President Trump sets out to cut the costs of government.

Several Executive Orders on Monday start to tackle  the high costs and overextension of US government. These are not getting the attention they deserve. Our Wastefinder General  Rachel could read and copy some of these.

1 Pause all overseas aid payments for up to 60 days, only allowing them to go ahead after review to see they are value for money and further sensible policy aims.

2. Freeze all hiring of administrative staff into government. Require Heads to draw up productivity raising plans using natural wastage to cut numbers. Prohibits use of outside contractors to get round ban.

3.  60 day ban on any new regulations, allowing review of whether anything is necessary in future.

4. Removal of barriers to increased oil, gas, minerals and coal production

5. Exit from Paris climate change Treaty to cut costs of net zero.

6. Establishment of Department Of Government Efficiency in White House reporting to Chief of Staff. Every department and governmental body to have a team of four senior people promoting greater efficiency.

7 Return to in person working

8 Recruitment and promotion to be based on merit only. DEI departments to be wound down.

This is a big agenda. It will be interesting to see if the senior managers can reflect these clear aims in workable plans to shrink the state.

 

 

136 Comments

  1. agricola
    January 22, 2025

    Looks like a plan, but unlike the UK, failure will lead to early dismissal. I suspect it is not within Rachael’s DNA or that of the committee that imagines itself to be UK government. Just enjoy their and their appologists wriggling like bait on a hook of their own making. On the plus side it could put an end to socialism for a very long time.

    1. Ian wragg
      January 22, 2025

      Now that’s a thought, an end to Socialism
      No greater dream can man have.

    2. Ian wragg
      January 22, 2025

      John the goid news is today wind is producing 0.1gw. A record low with CCGT and nuclear on 100% at this time in the morning 07.30. We have only solar and imports to support the grid.
      Maybe, just Maybe today will be the day Milibrain wakens up from his stupidity induced coma.

    3. Ian wragg
      January 22, 2025

      Gas and nuclear providing 71.5% of generation.

      1. glen cullen
        January 22, 2025

        As at 16:30hrs wind generation is at 1.8% ….that’s right 1.8%
        The tories closed our last coal mines & stopped fracking shale gas and labour will close the north sea oil & gas ….labours new line ”import baby import”

      2. Lifelogic
        January 22, 2025

        Plus perhaps 5% on top is young coal (wood) insanely burned at Drax!

    4. Ian wragg
      January 22, 2025

      Just now, imports of electricity has jumped from £128 to £167 per mwh
      Looks like before the end of the day we’ll be paying around £5,000 per mwh which we could produce for £40
      Who in their right mind would invest in this country.

    5. Ian wragg
      January 22, 2025

      0800hrs import just went up to £190 mwh. Get some popcorn.

    6. Ian B
      January 22, 2025

      @agricola – personal, very personal ideology and personal self-esteem runs through out this government and parliament. So much so it has become a religion in itself, working for and with the Country and the People is not even on their radar – they have created a new god, a new religion of self before service

    7. Bloke
      January 22, 2025

      Does Keir Starmer make UK first?
      His way starts MUK, nowhere near great, ending there.

  2. Lifelogic
    January 22, 2025

    It is indeed a large and much needed agenda. Even more needed in the UK, but alas we have broken compass Starmer/Miliband after the broken compass Suank, Boris, May, Cameron, Brown, Blair, Major.

    It seems Rachel Reeves is going to support a new runway at Heathrow. Something sensible from her that is actually pro-growth – a first from the socialist anti-growth dope surely? I assume though this is just as a distraction from her woes tactic. So that will never actually happen.

    The deluded Miliband types are already trying to kill flying (for Plebs not Starmer types) with new daft aviation fuel rules and v. high taxes on flights. Making the non UK hub airports far more competitive.

    What is really needed as a minimum is a new runway at both Gatwick and Heathrow and a high speed shuttle round the M25 between the two airports to give a 5 runway hub airport. Doubtless we will have another 20+ years of legal and political wrangling and discussions before anything happens if then. With bats and great crested newts to the fore.

    1. Peter Wood
      January 22, 2025

      Yes, ref the runways; of course new ones have been in discussion for years, if not decades, and so best not to get hopes up. Just as interesting is the clear contradiction in ‘pro-growth’ acceptance that a new runway brings economic benefits and economic growth and the ‘ant-growth’ effect of stopping air travel. Is this deliberate or is it just typical of a socialist government incompetence?

    2. Donna
      January 22, 2025

      She has as much chance of getting a new runway built at Heathrow as I have. The Judiciary has awarded itself the right to include future CO2 emissions which are likely to be caused by a development when they are considering objections, not just the emissions involved in building it, so that will scupper it.

      Unless they revise/scrap the Climate Change Act and the Climate Change Committee of course.

    3. Ian B
      January 22, 2025

      @Lifelogic – a new runway at Heathrow yes much needed. But Heathrow is just a pseudo private company, the new runway is going to cost the Taxpayer billions and the shareholders(none of the UK) just receive the profits. The M25 has to be relocated at the Taxpayers expense so the foreign owners of Heathrow can get to take the money and run.
      Privatization even foreign ownership can be good but the construct in the UK is that UK Taxpayers money disappears to fund foreign tax regimes. The money is removed from circulation in the UK, therefore the UK economy – that then has to be replaced by more Tax. The UK’s version of privatization while seemingly lifting the burden on the State does nothing of the sort, all smoke & mirrors.
      I am all for Privatization but it should be real with no more calls needed from the taxpayer

    4. Bloke
      January 22, 2025

      We need a smaller population with space to move than added runways to squash in even more.

      1. Mickey Taking
        January 22, 2025

        Is this to meet expected holiday flights or business travel growth? How will holiday flight travel grow, apart from the illegals going home to visit relatives, does this government anticipate a rush on us emigrating?
        Business travel? Whatever happened to Zoom – other video call systems are available!

    5. NigL
      January 22, 2025

      Indeed, I think Gatwick/other airports are also on her agenda. Roll on the fight between the Treasury and Milliband. So let’s give her some credit, highlights the utter failure of the Tory 14 years as does so much else.

