James Masters

In the aftermath of WW2, Hong Kong was a bombed-out British colony of 600,000 refugees, with no natural resources and a per capita income lower than many African nations. But by the 1980s it had become one of the richest places on earth. The man most responsible was John Cowperthwaite, Financial Secretary from 1961 to 1971. Cowperthwaite refused to plan the economy. He cut taxes to a flat 15 %, scrapped tariffs and subsidies, rejected industrial policy, and even stopped collecting detailed economic statistics - lest civil servants use the numbers to meddle. “I did very little”, he said. “All I did was to try to prevent some of the things that might have been done.” Government spending stayed below 15 % of GDP. Markets, not ministers, decided what to produce. The result was explosive growth: poverty collapsed, skyscrapers rose, and Hong Kong’s income overtook Britain’s. Today, most Western governments still strangle their economies with taxes and regulations, ignoring the lesson Hong Kong proved: the surest path to prosperity is to get out of the way.

Britain spends more on R&D than China, France, Singapore and the Netherlands. All four produce more patents per million people. So where is the money going? 👀

Why have any “type” ideology at all? How about a fully permissive policy towards domestic renewables AND domestic oil & gas. An ideology of plenty perhaps….

Bay class vessels are so versatile, which is why we built four and have doggedly resisted the temptation to salami slice them.

❗️Ukraine can produce up to 2,000 interceptor drones per day, — Zelenskyy

The RN does not have 17 frigates and destroyers as claimed by the Defence Secretary in this disastrous interview. We have 6 Type 45 destroyers and 7 (soon to be 6) Type 23 frigates in commission.