If defence is a priority, government must be honest about who pays February 24, 2026 America has made clear that Europe must stand on its own two feet when it comes to national security. But defence ambitions must be reconciled with balance sheets already stretched to their limits, says Helen Thomas The largest build-up of American military assets in the Middle East for two decades alongside last week’s Munich Security [...]
Could Dutch-style wealth taxes be coming to Britain? February 17, 2026 Governments everywhere prefer revenue that can be framed as “fairness”. If the Dutch can make taxing gains as they accrue work without damaging long-term capital formation, it will not stay a Dutch story for long, says Helen Thomas The Netherlands has just approved a reform to its capital gains tax regime that is already sending [...]
Sanae Takaichi rolled the dice and won – what next? February 9, 2026 Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi secured a commanding victory in a snap general election, clinching a two-thirds supermajority that signals a new, more assertive phase in the country’s economic and foreign policy, says Helen Thomas Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi’s decision to call a snap general election was a high-risk move. Just like investment theory [...]
Gorton and Denton by-election will be a snapshot of Britain in chaos February 5, 2026 The upcoming Gorton and Denton by-election is a four-way fight with each party pitching itself as the best way to block the other, says Helen Thomas The upcoming Gorton and Denton by-election is shaping up to be one of the most frenzied of recent times. By-elections are often used by voters to send a message [...]
Bambi Burnham has boosted Labour’s rivals January 27, 2026 The strategic block of Andy Burnham’s by-election candidacy is a self-inflicted wound that signals weakness, invites challenges from internal rivals, and elevates a local contest into a national stress test of Keir Starmer’s leadership, says Helen Thomas The starting gun to replace Keir Starmer has been fired. Andy Burnham’s application for a waiver to run [...]
Labour can’t afford to stick with Starmer much longer January 12, 2026 When leaders lose control of events, they rarely recover it. The final blow is usually banal. It could be a ministerial resignation, a bacon sandwich style gaffe, or a symbolic vote defeat, but it is coming, says Helen Thomas A curious myth has taken hold at Westminster that Keir Starmer remains in post because removing [...]
Is the consensus on central bank independence starting to fray? December 18, 2025 Across the globe, leaders like Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron are challenging institutional independence and exerting their influence over monetary policy – but they could come to regret it, says Helen Thomas For much of the past three decades, central bank independence has been treated as a settled question. Monetary policy was best left to [...]
Rachel Reeves is running out of places to hide December 11, 2025 If clarity is not restored soon, both markets and the public will conclude that the disorder surrounding each fiscal event is not a passing miscommunication but a structural feature of the Chancellor’s approach, says Helen Thomas “It didn’t exist”. “This wasn’t true”. “It was not signed off by me”. “I honestly couldn’t tell you what [...]
The biggest risk to this government is no longer economic turbulence, but itself December 2, 2025 A Budget meant to project discipline has instead exposed confusion, mistrust and political instability around the Chancellor, eroding confidence in both markets and her own party, says Helen Thomas It is never a good omen when the Chancellor becomes the story rather than the Budget they’ve delivered. What began as a carefully choreographed fiscal event, [...]
Only a new leader can save Labour now November 20, 2025 Starmer and Reeves have a majority but not a mandate and are too weak to deliver anything. Only a new leader can give the markets and the OBR confidence that they have an actual plan, says Helen Thomas As Budget preparation ploughs into the final furlong, the next field is already lining up on the [...]