      She is also looking for HMG to push back against the Supreme Court ruling on car finance commission and seems to be insisting on Department savings of 5%,again something the Tories b/s d on but did nothing.

      We are also seeing from Governor BOE down push back against costs of Net Zero. It’s momentum is unstoppable pushed by the large corporates but I think political pragmatism driven by economic reality will kick in.

      1. Lifelogic
        January 23, 2025

        “I think political pragmatism driven by economic reality will kick in”. Well perhaps eventually. Just as the laws of physics and energy economics will kill the Net Zero religion.

        Not much sign of it yet we have had appallingly government ever since Thatcher foolishly appointed the economic genius John ERM Major as Chancellor right through to Starmer. Still no apology from John Major!

    6. Ed M
      January 22, 2025

      It makes no logical senes to expand Heathrow for growth (except that this is becoming a cliche that people aren’t really thinking hard about)!
      Heathrow is used 28% for business and the rest for leisure.
      So if you expand Heathrow it actually harms growth as many business people (from around the UK and the world) choose to live and work in London because it’s a great city. Airplane noise pollution would greatly diminish London as an attractive place to live and work (I know one Canadian who was telling me she has left Richmond and now London as the noise from planes drove her crazy). And put more tourists off.
      So, if we’re going to expand airports, do so in Gatwick for sure (and Stansted to help grow Cambridge as leading world Tech Hub) and the shuttle around 25 you mention is a good idea too.

    7. Ed M
      January 22, 2025

      If lots of people from our beautiful Richmond-London are complaining about airplane noise pollution now imagine what things would be like after 3rd runaway. Not just for people of Richmond but with the airplane noise pollution expanding more over rest of London. It makes no sense to build the runaway for growth when only 28% of people use Heathrow for business. And noise pollution makes a city less attractive for people to live and work in that city (similar to the argument why business people don’t want to live in Frankfurt compared to London: Frankfurt is relatively boring. Similar for noise pollution. Airplane noise pollution is a major obstacle to attracting business people to live and work in your city).
      It’s amazing and sad how people make arguments based on emotions (they crudely think expanding Heathrow will lead to growth) instead of objectively looking at things in a pragmatic, business-like way and keep emotion out of it).
      It’s also similar to how we partly ruined our lovely market towns by building shopping malls (that are now seen as vulgar) and allowing cheap ugly signage to go up. Now so many of our market towns are like a wasteland. We need to be careful with London. Not ruin it with more airplane noise pollution.

  3. Mark B
    January 22, 2025

    Good morning.

    It will be interesting to see if the senior managers can reflect these clear aims in workable plans to shrink the state.

    Elon Musk managed to reduce staff levels at Twitter without it negatively impacting on the business. But then, he is a business man and not a DEI (or DIE) hire, SpAd or PPE Graduate.

    The USA is an independent sovereign state that, until recently, does not tie its hands. It therefore can act in its own self interest. Here in the UK we have a bunch of little people who have to be told what to think, say and do by their masters in Brussels and Davos. Not to forget some US businessmen with questionable backgrounds.

    1. Lynn Atkinson
      January 22, 2025

      They had to withdraw from the Paris Accord.
      They have also withdrawn from the WHO so that they were able to reinstate autonomy over your own body.
      South Africa has withdrawn from the international asylum lunacy.
      We withdrew from the EU. We are a Sovereign Independent State too – no longer a nation (which is a homogeneous inter-related people) just as the USA is not a nation.
      It’s possible to withdraw from Treaty obligations quickly and easily.

      1. Mark B
        January 22, 2025

        We withdrew from the EU.

        Notionally. We still follow their rules due to the ridiculous agreements we signed.

        1. Ian B
          January 22, 2025

          @Mark B +1

        2. Mickey Taking
          January 22, 2025

          Evidence of UK action at odds with EU dictat is so few name me some?

      2. Ian B
        January 22, 2025

        @Lynn Atkinson – No one or body outside of an democratically elected legislators should be in a position to tell or dictate a direction on a people or country. It should be the Legislators that create the laws, regulations and rules, that also have the sole right to amend and repeal. That’s called democracy, anything else is a dictatorship

    2. Lifelogic
      January 22, 2025

      Talking of daft as a brush PPE graduates we had Michael Crick on Mogg GBNews last night “one of the saddest days in American history” he thought of the Trump inauguration. Another climate alarmist with no understanding of science.

      If I had to argue for a mad and evil left wing agenda I am sure I could do a rather better job than the many lefty nutters employed by GBNews. I assume they are forced to put these dopes on by the evil anti free speech OFCOM censor. Though the lefties do give people a good laugh. OFCOM being the one that pushed masks, lockdowns, wet markets origins and the mass net harm Covid Vaccines so very hard. And, it seems, they managed to get lots of GBNew’s better presenters removed. Mark Dowlan now too it seems after Laurence Fox, Mark Steyn, Dan Wooton…

      1. Narrow Shoulders
        January 22, 2025

        Nothing wrong with putting both sides of an argument across as part of news or opinion reporting.

        A lesson the BBC would do well to learn.

        1. Lifelogic
          January 22, 2025

          Indeed but the people they get on for the left do not even have a rational argument.

      2. Donna
        January 22, 2025

        OFCOM “rules” require GB News to present both sides of an argument (unlike the BBC).

        I think GB News has done a sterling job of finding the most ridiculous, extreme Eco nutters and other lefties to push the climate change SCAM and try to justify Labour’s economic wrecking ball.

    3. Ed M
      January 22, 2025

      Elon Musk is great at Telsa but useless at Twitter. The value of Twitter has plummeted. And users fallen away by a fifth. But it’s really the drop in value of the company (with advertising revenue greatly reduced) that is the relative disaster.

      1. Mark B
        January 22, 2025

        Most advertisers pulled out due to pressure brought on them. As for ‘users’ ? Does a bot class as a ‘user’ ?

        He has returned free speech and gave many a banned user their accounts back. Many Lefties have gone to Bluesky. I wish them well.

        1. Ed M
          January 22, 2025

          Musk is a businessman. He bought Twitter (for billions) to make money out of – not out of some political agenda ..

