Blair won the leadership of the Labour Party confronting left wingers, and promising to take the party to the centre ground. In contrast, Starmer won the leadership promising a hard-left agenda.
Tony Blair and Gordon Brown inherited a strong economy and low taxes, and thus plenty of scope for more spending. Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves would take office in vastly more difficult circumstances.
The Cameron Government showed that benefits cuts are acceptable, even popular, when they are perceived as fair.
It is not a coincidence that the only bits of England he omits from his coalition of “progressive values” are those that are net contributors to the Exchequer.
“Because all the reforms you guys passed already have panned out really well over the past 20 years, haven’t they.”
A timely report – from Ed Balls, no less – suggests that a lack of graduates is not the reason for our productivity deficit. Rather, our productivity deficit explains the lack of graduate-level jobs.
Recent governments have strained to take ever-larger numbers out of income tax whilst maintaining a large welfare state. The problem is whether this is sustainable.
If local residents have a legitimate interest in whether new housing gets built, the community has a legitimate interest in the efficient use of existing housing.
As it never attracted as much ire as Iraq we may never see a proper inquiry into a decades-long, £27.7 billion failure.
A brief series highlighting how the Labour Party used to be intensely relaxed about people getting filthy rich, as long as they paid their taxes.
A brief series highlighting how the Labour Party used to be intensely relaxed about people getting filthy rich, as long as they paid their taxes.
Labour only wins when it understands aspiration. British voters want stability, not a revolution. Starmer showed today that is a lesson he has learned.
A brief series highlighting how the Labour Party used to be intensely relaxed about people getting filthy rich, as long as they paid their taxes.
The Government should harness the spirit of the Victorians to overcome our underwhelming recent record on infrastructure projects.
Conservatives have to recognise that much of this failure arises from our failure to tackle government by quango and New Labour’s political settlement.