He was one of the greatest composers of the 20th century. Dmitry Shostakovich died fifty years ago today. I play an extract from his Piano Concerto No.2

FYI, no fewer than 3⃣ surveys released this morning provide more evidence that the labour market is cooling rapidly (official ONS data are out tomorrow)... 🧵 1⃣ KPMG and REC UK Report on Jobs pmi.spglobal.com/Public/Home/Pr…

Another day, another private school closure. “A range of economic pressures has led to this outcome, mainly the introduction of VAT on school fees, higher National Insurance contributions, the ending of business rates relief for independent schools, & rising operational costs.”

Very sad. Another set of children, canteen staff, site managers, cleaners, admin staff & teachers; paying the personal cost of Labour in government.

Damning >> "Liz McKeown, director of economic statistics at the ONS, said: 'Taken together, these latest figures point to a continued cooling of the labour market. The number of employees on payroll has now fallen in ten of the last twelve months ...'" via The Times and The Sunday Times. #UKeconomy

Latest UK labour market stats are dire. Job vacancies at a ten-year low (bar pandemic). Over 200,000 added to the dole since Labour came to power — taking unemployment from 4.2% to 4.7%. The 24 to 35 age-group suffering sharpest fall in employment as firms cut back on graduate

Piercing overview of the state of modern democracy, via Thomas Fazi Thomas Fazi. So inured are we to creeping authoritarianism that we think nothing eg. of EU plans to face-scan & fingerprint tourists going on holiday to Europe. Essential reading. 👇 archive.ph/hkTME

Holiday season outlier, or a shift underway? Certainly, a few more polls like this and Keir Starmer will be pushed out before Rachel Reeves, who has arguably been responsible for all of this government's clumsy policy choices. That would be extraordinary.

Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 15 August 2025. Find out more about Defence Intelligence's use of language: ow.ly/cjNk50WF5W4 #StandWithUkraine

Why are we putting solar panels on farmland for big corps to sell us expensive, heavily subsidised energy, instead of enabling people & businesses to put them on millions of rooves to genuinely cut their bills? Typical elitist Whitehall policy & Ed Miliband going along with it.

Most ludicrous car seen at this summer's classics shows so far. Seems unlikely to be topped! 😄

For the record. Since 1994 Ukraine already has guarantees of independence and inviolability of borders, also from Russia. In addition, on 22 April 2004 Vladimir Putin solemnly ratified the Treaty on the Russian-Ukrainian Border. Suffice to respect them and the war is over.

Ashley Fox MP gives Marina Purkiss a financial lesson on why the Labour government’s inheritance tax puts family farms in huge financial peril.

Long term borrowing costs now higher than peak when Liz Truss was briefly PM. Rachel Reeves needs a confident economic vision and answer to market concerns in her next budget, not just more repressive taxes. #budget2025

Imagine not expecting a big rise in business costs, like Rachel Reeves's massive jobs tax hike, would push up inflation. Such a surprise to the Financial Times, though, it seems. 😬

Rachel Reeves is on course to deliver a Healey 1976-style crisis in late 2025 or 26. Like Healey, she has massively boosted public spending, borrowing and taxes - fuelling both demand-pull and cost-push inflation. Unless policies are reversed we are heading for an economic crash!

Paging HM Treasury Rachel Reeves. 👇

The government's wasteful, out-of-control spending is now trashing the economy with increasingly extreme tax demands; first education, then jobs, next the property market. When will Keir Starmer & Rachel Reeves get a grip on the govt's obscene overpaying for everything?