      2. Lifelogic
        January 22, 2025

        Well Tesla does not make much money, but he is great at getting people to think Tesla shares are worth buying @ circa 100 times earnings Toyota is more like 10 times.

        1. Ed M
          January 22, 2025

          ‘Great’ – what do you mean ‘great’?!
          How?!
          Please explain how Musk is the richest man in the world. Are millions of people in the financial sector thick or something?

    4. glen cullen
      January 22, 2025

      Spot On MARK-B

    5. Denis Cooper
      January 22, 2025

      Esther Lynch, General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation, is not a happy lady:

      https://euobserver.com/EU%20Political/ar2bba0bbf

      “Trump and Davos — a double-whammy start to 2025”

      In particular she moans about “Trump’s billionaire doge, Elon Musk, who has said he disagrees with the principle of trade unions and was praised by the president-elect for sacking striking workers” and warns that
      “Europe could never win a race to the bottom that Trump and Musk’s admirers here are clamouring for and we can already see how this recipe has damaged Europe’s competitiveness.”

      I am inclined to think that her activities:

      https://www.etui.org/about-etui/staff/esther-lynch

      have actually done more damage than anything copied from Elon Musk , and that may be one important reason why despite the evil US winning the “race to the bottom” against the benevolent EU “on a per capita basis, real disposable income has grown almost twice as much in the US as in the EU since 2000”:

      http://johnredwoodsdiary.com/2025/01/20/welcome-president-trump/#comment-1494973

      The proof of the pudding is in the eating, and clearly her preferred recipe is inferior to his.

  4. Lifelogic
    January 22, 2025

    Compare and contrast Trump’s inauguration speeches and Starmer’s pathetic dissembling yesterday AM over his blatant Two Tier Kier Justice Agenda. Fine for Starmer to call protesters all far right criminals before their trials and to point out that the Southport murderer was a Welsh choir boy with a suitable demure picture of him.

    Surely if a juror cannot ignore all he has heart before the trial he is perhaps not suitable to be a juror.

    Shock NHS hospitals probe finds deaths of 56 babies may have been preventable
    Two maternity units at the Leeds Teaching Hospitals are rated ‘good’ by England’s healthcare regulator – but poor care may have contributed to 27 stillbirths, 29 neonatal deaths and two maternal deaths. And, I assume many injuries too?

    Let us hope they do not try to pin this on some poor nurse who happened to be working long hours at the time. Has Lucy Letby been given her appeal yet? I assume not given the UK’s “Justice” system (slow, expensive, arbitrary and generally rather incompetent) it will probably take at least 10+ years. Even then they will deduct her prison board and lodging costs from any compensation she might get!

    1. Lifelogic
      January 22, 2025

      slow, expensive, arbitrary, generally rather incompetent and extremely reluctant to ever admit to any of the very many errors they make (the Post Office, Guilford 4, Birmingham 6, Peter Lynch, Tommy Robinson and other clearly political prisoners, Andrew Malkinson (he had to wait some 17 years in jail for his justice)…

      1. Lynn Atkinson
        January 22, 2025

        Since 2020 it has been law that any trash produced by a computer is deemed to be ‘truth’ by the law. This idiocy needs to be reversed because it’s so easy to programme a computer to produce whatever you want or need it to in order to pervert the course of justice.

        1. Lifelogic
          January 22, 2025

          Indeed brought in so you could not challenge results of equipment like motorist mugging speed cameras I understand and extended to accounting software so some 230 post office workers could be imprisoned on false charges of theft and fraud with thousands of others were accused of similar misdeeds. The envy of the world UK legal system just like the wonderful NHS and out do nothing about any real crimes if you possibly can police force and DPP unless it is a Tweet by someone like Allison Pearson.

        2. hefner
          January 22, 2025

          Please read
          – discovery.ucl.ac.uk 06/2022 ‘The legal rule that computers are presumed to be operating correctly – unforeseen and unjust consequences’.
          – barristermagazine.com 21/02/2023 ‘Evidence from computers: the unreliable legal presumption that, without more, it can be relied upon’.
          – lawgazette.co.uk 15/01/2024 ‘IT experts call for review of ‘computer is always right’’.
          – assets.publishing.service.gov.uk ‘The use of evidence generated by software in criminal proceedings’.

        3. Ian B
          January 22, 2025

          @Lynn Atkinson – ah, but this government following on from the previous version wants to be the arbiter of internet information. Ensuring only they can deem what is ‘free speech’ only the can define and dictate what information the ‘minions’ can absorb. The suggestion therefore is only those in government are bright and intelligent the rest are just imbeciles and morons.
          That is from religious political ideologues who put this self important religion of theirs above ‘common sense’

      2. NigL
        January 22, 2025

        In all your posts you forget Uncle Tom Cobley.

      3. iain gill
        January 22, 2025

        the contempt of court laws need rewriting now that the vast majority of ordinary people have nothing but contempt for our courts.

    2. Wanderer
      January 22, 2025

      +1 LL. It appears Letby is a scapegoat, they should look at the new evidence and find out who was really to blame for the excess deaths.

      1. Lifelogic
        January 22, 2025

        Certainly looks like a very unsafe conviction indeed to me.

      2. iain gill
        January 22, 2025

        poor nhs management, structure, processes. quality from top to bottom

    3. Mickey Taking
      January 22, 2025

      sometimes calling protesters ‘far right’ should be changed to ‘fairly right’.

  5. dixie
    January 22, 2025

    You missed “a big one” – USA withdrawal from the WHO, not to mention clobbering the trans fanatics.

    Compare and contrast with the Starmer regime’s beginnings – their first priority was to reward their paymasters and punish the aged, then spent the next 60 days+ bad mouthing the country and destroying the economy. It seems like the second priority was to get filmed walking forwards everywhere.

    Is there an equivalent to executive order in the UK system or is it simply do what the civil service dictates?

    1. a-tracy
      January 22, 2025

      $1.28 billion in 2022-23, China gave $157 million. The UK $396 million.
      This is a massive haircut for that organisation, 15%.

