Politics
Clark Vasey: The case for a leaner and more practical Conservatism, focused on the British worker
Clark Vasey is co-founder and Executive Director of Blue Collar Conservatism.
This part 2 of 2 of ‘Re-Introducing Blue Collar Conservatism’. Part 1 can be read here.
Across the Western world, right-inclined voters have become more working class.
Those looking rightwards work hard but are more likely to feel economically insecure than a conservative base from 40 years ago. Currently, they are looking to Reform in greater numbers, but without convincing a significant majority of them that we are the party that will best deliver for them, there will not be another Conservative Government.
Since conference, Kemi Badenoch has given us more cause for confidence about our future, but we are going to need to do more than shift a few points. Reform knows it needs to get past 40 per cent to avoid its route to power being blocked by tactical voting. Reform needs to be the only viable vehicle on the right if it is to succeed. That is no less true for us.
Winning over Reform voters with understanding and a better offer for hard-working Brits is our only option.
We need to set out a blueprint for a truly Blue Collar Britain, where national renewal is achieved through an unrelenting focus on jobs and backing the potential of every one of our citizens. This would simultaneously address many of the economic, social, and structural challenges facing the UK, but it requires a joined-up approach with the British worker at its heart. A good starting point for this would be a Labour Market Strategy.
We can quibble over the word “broken”, but Britain clearly does not work. At the top of the list are migration and welfare. Our party has been increasingly bold on both, but we will need to go much further and approach them as part of the same problem. They are mutually reinforcing policy failures.
A welfare system that makes it easy for people not to work creates a demand for migrant workers, while a flow of low-skilled migrant labour undercuts wages and displaces domestic workers from the labour market.
A Labour Market Strategy would be a comprehensive plan for national renewal rooted in work. Kemi’s Plan to Get Britain Working is a great start, bringing together business and welfare policies, but it must go further adding education focused on work, a clearer approach to strategic sectors, and ensuring that migration is never again used to paper over the cracks.
Our welfare system needs overhauling, and not working must never be a choice or pay more than working. Our business and economic policies must provide conditions in which jobs can be created, even above the demands of revenue collection. Labour’s jobs vandalism must be reversed across every sector as a bare minimum. We must be relentless in giving business the conditions to create jobs and compete. Remember the left has never truly been on the side of workers, because to be pro-worker, you must be pro-business.
We have lived beyond our means for years, and it cannot continue. Labour is busily peddling the fantasy that it can, making matters worse with every tax rise to keep our zombie state going. Instead of feeding a never-ending bloated state, we need an approach with the individual British worker at its heart. Achieving prosperity and growth through the people who work to create it and contributing to a Britain that is competitive internationally and a place where people want to invest.
Even if we sorted out our planning system so we could actually build the homes and infrastructure we need, we know we do not have enough builders. Industry estimates suggest we will need between 161,000 and 239,000 additional workers by 2030 just to meet housing targets.
“Better pull the migration lever” will come the inevitable cry of those who think of the UK as the sum of its state rather than its people. No. Not when we have 946,000 young people not in education, employment, or training. Why not train enough of them to meet our requirements? It would add to our national renewal and, more importantly, hand a young person a career.
Education must be unashamedly a tool of worker creation. The measure of our education system should be its ability to get all young people into work. From the next AI star to the care home worker. There is a benefit to being in work and dignity in every job. Our schools must instil this.
Let’s actively create future taxpayers and contributors rather than welfare recipients.
Job creation has significant social benefits, adding a sense of worth and human connection. Around 67 per cent of the 6.5 million people on out-of-work benefits have no requirement to look for work. At a national level, that is a crisis of unsustainable proportions; at an individual level, it is a human tragedy of wasted potential on an unforgivable scale.
A comprehensive Labour Market strategy should sit at the centre of our offer to working Britain. Becoming the vehicle for a broad coalition of working people from engineers and builders to agricultural workers and carers. It will give our party purpose.
