Mike Starkie Cumbrian Politician

20/08/2025

Today’s Newspaper Column

Last weeks polling showed significant improvement for the Conservatives up over 20% on the previous poll, party leader Kemi Badenoch’s personal polling on the Conservative home website also showed significant progress.
These are small steps but are moving in the right direction and as detailed policies with a plan of how they will be delivered are developed and rolled out I fully expect to see a continued increase in the party’s poll ratings.
I really believe Kemi Badenoch after a tentative start is growing into the role as leader of the opposition and her performance is growing stronger with every passing week.
This improvement was reflected in Q4 of 2024 and Q1 of 2025 when the party raised more funding than Labour and Reform combined demonstrating the party leadership is rebuilding trust with donors.
In a recent letter to members Kemi Badenoch articulated perfectly, The truth is Labour are going wrong because they are following their principles. We went wrong when we failed to follow ours.
I was pleased to see her state that the party is returning to authentic conservative principles. Freedom of speech, of markets, of association Pro-enterprise Personal responsibility Living within our means National interest before international interest Lower taxes and a smaller state Secure borders
The whole party needs to get behind the leader and need to have patience as Kemi is taking exactly the right approach in taking time to build a serious policy platform, there is still a long time to the General Election and that time needs to be used wisely to develop plans in line with the above principles.
We are currently learning a harsh lesson from the present government of the disastrous effect of entering office with no plan at all other than the usual tax and spend.
We have seen illegal immigration career out of control, inflation almost double, unemployment increase, both GDP and wage growth stagnate and this week the 30-year GILT yield which determines the cost of government borrowing rose to 5.61%, the highest level for 27 years leaving the Country on the cusp of a debt crisis.
The chancellor has an estimated £50 billion blackhole which is very real unlike the fictional £22b blackhole and it is entirely of the chancellor’s own creation. Back bench Labour MPs are now in open revolt and not allowing the government to make even the most modest of cuts to government spending, so it will most certainly mean much higher taxation. The aspirational, the entrepreneurs and the wealth creators along with those that have worked hard for a comfortable retirement and want to leave an inheritance from the fruit of their endeavours will almost certainly be targeted even though history has repeatedly proved this makes a bad situation even worse.

15/08/2025

80 years since victory in the Pacific, we remember the bravery that brought the war to an end.

We honour those who fought. We must never forget their service and the service of all those who have come since.

11/08/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1FMK7UXCCS/?mibextid=wwXIfr

10/08/2025

Andrew Neil on X

Recent UK economic history being rewritten to suit current political agendas. So let’s set out some facts.

Britain’s real GDP grew by 18.7% from the end of 2010 (Q4 2010) to the end of 2019 (Q4 2019). In other words the UK economy grew by almost a fifth in real terms in the 2010-2020 decade, despite the shock of the Great Crash and Brexit and dysfunctional Tory governments. That somewhat undermines the widely promoted myth of a stagnant decade.

From the start of 2020 (Q1 2020) to the start of 2025 (Q1 2025), real GDP grew by 7.0%. So in the past five years the economy has grown markedly more slowly than previous decade. Covid obviously took its toll, including anaemic bounce back from the pandemic doldrums of 2020/21. Brexit uncertainty too. Plus endless Tory shenanigans hardly encouraged confidence. Even so — and despite all that — the UK economy still 7% bigger now than at start of decade.

I know, I know. Per capita GDP growth rate less impressive. That’s partly a consequence of mass immigration and low productivity. The purpose of this post is to counter the widespread perception that the UK has endured a decade and a half of stagnation in GDP growth. It hasn’t.

09/08/2025

07/08/2025

Sasha Yanshin on X

Rachel - seeing as you are demonstrating that you don't understand basic economics, let me enlighten you.

Interest rates are lowered by the Bank of England when:
1. Economy is doing badly (to stimulate it)
2. Unemployment increasing (to try and halt it)
3. Inflation spike finishes (high rates no longer needed to manage inflation)

Currently #1 and #2 are both happening. The UK Economy has contracted for 2 months in a row + we are seeing the biggest job losses since 2008 happening.

The inflation spike and its reversal happened long before your Government came into power.

In fact the latest inflation figure today is 4.1% while in June 2024 it was 2.8% and the main reason why inflation is going back up is your tax and anti-business policies.

Taking credit for interest rates being cut at the moment is a bit like celebrating that your car has a very short stopping distance just after you crashed it into a tree.

07/08/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1EZpRqLbiy/?mibextid=wwXIfr

06/08/2025

Gary Dixon on LinkedIn

Rachel Reeves needs to find £50 billion, and her masterplan appears to be… absolutely nothing.

No strategy. No roadmap. Just an ever-growing mountain of fiscal promises balanced on the hope that no one’s really paying attention.

She came into office talking about “stability,” and within no time she’s staring down the barrel of the biggest tax raid in decades.

According to the NIESR, she’s already missing her own “stability rule” by over £40 billion which is impressive when you remember Labour hasn’t even reached its first autumn budget yet.

And how will she fix it? Not by cutting spending that would take backbone. Not by reform that requires ideas. Instead, she’ll just silently fleece the public with more threshold freezes and fiscal drag, all while pretending working people won't see a penny more taken from them.

Of course they won’t just ignore your shrinking payslip and rising tax bill. Nothing to see here.

Economists are practically begging for a plan, any plan, but Labour seems to think "just say growth a lot" counts as economic policy it doesn’t. What they’ve actually delivered is stagnation, stealth taxes, and a sense of dread every time the Chancellor steps near a podium.

Even the Treasury’s own forecasts sound like they were written by a spin doctor with a guilty conscience: “The best way to strengthen public finances is by growing the economy.” Great. How? No answer. Just more flimsy slogans, backed up by the fiscal imagination of a rusty abacus.

This is not the steady hand on the tiller. This is the blindfolded magician sawing through the hull.

06/08/2025

A good summary of how Reeves and Labour are crashing the economy

31/03/2023

The Final Curtain

Today is my last as Mayor Of Copeland and my last day of working 43 years on from leaving School. I am now retired and looking forward to what will hopefully be a life of leisure.
From beginning work at 16 on the construction of Pond 5 at Sellafield and over 32 fabulous years in Financial Services working in every part of the U.K. I have had some great experiences and met and worked with some fantastic people many of whom are incredibly talented and successful.
The last 8 years I have had the honour and privilege to serve the people and the Borough of Copeland as the Elected Mayor which has been a fantastic experience and the people I have worked with there have been superb. Politics certainly has its challenges but I have thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it and it has again presented me with the opportunity to meet people from all walks of life and have experiences you would not normally encounter.
In retirement I will fondly reflect on some great times and some great successes during my journey through my working life and be thankful to all the fantastic people I have worked with and for, they have left me with some fantastic memories.
I will certainly miss the day to day interaction with the people I work with but am very much looking forward to the joys and freedom of retirement. It’s been a long journey and my thanks to everybody who has in anyway been part of it and made it so fulfilling and enjoyable.

14/03/2023

There’s not long left to have your say.

We’re currently running a public consultation on our new Local Validation List which will determine the level of information needed to accompany a new planning application in Cumberland, from April 1.

This list will reflect recent changes in planning legislation, policy and guidance to ensure best possible practice.

The proposed draft Local Validation List is open for public consultation until March 17.

Find out more and read the draft proposal at https://www.copeland.gov.uk/local-validation-list