      1. a-tracy
        January 22, 2025

        I’ve just read a reuters article that says the USA provided around 34% of funding for health emergencies and sometimes in the past it was as high as 50%.

        1. glen cullen
          January 22, 2025

          …and still, most of those countries receiving those resourses HATE america

    2. iain gill
      January 22, 2025

      statutory instruments, various royal perogatives, etc are uk equivalents

    3. glen cullen
      January 22, 2025

      Spot On Dixie

  6. Lynn Atkinson
    January 22, 2025

    We are all impressed and jealous of the American Administration. WOKE socialism/communism has to be universal so that it has no competitor – that’s gone and it’s burning all around the world. You can see the Trump effect on the faces of the Globalists at Davos. At the shock on the faces of Starmer and Reeves.
    Musk will not fail to reduce waste and super quick.
    We need to get into lockstep asap – quicker than finding sentient U.K. politicians.
    We MUST replace the whole lot shortly, the Labour Party is over, the LibDems too, the Greens never got a foothold in the U.K. the Tories need to up their game so that they can become the left win opposition, and we need a Republican Party – with all that means for Charles – and I am a Monarchist!

    1. Wanderer
      January 22, 2025

      @Lyn Atkinson. Yes the dour faces of the BBC presenters covering the inauguration were a delight. Their continued determination to denigrate all that Trump – the popular vote winner- wants to do, and the man himself, showed what sort of people they are. Certainly not fans of democracy and individual liberty!

    2. Lifelogic
      January 22, 2025

      I too am a Monarchist. Though the deluded climate alarmist hypocrisy of Prince now King Charles, his woke lunacy and protector of all faiths agenda is rather trying.

      I came across a “DIVERSITY BUILT BRITAIN” Queen the other side 50p coin the other day. It Came out when Boris was PM. I have still not noticed the so called Brexit 50p “Peace, prosperity and friendship with all nations”, inspired by Thomas Jefferson’s first presidential inaugural address. No mention of our restored Brexit freedom or rather half restored.

    3. NigL
      January 22, 2025

      Easy to say must. As ever no ‘how’ or time scales that in reality would be decades so unachievable.

    4. glen cullen
      January 22, 2025

      While I agree with everything you’ve said, I’d question why the Greens hold such power over both labour & tory policies

      1. Mickey Taking
        January 22, 2025

        like Bishops in the Church?

        1. glen cullen
          January 22, 2025

          Quite So

  7. MBJ
    January 22, 2025

    He shows leadership guts but I can forsee many arguments based on who is more important than another and what contributes as merit.

    1. MBJ
      January 22, 2025

      Sorry constitutes..spell check! although contribute may be appropriate as all in government think they contribute a lot more than is actual.

  8. Wanderer
    January 22, 2025

    I hope Trump can push through his agenda. I guess it should be easier to fire recalcitrant bureaucrats under the US system. A poll suggested that over 50% of them were fully intending to push back against, delay and generally undermine the reforms.

    If he can pull it off despite the “blob”, it will be a tremendous blow to globalists and progressives everywhere. Meanwhile Milei in Argentina is doing a fantastic job, but his country is peripheral enough for our leftist legacy media to avoid publicising his success.

    1. Ian B
      January 22, 2025

      @Wanderer +1

    2. Mark B
      January 22, 2025

      President Milei was there during President Trumps speech. Very symbolic I think.

      Getting rid of difficult Civil Serpents is easy. You do what I have been suggesting for a long time now. Make them, not the Secretary for State responsible. MP’s should only be responsible for implementing manifesto pledges and, the public purse. Poor performance of department is NOT there responsibility.

  9. Roy Grainger
    January 22, 2025

    It has a chance of succeeding to some extent because Trump and his team have far more control over hiring and firing than any UK government. Here the senior Civil Service (and Judiciary) are untouchable by the government and can and do actively resist initiatives like this.

  10. Cheshire+Girl
    January 22, 2025

    In my opinion, we need some of President Trump’s thinking here, in the UK.

  11. Paul W
    January 22, 2025

    I agree all this is long overdue. Can you also add to this list a review and action to be taken on cost of recruiting staff to deal with diversity and wokeness in councils, local authorities and Government and replace with a policy of recruiting the best people for the job

  12. Michelle
    January 22, 2025

    The first item on the list is a shining example of common sense.
    I believe America did have a policy of keeping a check on how the money was spent, such as actual initiatives to benefit people in general and not on palaces/ fast cars and mistresses etc. for the few. Perhaps that has been allowed to slide hence the need for review.
    Amazing the amount of money we’ve ploughed into foreign lands over the years, with a result of nothing seeming to change and the ever present cry that we should give more. Then there are some places we’ve ploughed money into that are overtaking us as we bow and scrape to globalist dictates.

  13. Narrow Shoulders
    January 22, 2025

    Lesson for all governments here. In your first 100 days don’t aim for a radical agenda – do less.

    Government which governs least, governs best.

  14. Donna
    January 22, 2025

    Two-Tier and his Student Union Marxists are incapable of learning anything from Trump. As is most of the left-wing Establishment. They will instead use his Presidency to try and drag us back into the “warm embrace” of the collapsing EU.

    During President Trump’s First Term, the BBC had a long-running series “Trump’s First 100 days.” It was a continual “Orange Man Bad” left-wing indulgence which they kept running for far longer than 100 days.

    I do hope they resume it this time. I will be most entertaining watching the left-wing Establishment hyperventilating and having a collective nervous breakdown as he systematically deconstructs the Climate Change SCAM; the authoritarian, “woke,” nation-hating, Globalist Agenda and Makes America Great Again.

  15. Bloke
    January 22, 2025

    SJR’s 8-point list presents excellent corrective measures to steer the UK away from Labour’s dangerous path ahead.
    Labour should copy much of President Trump’s sensible approach instead of nose-diving the UK into destruction.

    Hapless Ed Miliband’s response may now be even worse, as he’ll regard Trump’s Drill Baby Drill! policy, & rejection of the Paris Climate Change Treaty as his rationale for the UK needing to increase Labour’s damaging green restrictions.

