The Thunderer returns - second quote of the day for New Years' Day 2025

The Times newspaper was once nicknamed "The Thunderer" for its' willingness to publish hard-hitting leader articles which put the boot into anyone who deserved it, from the government down.

The paper's first leader of 2025 is in that mould.

It addresses Elon Musk's criticism of the anti-business policies of the Starmer adminisration and concludes, rightly in my humble opinion, that although not everything Musk says about Britain is accurate, the fundamentals of his critique of Starmer's anti-business approach are spot on.

The paper says that

"His numerous detractors will be pained to admit it but Mr Musk is, on this, right.

Sir Keir's government has claimed to be unashamedly pro-growth and pro-business. The reality could not be starker. During it's first six months in office, ministers have seemingly gone out of their way to discourage investment."

"Mr Musk's attack grasps all that wrong with the Starmer government. instead of embracing enterprise, the only clear motivation from Sir Keir's government is to grow an increasingly assertive public sector that will, in turn, squeeze investment."

"At every turn, the prime minister's instinct has been to encourage statism. Investors seeking fertile ground to grow their enterprises will find little to like in the UK.

Many of the problems lie in the psyche of senior ministers. Ms Reeves has scant experience of the private sector. Neither does Sir Keir."

"Businesses are right to feel hoodwinked by Sir Keir and Ms Reeves, who pledged many times during the election campaign that taxes would not shoot up. Instead they have faced £40 billion of rises."

Here is the full article.