James Bartholomew
@JGBartholomew
Author, journalist
Ed Milband is a massive liar. He is challenged here about whether the government is committed to its promise to lower bills by £300. First, he tries to shift responsibility for failing to deliver it by claiming that it was based on "independent modelling" by a third party.…
Let’s stop pretending the Bank of England is neutral. Under Truss: @trussliz 🟥 She proposed tax cuts. 🟥 The BoE panicked. 🟥 Media meltdown. 🟥 Bailey intervened in days, torpedoed her credibility, and arguably helped bring her down. Under Labour: 🟩 Highest debt in history.…
Today I learned that in 1944, the UK had a working population of 24m against a total of 48m, and today has a working population of 28m against a total of 69m. In the 80 intervening years, worker productivity growth has exceeded 2% per year, on average, for a total of over 5x.…
Why the national debt matters and why it should be reduced as a national priority.
Let’s not forget that most of what we’re now borrowing is spent on meeting the cost of previous borrowing. The OBR reckons we’ll borrow £143 billion this financial year 2025/26 (it will be more than that). It also estimates we’ll spend £111 billion paying interest on existing…
"Doctors know, better than anyone else, that vast numbers of people are waiting for operations. They know that the delay of an operation or therapy for, say, cancer, means that it is more likely that the patient will die." My article re doctors' strike. telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/07/2…
Your chance to see our T-55 Soviet tank: on show alongside the One:One private museum of train engines Saturday and Sunday August 9th/10th near Margate. Video is the tank being loaded in Czechia. eventbrite.co.uk/e/hornby-hobbi…
"Doctors know, better than anyone else, that vast numbers of people are waiting for operations. They know that the delay of an operation or therapy for, say, cancer, means that it is more likely that the patient will die." My article re doctors' strike. telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/07/2…
Just loving Japanese innovation.
Japan's Toto launches smart toilet that scans, analyzes stool mainichi.jp/english/articl…
Important points about the obstacles to enterprise in the UK👇
Starting and running a business in 2025 Britain - let’s walk through it. You’ve got a good idea, managed to save a few quid to invest and want to give it a go. Let’s say it’s a cafe. Generate wealth, create jobs and contribute to your local economy. Great idea. You just picked…
"Milei’s shock therapy: 1 in 5 government workers sacked, a public sector pay-freeze, the tax agency abolished, infrastructure spending slashed nearly 80%... last year Argentina returned to a budget surplus for the first time in 14 years." telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/07/1…
UK inflation goes up UNEXPECTEDLY after the Government increased taxes and minimum wage. This, of course, was impossible to predict. Absolutely nobody could have expected this.* * Except anyone with a brain Seriously though… How many times can the media use “unexpectedly” to…
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Sayeeda, please could you clarify exactly what I said that “isn’t true”? There are no “double standards” here. I am “genuinely committed to protecting freedom of speech” - not selectively, but consistently. Your point about anti-semitism v Islamophobia is key. Let’s look at the…
There are migrant hotels in: 💷Kensington 💷Clapham 💷King's Cross 💷Putney 💷Barbican Some of the most expensive postcodes in the country. Paid for by your taxes.
Well observed
In Britain we hassle those who do the right thing & coddle those who do wrong. Snippet from my new piece:
Venezuela used to be twice as wealthy as Chile. Then Chile introduced free market principles, while Venezuela was ruled by socialists. Now Chile is the wealthiest large country in South America and Venezuela the poorest. Difference between capitalism and socialism visualized.
Labour discovers the hard way that when you have a government monopoly, the trade union has enormous power. Another reason for switching to the continental system of healthcare.
The BMA Resident Doctors Committee still refuses to meet me. After a 28.9% pay rise, they say another 29% is “non-negotiable.” This is not the way a reasonable trade union behaves.
Three years ago Reeves described a 0.1% fall in Monthly GDP a ‘dramatic drop’ and demanded the then Chancellor come up with an Emergency Budget. Of course that was all nonsense, as it would be now if anybody repeated it. But we should not forget the nonsense she spouted in…
UK GDP declined 0.1% in May after 0.3% decline in April. Looks like Q2 will show decline overall. So perhaps ministers can now stop spouting nonsense about being the ‘fastest growing economy in the G7’. As some of us have pointed out, it was always going to look a forlorn boast…
UK Lost a Quarter of Its Billionaires in 2024 order-order.com/2025/07/10/uk-…