    Rachel from accounts was a competent performer at chess, able to plan many moves ahead to succeed, yet is only playing now in enmity against the UK’s position.

  16. Ian B
    January 22, 2025

    Sir John
    The basic of managing a Country on behalf of the Country and its People – just Common Sense with out interference of personal political ideology.

    i.e. A government intent on doing what the people want.

    1. Mickey Taking
      January 22, 2025

      Well the last several governments did not do what the people wanted, and we now have one that have exceeded that mistake within a few short months.
      What will it take to get the establishment to ‘Turn Turn Turn’ (The Byrds 1965).
      To everything, turn, turn, turn
      There is a season, turn, turn, turn
      And a time to every purpose, under heaven
      A time to build up, a time to break down
      A time to dance, a time to mourn
      A time to cast away stones
      A time to gather stones together

      1. Ian B
        January 22, 2025

        @Mickey Taking – correct they are incapable of listening and working with the people that empower and pay them

  17. Lifelogic
    January 22, 2025

    President Trump sets out to cut the costs of government.

    Prime Minister Starmer, Reeves, Lammy, Miliband… do the exact reverse with:-

    More employment and other red tape regulations, the Net Zero lunacy, nationalisation, pay rises for train drivers etc, the Chagos island plans, more overseas aid, ever more government, ever more low skilled migrants & hotels, ever more people on benefits living off the backs of others, ever more wealth leaving the country, more skilled talent leaving the country, VAT on school fees, the attacks on Non Doms, the rip off energy market rigging circs 3 times US costs, the theft of the winter fuel allowance, the huge NI tax grab, the frozen allowances, the IHT tax grab on businesses and farms, special pension laws for Kier Starmer types, a no deterrent police and justice system, a no deterrent (indeed the reverse of deterrent) low skilled immigration system…

    Compare and contrast Trump with Starmer and Reeves.

    Starmer and Reeves even worse than the dire Con-Socialists Sunak and Hunt.

  18. Dave Andrews
    January 22, 2025

    In order to get rid of what the American call DEI in the UK, we would have to revise the Equality Act.
    I do wonder however if it could just be ditched in its entirety, as there is plenty of other law that can be used instead. I believe too its legitimate aims would be better achieved by other means.

  19. Old Albion
    January 22, 2025

    Despite my doubts about the sanity of Donald Trump, he has come out swinging with a raft of sensible policies to un-woke the USA. If only we had someone here who would do the same.

  20. NigL
    January 22, 2025

    What we are witnessing is the executive power Potus wields, we will see what is actually achieved once Congress/Representatives and the Supreme Court get involved.

    Depending on your politics that power is used wisely or abused. The U.K. ‘Right’ hamstrung by bureaucracy, over strong vested interests, left leaning courts and civil service, is in thrall to and desperate for such direct action.

    The ‘Left’ would instantly as we see regularly scream ‘Naziism/Racism etc’ . Because our right of centre politicians have zero courage, they would crumple and the liberal elites would continue their domination.

  21. Sakara Gold
    January 22, 2025

    I don’t have a problem with most of these proposals. However, in view of the $3 trillion cost to America of climate disasters in the past ten years, increasing hydrocarbons production looks like a remarkably stupid proposal.

    Numerous studies – including the major one undertaken by the Dept of Energy here in 2021 -have demonstrated conclusively that net zero is going to save consumers substantial amounts on their bills and reduce costs for business. Including several detailed studies undertaken by Oxford university

    https://www.inet.ox.ac.uk/projects/oxford-net-zero

    https://www.smithschool.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2024-02/Oxford-Principles-for-Net-Zero-Aligned-Carbon-Offsetting-revised-2024.pdf

    Why do you persist in repeating the demonstrably false claim that once implemented, net zero is going to increase costs for the UK?

    1. dixie
      January 22, 2025

      But net zero has demonstrably not made energy cheaper, saved us money or made us more secure. On the contrary the government execution of this strategy has made energy more expensive, driving out businesses, and made our energy provision more insecure with critical reliance on questionable suppliers and neighbours.

      Will you persist with the naive trumpet blowing after the first blackout? Actually there has already been a blackout in 2019 which included London and disrupted rail transport for hours, so why do you continue to blow the trumpet for unsecured power?

    2. Lifelogic
      January 22, 2025

      There is no increase in extreme weather events, just look at the data Sakara. Yes more people on the planet so more houses etc. to be damaged, but the idea that a bit more CO2 causes more extreme weather is patently wrong.

  22. NigL
    January 22, 2025

    The New York Times is already reporting push back/legal action being prepared from Unions on employee rights etc and 22 States on immigration law changes. The American Left can only get stronger and more awkward.

    A political super heavyweight contest. Fascinating.

  23. Derek
    January 22, 2025

    Nice ideas, SJ, but I have so little faith in the Main Parties that none of the above would even bother to study these policies. Such is their backward mindset.
    They are more tired Bidenists rather than vivacious, dynamic Trumpers with not a single Mrs T among them.
    If a god is looking out for the Americans perhaps he could drift across the pond to give us a big hand too?

  24. Donna
    January 22, 2025

    Gridwatch, 0945 this morning:

    Gas: 26.54 GW
    Nuclear: 3.83 GW
    Biomass: 3.10 GW (chipped trees from USA shipped across the Atlantic using diesel … so not “green”)
    Hydro: 1.48 GW
    Inter-connectors: 3.71 GW

    And our wonderful “renewables”
    Solar: 0.34 GW
    Wind: 0.12 GW

    Less than 1% of our electricity is being provided by the mega-expensive, mega-subsidised windmills and solar panels.
    https://gridwatch.co.uk/

    Just as well Trump is destroying the Net Zero SCAM. Let’s hope he does it before the lights go out in the UK forever.

    1. Mickey Taking
      January 22, 2025

      as I write this at 6pm we are buying 13% of demand electricity via Interconnectors.

  25. glen cullen
    January 22, 2025

    If only those 8 points where tory policy and in the manifesto ….I can only dream, they’re more akin to reform policy

  26. William Long
    January 22, 2025

    As you say, implementation will be the big test, but at least the aims are crystal clear.
    While writing, I noticed that a Reuters announcement concerning Davos, described Rachel Reeves as ‘British Prime minister’; perhaps they know something…..?!

