Jonathan Tate

BREAKING: Legendary actor Sir Patrick Stewart has died at age 86. Stewart fought a brief battle with Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia before his passing. Stewart was best known for his roles as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in “Star Trek” and Professor Charles Xavier in the “X-Men” franchise.

With the Chancellor tonight in Number 11 stateroom to celebrate the drive and creativity of Britain's founders and entrepreneurs. A packed room full of ideas and innovation, just a day after a Labour Budget 💼

YouGov - Sky - Times voting intention LAB 24%(-3) CON 23%(+3) RefUK 21%(-1) LDEM 12%(+1) GRN 11%(nc) Oct 11-12 Pollster note: The changes are within the margin of error, so it's difficult to distinguish signal from noise, but I suspect there is some degree of "conference bounce" there, with the Tories getting a boost from their coverage, and Labour declining again as the temporary impact of their own conference fades. It may well be a temporary Tory boost, but for the record it means this is the first time that we have had Reform back in third place since 2024 (it’s technically the first time since early 2024 – but we didn’t poll between the election and January 2025 while we were reviewing methods, so we don’t know exactly when Reform overtook the Tories).

After Labour conference the charge Burnhamism is only vibes and TikTok videos no longer holds. Like it to not, the Prime Minister has seized the political agenda. And Kemi Badenoch has to be very, very careful how she responds > Daily Mail > dailymail.com/news/article-1…

The private sector creates the wealth. The government spends it. The Labour government forgot which one comes first. Every public-sector wage, every benefit, every hospital, every local government salary, every government infrastructure project is paid for by people who take a risk, hire someone, make something, sell something and turn a profit. That is not ideology. That is basic economic arithmetic. Labour came into power talking about growth and partnership with business. But the Labour government simply do not understand the economic engine room of the private sector. They treat the people who generate the money as a cash machine. Look at what the Labour government actually did: They put a tax on jobs. Employer National Insurance went from 13.8% to 15%, and the threshold collapsed from £9,100 to £5,000. That is not a levy on “the rich.” That is a levy on hiring a receptionist, a warehouse worker, an apprentice. Employer NICs then jumped 28% in a year and overtook corporation tax as the biggest tax paid by business. Companies paid almost £345 billion in tax in 2025–26 - up by 12.7%. That money comes out of wages that were not raised, jobs that were not created and investment that was postponed. The Labour government raised the price of success. They choked off growth. Capital gains tax went up. Business Asset Disposal Relief was watered down. Dividend tax went up. Farmers and family businesses were punished with inheritance tax. Smalll business founders were told, in effect: take the risk and when you finally sell the thing you built, we will treat the exit more like a success punishment payment to the government. That is not “fairness.” That is a government eating the seed corn of an economy. They layered cost on cost. Higher minimum wages with no offsetting productivity. Heavier employment regulation. Business rates that still punish the high street. Energy costs that leave manufacturers uncompetitive. Then more government briefings about the next raid — more capital gains tax, more wealth taxes, more “the rich must pay.” More uncertainty for businesses. Uncertainty is a tax of its own. And then the Labour government act surprised when private-sector activity slumps, businesses close, hiring stalls, and the CBI has to warn the government not to hit businesses again. You cannot squeeze the wealth-creating part of the economy and then demand it produces more growth, more jobs and more tax receipts. That is not redistribution. It is a wrecking ball strategy. You do not create more jobs by making it more expensive to employ anyone. You do not get more houses by driving builders and investors away. You do not produce more food by punishing those who grow the food. You do not get a richer country by treating profit and employee growth as something that should be plundered by the government. The wealth of a nation is built by people who could have chosen an easier life and did not. Punish that class long enough and you do not get equality. You get stagnation, fewer jobs and an economically illiterate government still hungry for money that is no longer being made because of their failure to support our British businesses. If Britain wants better public services, it needs a private sector that is expanding, not one that is being financially punished for the privilege of still being here.

We've all walked past them. The empty shop that's been boarded up for years. The old cinema gathering dust. The building everyone says, "someone should do something about that." Well, that's exactly what I'm doing. We're investing £210 million to help bring neglected high street buildings back into use - turning empty spaces into community hubs, health centres, shared workspaces, cafés and the local services that people actually want to see. The funding will also help communities save spaces like pubs and sports clubs and support co-operatives so local people can share directly in their area's success. People don't measure growth by looking at a spreadsheet. They measure it by looking at their local high street. That's how we restore pride and bring hope back. Not by telling people things are getting better, but by giving them the power to see and feel the difference where they live.

We just announced Canada’s new Productivity Mega Deduction. This cuts Canada’s marginal effective tax rate from 13% to 6.4% on new business investment — the lowest of any major economy in the world. Canada is building big — and becoming the best place in the world to build. More here: pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releas…

Carney still fascinating. Cuts net immigration to zero, announces 10% reduction in federal civil service, 1.2GW data center, cuts to cap gains and corporate tax, privatize airports, govt rapid support of fossil fuel extraction. Result: *massive* popularity incl. amomg left! 1/2

Carney still fascinating. Cuts net immigration to zero, announces 10% reduction in federal civil service, 1.2GW data center, cuts to cap gains and corporate tax, privatize airports, govt rapid support of fossil fuel extraction. Result: *massive* popularity incl. amomg left! 1/2

London's homicide rate hit its lowest level since records began. Yet 40% of the public thought that murders had risen since 2019. That’s the danger of disinformation. We cannot accept it, and to defeat it, we’ve got to put pressure on the social media companies who profit from it.

A dark blizzard of disinformation is warping the public’s perception of our great city. But we know the truth: our homicide rate is lower than every major US city, neighbourhood crimes are down and we’ve been ranked #1 city in the world 11 years in a row. My piece for @TheTimes. thetimes.com/comment/columni…

NEW: President Trump makes a major promise at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas: $5,000 for every adult U.S. citizen if Republicans win both the House and Senate in the midterms. “I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000.”