At this point, Labour’s claims to be a working class party are entirely historic. That means reaching millions of hard-working Brits who are currently looking to Reform. With care, understanding and the best offer we can do it.
This is why Blue Collar Conservatism exists.
We want to bring together activists and MPs who share our vision and determination to make this happen.
When my son was born profoundly deaf, I suddenly understood how isolating it can feel when the world doesn’t reflect your experience.
As a parent, I wanted him to see that his hearing loss didn’t define him, but I didn’t know where to start. I’d grown up as a child of deaf parents, but television never showed families like mine.
We were invisible. And I feared my son would feel the same.
That’s why the new Peppa Pig storyline, in which George (Peppa’s younger brother) is revealed to be deaf, feels so powerful.
It’s the first time many children, and their parents, will see a character like George navigating hearing loss in a mainstream children’s show.
It’s not just entertainment; it’s representation that can reassure children that they belong, and that differences are normal.
Watching George go for a hearing test and start using a hearing aid is the kind of story I wish I’d had when my son was little.
The storyline makes it clear that hearing technology can help, but it doesn’t fully restore typical hearing, whilst also giving parents the language to start conversations and explain hearing loss in ways that are relatable and reassuring.
For parents who are just discovering their child may have hearing loss, it can feel overwhelming. You may notice signs like delayed speech, talking too loudly or too softly, difficulty responding to sounds, or watching closely what others are doing before doing it themselves.
My advice to parents is to trust your instincts. If something feels off, it’s always worth speaking to your GP. You can also contact us at the National Deaf Children’s Society for one-to-one advice and guidance, as well as local support in the heart of your community. Early support can make a huge difference in a child’s development, confidence and communication skills.
Storylines like George’s also make hearing technology visible. Many children wear hearing aids or other devices, and yet these are rarely seen in everyday media.
Seeing George explore the world with a hearing aid – splashing in puddles, going to the park, playing with Peppa – reinforces that deaf children can fully enjoy childhood experiences. Representation like this is not just comforting, it is empowering.
Of course, no single story can capture every experience, but authenticity matters. These new episodes were developed with guidance from our team at the National Deaf Children’s Society, and they reflect the realities of deaf children’s lives, from navigating appointments to adjusting to new sounds. That kind of insight makes the representation credible, relatable, and ultimately supportive for families.
For me, it’s deeply personal. As a parent, I want my son to grow up seeing himself reflected in the world around him, feeling confident that his deafness doesn’t set limits on what he can do. And as a child myself of deaf parents, I know that seeing stories like this could have helped my parents feel more visible when they were raising me.
Peppa Pig may be a cartoon, but for deaf children and their families, it sends a real-world message: you are seen, you are valued, and your experiences matter.
And for parents, it is a reminder that seeking support, trusting your instincts, and sharing stories with your children can help them feel safe, confident, and understood.
George Crockford is CEO at The National Deaf Children’s Society, which supports deaf children with any level of hearing loss, offering expert information, practical guidance and one-to-one support for families, as well as local support in communities across the UK.
The new Peppa Pig episodes will air on Milkshake from 9th March. For more information and to explore resources for deaf children and families, visit www.ndcs.org.uk/georgepig.
Credit: Adobe Stock
Keith Bristow, Chair of the Betting and Gaming Council’s Gambling Anti-Money Laundering Group (GAMLG)
| Betting and Gaming Council
I have spent the vast majority of my career working to understand how criminals operate and protecting the public from their criminality.
Over the past decade, since leaving law enforcement and now chairing the Betting and Gaming Council’s Gambling Anti-Money Laundering Group (GAMLG), one trend has become increasingly clear to me: the illegal gambling market is getting worse, not better.
I take no position for or against gambling. For many it is simply a lawful leisure activity. My concern is that gambling should not be used for illegal purposes, and the illegal black market crosses that line every day.
