Despatch: Britain is becoming France

Is Britain sleepwalking into a very French crisis? In this Despatch, Joseph Dinnage argues that Westminster is starting to look uncomfortably like Paris: a revolving door at the top, a debt “swamp” that spooks markets, and electorates hooked on ever-costlier entitlements. After François Bayrou’s fall and Sébastien Lecornu’s rise, France’s soaring debt and pension politics serve as a cautionary tale—one Britain may be replaying with the triple lock, winter fuel U-turns and a ballooning interest bill. As Marine Le Pen and Nigel Farage reshape the conversation, Dinnage makes a brisk, unsentimental case for fiscal grit from Labour and a credible growth plan from the Tories—before voters decide the duopoly has had its day. Despatch features the best writing from CapX's daily newsletter, brought to you by the team behind The Capitalist. Don't miss our full show every Wednesday. Stay informed with CapX's unmissable daily briefings from the heart of Westminster. Go to capx.co to subscribe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.