By: Simon Clarke

Sir Simon Clarke director of Onward, the centre-right thinktank. He previously served as chief secretary to the treasury and secretary of state for levelling up.

All 24 Articles

In Ponzi scheme Britain, parenthood is a luxury

Opinion

The promise that if you work hard, you will be able to own a home and raise a family is breaking down in real time, says new dad Simon Clarke I am about to do something that an uncomfortable number of British men cannot: become a Dad again. A little boy, since you ask. It [...]
A chilling warning from Starmer’s past

Opinion

A lot is written about how we don’t know the true Keir Starmer, but this article really does show his instincts – which are far more radical than widely understood, says Simon Clarke “Give me the child and I will show you the man” is a saying of the Jesuit order. While I wouldn’t necessarily [...]
Left-wing comedians blocking new homes? It’s beyond a joke

Opinion

Nish Kumar and James Acaster have joined a local campaign to halt the redevelopment of the Aylesham Centre in Peckham, writes Simon Clarke It takes a special kind of irony for comedians who built their careers skewering middle-class hypocrisy to end up embodying it. Yet champagne socialists Nish Kumar and James Acaster, two of Britain’s [...]

The Conservative party is at a crossroads

October 8, 2025

On net zero and housing policy, there are signs that the Conservatives are responding to the challenges this country faces, says Simon Clarke A Party at a crossroads. That’s been the mood of Conservatives here at their party conference in Manchester this week. But better a crossroads than a dead end. That’s the finding of [...]
Time for politicians to come clean about the pensions triple lock

September 24, 2025

It is becoming devastatingly clear that public clear that public spending is on an unsustainable path, and while much focus is on welfare reform, we need to start saying the unsayable on the pensions triple lock too, says Simon Clarke How do you earn permission to say the unsayable in a democracy? That’s the exam [...]
New minister must not kowtow to the social housing mafia like Angela Rayner

September 10, 2025

Steve Reed must choose: will he side with reformers who understand the need for the private sector to be allowed to deliver, or with the old guard whose obsession with social and affordable housing means perpetual scarcity dressed up as compassion? Asks Simon Clarke When the new Housing Secretary, Steve Reed, declared on Monday he [...]
The silent majority wants more homes

August 27, 2025

It’s far too easy for a vocal minority who’ve already got their foot on the housing ladder to pull it up after themselves. A representative planning system will unlock the new homes we need, says Simon Clarke For decades, Britain’s planning system has been run by the same cast of characters: the colonel guarding his [...]
How did soggy liberalism win over Mickleham?

August 14, 2025

The Lib Dems represent one big shrug, so why did Conservative utopia Mickleham fall for it, asks Simon Clarke.
It’s not the rich who fill the gaps when non-doms leave Britain – it’s you

July 30, 2025

16,000 high-net-worth individuals are set to leave Britain this year, taking with them jobs, investment and growth. Here’s how we win them back… We talk a lot about wealth in Britain. We just don’t talk enough about what happens when it walks out the door. Because it’s happening. And faster than anyone wants to admit. [...]
The British state has become a Ponzi scheme paid for by the young

July 16, 2025

Flatlining wages, soaring house prices and high childcare costs have broken the social contract: the unspoken understanding that if you worked hard and did the right thing, Britain would reward you, say Simon Clarke and Phoebe Arslanagic-Little Last week, the OBR set out the sheer, mind-blowing extent of Britain’s fiscal risks. Foremost among them is [...]

City minister: FTSE 100 record proves London’s got its spark back

Why Squad Cost Ratio rules can’t afford to ruin joy of Premier League

The 13 unmissable TV shows to watch in 2026, from Industry to Bridgerton

By: Simon Clarke

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