Criminals weigh risk against reward when it comes to selecting the victims they wish to target and the methods they choose, and illegal gambling currently offers one of the most favourable balances they can find. Crucially, as the regulated sector has strengthened its compliance measures, the illegal market has grown more sophisticated. It has no age checks, no safer gambling protections, no anti-money-laundering controls and no tax contribution. It creates opportunities for criminals to move money with minimal challenge, and the nature and scale of associated offending is too often not understood or overlooked.
Independent EY analysis, following last year’s Budget, shows the future consequences clearly: more than £6bn in stakes diverted to illegal operators and a 140 per cent increase in the size of the black market. This weakens the regulated sector and reduces long-term tax revenues.
The UK already has a regulatory system designed to protect consumers and uphold integrity, and the licensed market plays its part in meeting those expectations. But no system is effective without robust enforcement and illegal operators are expanding with very little resistance from decision makers and those charged with enforcing the law. We should be asking what is being done to address this, where the money goes, what wider criminality it enables and why an unregulated market is being allowed to operate with so little scrutiny.
The additional £26m for the Gambling Commission in the Budget is welcome and necessary. The key question now is what difference it will make in practice: how will this funding increase the risks for those who operate illegally and protect the public from them?
Everyone should comply with the law and with the regulations designed to protect consumers. BGC members are already investing in compliance, strengthening controls and enforcing responsible standards. But their efforts are undermined if illegal operators continue to grow beyond the reach of effective enforcement.
As long as the black market remains a low-risk and high-reward environment for criminals, it will continue to expand, and that must change. So I ask government and the Gambling Commission directly: what are you going to do to ensure the black market is not a risk-free enterprise? Unless that question is answered and action follows, the public will be exposed to harm while criminal activity continues unchecked.
Starmer crisis 1) PM fights for his future over Mandelson scandal
“Sir Keir Starmer and his chief of staff are fighting for their political futures after the prime minister admitted he was warned about Lord Mandelson’s friendship with the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein before appointing him as ambassador to the US. Starmer told the Commons that he was aware of Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein, including the fact that the peer stayed at the financier’s Manhattan apartment while he was in jail for child prostitution offences. Starmer claimed that Mandelson had “lied” about the depth and extent of his relationship with Epstein, but the prime minister faced a backlash from his own MPs. One cabinet minister said the appointment of Mandelson was “very hard to defend” and was “yet another self-inflicted wound”. – The Times
- Starmer engulfed in leadership speculation as he backtracks over Mandelson papers – FT
- Labour MPs say Starmer’s days are numbered amid fury over Mandelson – Guardian
- Starmer in grave peril – Daily Mail
- PM fights desperate last stand – Daily Express
- Mutinous Labour MPs taking control of party – The Sun
- Starmer ‘shakes’ with ‘anxiety’ – Daily Express
- Pressure grows on McSweeney over Mandelson ambassador appointment – FT
- How Mandelson’s protege became Starmer’s right-hand man – Daily Telegraph
- The ex-minister in charge of the Mandelson files – Daily Telegraph
Comment
- Disowned by his MPs, despised by the public, Starmer must know the game is up – Gordon Rayner, Daily Telegraph
- These are the humiliating death throes of Starmer’s sordid regime – Allister Heath, Daily Telegraph
- Starmer seriously, if not yet fatally, wounded – Editorial, The Sun
- Starmer’s stock answers don’t work when the cock-up is this painful – Tim Stanley, Daily Telegraph
- Mandelson’s treachery has revived the sulphurous rage of Brown – Tom Harris, Daily Telegraph
- Mandelson was out of his depth with Epstein – Juliet Samuel, The Times
Starmer crisis 2) Rayner leads Labour MPs in revolt against Starmer
“Angela Rayner has forced Sir Keir Starmer into an about-turn over his handling of the Lord Mandelson scandal. The Prime Minister’s own MPs are calling for him to consider his position after the planned release of documents relating to Lord Mandelson’s appointment as Britain’s ambassador to the US descended into chaos. The files were set to be released by the Prime Minister’s most senior civil servant. But in a severe blow to Sir Keir’s authority, Downing Street was forced to hand the process to Parliament’s intelligence and security committee (ISC) after Ms Rayner and senior Labour MPs insisted No 10 should not decide what material is published.” – Daily Telegraph
