Labour believes success is something to be ashamed of Opinion Two successive Budgets have done unspeakable damage to small and medium sized firms across the country, but the government does not seem keen to reserve the punishment for set piece fiscal events, says John O’Connell After the relentless pre-Budget leaks was the catastrophic event itself. Then came the forensic analysis of who knew what when [...]
If income tax thresholds remain frozen benefits should too Opinion Consistency matters. If the fiscal situation is truly so dire that tax thresholds must remain frozen, then the same logic should apply to spending, says John O’Connell The biggest casualty of the upcoming Budget will not be the rich or the poor. It will be those who are caught in the middle: the working and [...]
The public won’t reward government overspending – just ask Ed Miliband Opinion Ed Miliband went on and on about the cost of living crisis in 2015, but he lost that election because the public could see his sums on spending didn’t add up. Cuts, not tax rises, are the only way to avert a crisis, says John O’Connell We are in a cost of living crisis. Aren’t [...]
The ‘university for all’ rhetoric is hurting students and the taxpayer August 12, 2025 Decades of “university for all” rhetoric is hurting students whose degrees no longer pay off, and taxpayers who are stumping up the cost.
Tax, tax and more tax. Does Rachel Reeves not know there’s another way? July 9, 2025 Wealth taxes, pension raids, inheritance tax, does Labour really not know there's another option, asks John O'Connell.
Spending review: Labour’s economy is austerity for the taxpayer June 11, 2025 'Austerity' isn’t just about reducing public expenditure – it also applies to tax hikes, writes John O'Connell following the Spending Review.
David Beckham and Spain’s tax shake-down May 14, 2025 Spain’s socialist prime minister is waging a vicious campaign against law-abiding people who’ve benefited from the country’s David Beckham tax – and the Spanish economy will suffer as a result, says John O’Connell There aren’t many people more famous than David Beckham. He’s so famous, in fact, that he even has a tax law named [...]
If we want more entrepreneurs we should tax them less April 8, 2025 Altogether, from the very first penny received from an employer to the very last penny passed down to one’s children, the tax on entrepreneurship can get up to 93.1 per cent, says John O’Connell In a speech she gave in January, the Chancellor declared that it is “businesses, investors and entrepreneurs who drive economic growth”, [...]
Abolishing NHS England was a good start – now tackle the rest of the quangos March 19, 2025 The abolition of NHS England sets a welcome precedent, but unless we get rid of the laws and regulations that spawned these quangos in the first place, nothing will change, says John O’Connell Nothing ever changes. How many times have you heard that phrase when talking about the state of the nation with friends and [...]
Why wealth taxes always fail October 29, 2024 Almost every country that has tried imposing wealth taxes has later abolished them, with good reason says John O’Connell Rachel Reeves’ problem tomorrow is a simple one to describe, if not a simple one to solve. How does she raise the revenue needed to fund the spending binges of her colleagues, without raising taxes on [...]
