Can they stop the boats? Nigel Farage and France’s Jordan Bardella shared the stage at Reform UK’s conference today to announce a deal that would let Britain intercept small boats launched from French shores and return them. Now they both just need to become prime minister to put it into effect.
Meanwhile politics as normal continues, as Labour’s plan to scrap the ‘world’s biggest quango’, NHS England, has run aground as the high salaries of the arm’s-length body’s officials are incompatible with pay levels in the Department of Health. Instead, the official recommendation is to replace NHS England… with yet another quango.
And in a sign of what economic stagnation and weakness over the Chagos Islands invites, Argentina’s Javier Milei is sabre-rattling over the Falklands. In 2024, writing for CapX, Karl Williams predicted this danger. As he said then, growth is essential to keep Britain safe: ‘Want to keep the Falklands? Build some bloody houses.’
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
Can Reform deliver their post-Thatcherite promises?
Joseph Dinnage
‘Reform – in spite of the increased professionalism of their conference and growing interest from the corporate world – still behave like more of a campaign group than a well-oiled party.’
The start of Reform UK’s conference didn’t quite go as planned, as the party’s Head of Policy James Orr and Nigel Farage’s close aide Dan Jukes both stepped down over a donation scandal. Yet core party supporters haven’t wavered, and the corporate presence rivals that seen at Conservative Party conferences in recent years. Reform say they want to deliver a post-Thatcherite vision – can they deliver? Read More
What critics keep getting wrong about capitalism
Vincent Geloso
‘Milton Friedman supported a negative income tax – a variant of a guaranteed minimum income – and schooling vouchers. Hardly the mark of someone who believed in the complete absence of political interference.’
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy’s new entry on ‘Capitalism’ turned out to be a takedown rather than a neutral account – it went viral as a result. There is nothing wrong with critiquing capitalism, but it’s important that critics engage with what its defenders actually believe. Otherwise, as in this case, anti-capitalist attacks get recycled by one scholar after another until they lose touch with reality. Read More
Stat of the Day
Best of the Web
Bardella and Farage ‘speak the same language’
James Heale, The Spectator
‘I am convinced that in the new European architecture… we could tomorrow work with Great Britain.’
Jordan Bardella of France's National Rally joined Nigel Farage on stage at Reform UK’s conference today, where the pair signed an agreement to send Channel migrants back to France. The man tipped to be France's Prime Minister if Marine Le Pen wins the presidency also suggested that Farage in Downing Street would allow new forms of European co-operation. Read More
The shrinking graduate premium
John Burn-Murdoch, Financial Times
‘In the UK, … the long-run erosion of the graduate premium has accelerated in the past four years … even for those with STEM degrees and graduates in London’s knowledge-intensive labour market.’
New analysis shows that in both the US and the UK, the wage premium for graduates has started to fall, even as the number of graduates declines. Whether AI is the immediate cause or not, it’s clear that economic and technological change is weakening the link between academic credentials and career prospects. Read More
We have forgotten how power works
Stephen Webb
The Capitalist
Julian Jessop – the problem with Burnham’s growth plan
And if you want more...
– Set football free (ConservativeHome)
– Why is the Right embracing state power? (Reason)
– Don’t underestimate Britain’s latest trade deal (City AM)
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