- Mandelson’s web of influence inside the Labour Party – The Times
- Epstein told Mandelson he was hiring strippers to celebrate prison release – Daily Telegraph
- What Starmer knew – The Times
- Mandelson offered to help Epstein get Russian visa, documents suggest – BBC News
- Farage calls for EU to investigate Mandelson’s time in Brussels – FT
>Yesterday:
No 10 confident Trump won’t block Chagos Islands deal
“Downing Street believes that it is close to securing renewed support from the US for its deal to hand back the Chagos Islands to Mauritius despite President Trump labelling the plan an “act of great stupidity”. The president appeared to withdraw his support for the proposal during the row over Greenland, despite having endorsed the plan last year. His change of heart threatened the future of the deal, and ministers privately conceded that the islands could not be returned without America’s blessing because of the importance of the Diego Garcia military base. The Tories have also been lobbying members of the administration to block the handover of the islands, warning that it could allow China a strategic foothold in the islands.” – The Times
Streeting to offer resident doctors bigger pay rise to end dispute
“Wes Streeting is to offer resident doctors a bigger pay rise than other NHS staff as part of a new package of measures to try to end their long-running dispute. The health secretary also plans to guarantee resident doctors in England that hospitals will be fined if they do not give them good working conditions, such as rest areas and access to hot food. Streeting is looking at making a series of improvements to previous offers he has made, which may persuade the British Medical Association (BMA) to call off its nearly three-year-long campaign of industrial action.” – Guardian
Ban on illegal migrants taking taxis to hospital comes into force
Illegal migrants have been banned from taking costly taxis to hospital — as Labour admits small boat numbers may still rise. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has put a stop to the cabs perk following a public outcry. But she was also forced to concede that there was no guarantee Channel small boat crossings would fall this year. Taxpayers are forking out £16 million a year on transport for hotel migrants on top of accommodation costs. One asylum seeker took a taxi 250 miles to see a GP. From today, cabs will be allowed only for the pregnant and those with physical disabilities and they will require sign-off from the Home Office.” – The Sun
- Ban on asylum seekers taking taxis to medical appointments comes into force – Daily Mail
Farage’s two-day trip to Davos cost more than £50,000, documents reveal
“Nigel Farage’s two-day trip to Davos cost more than £50,000 after he was given two guest passes by an Iranian-born billionaire, documents show. The Reform UK leader officially declared his attendance at the conference on the register of MPs’ interests, after giving speeches at the Switzerland summit in which he pledged to “put the global elites on notice”. Despite previously having dismissed the World Economic Forum as a jaunt for “globalists”, Farage also accepted £1,100 of luxury hotel accommodation from the conference organisers.” – Guardian
- Companies House should probe origins of £200,000 gift to Reform, senior MP says – FT
- Reform councillor steps down as head of Kent’s cost-cutting drive – FT
Other political news
- Connolly’s racial hatred charge was fast-tracked – Daily Telegraph
- Palestine Action activists acquitted amid ‘jury tampering’ claims – The Times
- Sanctions having ‘significant impact’ on Russian economy – Guardian
And finally, A mouse scurries behind Badenoch during Peston interview
“As the Mandelson scandal engulfs the Government, Kemi Badenoch had a prime moment on television to capitalise for the Tories. But it was a surprise guest who stole the show – a mouse scurrying in the background. The Conservative leader was caught unawares during an ITV interview with Robert Peston on Wednesday, when she demanded that Sir Keir Starmer release information about the appointment of Lord Mandelson as ambassador to the US. Mrs Badenoch appeared not to notice the rodent dashing out from behind a table in her Westminster office as she told Mr Peston that Labour “had to give in” over the fallout from a tranche of files detailing Lord Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.” – Daily Telegraph
News in Brief
Greenland’s prime minister has dismissed Donald Trump’s claims that he and Nato had discussed a deal over the Arctic island’s sovereignty.
