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Matthew Lynn

Matthew Lynn

The Telegraph

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Burnham must resist the urge to tax banking profits

The cheaper bus fares will have to be paid for. So will the modest cut to electricity bills, along with the shelters to end rough sleeping. The new...

yesterday 10

The Spectator

Matthew Lynn

Fifa should be allowed to sell off the World Cup

It will bring in outside investors, open the doors to global money, enrich a handful of inside executives and, perhaps most outrageously of all, might...

previous day 10

The Spectator

Matthew Lynn

The sale of Harvey Nichols is proof of London’s decline

Harvey Nichols used to be one of the most glamorous department stores in the world. But now the business has gone up for sale – and it looks as if...

tuesday 10

The Spectator

Matthew Lynn

There’s nothing stopping Gary Lineker from paying more tax

There are bus fares to pay for, a rates cut for the pubs, and of course extra shelters for the homeless. In the few days since he became prime...

23.07.2026 20

The Spectator

Matthew Lynn

Andy Burnham’s savings drive is doomed to failure

A pledge to end rough sleeping. A minor reduction to the VAT rate on electricity, and now a £2 cap on bus fares. We can all debate whether it really...

22.07.2026 20

The Spectator

Matthew Lynn

A wealth tax is bound to backfire on Andy Burnham

They might threaten to head for Monaco, the Bahamas, or even Dubai if the missiles stop flying overhead. But in the end they will always stay. Steve...

17.07.2026 10

The Spectator

Matthew Lynn

Is the US heading for another oil shock?

It won’t be anything on the scale of 1973, when President Nixon imposed year round daylight saving time to reduce electricity consumption as well as...

14.07.2026 20

The Spectator

Matthew Lynn

Britain can’t afford to lose easyJet

With its garish bright orange livery and the ferocity with which its algorithm squeezes a few extra pounds out of you for every flight, easyJet is not...

25.06.2026 40

The Spectator

Matthew Lynn

Would Andy Burnham scrap the triple lock?

As he prepares his government, prime-minister-in-waiting Andy Burnham has made plenty of expensive promises. He wants money for defence, for taking...

24.06.2026 20

The Spectator

Matthew Lynn

Appointing Miliband as chancellor would be a mistake

There are plenty of solid arguments for Ed Miliband’s outriders to make about why he should be the chancellor when, and of course if, Andy...

22.06.2026 20

The Spectator

Matthew Lynn

Could Thames Water be Andy Burnham’s first test?

It is still a bit of a mystery to most of us – and possibly to the candidate himself – what Andy Burnham actually believes in. Still, amid all the...

16.06.2026 10

The Spectator

Matthew Lynn

Rachel Reeves should scrap stamp duty

A report published this week from the Housing, Communities and Local Government committee, made up of cross-party MPs, has been withering in its...

09.06.2026 10

The Spectator

Matthew Lynn

Rachel Reeves represents Labour’s short-termism at its worst

When Rachel Reeves became Chancellor, she made a lot of promises about improving the long-term prospects of the British economy. She was meant to be...

01.06.2026 10

The Spectator

Matthew Lynn

Scrapping the fuel duty hike would teach Reeves a useful lesson

It has been, to put it politely, a very long wait. But it is possible that Rachel Reeves may have finally discovered that it is possible to cut taxes...

18.05.2026 10

The Spectator

Matthew Lynn

Louise Haigh’s economic plan would hasten Britain’s decline

The government is on the brink of collapse, ministers are openly fighting for the succession, and the bond vigilantes are already driving up the cost...

12.05.2026 10

The Spectator

Matthew Lynn