    1. Mickey Taking
      January 22, 2025

      schh…éminence grise?

  27. Chris S
    January 22, 2025

    I had an unexpectely large smile on my face when President Trump announced and signed Executive Orders to withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accords and the WHO. The latter will be in real trouble, as its budget will lose the $1,4bn that Biden gave it last year. I suspect US funding for the UN will also be cut back, and not before time.

    Is this the beginning of the end of the ill-conceived rush to Net Zero ?
    If The Donald gets half of his policies up and running over the next four years, and the US economy is growing, it seems likely that Mr Vance will become the 48th, and possibly 49th POTUS. That will surely seal the fate of the UN and the climate change lobby.

    President Trump’s policy of “drill, baby, drill!” will undoubtedly have a huge effect on the Western World. When countries like ours are able to buy oil and gas from the US at much lower prices, voters and their employers will be asking themselves, why are our energy costs so high? Miliband and Co should be very frightened because they
    simply have no credible answers. The result is likely to be new Western Governments severely reigning back on all aspects of the misguided rush to Net Zero.

    With US manufacturers no longer having any legal requirement to build EVs, even cheaper energy, and a booming export industry for oil and gas, the US economy will undoubtedly be booming within four years while, without a change in course, European economies is will be in recession.

    By 2029, the difference between the US and UK economies, and our respective standards of living, are likely to be greater than at any time since the early 1950s. That will surely be the opportunity for a Reform-led government to win a working majority.

    I hope so, but, if Ann and I were 20 years younger, we would not wait: we would already be making plans to sell up and move to a nice rural town in the US Mid-West where we would move the business we had before we retired.

  28. Denis Cooper
    January 22, 2025

    Somewhat off topic, typical self-righteous hypocrisy here:

    https://euobserver.c:om/green-economy/ar04287242?

    “While US president Donald Trump threatened tariffs, EU president Ursula von der Leyen offered the world free trade. “Our deals have no hidden strings attached …”

    However there are strings, such as “If you want unfettered movement of your goods into our EU Single Market border then you must allow all EU citizens to move into your country if they choose, the four freedoms being indivisible” and “If you want unfettered movement of your goods into our EU Single Market then you must apply our EU rules to all the production of goods in your country, whether or not they are intended for export to us”.

    Reply The EU is threatening the world with big new tariffs called the cbam

  29. Mickey Taking
    January 22, 2025

    UK borrowing costs rose unexpectedly to £17.8billion in December, but Chancellor Rachel Reeves remains confident in the country’s financial health following the October budget.
    This figure was around 25 per cent higher than what economists had predicted and was £10.1billion more than the same time last year, making it the highest borrowing in December for four years.
    The ONS said that a significant part of the borrowing came from an £8.3billion debt interest bill, which was the third-highest December total ever. Additionally, a £1.7billion payment for repurchasing military homes added to the overall borrowing.
    Reeves acknowledged the headroom to meet those targets in the final year of the economic forecast is “tight” but added “those fiscal rules are important to us because they are the bedrock, the foundation of that stability that I’ve spoken about”.
    ‘Stabilty’? – stop laughing at the back.!

  30. Original Richard
    January 22, 2025

    “Our Wastefinder General Rachel could read and copy some of these.”

    Wasteful spending is a Net Zero policy. Spending needs to be high in order to justify high taxation and this necessitates wasteful spending to reach the amount required. High taxation is a way to reduce public consumption and hence reduce CO2 emissions to make it look like Parliament is achieving its Net Zero goal.

    However, the climate crisis scam is not to reduce CO2, the gas of life, but to sabotage the economy by ending the use of cheap, reliable fossil hydrocarbon energy in order to lower consumption and even more importantly to force through electrification. The electrification of heating and transport enables through the use of smart meters instant “flick the witch control” down to individual households.

    Hence the reason the Energy Security & Net Zero Select Committee at their evidence giving meeting of 04/12/2024 were discussing how to make gas more expensive so that impractical and expensive heat pumps could look cheaper to run if not cheaper to install.

  31. Bryan Harris
    January 22, 2025

    Could be that Trump reads this diary.

    All very sensible ideas on a Thatcherite tone , but I’m sure that is only the beginning.

    These are not getting the attention they deserve.

    We shouldn’t expect our MSM to trumpet any good that Trump does, but they will keep on trying to denigrate him with their incessant innuendo and false stories.

    He also gave notice that America would leave the WHO, due

    to the organisation’s mishandling of the covid-19 pandemic, failure to adopt reforms, demands for unfairly onerous payments and lack of independence from member states’ influence.

    Just that one step alone could alter the future for the better.

  32. Atlas
    January 22, 2025

    Interesting start by President Trump, he seems to have a worked out plan to achieve his goals. As the adage goes: “The proof of the pudding will be in the eating”, so let us see what actually happens.

  33. Ian B
    January 22, 2025

    Sir John
    The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) in its updated estimates in October, got it wrong again (and that is really more than again, more their normality). Today the OBR are shown to be wrong they were $4.1 Billion short on what Reeves would spend.
    Why do we have the OBR? is it just to aid the sloping shoulders of Ministers?

    1. Mickey Taking
      January 22, 2025

      But as Reeves said she will be advised and informed by OBR and Treasury…
      We watch it with some amusement.

  34. Kenny
    January 22, 2025

    The US you’re welcome to it – wouldn’t touch it with a barge pole – all I have in mind is that guy with the buffalo horns from Jan 6th 2021 getting out of jail and roaming the streets again. Wow MAGA

    1. Ian B
      January 22, 2025

      @Kenny – an interesting reflection. What would your take be on the UK Citizen born in Wales, murdered 3 young girls and attempted to murder 10 others. Then you have the Rochdale UK Citizens that took up gang rape and child sex offences.
      Do they represent all UK Citizens? Do the make the UK look great( as MAGA) again?

  35. K
    January 22, 2025

    British Conservatives are most unlike Trump.

    As a matter of national urgency British Conservatives need to get out of the way.