The US president backed down over his demands to “control” the semi-autonomous Danish territory two weeks ago, claiming a “framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland” was on the table.
But Jens-Frederik Nielsen poured cold water on his Nato remarks last night.
Speaking to Piers Morgan Uncensored, he said: “It’s not my understanding that they’ve discussed a deal.”
However, he added: “We do agree on, we need to do more in a Nato frame in terms of security.
“They will talk about something that maybe could be a deal in some way but we have also said and emphasised we have some really important red lines from our side.”
Details about any Nato arrangement over the island remain unclear, although some reports claim Denmark could cede sovereignty over small parts of Greenland to allow America to build military bases.
Yet Nielsen said: “We have a clear red line, in terms of our borders, our integrity as a country, if somebody wants to push on those we can say that’s a clear red line for us. We are not giving an inch. We will never cede any sovereignty.”
Trump previously suggested paying the islanders or even using US military force to invade the territory last month.
He insisted the island was essential to America’s security amid growing threats from China and Russia within the Arctic Circle.
But his aggression sparked major backlash among Nato allies and European leaders – including British prime minister Keir Starmer – made it clear the territory’s future was up to Greenland and Denmark alone.
Trump furiously threatened to slap 10% import tariffs on the countries which did not allow the US to take over Greenland up until he struck his “framework of a future deal” with Nato chief Mark Rutte.
Nielsen rejected the idea of taking any payment from the US too, saying: “Our right to self-determination is not something we would want to gamble on. I think it’s outrageous if you think you can buy the Greenlandic people.”
The PM also criticised the White House after it circulated a meme of Trump holding the hand of a penguin through a snowy landscape, implied to be Greenland.
Nielsen said he thought they should stop promoting such images, adding: “We don’t have one single penguin in Greenland! I think it shows a lack of knowledge about Greenland, about Greenlandic people and the Greenlandic society… I think it’s unfortunate. When you keep mocking my people… I think it’s insulting.”
Watch the full interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored, YouTube.
The comedians forming the cast of the new British version of Saturday Night Live have been unveiled.
Just under a year ago, it was announced that SNL – which has been a staple of US screens for the last 50 years – would be getting its own British iteration for the first time in 2026.
As is the case with the American series, each week, the 11 cast members – made up of up-and-coming faces, some of whom you might recognise from comedy, acting or their social media pages – will be appearing on the live variety show alongside a different celebrity guest host.
Who is on the cast of Saturday Night Live UK?
The full cast list – who’ll be delivering the new tagline “live from London, it’s Saturday night” each week – is as follows:
- Al Nash
- Ania Magliano
- Annabel Marlow
- Ayoade Bamgboye
- Celeste Dring
- Emma Sidi
- George Fouracres
- Hammed Animashaun
- Jack Shep
- Larry Dean
- Paddy Young
Lead producer James Longman enthused: “The UK is absolutely packed with incredible comedy talent right now and this cast represents the freshest voices we have, they’re bold, exciting and of course, incredibly funny.
“The chemistry between them is something special and we can’t wait to share this funny group of people with the world.”
Charlotte Rutherford/Sky UK
Meanwhile, more information on the show’s writing team will be announced in due course.
When does Saturday Night Live UK launch?
Saturday Night Live UK will film in London and air live on Sky, as well as being made available to stream on Now.
The UK version will feature the show’s staple topical monologue, a variety of comedy sketches, musical performances and a British twist on the popular Weekend Update satirical news segment, running for six weeks beginning on Saturday 21 March.
More information on upcoming guest hosts and musical guests will be announced closer to SNL UK’s launch next month.
Last week, the US version of SNL aired its milestone 1000th episode with guest host Alexander Skarsgård and musical performer Cardi B.
