John O'Connell

'If I cut tax on visting Alton Towers, more people will go. If I increase the tax on employing people...no, hold on...'

Capital gains are already post-tax in most circumstances, because they’re diminished by the capitalising the present cost of expected future tax liabilities on returns. One of the few good things Brown did was scrapping fiddly inflation indexing in favour of a lower rate

While the use of hotels is down, the Home Office are just moving people into dispersal accommodation in normal suburban streets, and the numbers on the Afghan resettlement scheme continues to grow.

The ONS has admitted that they have been underestimating how many Brits are leaving the country. The real story is that it confirms something we've known all along: more and more younger, productive Brits appear to be quietly giving up on the country altogether Thread 🧵

Does he really have such little regard for the voters of Makerfield that he thinks they will believe this?

HS2 was a white elephant from day one. A colossal waste of taxpayers’ money. I said from the start the costs were absurd. Back in 2019, I launched a report from the @the_tpa proposing much better ways to spend the money. Instead, we've got spiralling budgets, gold‑plated design, slack oversight, and no accountability. Billions sunk for a line that keeps shrinking. The very definition of inefficient, ineffective, and unaccountable infrastructure spending. This new review does not surprise me. It simply confirms what we already knew – HS2 was a disaster baked in from the start. thetimes.com/uk/politics/ar…

British business is being hammered at every turn. Energy bills are higher than our competitors, employment costs are skyrocketing, and taxes keep rising. Business isn't a magic money tree - and if Labour keep squeezing them, they will disappear.

With Keir Starmer seemingly on the ropes, it’s worth remembering what his government actually delivered: a tax rise every 10 days since July 2024. Labour introduced 52 new taxes or tax rises in just 509 days (July 2024 - November 2025), costing taxpayers an extra £60.3 billion by the end of the decade. The biggest hits included: - £25.7bn from employer NIC hikes - £8bn from frozen income tax thresholds - £4.85bn from NICs on salary sacrifice pensions - £2.5bn from capital gains tax hikes Starmer may be on his way out, but the crushing tax burden he helped create is here to stay.

All eyes might be on Westminster but local government deserves no less scrutiny. Delighted to make my @ConHome debut writing about @the_tpa ‘s latest Town Hall Rich List

And everyone @the_tpa is very proud of Cllr Keck, too. Congratulations 👏

🚨‼️Just in: The headline S&P Global UK Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index – was 39.7 in April, down from 45.6 in March and indicative of a sharp fall in overall business activity. Negative territory for almost whole tenure of this anti-growth government. Unsurprising.

This is excellent on why Europe is failing (and why the UK should not allow the EU to drag us down with it)...

Tax for growth, drink for sobriety, eat cake for weight loss etc.

NEW STATS 🚨 Public sector sickness absence remains persistently higher than in the private sector, and the gap shows little sign of closing. Here's what this morning's ONS Sickness absence in the UK labour market data showed 🧵

As usual, the Greens' sympathies are with the terrorist rather than the brave police officers stopping him.

🚨 NEW: Two Green Party candidates have been arrested on suspicion of stirring up racial hatred for allegedly posting antisemitic comments online One of them posted a placard that read "ramming a synagogue isn’t anti-Semitism, it’s revenge"

How many of you have experienced poor mental health but NOT gone on a terror spree backed by Iran?

I think we all have much to thank @Malcolm_Offord for this week. I hope you have all enjoyed the "I'm poorer than you" competition among other Scottish politicians this week as much as I have. It's just a shame that they mostly want to extend it to country level.

The timing of this story emerging…

In the midst of all the news today, and with Parliament prorogued, many people may not have noticed that this was the final time the hereditary peers sat in Parliament before being forced out by Labour. I want to pay an extra special tribute to them. Combined they had 1784 years of parliamentary experience, wisdom and service to this country. That is not something easily replaced, and it should not be casually discarded. Most were Conservatives. All were public servants. They have brought to public life judgment shaped over decades, deep expertise, institutional memory, and a sense of duty that has strengthened Parliament and, very often, improved legislation in ways the public will never fully see. Their record speaks for itself. They have served in war and peace, in government and opposition, in defence, diplomacy, farming, business, science and public service. They have not merely occupied seats in the Lords, they have contributed to the life of the nation. That is why what has happened matters. Hereditary peers are a living part of Britain’s constitutional inheritance that Labour is casually tearing up. Labour has rubbed away another part of our heritage, not to strengthen Parliament but to replace it with political appointees, four of whom it has already had to suspend the whip from because they were so inappropriate. That contrast says rather a lot. At a time when public trust in politics is fragile, I think it is worth saying plainly that experience, seriousness and tradition still matter. Service still matters. Duty still matters. So today, as an era closes, I want to put on record my profound gratitude and admiration for our hereditary peers. Britain has been better governed because of them. The Conservative Party has been stronger because of them. And Parliament will be poorer without them. Their contribution will long outlast the petty politics that has brought this moment about.