I cannot bang the drum enough that we are in monumentally deep shit. Govts can run permanent deficits up to a maximum of about 3.5% (assuming growth and inflation). GDP/capita is flat since 2017. Our dependency ratio is growing. If you thought 2010s austerity was bad, oh boy!

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Took >6 years to get to this point. Now it's apparently all cancelled. Luckily there's no rush: It's not like we have a housing crisis, or that Cambridge's house price to salary ratio is one of the highest in the country, or that the UK needs growth. bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…

The new sewage works would have freed up land to house thousands right next to jobs in Cambridge. A fortune was spent planning this over 7 years, its now too expensive to build. We must end this cycle of decline. Looking for Growth cambridge.gov.uk/news/2025/08/1…

The Conservatives will keep hitting these problems until they candidly admit what went wrong, and can prove they have the people and policies for a complete change of direction back to Conservatism. Its why the 'we've done apologising' line doesn't cut it conservativehome.com/2025/08/17/lea…

Mr Colville is correct. There is no free lunch.

Imagine your boss announces the introduction of some new technology to improve efficiency. Are there any workers in the UK outside the rail unions that would think this a good reason to strike for more money. This is why train fares cost so much. telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/08/0…

The stench of failure. It is grievous how much money was wasted and we don't even get the new homes and infrastructure. There are many more projects holding up growth in Cambridge currently stuck in the same doom loops. We cannot go on like this. x.com/PhilRodgers/st…

That should nicely free up those large family homes underoccupied by a single pensioner... x.com/Steven_Swinfor…

The British pub is dying. We're losing 8 pubs a week. 200 in the last six months. 209 demolished or converted for other use. Lost 2283 since 2020. A pub is more than just a pint, its the heart of the community. A place where friendships are made, where tales are told.

How can people make major long term financial decisions on pensions or homes if every day a new highly punitive tax change is floated. Spending and debt is out of control and the economy is already being taxed to death. We are tragically badly governed. telegraph.co.uk/politics/2025/…

NIMBYism is a dead end for the Conservatives and Reform UK - it will just alienate their supporters under 40 who want new development in their local area publicfirst.co.uk/wp-content/upl…

Reports suggest Labour may introduce capital gains tax on home sales in the Autumn Budget. It sounds like an easy revenue raiser - but the evidence shows it would slash transactions, gum up housing chains, and could even collect less tax overall. Thread:

Great thread here - we overtax property transactions, and that has really bad consequences for people and the economy. x.com/DanNeidle/stat…

The wider problem is that this government keeps sending up trial balloons for every single stupid unworkable tax policy: - Wealth taxes - CGT on all home sales - Capital controls - More inheritance tax Zero discussion on cutting spending which is the SOURCE of Reeve's problems.

I asked the Building Safety Regulator which competent person schemes can approve window replacement in high risk buildings. They said - 'all of them, and we've had no correspondence with any of them'. All 3 told me they can't. What a shambles. whatdotheyknow.com/request/buildi…

Britain accounts for 40% of phone thefts in Europe

Six months ago, the PM got called a liar for citing one of my threads. I’ve been getting to the bottom of what happened. Did spiders kill Ebbsfleet? Did they not? Or, as seems to happen so often in my threads, does it all hinge on a bizarre twist?

The Railcard app really is a heap of crap - it’s effortless to get boarding passes into Apple wallet these days - railcards on the other hand…

Starmer and his team seem to place no value at all on his propaganda actually being true - not the first time just straight out lies. Worse than Boris, and that is saying something - at least everyone knew he often wasn’t telling the truth. x.com/Keir_Starmer/s…