What next for Britain's economy?
There's only so much stagnation our poor country can take
Scrap the triple lock! Says… the Resolution Foundation. Maybe Rachel Reeves will listen this time.
Unfortunately, the Chancellor has been out today explaining why your taxes probably need to go up even higher: this time to cover the cost of increased defence spending. The public might be happier with that if Reeves hadn’t been so busy spending taxpayer money on Labour’s other priorities.
In America, David Cameron’s former adviser Steve Hilton is now the Republican candidate to be Governor of California, endorsed by Donald Trump. Of course, CapX was on this story a year ago. It’s a long way from being Number 10’s ‘barefoot revolutionary’.
Finally, my very best wishes to Joseph Dinnage, who moves on from CapX to join the Prosperity Institute today – you can read his last column for us as deputy editor below. And don't worry, Joe will continue to write for us regularly in his new role.
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
What next for Britain's economy?
Joseph Dinnage
‘Rachel Reeves has been a friend to business in the way Brutus was a mate of Caesar's.’
After two and a half years, CapX’s deputy editor is leaving. How far has Britain come in that time? The Conservatives have been replaced by Labour, and Reform UK and the Greens are threatening the political duopoly. But on the really important matters – economic growth, taxation, business and public spending – politicians are responding to the same old rotten incentives. Read More
The £1,000 rule killing Britain's cake sheds
James Hodgkinson
‘Home bakers are being told that they must purchase a street trading licence or shut up shop.’
In recent months, a baked-goods revolution has swept the nation. Stalls have been set up, and home bakers have thrown open their garden gates to commerce. Given Britain’s dire economic outlook, many would find this ingenuity laudable. Unfortunately, regulation-obsessed local authorities seem to disagree. Read More
The Capitalist
Keir Starmer is giving tech companies three months to activate on-device content scanning and age verification across all smartphones and tablets sold in Britain – or face fines and potentially criminal liability. Framed as a child safety measure, the proposal has drawn fierce criticism from privacy advocates, civil liberties groups and free speech lawyers who warn it amounts to building a mass surveillance infrastructure under the pretext of safety. The messaging app Signal has already said it will not comply – will others follow?
The CapX Reading List
The best of the web today
In Belfast, history and mass migration are a toxic mix
Ian Acheson, The Daily Telegraph 🔒
‘In tightly packed, low-income neighbourhoods where people already feel squeezed, even relatively small changes can be politically explosive.’
The atrocious knife attack in north Belfast, in which police say the suspect is Sudanese, brings together three uncomfortable facts about modern Northern Ireland. First, the place is still hard-wired for sectarian politics. Second, it is now experiencing migration and demographic change that its institutions were never designed to handle. Finally, there is almost no honest public language for discussing the overlap between the two. Read More
Why is Peter Kyle trying to pick winners?
Matthew Bowles, City AM
‘Instead of creating a better environment for all businesses, ministers appear convinced that growth can be engineered through targeted support to a select few firms deemed worthy of special treatment.’
If Britain is to ever produce a trillion-dollar company, it will not be a result of the schemes announced by Peter Kyle and Rachel Reeves this week. It will be a result of creating an economic environment in which ambitious businesses can start, scale, invest and recruit without needing special handouts or assistance from the state. Read More
How long until AI doesn’t need humans?
Asterisk Magazine
Stat of the Day
And if you want more...
– Kemi Badenoch is laying a trap for Nigel Farage (UnHerd)
– The first human trial of a reverse-aging drug begins (Business Insider)
– Why welfare reform is a growth strategy (Jeremy Hunt)
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