May
2026
The Times They Are A-Changin’: It’s a Mad World!
DIY Investor
28 May 2026
“Hide my head, I wanna drown my sorrow
No tomorrow, no tomorrow”
Recent conversations with an old friend showed just how much events and media coverage can impact someone’s views.
The individual, whilst he would deny it, was from a working-class family, university educated, and a business owner. As time has passed, they have assumed the image of Edwardian England, a latter-day Noel Coward.
I would describe him as one of Thatcher’s “children”; low tax, free-markets.
But, now they have moved on; whereas previously I saw them as sexist now they sounded misogynistic. Racism was there, with ongoing references to Britain becoming Islamabad. Inequality is irrelevant, people need to help themselves.
Labour, especially under Burnham would bankrupt the country.
‘Labour, especially under Burnham would bankrupt the country’
They even cited Ronald Reagan’s quote that the nine most terrifying words in the English language are: “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.”
The conversation set me thinking. They clearly believed the propaganda.
They aren’t a user of social media, but much of the TV, newspaper and online media is increasingly right-wing.
There are exceptions; the mainstream TV channels are largely independent, the Guardian is left-wing, but objectively so, the Daily Mirror is pro-Labour. The FT aside, the rest are, in varying degrees, right-wing.
Within this they have a clear agenda, to return a right-wing government. From the day Labour regained power everything became their fault. The fact that the majority of our problems are long-term and inherited by the incumbent was irrelevant.
Every false step the PM or minister’s makes it met with headlines of ”resign.”
Every saga plays out in agonising detail on the front page, E.G., Angela Rayner’s “mistake” over stamp duty.
Normally, they would champion the Tories, but their desperation for a right-wing government is leading them towards Farage and Reform.
‘their desperation for a right-wing government is leading them towards Farage and Reform’
Farage, as we know, was the inspiration for a Brexit the right-wing media supported. Nowhere is there any acknowledgment that is hasn’t worked out, whilst Farage himself is totally unchallenged on the subject.
Before Christmas there was a series of reports in the Guardian and TV news, regarding Farage’s antisemitic behaviour at school.
A whole raft of ex-pupils came forward detailing his comments, identifying the victim, etc.. But, in the majority of the media there was silence.
Farage’s excuses were all over the place; he hadn’t said it, he didn’t mean it, it was just 1970s banter….
The same saga is now being played-out with political donations, such as the previously undisclosed £5m donation from Thai-based crypto tycoon Christopher Harborne received only days before he decided to stand for parliament. Initially this was passed off as required to fund his future security, more recently it was a gift for delivering Brexit.
Now there are questions being asked about Russian interference.
There are also outstanding questions over his claim that he used a fee from appearing on “I’m A Celebrity” to buy a £1.4m home. The fee had been paid to his company, “Thorn In The Side Limited”. However, the company accounts appear to suggest the income he received remained in his account after the house purchase.
Reform have also denied that Farage used any of the afore mentioned £5m gift in the house purchase 36- days later.
They say love is blind, but in the media case, it seems to be deaf and dumb, too!
‘it would be interesting to see how people reacted to VAT at 70%!’
As it appears likely that Andy Burham will challenge for the Labour leadership, the media has been quick to highlight the concerns of the bond market, fearing a return to old-style tax and spend Labour, bankrupting the country.
What they don’t report is the role the BoE has played in increasing our borrowing rates.
Readers will likely recollect that after the GFC, central banks, including the BoE, embarked on massive “unconventional” gilt purchases, known as quantitative easing (“QE”). This lasted through the pandemic.
By September 2022, the BoE, the largest holder of gilts, started to unwind its position, known as quantitative tightening, (“QT”), to help deal with inflationary pressure from the war in Ukraine.
As anyone with even a basic understanding of markets will know, when large positions are sold this is highly likely to push prices down. Aside from locking-in capital losses, the BoE’s selling increased yields on all outstanding gilts.
This is basic bond mathematics. Market participants warned this would happen, and other large central banks, clearly better versed in markets, decided to maintain their bond holdings until maturity.
To date, the BoE has sold £134bn in gilts, year-to-date it has sold £7.6bn, with another £12bn planned. Investors calculate that active QT has added up to 0.7% to UK borrowing costs, sometimes referred to as the “Bailey premium”. Without this premium, the UK government would borrow at cheaper rates than the US.
Turning to tax, my friend proposed abolishing all tax except VAT; his argument was based on VAT being a consumption tax based on choice.
There is some logic to this; VAT generates C. £171bn to £178bn annually. It is the government’s third-largest source of taxation, accounting for roughly 17% of total national tax revenues. However, it would be interesting to see how people reacted to VAT at 70%!
‘Clearly, being a child of Thatcherism comes with baggage many don’t wish to acknowledge’
Finally, we end with Islamabad….here, I think he has been influenced by relatives who still live in his old home town, which for the sake of discretion we will say is in the West Midlands
According to the 2021 Census, there are up to 4,000 Muslims residing there, totalling up to 3.7% of the local population. It should be noted that this is an increase from 2,895 in 2011.
I’m not sure 3.7% qualifies as being invaded or deserving of the term Islamabad.
On closer inspection, I discovered that the town is officially considered a deprived area, the most deprived local authority district in the county. Several neighbourhoods are in the most deprived 10% to 20% nationally.
‘21% of the 949 people detained in England and NI after the immigration riots of 2024, were later accused of violence against an intimate partner’
What became clear is that much of the areas problems stem from Thatcher’s deindustrialisation.
Aside from mining, the textile firms there ceased operations in the 1980s. there was also the restructuring and downsizing of the Midlands automotive supply chains during the 1970s and 1980s.
Perhaps the reasons the Muslim population is growing can be explained by the fact that property is more affordable there than in much of the country.
Before finishing, I wanted to highlight reported police data shows that 21% of the 949 people detained in England and NI after the immigration riots of 2024, were later accused of violence against an intimate partner.
Specifically, the offences include common assault, controlling and coercive behaviour, breach of domestic violence protection notice and injunctions, threats to kill, actual bodily harm, and criminal damage.
More detail can be found at:
Clearly, being a child of Thatcherism comes with baggage many don’t wish to acknowledge.
“The dreams in which I’m dying
Are the best I’ve ever had”
Today’s piece is loosely based on a conversation with a friend last week.
Although I would describe them as dyed-in-the-wool Tories, their position had become more extreme.
Much of it—the business with tax, Labor being tax and spend—is noise. It was however, more obvious—call it the “f**k you” school of economics—with me being described as a champagne socialist. One bedecked in Armani for good measure!
The real frightener was the “Islamabad” comments. This is a good example of the prevalence of Islamophobia, as Muslims become the Jews of the 21st century.
The data regarding the 2024 rioters comes as no surprise. Looking at many of them they had fewer brain cells than they had hair!
Farage has given us pub politics and mob rule is part and parcel of that.
In many ways, this summarises much of what these columns have always warned against.
Lyrically, no surprises: it’s “Mad World” by Tears for Fears.
Philip.
@coldwarsteve
Philip Gilbert is a city-based corporate financier, and former investment banker.
Philip is a great believer in meritocracy, and in the belief that if you want something enough you can make it happen. These beliefs were formed in his formative years, of the late 1970s and 80s
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