The Gatekeepers of Whitehall: HMRC’s Power Grab
The Government does not trust the market, it does not trust the professions, and it certainly does not trust the taxpayer.
Latest
The Nanny State’s New Playground
This Government's instinct is always to control, to restrict, to ban.
The Countryside vs The Treasury: A Rebellion Reaches the High Court
Taxing family farms like share portfolios is an act of economic vandalism.
The Road to Ruin is Paved with Good Intentions
The Cheltenham Festival is a roaring success. So, naturally, the Government has decided to try and break it.
The £20,000-a-Metre Path to Nowhere
Tax and spend - the taxpayer be damned.
The Complacency Premium
A sensible energy policy would walk and chew gum at the same time – something one doubts any member of the front bench is capable of.
An Apology, Two Years Late
Such corporate contrition has become a meaningless ritual, driven by a marketing department, rather than any real sense of boardroom remorse.
The Gentle Insult of a Spring Statement
That taxation is at its highest level in 70+ years, is a record which Rachel Reeves seems perversely proud.
A Government without a Compass
This was not a moment of leadership. It was a moment of capitulation, a Government blinking in the face of a political firestorm of its own making.
The Soul of a City is Not a Museum Piece
The recent approval of the Wapping Wharf North plot by Bristol City Council marks a significant milestone in a 20-year regeneration vision for the city's Floating Harbour.
From Concorde to Concerts: The Rebirth of Filton
The announcement of the 20,000-capacity Aviva Arena at the historic Brabazon Hangars marks a decisive shift from public sector indecision to private sector ambition.
A Government of Convenience, a Democracy of Contempt.
This is not leadership. It’s the panicked shuffling of papers in a failing bureaucracy devoid of ideas, devoid of a plan, devoid of beliefs: an attempt to insulate the powerful from the consequences of their own decisions.
Britsol Airport
Bristol’s Ascent: A Question of Ambition
WECA's plan for a Bristol Airport fixed link is vital for the South West's economic potential and unlocking routes to Nort America and the Middle East would be transformative.
Gloucestershire
The Industrialisation of the Countryside: The Case Against Large-Scale Solar
By The Wobbly Editor, 6 February 2026 The English countryside is often seen in one of two ways. Either as bucolic rolling hills, with Blake’s 'Jerusalem' as its soundtrack, or as a landscape filled with livestock or crops that feed the Nation. Whatever your perception, it serves
Coastal Enterprise
The Slow Strangulation of the South West: How Government Policy is Killing Coastal Enterprise
The businesses of the South West are asking for a government that is on their side, not on their back.
Save Our Pubs
The Paucity of the Chancellor’s Gift: A Closer Look at the Government’s Pub Relief Package
A one-off discount of £1,650 is a pittance … an insolvency tsunami is heading our way.
Save Our Pubs
The Last Publican: How Whitehall is Calling Time on the British Pub
The Government must start treating the British pub not as a cash-cow to be milked dry, but as a national asset to be protected.
Regional Governance
The Postponement of Local Elections: A South West Perspective
The message being sent is that when the electoral outlook is unfavourable, the solution is not to win the argument, but to cancel the contest.
Educational Strategy
Rendcomb College: The Betrayal of the Squeezed Middle
The Government is effectively bankrupting local excellence to pay for a multibillion-pound deficit in the state sector. It’s a masterclass in self-harm.
Industrial Strategy
The Ghost in the Machine: Yeovil’s Autonomous Triumph and the Silence of the Lambs in Whitehall
Last Friday, a helicopter flew over Cornwall without a pilot - a fortunate breakthrough, given the MoD appears to have abandoned the controls.
corporate strategy
The Exit Trap: Why the South West’s ‘Succession Crisis’ is a Tax on Toil
As retiring founders head towards the ‘Exit’ sign, the Treasury has quietly padlocked the door. We explore why the South West’s brewing succession crisis is being treated as a revenue stream.
Regional Governance
The Somerset Shakedown: A Masterclass in Civic Gall
By declaring a 'financial emergency,' Somerset Council is effectively telling the Secretary of State that the people are too foolish to be trusted with a ballot paper. A deep dive into the 'referendum bypass' and the death of consent in Taunton.
Regional Governance
The Gloucester Gambit: A Study in the 'Edifice Complex' and the Bankrupting of a City
Is Gloucester building a future, or merely a very expensive tombstone for its finances? Exploring the '10-mile duplicity' of the Kings Quarter and why the city’s latest regeneration project may just be a masterclass in municipal vanity.
Taxation
Capital, Not Cash: The Systematic Dismantling of the Regional Family Firm
There is a particular brand of political theatre that involves setting a house on fire and then expecting a standing ovation for handing the owner a bucket of water. Why the Government’s strategic retreat on its planned IHT raid is merely a temporary reprieve for the South West’s economic engine.