    They are not the solution.

    1. Ian B
      January 22, 2025

      @K, Thier are millions of British Conservatives, all good center ground hardworking and clear thinking people. What we don’t have is a Conservative Party, the ConSocialist/ so-called Uniparty crowd deserted conservatism and kicked Conservatives in the teeth leaving them disenfranchised. As you suggests this ragtag crow of Liberal Democrats should move out of the way, even cross the floor and join Ed Davey and stop the pretending.
      I am a Conservative supporter, but there is no Conservative Party

  36. a-tracy
    January 22, 2025

    “Prohibits the use of outside contractors to get a round ban.”
    I wonder if they will continue with outside contractors with specific contracts for certain functions. Otherwise wouldn’t this just put a lot of small businesses out of business with 60 days of costs with no business? I don’t see how that is beneficial.

    Reply No. They are merely blocking new contracting out to get round staff freeze

  37. Norm
    January 22, 2025

    However he said nothing about the health care system in the US and the cost of prescription charges or medicine also there are about one million homeless but nothing said about housebuilding. Then it’s all very well withdrawing from the Paris accords and the WHO etc but surely he should be putting something in their place – he might say drill baby drill but I can say burn baby burn I say this as right now following the california fires and here storm Eowyn is heading straight at us – could be the worst ever

    1. Ian B
      January 22, 2025

      @Norm – storm is just a storm, don’t confuse media click-bait with reality, the same source last week said we would all be under 12″ of snow today. Neither of which is abnormal or unusual at this time of the year. Did you note the homes in California built to what is called ‘ Code’ (like our Building Regs) are still standing while those around them are ash. We had a similar situation here with the ‘Grenfell Tower’ those doing the work and paying were permitted to self certificate that the product was safe, although no such approval came from any of the UK’s safety bodies(Building Regs, Building Research and so on) outside the EU the product had been banned.

      Why should there be a replacement of the Paris Accord out 193 World Countries 187 have no laws to comply. China says it wants to comply while last year they opened more coal fired power stations than the rest of the World combined. WHO has no legitimacy anywhere to form laws, rules etc – they are just a talking shop for the unelected unaccountable bureaucrats that are full of self-importance.

  38. Richard1
    January 22, 2025

    Amidst all the outrage over president trump’s various initiatives the legacy media seem largely to have missed a move of exceptional stupidity and hostility by the socialist prime minister of Spain. He is to ban UK and other non-EU persons from buying property in Spain and to put a 100% tax on existing ones. Presumably he will have to make a hasty exception for Americans once someone draws trump’s attention to this. But there should be media focus on outrages committed by liberal left leaders in Europe also.

    1. glen cullen
      January 22, 2025

      Stand by any day now, our government will challenge the Spanish and protect UK plebs

      1. Ian B
        January 22, 2025

        @glen cullen – how can they? they are on their side

        1. glen cullen
          January 22, 2025

          Just keep watching, any day now …..any day now

    2. Denis Cooper
      January 22, 2025

      As we know the Spanish government does not have a completely free hand on this, because even if it wanted to deter (say) Germans from buying property in Spain and crowding out locals it could not do so under EU law.

      https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/residence/documents-formalities/buying-house/index_en.htm

      On the one hand it is obviously a pain for the minority of UK citizens who are affected, but on the other hand it is quite useful for people in the UK to be reminded how EU law penetrates the smallest “nooks and crannies”* of the EU member states and also appreciate how the EU treats the 94% of the world population who live in one of the 165 countries outside its Single Market.

      * https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/hurd-resisted-on-ec-water-laws-1551112.html

      “Mr Hurd believes there is some scope for cross-border EC environment policy, for example on pollution, but he has been angered before by the Commission’s desire to take a more active role in British environment policy. When Mr Ripa di Meana called for a halt to some road-building projects, including the M3 extension, in 1991, Mr Hurd accused him of meddling in the ‘nooks and crannies’ of British life.”

  39. Keith from Leeds
    January 22, 2025

    Whether you like him or not, Trump is a leader. He has had more impact in three days than Starmer in 7 months.
    I am shocked by the disrespect for Trump, who is the properly elected leader of the USA. Why don’t we hear more negative comments about Putin, Zi, and Kim Jong un?
    Trump will not get it all right, but even if he achieves only half of what he says he will do, the USA will be better off at the end of his four-year term.
    Where is the Uk Trump? We have never needed one more!

    1. Mitchel
      January 22, 2025

      You hear negative comments about that trio ALL the time-and most of it is made up rubbish ,absorbed and repeated by the gullible who are too lazy or stupid to do their own research.

    2. Ed M
      January 22, 2025

      In fairness though to Trump’s critics this Trump (Trump 2) is quite different to the Trump in last Presidency (Trump 1). It’s more than a new upgrade, looks like we now we have a completely new operating system (a good one) .. Let’s hope the new os is bug free.

  40. Ukret123
    January 22, 2025

    Amazing list of priorities and it is revealing the sheer scale of how frightening the USA lost the plot of how to govern in multiple directions.
    It explains why Britain must likewise be a basket-case on steroids also.

  41. formula57
    January 22, 2025

    President Trump like President Milei shows what can be done.

    Meanwhile, where is Starmer’s announcement renaming the Irish Sea the Gulf of Wales? Awaiting E.U. approval perhaps.

  42. Ed M
    January 22, 2025

    Like I been banging on about for ages about the importance of focusing on and investing in High Tech, President Trump now getting involved in $500 billion Stargate venture. Already, on Day 2, he’s embracing the world of High Tech. Good on Trump. He gets it. Compared to our politicians who hardly ever reference High Tech.

    1. hefner
      January 22, 2025

      What should also be pointed out is that the $500 bn for the Stargate project is future money (within four years possibly?) The private companies involved in it (US OpenAI, Oracle, UAE MGX, Japanese SoftBank, and ARM, Microsoft, NVidia as ‘practical partners’) have for the moment agreed to put $100 bn into the venture. It will be interesting to see how much the US Government will contribute to the total funding.

      Reply The idea is government contributes nothing. Government there as here will contribute as customers buying plenty of the service.

