Polanski’s fall; Burnham’s gain?

Plus: two taxes the Tories should scrap, and why planners like ugly buildings

Oct 09, 2026

Zack Polanski has fallen. He failed to win the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, although for now he has vowed to stay on as leader of the Greens. What will his party do now? A challenge to Polanski’s leadership has to be in the cards. Perhaps he and Ed Davey will be having a few strategy calls about how to fend off zealous rivals, as the Lib Dem leader faced his own leadership challenge today. You can read more about the by-election below.

Meanwhile across the channel the French are protesting, again. Students protests have flared up demanding better resources and investment. But does this reflect the facts on the ground? As with UK protests against ‘NHS austerity’, the problem is not with a decline in funding. Instead, France should look to England if they want to make their schools better.

François Valentin@Valen10Francois

Given the protests and students (legitimately) complaining about lack of teachers, you'd think French Education went through some form of austerity recently And yet we have 130K more staff... and 390k fewer students

10:45 AM · Oct 9, 2026 · 17.4K Views

17 Replies · 110 Reposts · 765 Likes

Below you’ll find all the latest pieces from CapX, plus what we’re reading from around the web.

Oscar Gill-Lewis
Deputy Editor, CapX

Today’s Takes

Fresh thinking from CapX

Why Badenoch must scrap these two taxes

John Penrose

‘Stamp duty is our worst and most economically damaging levy, while inheritance tax is the most ambition-sapping and hated. Together they’re the ugly sisters of Britain’s tax code.’

Britain has one of the longest and most complicated tax codes in the world. Two of the most destructive taxes on the books are stamp duty and inheritance tax. By simplifying the tax code and reforming other levies, Kemi Badenoch could scrap both of these taxes in full, helping to boost investment, economic growth and ambition in the country. Read More

The war on pastiche is fuelling Nimbyism

Edward Teather

‘Whether something “fits in” does affect whether it will get the full force of the Nimbys or not. It was new builds not fitting in that took down the only ever openly-Yimby council planning policy in 2022.’

You couldn’t build the Palace of Westminster today, because the council would reject the design as ‘pastiche’. Across the country, local plans punish vernacular designs that mimic pre-existing buildings. This discourages developers from even trying to build in attractive and popular styles, and the resulting designs fuel Nimby protests. Poundbury shows that pastiche design can be beautiful and popular, helping to build houses more easily. Read More

Stat of the Day

Best of the Web

Zack Polanski is on the brink

Ross Clark, The Spectator

‘The Burnham bounce, which at first looked as invigorating as an overweight Dad on a child’s trampoline, just got a whole lot bouncier.’

Zack Polanski’s failure to win the Holborn and St Pancras by-election is a disaster for him and the Green Party. It undermines his leadership and signals the Greens’ failure to establish themselves as a national party. The results are also worrying for the Right, as the Left is much more likely to vote tactically. A Burnham general election victory now looks all too probable. Read More

Don’t let the unions hold schools back

Martyn Oliver, The Telegraph 🔒

‘Recently, trades unions have spearheaded calls for the removal of all grading – or of Ofsted altogether.’

Despite heavy trade union criticism, Ofsted inspections are helping improve all schools. England is now a top 10 performer in the world in reading, maths and science. That’s thanks to the efforts of figures like Michael Gove, who followed the evidence to improve standards. But inspections also played a vital role in keeping standards high – we mustn’t let up now. Read More