Think back to the political situation a decade ago, and one may have in mind a calmer, less dysfunctional time. Britain’s economy was growing, just about, and real wages were beginning to rise for the first time since the summer …
Is private equity too big to fail?
When people think of the one percent, they tend to enter the realm of mythology: conjuring up images of decadent dinner parties on private islands and dogs being flown around the world in private jets. This is far from the …
California leaves its poor to burn
“A call went out, and I could see the fire outside. In the back of my head, I was like ‘Hey, this is just another fire — the fire department’s going to stop it and save my house. I’m going …
The Left must reclaim JS Mill
A century and a half after the death of John Stuart Mill, it is easy to think that we have had enough of him. Although William Gladstone once posthumously canonised him as “the saint of rationality”, many contemporary thinkers believe …
What was the point of Jacinda Ardern?
No one saw Jacinda Ardern’s resignation coming, though many of her critics have been willing it for years. She has, she says, no more gas left in the tank after her five and a half years as New Zealand’s Prime …
China’s broken promise of prosperity
At the Chinese Communist Party’s 20th Congress this week, Xi Jinping will be nominated for a precedent-defying third term of office. But his grasp on power has not gone unchallenged. Days before the Congress began, a rare protest took place …
Conservatives rely on inequality
On being asked what he thought of Western Civilisation, Gandhi replied “it sounds like a good idea”. I am starting to feel the same way about English Conservatism. I have never been a Conservative, but I have always felt that …
Grenfell was no ghetto
Underneath the Westway flyover, in the shadow of Grenfell Tower, is the much-loved community hub, the Maxilla Social Club. Following the devastation of the Grenfell fire, in June 2017, which claimed the lives of 72 people, it became a collection …
Boris must eat the rich
I suppose, if you really wanted to stretch a point, Marie Antoinette’s proposal to “let them eat cake” could be cast as an early expression of the whole levelling up agenda. After all, that famous phrase could be twisted to …
The Medicis Knew How to Level Up
What’s the point of levelling-up? The government’s white paper on the subject was published yesterday — to less than glowing reviews.
But there’s a school of thought that its authors were doomed from the start. If you believe that geography …