President Trump in 2025 was busy defining his new Administration with his one Big Beautiful Bill built around tax cuts and cheap energy. It is true some of his other policies were less helpful, but the thrust towards more growth and investment was clear. The relatively new Labour government also defined itself by key legislation in its early months . The two Finance Bills to implement the 2024 and the 2025 budgets set course for a dearer public sector, for more borrowing and for much higher taxes. The Employment Rights Act decided to grant the Union bosses most of their requests to make it dearer and more risky to employ people. As a result of these measures the UK sentenced itself to much lower growth than the US, and to rising unemployment.
It is difficult to comprehend how PM and Chancellor thought they were following a growth strategy when they decided to make such a large increase in the cost and difficulty of employing people, allied to an attack on successful small businesses and farms through an Inheritance tax raid. They seemed unaware of the huge success of the US digital giants out competing the UK and turning so much of our computer expenses into revenue for the USA. They seemed to think people and companies would stay here despite the large deterioration in the tax regime relative to lower tax jurisdictions including the US, and assumed businesses and farms would struggle on despite the more hostile atmosphere for them. Instead many people left the UK, jobs were lost and businesses shut down. There was a surge in more people living on benefits.
The government’s growth theory is based on expanding public sector investment in rail, energy, and public services. They are discovering that to afford this they need both to raise taxes and to accept higher interest costs for all the extra money they wish to borrow. They do not seem to have realised this attempt to re direct day to day activity and investment away from the competitive private sector to the public sector is likely to lower our productivity and lead to more losses and waste. Preventing a new gas well or a new gas fired power station but pressing on with HS2, Post Office computerisation and the Ajax military vehicle means a big bill for taxpayers and a less productive economy.
The impact of higher National Insurance and the Employment Rights Act is already being felt in more employment intensive activities like entertainment and hospitality, where there has been a big job loss. We will also feel the expansion of the state in our pockets as the bills come flooding in for railway losses, steel losses, Bank of England losses, Post Office losses, MOD cost over runs and the rest.
December 21, 2025
You seem to be against ‘MOD cost over runs’ at a time when many on the Right want to ramp up defence spending at any cost.
Should the armed forces be privatised? Would productivity be measured by the number of wars prevented?
Reply Are you in favour of cost over runs? Most agree with me they are a bad idea.
December 21, 2025
We need sensible, efficient well directed defence and defence procurement policies alas we have not had this, not even remotely, for very many years. Ditching net zero is essential for a sound defence system and for a sound economy. Plus a sound economy is also vital for defence. Labour need U turns on every issue.
December 21, 2025
This government is a disgrace. Neither Starmer Thieves actually believe in growth only expansion of the public sector.
They are both Fabians who’s logo is a wolf in sheeps clothing. That should be an enormous clue.
After Chagos, ceding control Gibraltar to Spain, what’s next. Handing the Falklands to Argentina because they’ve discovered oil and gas.
Cancelling local elections and bringing the Kings Speech forward to May is that actions of a despot. Even the Electoral Commission is against it. If we had a King worthy of the name he would step in and demand fresh elections but he is part of the problem.
December 21, 2025
The King is perhaps too occupied in talking hypocritical clap trap about the insane war on CO2 plant, tree and crop food. The vital gas of virtually all life on earth.
December 21, 2025
IN this Kingdom, I hold the view that our monarchy has really only 2 jobs, the day to day is to sell ‘GB plc’ to the world, helping sell our products to foreigners and encouraging tourism. The second, and more important, is to act a a political ‘last resort’, and step into the political realm when our politicians fail to perform or by action are clearly risking the Union. Are we getting close to the latter?
December 21, 2025
Agreed. Charles Windsor supports the WEF’s policies which Two-Tier is implementing. He is not “above politics” …. he is deeply embedded.
December 21, 2025
Absence of control to prevent cost overruns is as lax as an inefficient armed force.
