It’s an unspoken truth that we wallow in class war clichés

This is who’s really to blame for Britain’s ‘broken’ benefits system

It’s an unspoken truth about the welfare state today. The sheer scale of in-work poverty is driving the need for state support – which is contributed to by housing costs – but also (yes) by insecure work, poor-quality jobs and terrible pay. By employers, too, who seemingly think it’s the job of the state to step in and top up the poverty wages they offer – you know, to those people who get up at 5am and graft for them from sun-up to sun-down. And yet, even then, it’s still not enough for many people to live on – as evidenced by the 4.5 million kids in poverty in the UK, 72 per cent of whom (according to government figures) live in a working household. And the fact that 300,000 of those are in families with both parents working full-time. Unsurprising, perhaps, when you learn that 56 per cent of those hit by the two-child limit – and being pushed into poverty – are in employment.

From the i Paper, a supporter of the social class which is gradually grinding down working people into a state of dependency. Andrew Burnham's social class, and the social class of his Cabinet, the Labour Party and the Establishment.

Where can I find an image of myself? Ah, in the poor, in my poor neighbour labouring in the grip of an unjust system of capitalism. Let me look at him, let my heart be wrung, let me give myself to his service. Poor fellow, poor image, he is so badly off. Alas and alas, I do love my neighbour as myself: I am as anxious about his pecuniary welfare as I am about myself. I am so sorry for him, the poor X. He is a man like me. So I lie to myself and to him. For I do not care about him and his poverty: I care about my own unsatisfied soul. But I sidetrack to him, my poor neighbour, to vent on him my self-pity.

D.H. Lawrence – Study of Thomas Hardy and Other Essays (1933)

Overwhelming support

 

Davey remains Lib Dem leader after marathon meeting with MPs

Deputy party leader Daisy Cooper said: “There is overwhelming support for Ed in the parliamentary party and a real sense that we need to come together as a group.

“We are passionate about the crucial role we play in stopping the Conservatives and Reform UK from forming the most right-wing government in our history.

Juggler

 

Civil servant fraudulently juggled five jobs working from home

A civil servant used remote working and sick notes to fraudulently juggle five government jobs, prosecutors said.

At one point, Kashim Chowdhury was contracted to work 183 hours a week for five jobs, more hours than exist in seven days, jurors at Southwark Crown Court were told.

There are many things we could say about this, mostly obvious, but there is a tip of an iceberg feel to it too. It would be mildly unfair to point out that allowing civil servants to work from home is open to scams like this, but disingenuous to claim otherwise.

1960s UK Holiday Traffic

Rabble Babble

Angela Rayner fund used by councils for 'anti-right propaganda' to stop Nigel Farage becoming PM

Angela Rayner’s £15million community recovery fund financed "anti-Right-wing propaganda" via training materials designed to counter support for Reform UK and the Conservatives, according to fresh documents...

According to the documents, the programme included guidance on countering anti-immigration arguments, opposing protests and preventing working-class communities from moving towards right-wing politics.

An online booking form for a training session warned of an “impending disaster of a Reform UK government”.

Other materials described Nigel Farage as an “authoritarian populist" and encouraged activists to challenge narratives linking migration to pressure on public services and housing.

It's a tad trivial this, and all very crude, playing transparent language games such as “impending disaster of a Reform UK government” and  “authoritarian populist". 

Oh well, the chance of worthwhile political reform seems vanishingly slender anyway. If Reform UK is seen as a genuine threat to the Establishment, which it probably isn't, then there would be no limits to the measures taken to forestall that.

Meanwhile, if we are playing language games, then Andrew Burnham does come across as comfortable with becoming an authoritarian populist himself, although given his limitations and the rabble behind him, he may find the populist aspect more troublesome than expected. 

Maybe Burnhams impending disaster beckons already -  


Ex-Burnham adviser says PM is already on the 'downslope' and brands social care plan 'unfundable'

A former adviser to Andy Burnham has warned that the Prime Minister is already on the ‘downslope’ less than three months after taking office.

In a brutal intervention, Andy Haldane said his one-time ally’s ‘high-water mark’ has passed and predicted economic and political trouble as families face a ‘cost-of-living squeeze’ this winter.