Donald Trump has claimed that at least one of his lawsuits against the US government was “essentially” over ― and he won.
NBC’s Tom Llamas asked the president about the $10 billion lawsuit against the Inland Revenue Service and Treasury Department that he filed last week.
“You can’t leak documents. And any money that I win, I’ll give it to charity, 100% to charities, charities that will be approved by government or whatever,” Trump said.
Trump filed the suit because a former IRS contractor leaked his tax returns to The New York Times and ProPublica during his first term, violating IRS confidentiality rules. Those returns showed that Trump, a billionaire with a massive real estate portfolio and other ventures, paid little to no federal income tax in a number of years.
Trump also spoke about another lawsuit he filed demanding $230 million from taxpayers for, among other things, the FBI’s search of his Mar-a-Lago home in 2022, where agents found classified documents.
“Essentially, the lawsuit’s been won,” Trump told Llamas. “I guess I won a lot of money.”
It’s not clear which lawsuit, specifically, he was referring to. However, both of them were against executive branch agencies, which he leads ― and he’s already said that means he can “work out a settlement with myself.”
Trump told Llamas that he would give the money he “won” in his lawsuit to charities such as the American Cancer Society, but the president’s critics don’t find that promise to be reassuring, given his history with nonprofits.
In 2018, the Trump Foundation shut down under judicial supervision amid allegations of self-dealing. He was later ordered to pay $2 million to settle a civil lawsuit brought by the state of New York against the charity.
Former New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood said the charity had engaged in a “shocking pattern” of “repeated and willful self-dealing.” One example: buying a $10,000 portrait of Trump to hang at one of his golf courses.
The president’s critics responded on X:
Vice President JD Vance let loose on the “incestuous” elites named in the newly released trove of documents on sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, but sidestepped the fact that the files mention President Donald Trump thousands of times.
Last week, the Department of Justice released millions of pages of files related to the investigation into Epstein, in which the president and many other powerful American figures, including billionaire Elon Musk and former President Bill Clinton, were referenced.
As of yet, they have not been formally accused of wrongdoing in association with Epstein’s crimes.
In an interview with the Daily Mail published on Tuesday, Vance claimed that Trump “never really was friendly with Epstein,” though even Trump confirmed they’d known each other for years.
“President Trump is very much outside of the social circle,” the vice president told the outlet. “He knows a lot of these people. He certainly has similar wealth and power. But he never really was friendly with Epstein in a way that a lot of these other people were.”
Vance added: “I think that it just shows there’s an incestuous nature to America’s elites, and it’s pretty gross. And, a lot of people, I think, it reflects very poorly on them. Bill Gates, Bill Clinton, a lot of others.”
Trump, who socialised with Epstein for years, has given conflicting information about his relationship with the sex abuser, but has said that the two had a falling-out.
While speaking with reporters aboard Air Force One on January 31, the president suggested that the latest files “absolve” him of wrongdoing related to Epstein.
“I was told by some very important people that not only does it absolve me, it’s the opposite of what people were hoping, you know, the radical left,” he said.
In the same discussion, Trump also threatened that he could take legal action against author Michael Wolff, accusing Wolff and Epstein of “conspiring” against him.
In a February 2016 email that was released, Wolff suggested that Epstein was the “bullet” that could end Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, according to Fox News.
“Wolff, who is a third-rate writer, was conspiring with Jeffrey Epstein to hurt me, politically or otherwise, and that came through loud and clear,” Trump added. “So, we’ll probably sue Wolff on that.”
The post PMQs Badenoch forces Starmer to admit he knew about Mandelson appeared first on Conservative Home.
Keir Starmer will call for decency in public life a day after admitting he made Peter Mandelson the UK’s ambassador to Washington despite knowing about his friendship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
In a major speech on Thursday, the prime minister will say that the people of Britain are “bound by values, by common endeavour and by responsibilities we owe to one another as partners in the project of this great nation”.