December 21, 2025
Every single thing (other than planning law relaxation – which has not happened yet) that Starmer, Reeves, Miliband, Phillipson, Lammy… have done is anti-growth taxes, energy costs, workers rights bill, vat on school fees, the wars on landlords, motorists, employers, low skilled immigration levels, augmenting crime and benefit claiming…
December 21, 2025
“It is difficult to comprehend how PM and Chancellor thought they were following a growth strategy….”
It is difficult because you assume Starmer’s Gang want the same things you want. They do not. On the contrary, they want to destroy what you want. They want, not a wealthy vibrant country but a socialist state in which all are reduced to the lowest common denominator; equality of outcome and people finally accept socialism without resistance. This is important because it is the resistance that has been the cause of socialism’s perpetual failure.
This time socialism will succeed because it can use international law, including EU law, to circumvent domestic resistance and ally with Islamism which shares with Starmer’s Gang, riddled with Fabians, a deep hatred of Britain and its foundations in and history of Christianity.
It is likely however that Starmer’s ambition will be thwarted, not by conservatism, but by Islamism and the imposition of Sharia to make Britain a caliphate. The King would have no objection.
December 21, 2025
So no sooner has Kemi nominated Simon Heffer to the Lords than he starts slagging off the modest and self effacing Donald Trump.
Simon Heffer today.
Trump is a narcissistic fascist. The West needs a new leader of the free world
The American president has repeatedly shown his disregard for democratic norms.
Can we have Trump policies of cheap reliable energy, no men in women’s sport, free speech, abolition of net zero, pro Israel, peace demanding, vast cuts in low skilled and criminal immigration levels, restoration of trust in science medical especially, lower taxes, real growth … here please. Did Heffer really want the moronic Kamala Harris or the senile Biden? He sounds a bit like Sadiq Khan!
December 21, 2025
“The government’s growth theory is based on expanding public sector investment in rail, energy, and public services.”
Are Labour really so stupid as to think that taxing the private sector even more, wasting much of this in collection and distributions costs & then wasting the rest on the generally dire public sector will work? Things like the very poorly run NHS, Chagos, sick joke vaccine inquiries, the net zero rip off energy lunacy and employments red tape, more money to augment the feckless life on benefits, hotels for low skilled and often criminal immigrants…
December 21, 2025
A government defines itself by it’s actions and the very first things this government did was to engage in petty bribery, target pensioners, impose two tier policies to benefit zero contributors over those who worked for an income and then thieve that income from private sector workers and employees to pay off the unions.
The sooner we are rid of this rabble the better.
December 21, 2025
Children in power, malicious ones at that. A mix of ” Lord of the Flies” and “Animal Farm” doing a grown up job for which they are by previous experience totally unsuited. Sadly we must endure this self inflicted wound until they expire at the door of the IMF and other simple realities.
December 21, 2025
But they are going for growth.
Growth in the Public Sector.
Growth in their Client State.
Growth in welfare dependants, who are therefore more likely to vote Labour.
They are governing in the Party’s interests, not the country’s.
December 21, 2025
John, the contrast between Trumps administration and Labour UK’s performance in the first in the first few months could not be more stark.
Apart from the economic disaster Labour have engineered, through their bizarre counter productive policies and actions, look at their illegal migration efforts.
Trump has literally stopped the flow of illegal migrants across the USA’s southern border with Mexico, while Labour have turbo charged the incoming illegal flow of migrants from France on our southern border.
When Starmer spoke boldly about smashing the gangs, little did we realise he was talking about the gangs of British protesters demanding the cessation of government agencies using our small town hotels to accommodate illegal migrants. The said new wave of illegals are mostly fit young men with uncontrolled sexual intentions. Nobody wants them predating our children except the government it would seem!
December 21, 2025
Fully agree with your posting today John.
Tax, borrow, and waste more on inefficient public spending/services, will lower growth not increase it.
Raising costs on Private business with more and more regulation, taxation and power costs, will harm any plans for growth, increased productivity and investment.