The man with a plan seems strangely reluctant to share his concrete policies. The post Burnham’s First Speech as Labour Leader Long on Promises, Short on Details appeared first on The American Conservative .
UK Special Coverage Burnham’s First Speech as Labour Leader Long on Promises, Short on Details The man with a plan seems strangely reluctant to share his concrete policies. UK Special Coverage (Photo by Nicola Tree/Getty Images) Andy Burnham’s first speech as leader of the Labour Party today told us little about what he intends to do when he becomes UK prime minister Monday and everything about his penchant for platitudes. And his tendency to repeat himself. He reaffirmed his promise to deliver “good growth in every postcode and hope in every heart.” And, no doubt, a chicken in every pot. What this means…Open
For the prospective prime minister, each candidate has drawbacks. The post The Race to Be the Next UK Chancellor appeared first on The American Conservative .
UK Special Coverage The Race to Be the Next UK Chancellor For the prospective prime minister, each candidate has drawbacks. UK Special Coverage The relationship between the prime minister and the chancellor is the most important in British politics. In short, they have to get on, or the government doesn’t. History is littered with examples of administrations that became dysfunctional because the first lord of the Treasury—to give the prime minister his full title—and the chancellor of the Exchequer did not see eye to eye. Most recently, when Tony Blair and Gordon Brown fell out in 2005 over the Labour succession, the…Open
The defense minister’s resignation could prove a political catastrophe. The post Healey Throws a Hand Grenade Into Starmer’s Political Future appeared first on The American Conservative .
UK Special Coverage Healey Throws a Hand Grenade Into Starmer’s Political Future The defense minister’s resignation could prove a political catastrophe. UK Special Coverage When a defense minister resigns, it is bad news for any government. When a respected and doggedly loyal one like Labour’s defense Secretary, John Healey, storms out, it is catastrophic—especially when he claims he was being forced to make Britain “less safe.” Healey’s Thursday resignation letter places the blame firmly on Prime Minister Keir Starmer, whom he accuses of reneging on his promises to deliver a credible defense Investment Plan (DIP)…Open
As Margaret Thatcher once said, the problem with socialists is that they always run out of other people’s money. The post Does the UK Government Understand How Money Works? appeared first on The American Conservative .
Takimag Does the UK Government Understand How Money Works? As Margaret Thatcher once said, the problem with socialists is that they always run out of other people’s money. TakiMag Nobody in the United Kingdom can do arithmetic these days—especially not when it comes to the nation’s supermarkets. I once observed with amusement a shopper in the line ahead of me confused over a “Buy One, Get One Free” offer. The shopper had only brought one of said items to the checkout desk. The girl on duty mentioned the sale. “I know,” replied the woman. “But I don’t want two of them. So I’ve chosen to get the one I’ve…Open
Are there ears to hear the former prime minister’s Fire Sermon on what Labour must do to remain viable? The post Blair’s Bombshell appeared first on The American Conservative .
UK Special Coverage Blair’s Bombshell Are there ears to hear the former prime minister’s Fire Sermon on what Labour must do to remain viable? UK Special Coverage Labour’s most successful former leader, Tony Blair, has just thrown a hand grenade into the stuttering Labour leadership race. In a five-thousand-word j’accuse, published by his Institute for Global Change, Blair criticizes the tax-and-spend orthodoxy of the current Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer while also excoriating the radical posturing of his wannabe challengers, Wes Streeting, the former health secretary, and the favorite, Andy Burnham, the mayor of…Open
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer gives a speech at Coin Street Community Centre in London, England, on May 11, 2026.Carl Court—Getty Images Published May 11, 2026 LONDON – Pressure is mounting inside the UK’s ruling [...]
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reported that the tax burden is set to reach a peacetime high of 42.1 percent of GDP by 2030, rising faster than any other G7 nation, and indeed faster than all of them put together. The post One G7 Country is Raising Taxes Faster Than the Rest of The Group PUT TOGETHER. appeared first on The National Pulse .
The United Kingdom’s tax burden is projected to rise to 42.1 percent of GDP by 2030, marking the fastest increase among all major economies, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). PULSE POINTS WHAT HAPPENED: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reported that the United Kingdom’s tax burden is set to reach a peacetime high of 42.1 percent of GDP by 2030, driven by tax hikes orchestrated by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s Chancellor of the Exchequer (Treasury Secretary), Rachel Reeves. DETAIL: The projected increase in the tax burden from 37.6 percent of GDP in 2024 equates to an additional £130 billion (~$176.4 billion) in taxes annually, or £4,500 (~$6,100) per household. This rise is faster than any other G7…Open
The Starmer government is more interested in anticapitalist posturing than in helping the British people. The post UK Labour Refuses to Relieve the Energy Crisis appeared first on The American Conservative .
UK Special Coverage UK Labour Refuses to Relieve the Energy Crisis The Starmer government is more interested in anticapitalist posturing than in helping the British people. UK Special Coverage When Labour was restored to government in July 2024 after nearly a decade and a half in the political wilderness, Prime Minister Keir Starmer promised that economic growth would be his government’s number one priority. Chancellor Rachel Reeves conducted seminars with prominent business figures, insisting that Labour understood that businesses must make profits to survive and invest. Starmer said “wealth creation” was Labour’s…Open
Public spending is ballooning even as Labour degrades the British economy. The post The UK’s Fiscal Apocalypse appeared first on The American Conservative .
UK Special Coverage The UK’s Fiscal Apocalypse Public spending is ballooning even as Labour degrades the British economy. UK Special Coverage This week I came across a truly jaw-dropping statistic. Britain now spends more on benefits than it raises in income tax: £334 billion against £306 billion respectively. The UK, it seems, now taxes working people in order to pay other people not to work. Of course, there are other sources of government revenue than income tax: VAT, corporation tax, fuel duty, to name but three. But the tax/benefit ratio is a prime index of economic irrationality. The British economy has, to…Open