And he described Mr Burnham’s plans for a new national care service for people in later life as well-intentioned ‘but probably unfundable’ given the country’s ‘precarious’ fiscal position.

Burnham and his TikTok gravitas

Burnham speaks with all the confidence of a mayor but without the gravitas of a prime minister

• Communication Style: Known for a “tell it like it is” approach and viral TikToks, but his off-the-cuff remarks are increasingly causing controversy.
• Controversial Comments: Remarks on Heathrow expansion and Manchester City ownership sparked confusion and required clarifications from aides and government officials.
• Brexit Intelligence Slip: Shared details of a high-level briefing on Russian interference, forcing ministers to publicly row back and clarify there was no evidence affecting the vote.

Andy Burnham earned his spurs as a great communicator on the back of a few summer TikToks, but is the shine coming off just a couple of months into the new job? While some people still appreciate the supposedly down to earth ‘tell it like it is’ approach, there can be no denying that the PM’s loose lips have got him into hot water in recent weeks. Labour sources concede that Burnham’s tendency to “shoot from the hip” is becoming a problem.

Interesting observation about gravitas within the journalistic tosh. An almost universal characteristic of modern politicians is that they are unable to project gravitas and don't appear to know what it is. 

The closest they generally manage is a kind of solemn demeanour when some tragedy demands it for as long as the cameras are running. They barely manage dignity, many don't know what that is either.

Gravitas doesn't seem suited to our feckless times and the lack of it suggests how frivolous and trivial the public arena has become, even at what is supposedly the highest level of public debate. 

Known for a “tell it like it is” approach
viral TikToks

earned his spurs as a great communicator

the supposedly down to earth ‘tell it like it is’ approach
tendency to “shoot from the hip”

Bah! it is better to keep your mind to yourself until you have quite made it up — you understand? — and even then till the time for action has come, and not even then, unless you want help. Who will sum up the mischief one of those prating fellows does in a lifetime?

Sheridan Le Fanu – Guy Deverell (1865)

Burnham tests the yield point of his audience’s credulity

Andy Burnham says he holds Nigel Farage significantly responsible for UK's miserable decade

Andy Burnham has said he holds Nigel Farage "very significantly responsible" for Britain's failure to move forward in the last decade.

In a rare personal attack on the Reform UK chief, he tore into Brexit "lies" and questioned whether Mr Farage still has the appetite to lead. The Prime Minister accused him of giving Britain "a decade of division and drift" - and accused Russia of interfering with the 2016 referendum.


Already we see Burnham testing what Arthur C. Clarke once described as the yield point of his audience’s credulity. 

It's a useful expression because it seems to lie behind Team Burnham's decision to use Brexit as a major hedge against their man having to shoulder direct responsibility. An understandable strategy now it has become less easy to push responsibility in the direction of the EU itself.

We may also conclude that Team Burnham has assessed the yield point of their audience’s credulity as robust enough for the strategy to work.

He had been listening with a professional pride to tales which even he would never have dared to spin, for he was an expert at detecting the yield point of his audience’s credulity.

Arthur C. Clarke - Tales from the White Hart (1957)

It's legal plunder time again

John Healey faces £35billion budget black hole, IFS warns

Chancellor John Healey faces a £35billion shortfall in the public finances ahead of his first Budget, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

The economic think tank warned that the Government may have to raise taxes, cut welfare spending or scale back some of its promises to balance the books.

Rising inflation has increased the cost of running public services, while the Government also wants to spend more on defence, council housing and a new national care service.

Helen Miller, director of the IFS, said the Chancellor could not deliver a quiet Budget without making difficult decisions.

She said: "A 'steady-as-she-goes' Budget is not an option available to the Chancellor."


Here we are yet again with UK Chancellors plus the media busy redefining Frédéric Bastiat's 'legal plunder' as 'the public finances'. 

But how is this legal plunder to be identified? Quite simply. See if the law takes from some persons what belongs to them, and gives it to other persons to whom it does not belong. See if the law benefits one citizen at the expense of another by doing what the citizen himself cannot do without committing a crime.

