Sorry, Andy. Manchesterism has been mogged – the PM’s political philosophy, such as it is, made the shortlist for the Collins word of the year, but lost out to ‘mogging’, meaning outshining someone or something.
Meanwhile, Americans are going to the polls today for the midterm elections – with voters distinctly unimpressed by Donald Trump’s stewardship of the economy (see our Stat of the Day). If MAGA Republicans are, as the polls suggest, heading for a thrashing, perhaps they can learn a thing or two from Kemi Badenoch’s Conservatives. See below.
As for Reform UK, the party’s former comms chief Gawain Towler writes for CapX today defending Robert Jenrick’s call for the rescue of Poundland. It’s certainly not orthodox free-market thinking, but Towler argues that, far from embracing socialism, Reform are practising a form of conservatism discarded by today’s Tories.
Are Labour about to nudge away your pension freedoms? Torsten Bell was promoting his plans for a default ‘guided retirement’ model today. But as former pensions minister Steve Webb told The Times, it would be a mistake to stop people from using their pensions as they wish.
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
How socialist is Reform's Poundland plan?
Gawain Towler
‘Where Jenrick is open to the charge is his tone. “Wall Street” is a leftist trope for demonising free markets. Bernie Sanders loves it.’
Reform UK’s Robert Jenrick wants to save Poundland, and the 12,000 jobs that would be lost if it went into administration. How does this square with the free-market reforms in his ‘Teal Budget’? Kemi Badenoch says it shows Reform are ‘another left-wing party’. Or is it a return to a very different kind of conservatism? Read More
The UK must focus on its real Commonwealth friends
Sean Ridley
‘All this talk of reparations seems to be a cover for an attempted shakedown of the UK by its former colonies, especially those who’ve proven to be incapable of adequately governing themselves post-independence.’
Andy Burnham and King Charles are in Antigua and Barbuda for a meeting of Commonwealth leaders. Once again, many members are using the opportunity to demand slavery reparations. Burnham has agreed to send £40 million in development funding, but this will only turbocharge requests for even more. It’s time for the UK to move on. Read More
Stat of the Day
Best of the Web
John Healey’s anti-business bias has been exposed
Adam Smith, The Telegraph 🔒
‘It is a peculiar version of “growth in every postcode” that offers a generous new relief to a narrow group of London-based tech bros paid for by increasing taxes on family firms, small-scale service companies and other entrepreneurs found up and down the country.’
John Healey’s first Budget was pro-business in rhetoric only. He celebrated entrepreneurship while doubling the corporation tax surcharge on banks, hitting the gambling industry, hiking the tax on company cars and raising VAT for private-hire firms. The Chancellor’s refusal to cut welfare or raise broad-based taxes signals to businesses that he sees them as cash cows, nothing else. Read More
🎧Tim Worstall: Isabella Weber’s power-hungry economics
Why the Tories must be pragmatic about Europe
Albie Amankona, ConservativeHome
‘Looking back at the apocalyptic forecasts of the Remain campaign and the starry-eyed promises of the Leave camp, only one objective conclusion can be drawn: EU membership was never the primary driver of British destiny that either side claimed.’
The Conservative Party needs to return to pragmatism when considering the European Union. Leaving has neither been the great success that Reform UK claimed nor has it been the economic disaster that Labour predicted. Conservatives should recognise that British businesses value easy market access while prioritising the interests of the British state and maintaining strong border security. Read More
The Capitalist: Liam Halligan & Daniel Herring – what’s in the Budget?
And if you want more...
– Jack Rankin: the case for pragmatic liberalism (UCL)
– Welcome to the zeptoverse (BBC)
– What the Tories can teach the GOP (Project Syndicate)
Can we make CapX better?
Or reply to this email to let us know your thoughts.
We'll be back tomorrow.
Towler makes a fair point that saving a high-street chain can sit inside an older conservative tradition, the kind that cared about towns and jobs as much as balance sheets. The trouble is precedent. Once a party promises to rescue Poundland, it gets much harder to say no to the next struggling retailer, and the restraint promised in the Teal Budget starts to look negotiable. Badenoch's 'another left-wing party' jab probably overshoots, yet it lands with voters who remember how many British bailouts ended up as permanent subsidy. A clearer test might be whether Reform would attach conditions, like a sale to a private buyer or a time limit on support, so the rescue reads as a bridge and avoids becoming a habit.