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Sebastian Payne

Sebastian Payne

Financial Times

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Every demographic wants migration slashed - and every party is failing them

It’s been a long 14 years since the Conservative Party pledged that net migration would be reduced to “tens of thousands”. Through four...

28.11.2024 3

iNews

Sebastian Payne

Jeremy Clarkson is the political hero the country is crying out for

Jeremy Clarkson, liked and loathed in equal measures, is impossible to ignore. His first coming as the nation’s motormouth brought him legions of...

20.11.2024 1

iNews

Sebastian Payne

Thames Water has an ocean of debt, but Labour should not throw it a lifeline

The tide is rising for Thames Water. Those who haven’t been following i ‘s reports on the saga of the UK’s largest water supply and treatment...

14.11.2024 3

iNews

Sebastian Payne

Unlike other countries, the UK could gain from a Trump presidency

The reeling from the re-election of Donald Trump is palpable both sides of the Atlantic. In the United States, there is much hand-wringing, not...

07.11.2024 1

iNews

Sebastian Payne

Rachel Reeves will be back for more taxes

Will Rachel Reeves’s big gamble work? The Chancellor’s first Budget was at least worthy of its long gestation: an audacious, high-spend,...

31.10.2024 1

iNews

Sebastian Payne

Labour started HS2 - so it must finish it

Is HS2 back on the right track? After the last Conservative government’s ill-advised decision to chop back significant portions of the critical...

17.10.2024 3

iNews

Sebastian Payne

The big tax rises Rachel Reeves has no choice but to make

Poor Rachel Reeves. It’s 20 days until her first Budget and it’s shaping up to be a nigh impossible conundrum. Having boxed herself in with a...

10.10.2024 1

iNews

Sebastian Payne

James Cleverly is right: the Tories need to be more 'normal'

Let’s be honest, no one in politics is particularly normal. People who put aside stable careers for a precarious existence where success is often...

04.10.2024 9

iNews

Sebastian Payne

Keir Starmer has two major problems

From the moment he was proclaimed “Mr Rules”, Sir Keir Starmer set himself up for an almighty fall. Just as Rishi Sunak’s pledge to lead a...

26.09.2024 1

iNews

Sebastian Payne

Sue Gray’s fate is already sealed

“This can’t go on” is one of the most grating mantras in politics. Yet it’s one that often turns out to be true. When Boris Johnson first...

20.09.2024 40

iNews

Sebastian Payne

The Tories have six months to save the party

Where is Nigel Farage? When in doubt a good assumption is in America, doing all he can to support his compadre Donald Trump. He might be at home...

22.08.2024 1

iNews

Sebastian Payne

Sue Gray is a powerhouse - that's a lesson for the Tories

Tony Benn was no friend of Whitehall – and the antipathy was mutual. Reflecting on his difficult relationship with officialdom, the hero of the...

16.08.2024 2

iNews

Sebastian Payne

The Tories' Robert Jenrick conundrum

It’s not the most obvious nickname that comes to mind, but Robert Jenrick is the first Conservative leadership contender to acquire one. “Bobby...

08.08.2024 2

iNews

Sebastian Payne

The economy is improving – we have the Tories to thank for that

Imagine a different world. The Bank of England still announced the first interest rate change in over a year yesterday, bringing rates down from a...

02.08.2024 10

iNews

Sebastian Payne

Keir Starmer's EU promises are an impossible pipe dream

“It is always an error in diplomacy to press a matter when it is quite clear that no further progress is to be made,” Winston Churchill...

18.07.2024 7

iNews

Sebastian Payne