While acknowledging that we still have ourselves a spending problem here in the United States, at least I can say we also have an economy that is clawing its way out of the doldrums, thanks to the reversal of fortune in the correct direction we suffered thanks to 5 November 2024.
So there is hope for a continued upward trajectory.
Our formerly great cousins across the Atlantic Ocean, from whom we were once separated only by a common language, are determinedly plowing into the dustbin of insignificance just as fast as they possibly can.
I've spent a fair amount of space cataloging the demise of the once proud and mighty British Navy, the pathetic state of the British economy, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer's mewling efforts to return his country to the control and oversight of the unelected authoritarians in Brussels.
Arguably, one of the most devastating individuals in the Labour government has been the energy minister, Ed Miliband, who is a die-hard climate cultist. Miliband has been mandating and imposing the fever-dream net-zero goals of decades past on the green-energy-decimated reality of the British economy for almost two years now.
The Iran War hasn't helped an unprepared and ill-equipped United Kingdom recover its footing.
...The UK economy shrank by 0.1% in April, according the latest figures from the ONS, as businesses started to feel the impact of the Iran war.
A small contraction had been expected after the economy grew by a stronger-than-expected 0.3% in March, when there was some evidence that consumers and businesses had brought forward spending before the impact of the conflict in the Middle East was felt.
GDP grew by 0.6% during the first three months of the year, but analysts think the dip in April is a sign of things to come, with growth expected to be sluggish in the months ahead.
The Bank of England has already warned that it expects UK inflation to increase as a result of the war, possibly reaching 6% in the worst-case scenario.
In April, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it expected the war to hit the UK the hardest of the world's advanced economies.
The figures show clearly that Starmer's Labour government has no spare cash on hand.
Latest numbers confirm UK deficit is up and is £7.7bn overbudget
Data for the first two months of the financial year confirm that the government is under significant fiscal, as well as political, pressure. At the end of May the UK deficit was £8.9bn higher than in 2025 and spending was well over budget.
Data for the first two months of the financial year confirm that the government is under significant fiscal, as well as political, pressure. At the end of May the UK deficit was £8.9bn higher than in 2025 and spending was well over budget.
Public spending outpaces receipts
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) published the monthly public sector finances for May 2026 on Friday 19 June. The ONS reported a provisional fiscal deficit for the month of £23.3bn, which was £5.4bn more than in May 2025 and £5.6bn overbudget.
This brings the deficit for the first two months of the 2026/27 financial year to £46.3bn, £8.9bn more than in the same period a year previously, and £7.7bn more than budgeted.
Martin Wheatcroft, external advisor on public finances to ICAEW, said: “The provisional deficit for the first two months of the financial year was up almost £9bn from the same period last year – close to £8bn more than budgeted – as spending outpaced receipts. A £4bn, or 16%, increase in debt interest was just one element in a difficult story for the public finances.
He continued: “With Rachel Reeves searching high and low for every penny she can find to fund the Defence Investment Plan ahead of the NATO summit next month it is looking like the hope for a reduction in this financial year’s deficit to March 2027 is now in jeopardy just two months into the financial year.”
About those few frigates and ships that the Royal Navy desperately needs, and had been promised in this budget, for sure?
The best Starmer can do is a bunch of drones.
Sorry, mates. Suck it up.
Plans to replace Britain’s ageing warships have reportedly been scrapped from the long-delayed defence investment plan as part of changes aimed at prioritising drones and modernising the armed forces.
Funding for up to eight Type 83 destroyers and five Type 32 frigates will not appear in the spending blueprint which Sir Keir Starmer will unveil within days as he tries to shore up his legacy before leaving No 10, The Sunday Times reported.
Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis is understood to have secured around £1 billion extra for the plan after his predecessor John Healey resigned in protest over a funding row earlier this month.
You know who's got money, though?
Ed 'Net Zero' Miliband, that's who.
He's got enough to give away.
Ed Miliband has just pledged £11.6 BILLION in overseas climate aid.
— Essex Patriot (@Essex_Patriot) July 14, 2026
Yes, £11.6 BILLION.
While millions of British families are struggling with soaring energy bills, waiting weeks for a GP appointment, unable to find an NHS dentist and watching public services decline, Labour's… pic.twitter.com/1Ys0P14iId
...While millions of British families are struggling with soaring energy bills, waiting weeks for a GP appointment, unable to find an NHS dentist and watching public services decline, Labour's Energy Secretary is promising to send billions abroad in the name of "global climate leadership."
As if that wasn't enough, he's also announced another £79 million for clean energy projects in Africa and small island states.
Meanwhile, back in Britain, Net Zero targets keep slipping, major energy projects are delayed, our grid is under increasing pressure and households are still footing the bill.
Although the rock-solid climate cult beliefs he's imposed to the utter ruin of his country do have some wiggle room if it'll buy him what he wants.
Miliband willing to approve North Sea oil to land job as chancellor
Ed Miliband wants to approve drilling in the North Sea to calm market jitters about his possible appointment as chancellor and prove he is no net zero “zealot”.
The Energy Secretary has privately signalled his willingness to grant consent for drilling at the Jackdaw gas field but cannot publicly confirm the move until a consultation closes next month.
Jackdaw, off the coast of Aberdeen, is one of two licences in the North Sea currently held in legal limbo. The other site, Rosebank, would produce oil to be sold in a global market, but Jackdaw would be able to provide enough fuel to heat 1.4 million British homes this winter.
Mr Miliband is keen to show the markets he would be willing to put Britain’s economic growth ahead of his net zero ambitions if he became chancellor amid reports more wealthy people are planning to flee Britain if he moves into No 11.
Andy Burnham, who is set to become prime minister next Monday, has already said he is “open minded” about North Sea drilling to help combat Britain’s cost-of-living crisis.
Never let it be said an unhinged ideologue couldn't be reasonable if it lined up with his own self-interest.
...Claire Coutinho, the shadow energy secretary, said: “After two years of net zero zealotry, Ed Miliband appears to have suddenly discovered the merits of North Sea oil and gas – just as the chancellor job becomes vacant.
“Either Miliband has had a Damascene conversion or, more likely, this is just another empty promise from the man who said he’d get energy bills down but sent them soaring instead.
They're all the same, whatever side of the Atlantic they're on and however posh the accents.
'These are my principles, and if you want to offer me a job, I have others.' (Marx. G)
— Latimer Alder (@latimeralder) July 15, 2026
What a stinking hypocrite!
'Saving the Planet' until its about Saving His Job.https://t.co/4g0ZYzRMwS via @LD_Sceptics
England is toast if this guy gets his hand on the real checkbook, not just the one in his cult addled head.
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