      1. Ed M
        January 22, 2025

        Reply – good point

      2. Ed M
        January 22, 2025

        Sadly ARM now Japanese owned instead of British – negatively affects rest of British High Tech industry.

  43. Ed M
    January 22, 2025

    Already, Trump is redeeming himself greatly of being a Red Neck right-winger and is a lot more cool-headed and sophisticated in his approach to politics. He’s still right wing which is great but in a more entrepreneurial-minded way (and focused on High Tech). So far, Trump, in his second term, is impressive (compared to his first time which was fairly absurd). He’s learning from his mistakes (as we all make mistakes) and listening to wiser people as well as listening more to his own intuition in a good way.

  44. Ed M
    January 22, 2025

    If Trump carries on like this he’ll be one of the best US Presidents ever.
    For one, Trump is not a war HAWK.
    And he’s pro High Tech.
    And he seems to be saying a lot of sensible things about other topics in politics.
    Trump 2 (his second Presidency), so far, is very different to Trump 1 (his first Presidency).

    1. Mitchel
      January 22, 2025

      He’ll have to admit to US defeat in Ukraine very quickly so Biden carries the blame.The longer he tries for something he can claim as a win,the more the eventual humiliation will attach itself to him.

      1. Ed M
        January 22, 2025

        Taking on Putin was the right thing to do – and Trump is right. And regarding Russia, Putin is just like a loser (in a moral sense – and every other sense). I don’t know what Trump is going to do. But the USA certainly does not look like a ‘loser’ over Ukraine as things stand now.

        1. Mitchel
          January 23, 2025

          Endless rounds of sanctions-failed.long list of gamechanger weapons that did not change the game,exposing the obsolescence of US military technology.concretization of the Russia-China-Iran alliance which is geopolitical checkmate.

          BIG fail I would say!

  45. herebefore
    January 22, 2025

    The whole world including the US and EU etc is starting through a phase of isolationism and protectionism now with tariffs it seems so no chance for us doing special trade deals with anyone especially with the way the US under President Trump has announced itself – also can only think that canadians must be particularly worried about what is going on south of their border.

    1. Mitchel
      January 22, 2025

      The “whole world” is not “starting through a phase of isolationism”.China and Russia are leading a new world order in the form of BRICS.The US may be forced,willingly or otherwise, into semi-isolation by the emergence of this alternative to the toxic west;certainly its days of realistically seeking hegemony are over.

  46. glen cullen
    January 22, 2025

    129 criminals arrived in the UK yesterday; from the safe country of France …If only we had Trump here !

    1. Donna
      January 23, 2025

      The oh so caring Establishment is DELIBERATELY making British citizens, particularly women and girls, less safe in their own country.

  47. Geoffrey Berg
    January 22, 2025

    This time round, Donald Trump has spoken and acted like a man genuinely on a mission to fundamentally and quickly change America to an extent no previous American President has done.
    The economic measures you have highlighted are very good. Never mind Rachel Reeves who seems to think growth means the growth of government even though that damages the economy. What about Kemi Badenoch committing the Conservative Party to these Trumpian economic measures but I doubt we will see that from somebody who wasn’t in practice willing to rescind practically any of the thousands of regulations the EU had imposed on us! If Trumpian economic remedies are to come to Britain it is the Conservative and Reform Parties that have to commit to enacting them immediately if they get into power – so how about challenging Badenoch and Farage to make such a commitment?

    Reply I am urging UK politicians to adopt these measures!

    1. Ed M
      January 22, 2025

      Trump in first Presidency was a jerk (and people were daft not challenge him for acting like one).
      But he’s a completely different kettle of fish today (or seems so thus far). Good on him. He’s learned some lessons. Thought it out.

  48. glen cullen
    January 22, 2025

    The difference is; is that Starmer is at heart a bureaucrat and a ditherer while Trump a go getter, and will work at pace bypassing red tape to get things done

  49. mancunius
    January 23, 2025

    “Every department and governmental body to have a team of four senior people promoting greater efficiency.”
    Having personally been involved in measures to radically ’empty the raincoat’, I am sceptical. The four (or however few or many) senior people in charge of efficiency don’t want to make themselves too obviously redundant by stripping to the bone. Total numbers go down but then a year later are mysteriously the same for ‘reasons’. In government departments profitability is difficult to quantify except by savings, which are often at the expense of quality of output (also difficult to quantify).
    It’s not at all an impossible task, but one rarely achieved.

  50. Peter Gardner
    January 23, 2025

    This one amused me: “Prohibit use of outside contractors to get round ban [on recruitment].”
    After leaving the Royal Navy I emigrated to Australia and after a period in industry reckoned I had learned enough to set up as a consultant. After joining a firm of consultants I could not believe it when the MD explained to me that one of its keys to success was nothing more than acting as a communicator between government departments who don’t talk to each other. I was still surprised when I discovered, while working on a contract advising the government on how it could best support manufacturing and what regulations were inhibiting enterprise, itself important and valuable work, it really was true. Different departments happy to spend time withj me because I would tell them what other departments were doing. Later in UK advising a well known aerospace company on a government programme, I found again that many of the problems holding back a large aircreft development programme were failures of understanding caused by poor communications within government. This was particularly annoying to me as I had previously worked in the MOD and in R&D (as well as more usual Naval jobs) and found that to get things done I often had to bend the rules and to talk with people I was not supposed to talk to. And the cause behind the poor communications in many instances were silo structures and informal empire building. To get things done one really had to be a maverick and make a nuisance of oneself. I know my experience is not unusual. But when you do find civil servants who are on the ball, creative, directed and energetic, the progress you can make is astounding. They do exist!

    1. glen cullen
      January 23, 2025

      Your findings are also my findings

  51. Linda Brown
    January 23, 2025

    No one can accuse him of not trying which is more than be said for years of neglect in this country. Is it the schooling system that has brought this about? No wish to attain. Perhaps we should resurrect the 1944 Education Act which I was lucky to be educated under. We just have rich kids in top jobs whose parents have sent them to private schools and then the rest at comprehensives which do not push for attainment in many cases.

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