Joel Hagan · Politics & the Public Square · joelhagan.com
Introduction Welfare costs too much. That cost is rising. And the money we spend isn’t working: it isn’t getting people into work, especially young people. Not helped by an economic/growth policy that isn’t delivering a…
A strategy for getting the UK economy moving Introduction Last weekend the Treasury’s entrepreneurship adviser walked out. Alex Depledge, who built Hassle.com and Resi, was appointed to the role by Rachel Reeves in June…
Introduction Andy Burnham announced a National Commission on Electoral Reform in his conference speech on 29 September 2026, ten weeks after becoming Prime Minister, and said he would fight the next election on a…
The Shadow of Brexit and the new re-entry debate The prospect of a future referendum on the United Kingdom rejoining the European Union inevitably brings back the ghosts of 2016. A decade after that fateful vote,…
A new National Health & Wellness Levy will raise the money that’s needed for the new National Care Service and make a significant contribution to funding the NHS, in turn releasing money for other things like Defence.…
The most hated tax in Britain, and the least effective. Scrap it, and replace it with a progressive tax that exempts family homes and businesses, and prevents avoidance. Simpler, fairer and everyone pays. Inheritance…
The One Man Think Tank
CEO of newly founded startups Frontdoor Property Portal, BackstopAI and GoForLaunch. Previously CEO of two early stage technology companies: i2O Water and ONZO (also one of the founders). Before that I spent a decade at Arthur Andersen Business Consulting. This blog is where I think out loud about politics — notes, arguments and the occasional picture, written in my own time and my own voice.
I have no party affiliation. If you want to put me in a box, I'm a Radical Centrist. The true Heir to Blair! Read generously, and feel free to suggest corrections.
Note. The writing here is my own. Images are mine unless stated otherwise; some are used under Creative Commons or similar licences and are attributed where that applies. I fact-check as carefully as I can, but I do not guarantee that every post is error-free or free from ill-considered arguments.