James Baxter-Derrington

It is unsurprising that student loans have been dragged into the "where's my support?" discourse as we await rising inflation. But what should still be surprising is a useless policy couched in dishonest language from the Government @Telegraph telegraph.co.uk/money/consumer…

The Civil Service is an institution predicated on working for the betterment of the nation over the indivdual. It is a privilege to work directly for one’s country, but large swathes of this swollen body seem to take umbrage with the notion. @Telegraph telegraph.co.uk/money/jobs/car…

There are lessons to be learned from Denmark’s election for any politician peddling convenient falsehoods. There are plenty of issues with the state of our economy today, but taxing it too little isn’t one of them – and as Denmark proves, voters know it. telegraph.co.uk/money/tax/inco…

✍️ "It is the height of irony that Zack Polanski’s politics can only come to be in the crucible of capitalism, the very system he’s ostensibly at odds with," writes @jamesbaxterd. Read more here ⤵️ telegraph.co.uk/money/tax/news…

Zack Polanski represents post-Covid Britain. Selfish, allergic to discomfort and unerringly convinced of their goodness. So it follows that his new missal promises the world – and don’t worry about the nasty business of paying for it. telegraph.co.uk/money/tax/news…

Recession, inflation, rate hikes, £180bn borrowing, more tax and a smaller economy. This miserable scenario is not my concoction; it is the OBR’s. While Downing Street publicly engages in fantasy economics, I’ve looked at what it’s quietly preparing for telegraph.co.uk/money/bills/ne…

Buried away deep in the text of the economic and fiscal outlook that accompanied the Spring Statement, a throwaway sentence at the end of a long paragraph revealed something fascinating. The OBR is concerned taxes are too high. telegraph.co.uk/money/tax/news…

Has Reform UK fallen for politics’ favourite illusion? ✍️ @jamesbaxterd argues Richard Tice’s plan to requisition local government pensions is a far cry from Norway’s oil fund, and far closer to state intervention Full analysis ⤵️ telegraph.co.uk/money/pensions…

Given Nigel Farage is so fond of saying Reform is the antidote to the “uniparty”, his band of merry MPs has developed rather a habit of falling into politics’ favourite traps. I’ll be in the @Telegraph comments from 10am telegraph.co.uk/money/pensions…

Angela Rayner has succumbed to the Westminster disease. Like Andy Burnham or Robert Jenrick, the whiff of power has caused onset ambition. Long-held convictions melt away, promises are quickly unmade and amnesia sets in at remarkable speed. telegraph.co.uk/money/jobs/car…

One of the most curious, sane and interesting voices in the space, @AndrewOrlowski is always worth reading telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/…

@jamesbaxterd thanks for sharing my analysis on confidence trends in the UK. Great article! #ukeconomy #ukmacro The secret to happiness? It’s house prices, stupid telegraph.co.uk/money/property…

Since the 1970s, state spending on older people in this country has risen enormously. Meanwhile, younger people are contending with a now familiar confluence of depressing economic factors. So why are the young so chirpy, while the old are so dour? telegraph.co.uk/money/property…

From The @Telegraph's Investor Newsletter on 26th January Sign up here: secure.telegraph.co.uk/customer/secur…

@DeAthCardiff @Telegraph What's your point?

@Telegraph @jamesbaxterd James Baxter-Derrington, the *investment editor of the Telegraph*, accusing people of being out of touch and class-obsessed. 🙃

✍️ 'This Labour Government is painfully out of touch with what matters to Britons – ‘working class’ or otherwise,' writes @jamesbaxterd. Read more here ⤵️ telegraph.co.uk/money/tax/news…

Labour has spent its entire tenure in Government unable to answer the question of precisely who is working class – because it can't admit the truth. To its mind, Labour is the arbiter of who is working class, and its secret definition is thus: “I know it when I see it.”

✍️ 'This Government is working hard on legislating all the good out of the Lifetime Isa' | Writes @jamesbaxterd Read the column ⬇️ telegraph.co.uk/money/investin…

For all its flaws, the Lifetime Isa offered strong incentives to save for retirement or buy a home. So, it likely comes as little surprise that in plans to design a replacement, the Government is working hard on legislating all the good out of it. telegraph.co.uk/money/investin…

Time was, private healthcare was a universally-agreed marker of the rich. Opting to pay for healthcare twice only made sense if your income met most other whims you could fancy. No longer. Private healthcare was once a luxury. Now it’s a necessity telegraph.co.uk/money/consumer…

An excellent piece from @timothy_stanley on our deleterious American obsession “But until we Europeans wean ourselves off America, not just militarily or economically but psychologically, we really cannot function without it and will always surrender.” telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/01/1…