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Liz Webster: The UK’s growth problem...

The UK’s growth problem isn’t primarily that wealth hasn’t trickled down enough. • Productivity has been stagnant for years bc 2008 financial crisis led to austerity compounding problems. • Trade frictions (especially with our largest market- Brexit) raised costs and reduced competitiveness • Business investment is weak bc ⬆️ • Energy, housing and planning constraints suppress activity Simply transferring money from bosses to workers via higher wages or taxes doesn’t automatically create sustainable growth. If firms face higher labour costs without higher output per worker, the result is often fewer jobs, higher prices, or businesses scaling back, not a consumption boom. Redistribution can support demand in a downturn, but it is not a substitute for fixing the structural issues that have made Britain poorer relative to its peers. Wealth has to be created first. We need to get free trade back with Europe.

Lee Hurst: I can’t stress enough how much I think...

I can’t stress enough how much I think this is a bad idea. I think with current polling we could end up with a centre left coalition govt with the 5 year clock starting again. Failing that we will end up with a Reform/Tory coalition with Reform hamstrung at every turn and they will just end up totally ineffectual. The public will blame Reform NOT the Tories as the MSM will ensure that is the narrative. We need Labour to slump and Reform back above 30% before a GE.

Alex Wickham: Keir Starmer’s allies accuse Andy Burnham...

EXCLUSIVE: Keir Starmer’s allies accuse Andy Burnham of appointing a divisive cabinet designed to reward those who brought him down. One says it immediately breaks Burnham’s pledge to be inclusive and run a broad church. Another says it’s dangerously hubristic and creates enemies who will come back to haunt him. A third says there is no policy justification for the top appointments. Burnham’s allies insist the cabinet represents all factions and regions. But in a striking response some of Starmer’s allies are saying men have got the top jobs and that it cements a north-south divide. While some see John Healey as a safer pick as chancellor than a left-winger, a Starmer ally says he’s been misunderstood and he’s actually the fiscally loosest possible choice because he wants a massive increase in defence spending. There is a lot of negative briefing about Wes Streeting, an arch anti-Starmer plotter, over his lack of defence experience. Former soldier Dan Jarvis losing his job is particularly upsetting people. Ed Miliband, another key plotter, as foreign secretary is causing a big reaction. Some are confused because he faces a very difficult task winning round the Trump administration that openly dislikes him. And it’s angering those who were appalled by his infamous decision to block action against Assad. There are also early signs of discontent on the left over Shabana Mahmood’s reappointment as home secretary. Lots of Burnham supporters on the left abstained on the immigration bill last week assuming she would be moved. They will want her to water down her more hardline immigration policies. Some on the left are also disappointed Miliband wasn’t made chancellor, saying Healey will want to focus spending on defence and is hardly a transformational pick otherwise.

David Poulden: Ordinary people have had enough...

Ordinary people have had enough of the left destroying the country. In Britain a left-wing anarchist got 13 years for plotting to kill 50 MPs, while a far-left extremist is now charged with murdering 78-year-old Ann Widdecombe by hitting her 21 times with a hammer. Yet the government and the LEFT keep hyping up the "far-right threat" Even when recent cases have no terrorism element, they push transgender ideology on children, open the borders to criminals and terrorists, and cover up grooming gangs. WE MUST STOP THE LEFT.
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