Frédéric Bastiat - The Law (1850)

Taking Bastiat's more accurate terminology a little further, we could usefully refer to a 'steady-as-she-goes' Budget as a 'plunder-as-she-goes' Budget.

By gum, here's a depressing start to Monday morning

Poet Anne Carson recently won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Literature. A poet of our times from what little I've managed to read of her output, but Gad Saad has read a little more so we don't have to.

The news cycle returns to familiar ground

Is UK's two-horse race back? Burnham and Badenoch climb up in polls

• Polling Boosts: Labour under Andy Burnham leads at 29%, Conservatives under Kemi Badenoch rise to 20%, while Reform UK and Greens show slowing momentum.
• Conference Impact: Both leaders received positive reactions for their speeches; Badenoch highlighted inheritance tax cuts, Burnham pledged to break from the past 40 years of policy.
• Green Party Challenges: Internal tensions and recent by-election losses under Zack Polanski have weakened Green support, benefiting Labour’s recovery among younger voters.

Andy Burnham and Kemi Badenoch are enjoying polling boosts as political commentators question whether British politics is slowly edging back towards a contest dominated by Labour and the Conservatives.

Amid mounting Westminster speculation about a snap general election, well-received party conference speeches by the Prime Minister Burnham and Conservative leader Badenoch appear to have helped both leaders consolidate support, while momentum for Reform UK and the Green Party shows signs of slowing.

Burnham rushes in

Burnham rushes to axe photo ID checks at elections

Andy Burnham is rushing through laws to scrap photo ID checks in polling stations amid mounting speculation he will call an early general election, The Telegraph can reveal.

The Prime Minister has been accused of “ramming through” the controversial changes, which mean people will be allowed to vote with only a bank card as identification.

Under current laws, which the Conservatives introduced in 2023, voters are required to bring photo ID with them to polling stations.

But the new proposals, drafted in the Representation of the People Bill, intend to expand the type of eligible ID to include bank cards with no photograph of its owners. The Electoral Commission has raised concerns about the plan.


It isn't easy to be wildly concerned about these shenanigans. Clearly, some level of concern should be easy because democracy is important, but it isn't. 

Experience does not suggest that UK voters are generally competent voters, in that they pay attention to the costs and extent of government incompetence, the widespread failures of party politics and how it curtails their lives. Curtails their lives to an extent which ought to be at least mildly embarrassing we might add. 

It is not obvious that voters generally understand how to inform themselves about government inadequacies at even the most basic level, that it to say, beyond crude media bias and party political propaganda.

Yes the political terrain is being manipulated and Team Burnham may have their collective eye on the advantages and disadvantages of an early election. They do seem intent on playing various legal games to tilt the board in their favour, but millions will not be outraged and millions more won't notice.

No, it isn't easy to be wildly concerned.

TV licence renewal - email scams

We've been receiving loads of scam TV licence renewal emails over the past few weeks. Well not loads, but we've received about 10 so far. They claim our direct debit hasn't processed properly and invite us to click a button to sort it out.

As we don't have a TV licence because we don't need one, never set up a direct debit, the licence reference number is wrong and it is trivially easy to see that the email doesn't come from TV Licencing...

Well it's desperately unimpressive if scam standards are declining too.

I blame climate change.

Labour voters underwhelming

Labour voters ‘overwhelmingly want Burnham to commit to rejoining EU’

Nearly three-quarters of Labour voters want Andy Burnham to include talks to rejoin the European Union in the party’s next manifesto, according to a major new poll carried out as the prime minister opened the door to returning to the bloc.

Britons would also vote by nearly two to one, 57 to 30 per cent, to become part of the EU again in another referendum, the survey found.

The polling, carried out by European Movement UK in partnership with Observant, found that a majority of voters for all but one of the major parties were in favour of the inclusion of a commitment to seek membership of the EU in their next election manifesto. Reform UK was the only party whose voters were against it.

On this basis, Labour voters appear to be taking their lead from Andrew "Bus Fares" Burnham as he lurches from one irrelevant idea to another. 

