gains tax (CGT) uplift on death rules. That would, put more plainly, leave inherited family homes at risk of being liable for CGT. Effectively, it would mean two death taxes. The UK already has among the most vindictive tax regimes on death in the world. Andy Burnham needs to think again. Read More
Stat of the day
Best of the Web
Gary Stevenson's wealth tax wouldn't even work
Christopher Snowdon, The Critic
‘The reason most economists are dismissive of such taxes is the same reason governments on both the Left and Right have abandoned them over the years: they are costly to administer, don’t raise much money and drive talent out of the country.’
Gary Stevenson, a YouTuber and self-styled economist, has been promoting a Channel 4 documentary advocating for a wealth tax. But the report he cites in his defence calls a wealth tax a ‘non-starter’. Even on his own optimistic projections, it would raise just £24bn a year – enough to cover two months of interest on the national debt. Read More
Can vibes save the economy?
Paul Ormerod, City AM
‘After winning a huge majority in 2024, [Reeves] acted as if the election were still being fought. The overall message from both the Chancellor and the Prime Minister was one of doom and gloom.’
Confidence is a key factor in economic performance, and after two decades of low growth and global shocks, the private sector has been hesitant to invest. Andy Burnham is certainly more cheerful than his predecessor. Whether that’s enough to shift the economy is another matter. Read More
How Margaret Thatcher made Andy Burnham
The Capitalist: Towler – Farage under fire
And if you want more...
– David Hockney’s lessons for economists (Project Syndicate)
– Social housing rewards the wrong people (The Economist)
– Your air con sucks – here’s how to fix it (New Scientist)
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