It is boiler service day here. Thomas and I joked about this yesterday, and he reminded me of this ..read more

The Guardian has reported this morning that: Wes Streeting has called England’s healthcare watchdog “not fit for purpose” after an interim report found significant failings Read the full article ..read more

I have published this video this morning. In it, I ask whether Labour is really going to let some UK universities go bust, which they Read the full article ..read more

The Guardian is reporting the last surprising news of the morning: Rachel Reeves is expected to reveal a £20bn hole in government spending for essential Read the full article ..read more

A few days ago, I posted this new introduction to my YouTube channel: I would not usually repeat a video here, especially so quickly, but Read the full article ..read more

The Tory leadership race has begun. The choice looks likely to be between: James Cleverly Kemi Badenoch Tom Tugendhat Dame Priti Patel Mel Stride Robert Jenrick Suella Braverman I have some immediate thoughts. The first is how dire these options are. I would not want any of them as headteacher of a school, let alone Leader of the Opposition. Second, none will excite the public. Some (Cleverly, Tugenhadt, Stride and Jenrick) will bore them rigid. Patel might also be in that list. Third, Patel, Braverman and Badenoch persistently come across as extremists. Jenrick would, too, if only he c ..read more

Both the Guardian and the FT cover a story today that I think is one of the most significant. I have gone to the story's source, the County Council Association. As they note: Educational attainment amongst children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) has not improved since the introduction of landmark reforms in 2014, despite councils projected to be spending £12bn on these services by 2026, up from £4bn a decade ago. I have had an interest in SEND for a long time. From 1988 to 2002, I was a primary school governor in Wandsworth, south London, where I lived. I spent most o ..read more

I have published this video this morning. In it, I argue that sugar is a substance as addictive as tobacco and alcohol and may be much more dangerous now, given the scale of obesity and type 2 diabetes now evident in the UK. The biggest improvement to healthcare and well-being in the UK that Labour could deliver would result from them helping us break our addiction to sugar. So, isn’t it time they did just that? The audio version of this video is here: The transcript is: I'm talking about the things that Labour could do that have very little cost that could have a massive impact upon society ..read more

I published this video this morning. In it, I argue that the row over the two-child poverty cap has revealed just how shallow the new Labour government's moral leadership really is. If it continues in this way, the next five years will be agonising. The audio version of this video is here: The transcript is: The row over Labour and the two-child benefit cap is exposing so many flaws within its thinking. It's had nearly 10 years to develop policy on this issue because we've had that cap for nearly that long and yet they've arrived in office and apparently need to hold an inquiry to work ..read more

This morning’s Telegraph Business newsletter features these comments: This is not the restriction on pension tax relief for the wealthiest that I propose in the Taxing Wealth Report, but it would be a start. I would simply eliminate all higher rate tax relief instead, raising £14.5 billion as a result. This proposal does, instead, raise a much smaller sum. There are a number of issues to mention here. First is the fact that this might even be under discussion. Second is the fact that the move is so timid, and retains as a result a massive inherent bias towards the wealthy. Third, there is th ..read more