Rachel Reeves
Labour’s confidence tricks
There is nothing new, nor necessarily fatal, about making a poor start in government. Margaret Thatcher had a torrid first…
What Scott Bessent’s appointment means for Trump 2.0
How rare it is to be given a second chance. That’s what the American people have handed Donald Trump. His…
Letters: Labour’s attack on farmers
Losing the plot Sir: Your leading article ‘Blight on the land’ (23 November) is right to call out the hypocrisy…
What does the City really think of the Chancellor?
Regular invitations to Mansion House banquets petered out after I asked a shifty-looking waiter for a glass of champagne and…
Rachel Reeves can still repair the damage done to farming
The Chancellor of the Exchequer found time this week to edit her own page on the social media site LinkedIn.…
My bid to be chancellor of Oxford
I have spent the past couple of weeks in Oxford rediscovering the art of conversation while campaigning for election as…
Rachel Reeves is taking us back to the 1970s
The first fiscal event to be delivered by a female Chancellor of the Exchequer is a landmark moment, but in…
Wahed’s alarming Tube adverts
As the interminable Budget wait goes on, so does the trawl through the Chancellor’s bin bags. I refer to the…
The rise of anti-Elonism
You can tell a lot about a country by who it admires. I was pleasantly surprised some years ago to…
In defence of eating out
Scheduling the Budget almost four months after their election victory would have counted as a monumental misjudgment for the Labour…
Does Keir Starmer have a soul?
One of the main arguments against hereditary peerages is that talent and ability are not always passed down across generations.…
The sugared-almond theory of economic consequence
Let me ease you gently into a big and boring-sounding word for a small dishonesty that today corrupts the language…
The Mad Men theory of drunk decision-making
In electing this government, we seem to have picked the worst of both worlds: higher taxation combined with austerity in…
Labour vs labour: how can the government claim to be promoting growth?
Growth, growth, growth: that was what Keir Starmer told us would be his government’s priority in his first press conference…
Is Gordon Brown back?
Last week, there was a surprise visitor to the Treasury: Gordon Brown. The former prime minister and chancellor secretly returned…
Is this Rachel Reeves’s idea of a programme for growth?
It is certainly true that the Labour party has been more than a little devious over the tax rises that…
Labour’s union problem
Less than two months in, one aspect of Keir Starmer’s government is becoming clear. This administration is closer to the…
Rachel Reeves has proved that strikes pay
Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves were adamant that economic growth would be their first priority in government. It is hard…
Labour won’t spend outside fiscal rules, says Reeves
Chancellor Reeves adamant she will ‘make sure the sums add up’ Rachel Reeves gave an interview with Laura Kuenssberg this…
Will Reeves boost public sector pay?
As the dust around the election settles, a question Tory MPs and supporters still grapple with is why Rishi Sunak…
Why is Rachel Reeves so proud of working at the Bank of England?
We don’t know much about what taxes she will impose. Nor do we have many clues as to how she…
Why the fuss over The Spectator’s sale?
This diary is late. Two months late. The columnists who missed my Evening Standard deadlines often had elaborate excuses. Mine…
