James Cowling
@JamesRCowling
Advocating for aspirational Conservatism - and a better deal for U45s. Runs @NextGenTories. Views are my own.
Bought by my parents (fireman and teacher) for £116K in 1997. The current owner sold it in July for £765K. Since 1997, the house price to wage ratio has rocketed. No amount of “life style adjustment” can hide this erosion of the lower middle class - see attached graph.
At thirty my dad was a fireman and could afford a three bed house & two kids. I’m in a high earning couple, but no way near getting a family home. There’s a quiet tragedy of people having far fewer children because they can’t afford the house. thetimes.com/comment/column…
New Leader of Thurrock Conservatives is 25 and running a pro-housing platform 🚀 If younger leaders is what it takes to break the decline, then it’s time to start skipping a generation.
From @georgecoxshall: In Thurrock, backing home ownership is a core Conservative message conservativehome.com/2025/07/15/geo…
We had a generation of many MPs who said: “I’d like to fix things, but I might not get re-elected” It leads us to this (and not getting re-elected)👇
Worrying, but not surprising. Kids are looking at a life far poorer than their parents; a UK in rapid decline. Vital that moderates step up and have the guts to make change.
Fantastic to see @JamesCleverly take on housing; one of our best communicators. He understands the need to build homes and get people out of their childhood bedrooms. He set out his position to @NextGenTories👇
Things that are rationed by the state, such as housing and education, become more expensive. Things that are provided by the market - cars, TVs, phones, holidays etc - become cheaper.
In September I turn 30. The same age as my dad when I was born. It’s made me think about the drop in living standards in one generation. On a fireman’s salary he could afford a 4 bed semi in a leafy part of Manchester. He had two kids (5 and new born), now almost completely…
You are simply wrong. House prices are the most unaffordable since Queen Victoria was on the throne.
Potential root cause: Boomers built wealth by living within their means, no easy credit, no £5 coffees. Today’s generation spending beyond means, faces debt, envy, and overspending fuelled by frictionless finance and social media. That's we have HENRYs.
And it’s not just housing. The system is rigged against a young, working generation. They should be thriving. Instead, they’re drowning. Labour’s tying employers’ hands and leaving our future workforce adrift. A generation unable to become who we need them to be. It’s a…
In September I turn 30. The same age as my dad when I was born. It’s made me think about the drop in living standards in one generation. On a fireman’s salary he could afford a 4 bed semi in a leafy part of Manchester. He had two kids (5 and new born), now almost completely…
If you want a quiet life, don’t live in central London. It really is that simple.
Central London to get designated “quiet zones” amid ongoing nightlife battle The move, intended to appease local residents following noise complaints, has proved controversial already nme.com/news/music/cen…
In September I turn 30. The same age as my dad when I was born. It’s made me think about the drop in living standards in one generation. On a fireman’s salary he could afford a 4 bed semi in a leafy part of Manchester. He had two kids (5 and new born), now almost completely…
Very obvious signal here - get out there and make your case 📣
Jenrick Keeps Top Place in Tory Member Rankings order-order.com/2025/07/18/jen…
I call bullshit. You’ve spent the last 48 hours calling me a ‘traitor’ for not drawing attention to a leaked spreadsheet with our special forces and MI6 officers’ names on. But we’re meant to believe this tweet attacking me as a traitor for having a Jewish wife & family was…
One of the team who post to my X account accidentally pressed like on an awful antisemitic tweet earlier today. I apologise for this. The post also refers to “brown savages”, and is equally racist against me. Clearly it was not intentional. The amount of antisemitism and…
It’s no secret that I’m a fan of nuclear power. In Government, the Conservatives ended a 30-year moratorium on new nuclear, with two new plants consented, a third agreed and a fleet of next generation small reactors on the way. Whilst Labour are paying lip-service to continuing…
We welcome new Government amendments to the Planning Bill that: ✅ Deliver more rigorous scientific safeguards ✅ Guarantee nature benefits will outweigh any harm caused ✅ Requires back-up measures if compensation delivery falls short Now we hold Gov’s feet to the fire over…
We welcome new Government amendments to the Planning Bill that: ✅ Deliver more rigorous scientific safeguards ✅ Guarantee nature benefits will outweigh any harm caused ✅ Requires back-up measures if compensation delivery falls short Now we hold Gov’s feet to the fire over…
Emails like this make my day. @NextGenTories is changing things. The green shoots of renewal can’t be stopped 🌳
Yes! We can’t afford to let nuclear be killed by bogus red tape⚡️ France and Japan went big on nuclear, now their energy bills are a lot lower 📉
No more fish discos. Backed by @BritainRemade & @lfg_uk, today I’ve set out radical plans to speed up and cut the cost of building the new nuclear power stations we need for our economy, for our energy security and for nature. telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/07/1…
Let’s be clear - Labour have given up on growth.
🚨 BREAKING: Labour have just surrendered on Planning Reform Minutes ago, @consyimby were leaked the government's plans - confirming they have caved to anti-development lobbyists on the Planning and Infrastructure Bill. They've absolutely bottled it 👇
Britain is broken and the Civil Service is one of the biggest barriers to fixing it. @JoshSmithNGT on why we should politically appoint senior civil servants, give greater hiring and firing powers to individual teams, and secure better aligned talent.