The EU is only relevant as a major obstacle to tackling the political woes of Europe. As a political project it failed years ago, primarily because it attracts dull, meddling mediocrity at both European and national level. 

Now we hear how dull, meddling mediocrity attracts Labour voters, but we already knew that.

Charles Gave on the French riots

 

Charlie Quits

Senior Lib Dem quits front bench in bid to oust leader Sir Ed Davey

Charlie Maynard, the MP for Witney, has resigned from his role as a Treasury spokesman in a move reported to be aimed at removing leader Sir Ed Davey.

The Liberal Democrats confirmed the senior MP’s departure from the party’s front bench on Friday.

According to the Financial Times, Mr Maynard’s resignation is intended to prompt Sir Ed’s removal, with the politician reportedly asking parliamentary colleagues to support a vote of no confidence in the party leader.

Imaginary conversation -

I see Charlie Maynard just resigned.

Who?

Charlie Maynard, Lib Dem Treasury spokesman.

Didn't know they had one.

Neither did I until he resigned.  

Low profile I suppose, no falling off paddle boards.

I'll miss that.

Yes, there is something very Lib Dem about falling off paddle boards.

And in calling yourself Charlie instead of Charles.

Good point.

The road back to Kampala

Alfie Pearce-Higgins has a useful Critic piece on the contagious nature of lawlessness. He uses the ease with which road vehicle laws are evaded to make his point.


Lawlessness is contagious

Enabling the lawless and pursuing the law-abiding will result in mass non-compliance

For several years I helped to build SafeBoda — a motorbike taxi company in Kampala, Uganda. Our aim was to make the roads safe, or at least safer, by improving compliance with traffic laws. One of our most telling findings was that stopping at traffic lights was contagious: if the first two or three motorbikes arriving at a red light stop, others are much more likely to follow suit and hold the line. As soon as one breaks ranks and speeds off, others will follow. This is a lesson that appears to be becoming increasingly relevant both for our roads and our society as a whole.

A parliamentary enquiry recently heard that as many as one vehicle in fifteen on our roads may now be carrying a “ghost plate”. Some are cloned: a driver simply buys a copy of someone else’s registration. The unsuspecting owner of the original then receives a stream of parking and speeding fines and has to prove a negative. More common still are plates that are deliberately unreadable, treated with coatings or fonts that make them invisible to most traffic cameras. Trials of new cameras capable of detecting them logged thousands of offenders a day.


The contagious nature of human behaviour may be familiar, but the whole piece is well worth reading as another aspect of political and official incompetence in the UK.


The inevitable result is mass non-compliance. Having worked in economic development across sub-Saharan Africa I have seen the challenges of a low trust society: an economy weighed down by high security costs, uninsurable risks and uncertain contract enforcement while the government passes endless rules that never become anything more than words on a page. Through our aid budgets we have spent decades and billions of pounds trying, and largely failing, to understand how one builds a higher trust society. What we do know is how to destroy one. Unless laws are visibly enforced and everyone can see they are being treated alike, we are on the road back to Kampala.

Let's unleash our talents

  

British households would be £5,000 richer if we were more innovative. Let's unleash our talents

The coming 10 years are almost certain to be the decade that sees the greatest scientific breakthroughs in a century. The question is whether advances now under way in AI, quantum computing and biology can address cancer, find ways to treat or prevent dementia, and overcome the growing resistance to antibiotics. Can we find sustainable ways to address our energy needs and protect the environment at the same time? Can AI transform the way we deliver education, health and social care to the benefit of millions, as well as advance modern manufacturing strength? And what role can Britain’s inventors, investors and industrialists play in developing these transformative technologies?..

But it is disappointing that only 36% of the British public believes the country is a world leader in science. It is time for innovation to move to the forefront of government policy and the 10-year plan the government is preparing. If we were to raise Britain to Swedish or Japanese levels of innovation intensity we would, over time, leave every household £5,000 better off (according to my calculations)*, and increase our national income by £150bn a year as higher investment in research and development feeds through into productivity. And a jobs plan on the scale that Our Scottish Future has proposed for Scotland would mean about 3m new jobs across the UK.

*My underlining - the piece was written by Gordon Brown.

