'This is absolute madness!'
@TomSwarbrick1 reacts to the government's plan to photograph people's homes to see if they should be paying the new mansion tax.
WHON IS JAMES O’BRIEN?
James O’Brien is a 54-year-old LBC radio presenter and a close associate of Pakistani London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
He was raised in Kidderminster and educated at private schools, including Ampleforth College. Sources close to LBC claim his salary exceeds £300,000 a year. Combined with other income, his estimated net worth is put at £3–4 million.
He has spoken of wanting to buy a large home in Brentford, an area where flats routinely sell for £500,000 or more, and has previously owned a Victorian property in London.
With his wife, Lucy McDonald O’Brien, he co-owns Scrambler Media Limited (each holding roughly half the shares). As a micro-entity company, its full earnings are not disclosed in public accounts. Critics argue the business functions as a tax-efficient vehicle that helps minimise personal tax liabilities.
O’Brien is also known for frequent, aggressive on-air attacks on figures such as Tommy Robinson and Nigel Farage, alongside strong views on immigration that many listeners describe as dismissive or hostile toward public concerns.
At the same time, he regularly insists that “white privilege” is obvious and widespread.
Critics point out the contradiction: he enjoys a highly privileged lifestyle built on private education, high earnings and desirable London property that most people of any background will never attain.
He is an ugly person who makes money out of your outrage.
Absolutely vile.
“I’m a socialist because I believe in the redistribution of wealth.”
Do you redistribute your own wealth?
“No”
Then you’re not a socialist. You’re a hypocrite and a virtue signaller.
“I believe the government should do the redistribution, not me.”
Then you’re an authoritarian and a collaborator. So you are a socialist after all!
Tesla and SpaceX have created meaningful wealth for hundreds of thousands of employees over time and improved the retirement savings of hundreds of millions of people
What do we really need? A budget for roofers, midwives, electricians, plumbers, bricklayers, mechanics, farmers, fishermen, hairdressers, market traders, lorry drivers, postmen, factory workers, nurses, engineers, soldiers, carers, teachers, bin men, shopkeepers, entrepreneurs, pub landlords, the self-employed and more.
For the people who keep our economy running, who keep our country going.
Not the indolent, not the scroungers, not the foreigners.
But the workers. The ones getting up at 5.30am, struggling to get the kids ready for school on time. Constantly thinking, worrying, stressing. Putting in the hours to provide for their family.
Sometimes moaning, but always doing. Always working. Always trying. The real working class.
That's who I'm backing, and that's who Restore Britain is backing.
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BITGO CEO PUT 100 BTC IN A WALLET AND SAID:
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MONTHS LATER, THE BTC IS STILL UNTOUCHED
AI CANNOT HACK THE STRONGEST MONETARY NETWORK IN THE WORLD 🔥
Elon Musk Has to Be Very Careful Right Now
PBD: “They took out Charlie. The next guy for them to take out is gonna be Elon. I’m telling you, they’re not gonna let this guy live.”
Vinnie: “We are so lucky that he is on our side. And what I mean by our side, it’s the side of just being normal. Call it conservative, I don’t care what the hell you wanna call it. He has to be very, very careful, because that’s what he’s going to be up against. They’re not hiding it, and they’re saying it.”
Burnham and Healey are gambling that they will get another chance to do a big budget. But they may look back on this as the best opportunity they had.
There are, to my mind, three possible explanations for their approach.
One is that they would rather not level with their MPs and the country now. The argument goes that they will be in a better place to confront the trade-offs next autumn. But political capital is a depreciating asset.
The second is that they are doing a Mr Micawber, hoping something will turn up to improve the public finances. That could be faster-than-expected growth or a big reduction in government borrowing costs. Either is always possible, but look around the world and you will see the opposite is expected.
The other possibility is that they are planning an early election. That would push the reckoning beyond polling day, giving them more flexibility. As I know all too well, elections are never risk-free.
The problem is that Wednesday’s budget, and the IMF’s praise for Britain, are founded on fantasy - the idea that the Labour Party will accept the tight spending limits that are meant to kick in as the next election approaches.
My preference would be for a budget that cut spending, reduced business taxes and enacted growth-enhancing supply-side reform. Yet with his party in no mood for cuts, you can see why Healey is likely to avoid doing anything too bold on Wednesday.
They will never have more room for manoeuvre than now. I know, having done both jobs, that you regret the decisions you don’t take far more than the ones you do.
More on the budget in my @thetimes column today 👇
https://t.co/l1mIcUi1yB
@benjamincowen We are bored of hearing people say
Could go up.
Could go down.
It just depends.
Fuck off 😂 leave us and our backs in peace and stay off the algo. Your work doesn't help.