menu_open Columnists
John O’Connell

John O’Connell

The Times

We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

Labour believes success is something to be ashamed of

Labour believes success is something to be ashamed of

Rachel Reeves slapped inheritance tax on family businesses Two successive Budgets have done unspeakable damage to small and medium sized firms...

11.12.2025 20

City A.M.

John O’Connell

If income tax thresholds remain frozen benefits should too

(Joe Giddens - WPA Pool/Getty Images) Consistency matters. If the fiscal situation is truly so dire that tax thresholds must remain frozen, then the...

14.11.2025 4

City A.M.

John O’Connell

The public won’t reward government overspending – just as Ed Miliband

BEDFORD, ENGLAND – MAY 05: Labour leader Ed Miliband speaks to party supporters during a rally at the Addison Centre in Kempston on May 5, 2015 in...

11.09.2025 4

City A.M.

John O’Connell

The ‘university for all’ rhetoric is hurting students and the taxpayer

Decades of “university for all” rhetoric is hurting students whose degrees no longer pay off, and taxpayers who are stumping up the cost, writes...

13.08.2025 9

City A.M.

John O’Connell

Tax, tax and more tax. Does Rachel Reeves not know there’s another way?

Wealth taxes, pension raids, inheritance tax, does Labour really not know there’s another option, asks John O’Connell There are recipients of...

10.07.2025 5

City A.M.

John O’Connell

Spending review: Labour’s economy is austerity for the taxpayer

Dear Chancellor, ‘austerity’ isn’t just about reducing public expenditure – it also applies to tax hikes, writes John O’Connell in response...

13.06.2025 10

City A.M.

John O’Connell

David Beckham and Spain’s tax shake-down

Not many people are so famous they have a tax named after them, but David Beckham is an exception (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images) Spain’s...

15.05.2025 4

City A.M.

John O’Connell

If we want more entrepreneurs we should tax them less

Altogether, from the very first penny received from an employer to the very last penny passed down to one’s children, the tax on entrepreneurship...

10.04.2025 4

City A.M.

John O’Connell

Abolishing NHS England was a good start – now tackle the rest of the quangos

NHS – GETTY IMAGES The abolition of NHS England sets a welcome precedent, but unless we get rid of the laws and regulations that spawned these...

20.03.2025 3

City A.M.

John O’Connell

Please, Rachel Reeves, define ‘austerity’

What is a working person? This is the question Keir Starmer and other members of his Cabinet struggled to answer over the past week or so. Labour’s...

29.10.2024 2

The Spectator

John O’Connell

Why wealth taxes always fail

Almost every country that has tried imposing wealth taxes has later abolished them, with good reason says John O’Connell Rachel Reeves’ problem...

29.10.2024 2

City A.M.

John O’Connell