The centre-right is in retreat across Europe: here’s how to restore it Opinion The centre-right dominated post-war European politics, but those days are over. To beat populist insurgents, conservatives must remember the ten Cs, says Joe Harrison Squeezed between Labour and Reform, the Tories are in a desperate struggle for political breathing room. It is tempting to pin this relevance crisis on past blunders – Liz Truss’s infamous [...]
Free Thinking: Mel Stride on Farage’s ‘fantasy’ economics and why Tories are different Video City AM's Opinion and Features Editor sits down with Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride for a very special episode of Free Thinking.
‘Never again’: Shadow Chancellor apologises for Truss’ mini-budget Politics Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride is set to apologise for the fallout from the 2022 mini-budget, vowing that “never again will the Conservative Party undermine fiscal credibility by making promises we cannot afford.” In a speech later today, Stride is expected to apologise on behalf of the Tory government for having “put at risk the very [...]
Keir Starmer hits back at Reform’s ‘fantasy’ economic policies May 29, 2025 Keir Starmer has hit back at Nigel Farage’s “fantasy economics,” after the Reform leader laid out a suite of fresh policies aimed at attracting voters away from Labour. In a speech to workers in the North West later today Starmer plans make the case against Farage’s economic credibility, likening the proposals to the Liz Truss [...]
Reform present Tories with chance to rebuild economic credibility May 28, 2025 I bumped into a Tory MP in the City yesterday and after a cheerful catch up their mood crumbled when I asked about the state of their party. “We’re finished as a political force” was the frank assessment. A couple of hours later, Nigel Farage was making the same point on stage in Westminster, declaring [...]
‘The most calls I’ve ever had’ – Why Japanese bonds have suffered surging yields May 27, 2025 The Japanese bond market has suffered one of its worst weeks in years. An auction on Japan’s 20-year government bond saw its bid-to-cover ratio, a measure of demand, sink to levels last seen in 2012, while the auction’s tail, the gap between average and lowest-accepted prices, widened to the longest since 1987, in another sign [...]
Reform would be an economic disaster (trust me, I worked for Liz Truss) May 21, 2025 I’ve seen first-hand what happens when politicians promise huge tax cuts without acknowledging difficult trade-offs – and that’s exactly what we’d get from a Reform government, says Sir Simon Clarke It’s time to take Reform seriously, because one day soon, they might run our country. Stranger things have happened. Look at France, where the traditional [...]
Liz Truss: UK’s shortest-serving PM rakes in the cash May 19, 2025 Liz Truss, the UK’s shortest-serving Prime Minister, has seen her earnings rise after leaving Number 10. The former PM has raked in £112,657 in the year to 31 March, 2025, through a business she and her husband set up. The figure is up from the £104,715 the firm reported in net assets during its prior [...]
Reform UK’s fiscal plans could spark ‘Sterling crisis’, economist warns May 16, 2025 Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice has hinted at ambitions to become chancellor if his party wins the next general election. What does this mean for the UK’s finances? Simon French, an economist at Panmure Liberum who has advised the government, estimates that Reform UK’s plans would leave the UK with an “immediate” fiscal gap [...]
US bond market on the verge of ‘meltdown’ as Treasury yields spike April 9, 2025 US government bonds have entered a “meltdown” as long-yield Treasuries briefly reached over five per cent last night amid market panic over Donald Trump’s tariffs. US 30-year Treasury yields spiked briefly above five per cent last night, before settling at 4.9 per cent, up from 4.45 per cent before Trump unveiled his tariffs. The last [...]