“I believe in our way of doing things – that in a world that increasingly preys on weakness, I believe Britain is stronger as a tolerant, decent and respectful country,” Starmer will say.
The speech, in which the PM will hail the government’s £5 billion “Pride in Place” project to rejuvenate deprived communities, comes as he fights for his political survival over the Mandelson scandal.
Labour MPs reacted in fury on Wednesday when Starmer admitted for the first time that he had know about the former peer’s links to Epstein but still made him US ambassador last year.
One told HuffPost UK: “It was like being present at the political death of the prime minister.”
In his speech, the prime minister will say: “I love this country. It is the greatest country in the world.
“The progress and prosperity I’ve seen throughout my life, the journey I’ve been on, personally from a working class background to this, I owe everything to this country and its values. I’ve spent most of my professional life serving them.
“Because I believe in them. I believe in our values. I believe in rules that protect those in need. I believe in the freedom to live and let live in decency and tolerance, in respect for difference under the same flag, a common good.”
He will add: “We are bound by values, by common endeavour and by responsibilities we owe to one another as partners in the project of this great nation.
“I believe in our way of doing things. That in a world that increasingly preys on weakness, I believe Britain is stronger as a tolerant, decent and respectful country.”
But a Conservative spokesperson said: “It’s hard to overstate the absurdity of Keir Starmer making a speech about values and decency the day after he admitted appointing an ambassador who had remained friends with a convicted paedophile.
“The prime minister’s authority is shot. He no longer speaks for the Labour Party, let alone the country.”
A senior Labour source said: “Have they tried burning No.10 down and starting again?”
Cllr Adam Kent is the Leader of the Conservative Group on Worcestershire County Council.
One of the most corrosive frustrations in modern politics is not ignorance of the problem, nor even disagreement about the solution. It is knowing—with absolute clarity—what must be done, while watching a bloated system quietly conspire to ensure that it never happens.
Across Whitehall, local government, and the wider public sector, a familiar pattern has taken hold. Directors are paid high six-figure salaries to “lead transformation”, yet appear incapable—or unwilling—of delivering it without commissioning armies of external consultants, running up yet more cost, and producing glossy reports that change nothing on the ground. Accountability is diffused, responsibility evaporates, and failure is rewarded with another restructure.
Worcestershire County Council is not unique. It is experiencing exactly the same pressures as every other upper-tier authority in the country: runaway costs in adult social care, children’s services, and home-to-school transport, all consumed by a minority of service users, while the majority of residents see visible services quietly eroded.
£120 million overspent and no one wants to talk about it
Under the current Reform administration, Worcestershire County Council overspent by nearly £120 million in-year. Not forecast. Not hypothetical. Actual spend beyond budget.
In any serious organisation, this would trigger immediate intervention, root-and-branch reform, and leadership accountability. Instead, it is being quietly swept aside—kicked down the road through a combination of statutory override and borrowing from central government.
Statutory override does not make the problem disappear. It merely parks the bill somewhere out of sight. Government borrowing is not “extra money”; it is deferred taxation. The costs do not vanish—they are transferred to future residents, future councils, and future services.
The false choice we keep avoiding
On Special Educational Needs and Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), there are only two honest pathways:
- Restrict demand by tightening thresholds, improving early intervention, and restoring parental responsibility.
- Fully fund supply by building local provision at scale and accepting the true cost.
What we have instead is the worst of all worlds: ever-expanding demand, no meaningful supply-side reform, and costs spiralling beyond control—masked temporarily by borrowing and overrides that merely delay the reckoning.
Leadership means owning the numbers
The real crisis in politics is not lack of ideas. It is lack of courage—especially when the figures are ugly.
Leadership means owning overspends instead of hiding them, making difficult decisions rather than deferring them, explaining uncomfortable truths to residents, and refusing to rely on statutory workarounds as a substitute for reform.
We know the answers. The question is whether anyone in charge is finally prepared to deliver them.
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