Is Britain ungovernable?
We need to change the nature of political leadership
Ouch. The Government’s borrowing bill rose to £24.3 billion last month – well above the OBR’s £20.9 billion forecast. In April, the interest bill alone was at its highest level ever recorded (see our Stat of the Day, below). It’s just the latest sign that state spending is outpacing taxpayers’ capacity to pay for it all.
Even Andy Burnham has noticed that more tax isn't a vote winner. He launched his by-election campaign in Makerfield by committing to uphold Labour’s General Election pledge not to raise taxes on working people – not that that stopped Rachel Reeves. He’s also open to scrapping inheritance tax – replacing it with a social care levy, so don’t get too excited.
Burnham wants to make council tax ‘less regressive’, and in an even more radical move, he floated the possibility of introducing a land value tax. There could be something to that, but execution is everything.
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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
Is Britain ungovernable?
John Penrose
‘The real problem is politicians and their officials who expensively bandage symptoms rather than curing underlying causes.’
When people describe Britain as ungovernable, it’s easy to pin the blame on our enraged citizens. But really it’s the fault of our politicians and leadership structures. Labour’s answer is more bureaucracy, but this won’t speed up delivery. What Britain needs are leaders who are properly held to account and systemic changes at the top of Whitehall. Read More
How the private sector saved Liverpool
John Alty
‘Slowly, what had been a vicious cycle was starting to turn into a virtuous, market-driven, cycle.’
With Andy Burnham claiming to have saved Manchester with his version of ‘business-friendly socialism’ (a claim which needs further scrutiny), there’s another example of regeneration in the North West we should examine. In a couple of decades, Liverpool went from riots and deprivation to investment and international recognition. It wasn’t socialism that saved the city, but the market. Read More
Why elites fear common sense
Frank Furedi
‘The ‘common’ in common sense is linked to a web of meaning that binds people together.’
Increasingly, common sense serves as a target of scorn by educators, especially in universities. It is also treated with contempt by the cultural elites in the media. Those ‘accused’ of seeing the world through the prism of common sense are regarded as potential threats to expertise and science. This is because the views held by millions threaten the world’s technocratic managerial classes. Read More
The Capitalist
In this week’s episode of CapX podcast, we share a speech by Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride on the economy, including:
Why Britain’s gilt yields are the highest in the G7
How the ‘Burnham premium’ could cost every working household £300
Labour’s plans to borrow a quarter of a trillion pounds more across a single Parliament
Watch on YouTube; listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
The CapX Reading List
The best of the web today
Business doesn't want a 'partnership' with the state
Elliot Keck, City AM
‘This is what partnering with government has looked like for decades. More and more regulation, combined with higher taxes, soaring energy costs, increasing costs of employment and now crippling waves of legal action.’
In Opposition, Labour produced document titled ‘A New Partnership’, calling for partnership between government and business based on ‘clarity, consistency, courtesy, collaboration, capability, confidence’. In practice, it’s been defined by more regulation, heavier taxation and threats of price caps. Read More
In defence of driving test touts
Charles Amos, ConservativeHome
‘Just as an effective price cap of zero in the secondary market should not be imposed due to the economic inefficiency it creates, the price cap in the primary market ought to be abolished too.’
The government recently announced that only learner drivers will be allowed to book their driving tests, meaning an effective price cap of £62 on weekdays and £75 on evenings and weekends. This is aimed at cracking down on driving instructors and professional touts mass purchasing driving tests and then reselling them at a profit. But we know that price caps don’t work, and this is no different. Read More
Winning the war of words for liberty
Jack Rankin, Prosperity Papers
Stat of the Day
And if you want more...
– Robert Peel: a very modern statesman (Engelsberg Ideas)
– What’s wrong with supermarkets making money? (The Spectator)
– Ozempic may slow down cancer (Medical Xpress)
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