Could Labour be about to take the cost of doing business seriously? In a new interview with The Times, John Healey talked about being on the side of bloody-minded entrepreneurs, and even had a good word to say about turning a profit.
Not so fast, though – with employers groaning under the weight of tax and regulation, they need more than reassuring rhetoric from the Chancellor. Matthew Lynn writes below on the reforms entrepreneurs need to see.
And as my colleague Daniel Herring writes in City AM today, even a Budget that avoids damaging missteps like a rise in capital gains tax won’t fix the problems with Labour’s existing policies on tax and spending.
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
Stop trashing Britain’s inheritance
Nigel Biggar
‘British history – just like any other – has been populated by creatures and sinners, not gods and saints.’
There is a distorted narrative gaining ground in Britain that ‘Empire equals evil’. But this is clearly nonsense. Our ancestors weren’t perfect, but they left us with valuable traditions and institutions such as the common law and racial equality. We need to understand what it’s taken to create and protect what we’ve received or, like the young in France today, we’ll gleefully burn it to the ground. Read More
Britain is heading for blackouts
James Price
‘For over 20 minutes, engineers ran the grid beyond its normal safety limits, the point at which one more breakdown can knock power stations offline one after another and black out the country.’
Britain’s energy system is a mess. Engineers working on the grid are suffering high levels of stress, as our increasing reliance on renewables makes the system less flexible. In June, Britain came within a whisker of not having enough power to go round. If we don’t change direction, we can’t be sure the lights will stay on. Read More
Stat of the Day
Best of the Web
Ditching a CGT rise doesn't make Healey pro-growth
Daniel Herring, City AM
‘Ultimately, if growth was this Government’s number one priority, it would be finding ways to reduce taxes on business by cutting spending.’
Labour have ruled out increasing capital gains tax at the Budget. That’s good news – it would be damaging and counterproductive. But John Healey appears likely to raise taxes on banks instead. That will also be bad for the economy – and won’t even raise that much money. Read More
How Labour could actually help entrepreneurs
Matthew Lynn, The Spectator
‘A Chancellor who was appointed as part of an administration that plans to “end 40 years of neo-liberalism”, and wants to bring whole chunks of the economy back under public control, does not seem a natural backer of the side hustlers and gig-workers trying to start up their own enterprise.’
Apparently John Healey is planning a ‘budget for entrepreneurs’. It’s about time after the beating they’ve got from both major parties for the last 10 years. He could start by restoring the entrepreneur’s 10% rate of capital gains tax or repealing the draconian IR35 rules that discriminate against the self-employed. Read More
Why France can build and the UK can't
The Capitalist: David Frost on how to free Britain
And if you want more...
– The age of discovery isn’t over (The Progress Network)
– The case against comprehensive schools (The Critic)
– Ryan Bourne on the economics of everything (Cato Institute)
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