Sam Ashworth-Hayes is a former director of studies at the Henry Jackson Society.
Why exactly is it that the journalists and politicians who claim to be most proud of multicultural, multiethnic Britain seem to be the ones most determined to tear it apart? To read the newspapers, you might sometimes think a deep cover cell of white separatists is secretly running the show. Why else would left wing
If a country’s greatness can be measured by its enemies, Britain can set fears of national decline aside: we’re still doing pretty damn well. Now that the Queen’s funeral has taken place, the dignitaries have been despatched, and the corgis are in good hands, it seems like the right time to take stock. Most of
It’s all getting a bit Latin American in Britain and not in a good way. Inflation is stuck stubbornly in the double digits, the current account deficit is at record levels, our new Prime Minister is preparing to spend the annual budget of the NHS on subsidising energy purchases, and regional separatists are tightening their
While Boris Johnson used his farewell speech to praise the ‘vital symmetry between government action and free market capitalist private sector enterprise’, the formerly free market Liz Truss was busy briefing out price caps on energy. There are only three possible explanations for this sudden change of heart: No. 10 is haunted by the malign
In February Joshua Carney, a man with 47 previous convictions, was released from prison early on licence. Five days later, he forced his way into a Cardiff house, locking a terrified woman inside. Her screaming woke her 14-year-old daughter upstairs. Carney raped both daughter and mother in front of each other. On Monday, Carney was
Britain has a bold new plan for dealing with a winter energy crisis: ‘hope for good weather’. It’s hard to see what else is on offer; nobody seems to be seriously discussing what the government can do to secure energy supplies through the winter, how households will heat their homes, and whether we should rescue
England is in the grip of its most widespread drought in 20 years. Water companies are implementing hosepipe bans. Half the country’s potato crop is expected to fail. Photographs of reservoirs show them drained, dry banks open to the sky. Another heatwave is here, bringing little prospect of imminent relief. Britain hasn’t built a reservoir
Liz Truss believes the Bank of England has lost control of inflation. If chosen as the country’s next prime minister, she plans to bring it back to heel: ‘I want to change the Bank of England’s mandate to make sure in the future it matches some of the most effective central banks in the world
Russia is once again relying on ‘General Winter’. Instead of freezing German advances on Moscow, the plan today is to freeze German pensioners in Berlin. Western sanctions are crippling the Russian economy, driving up inflation and unemployment. In turn, Russian restrictions on gas are driving energy prices in Europe through the roof. Putin’s gamble is
Some denials are more worrying than their absence. A company insisting that its director will be vindicated by the forensic auditors is unlikely to succeed in calming investors; a sports team insisting it has total confidence in its coach is likely to receive a flurry of speculative applications; and a president insisting that ‘we’re not
Some denials are more worrying than their absence. A company insisting that its director will be vindicated by the forensic auditors is unlikely to succeed in calming investors; a sports team insisting it has total confidence in its coach is likely to receive a flurry of speculative applications; and a president insisting that ‘we’re not
The combination of ’40°C temperatures’ and ‘England’ feels about as natural a pairing as ‘English football’ and ‘winning’; God simply did not intend the two to go together as they did this week. And although it feels odd to have to point it out, there’s nothing conservative about believing climate change isn’t a problem. Turning
For now, Berlin can breathe a sigh of relief: after a ten-day shutdown for maintenance, the Nord Stream 1 pipeline is back online. Russia is once again heating German homes, fuelling German industry, and using German money to finance its war in Ukraine. But this happy exchange may not continue; the pipeline is still operating
While Britain bakes in a heatwave, politicians in Germany are worrying about the winter. The Russian state-owned gas company Gazprom has notified its European customers that it can no longer guarantee the supply of fuel due to ‘extraordinary’ circumstances. In Berlin, politicians and regulators are preparing for an ice-cold Christmas, drawing up lists for rationing
To listen to the would-be prime ministers of the Conservative party, things in Britain are going pretty well. Sure, Covid knocked the public finances off course, and the war in Ukraine has driven up prices at the pump, but structurally, Britain holds strong. This is about as far from the truth as it is possible
The clouds have cleared, the fog has lifted, clarity has arrived. The first reaction to finding out Penny Mordaunt was well ahead in the polls and the favourite to win the leadership contest – ‘who again?’ – has passed. But after reading a little of her work, I am now convinced that Penny Mordaunt would
The Online Safety Bill has been postponed. It should now be killed off for good. Not only is it bad for business, bad for free speech, and – by attacking encryption – bad for online safety, it now seems that there is a possibility, however remote, that the minister responsible for the bill doesn’t fully
The Tory leadership contenders have set out their pitches. Rishi Sunak is the sensible but boring choice. Liz Truss is the candidate who will cut taxes and get stuff done. Kemi Badenoch is the wildcard. Penny Mordaunt has vowed to restore the Tory ‘sense of self’. And Tom Tugendhat will up defence spending. But what about another
Whatever else will be said about him in the days and years to come, Boris Johnson will leave No. 10 having achieved the full extent of his policy ambitions: become Prime Minister. After a little under three years in office, Johnson has been reduced to the status of squatter in Downing Street, pottering about with
Downing Street has come up with another cunning plan to fix the housing crisis: 50-year mortgages, passed from parent to child. No longer will your ability to afford a home be dependent on your earnings. Once the scheme is in place, you will be able to borrow against the incomes of your future children, in