  

The Charity Business

The National Trust's first-ever indoor furniture collection is here – 7 timeless pieces for a charming country home

The National Trust knows a thing or two about a well-appointed room. Whether that's timeworn kitchen dressers or sideboards that have witnessed a century (or two) of polished silver and proper puddings, its properties are rich with design details worth borrowing.

Now, the charity has partnered with The Cotswold Company on a new heritage-inspired furniture collection that puts all that generational know-how to good use.


As we have the highest authority for assuming that charity covers a multitude of sins, we can hardly be surprised that it should be so generally used for that purpose.

F. Marion Crawford - The Primadonna (1908)

The insidious modern disease of tolerance

Governing establishments have always manipulated tolerance within the general population, particularly tolerance which fails to distinguish between better and worse for ordinary citizens.

Today we might add politically-promoted tolerance which fails to distinguish between better and worse for voters. Or tolerance which fails to distinguish between better and worse for political norms in a healthy democracy.

It isn't a new problem. For example, this D.H. Lawrence quote about two of his fictional characters, Kate and Owen touring post-revolutionary Mexico.


Kate sat trying to sew, but her hand trembled. She could not get the bull-ring out of her mind, and something felt damaged in her inside.

She straightened herself, and sighed. She was really very angry, too, with Owen. He was naturally so sensitive, and so kind. But he had the insidious modern disease of tolerance. He must tolerate everything, even a thing that revolted him. He would call it Life! He would feel he had lived this afternoon. Greedy even for the most sordid sensations.

Whereas she felt as if she had eaten something which was giving her ptomaine poisoning. If that was life!

D.H. Lawrence – The Plumed Serpent (1926)


Kate is disgusted by the bull fight, the behaviour of the crowd and contemptuous of the posturing matadors but her anger isn’t about bull fights. She is angry with Owen’s acceptance of it all and his supine adoption of the insidious modern disease of tolerance. A century later we have come to know it too well.

The media myth of the Badenoch bounce

Niall Gooch has a useful Critic piece on the media circus surrounding UK politics and Conservative attempts to boost voter approval of Kemi Badenoch. 


The media myth of the Badenoch bounce

Kemi Badenoch has had stronger performances but Conservative triumphalism is premature

In Britain, the traditional media’s coverage of politics relies heavily on an endless merry-go-round of stock stories — the wacky rigmarole, as it is sometimes derisively referred to online. There is the “gaffe”, so-called, when a politician tells the truth at a place or time they were not meant to. There is good old-fashioned sleaze, usually financial. Sexual misadventures at Westminster used to be a tabloid favourite, but such reports are becoming rarer, due to changing social attitudes and the various shots fired across the bows of a free press by a censorious establishment. Backbench plots against party leaders, real or imagined, keep the circus rolling on for a few news cycles, as do rumours about chaotic scenes in 10 Downing Street or yet another round of shady briefings about some minister’s inability to manage their civil service underlings.

Then of course we have the “bounce”, i.e. a putative increase in popularity for some individual or their party, usually said to have followed a change of leadership or a big speech or some exciting new announcement, or even a series of strong performances in the House of Commons.

The whole piece is well worth reading as the embarrassing shabbiness of UK politics seems to have become a feature rather than a temporary difficulty.

It is quite possible, given the volatility of the British political scene, that in a year or two’s time the Tories will be recovering strongly in the polls. The Burnham honeymoon will be over by the spring, with a looming fuel crisis, high energy costs, and very little fiscal headroom for the government. But the Tories being the beneficiary of Labour’s looming troubles is far from guaranteed. They are still viewed with suspicion and hostility by great swathes of the electorate, not least on the right. Despite the leadership’s big talk about lessons learned, and their robust rhetoric on key issues like national identity and crime, there remains an influential liberal faction within the party, which will attempt to derail any serious attempt to unpick the Blairite settlement by, for example, repeal of the Equality Act or the Human Rights Act. Badenoch can talk a good game and build a strong personal brand, but talk of a bounce is misleading at best given that, if an election were called tomorrow, the Tories would struggle to hold on to their historically low tally of 118 seats.