Alexander Baker

Alexander Baker is a senior researcher at the Prosperity Institute.

Friday

Alexander Baker

More youth clubs won’t fix London’s crime woes

From our UK edition

The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has pledged £30 million to fund a youth club in every London borough. This latest round of goodwill no doubt came about thanks to last week’s youth-driven public disorder, most visible in Clapham but replicated elsewhere across the country. These events were social media inspired ‘link ups’ with participants largely drawn from a similar socio-ethnic background, where the rioting and disorder were part of the entertainment. The idea that hubs or clubs are somehow responsible for improving behaviour sounds nice, but the evidence is flimsy The idea that this might be curbed by introducing new youth clubs is a tired one.

Friday

Alexander Baker

Was Starmer ever serious about shrinking the British state?

From our UK edition

A year ago today, the Prime Minister gave a speech on the 'fundamental reform of the British state'. 'We don’t want a bigger state, or an intrusive state, an ever-expanding state,' he declared. 'We were elected to take on blockers and deliver change, and that is what we’ll do.' On this momentous anniversary, let us take stock of the progress of Sir Keir’s quest to take on the checkers and blockers.   Back when Starmer delivered the speech last March, the portents already looked inauspicious. Despite indicating that he would like to reduce the power of quangos, it was revealed that the new Labour government had overseen the creation of at least twenty new public bodies in their first eight months in power.

Saturday

Alexander Baker

Sharing our nukes with Germany would be madness

From our UK edition

'Utter and complete poppycock': that was Viscount Montgomery of Alamein's verdict on an US proposal in the 1960s for a multilateral nuclear force crewed by international Nato personnel. Famed for defeating the Nazis in North Africa, Monty didn't mince his words about that plan. There's little doubt what he'd make of the quiet resurgence of multilateral nuclear thinking. Defence chiefs in Britain – including a former chief of defence staff and Nato secretary general – have been urging the government to consider sharing Britain’s nuclear arsenal with Germany, which has none of its own.

Thursday

Alexander Baker

Is the UK-EU defence pact a threat to Nato?

From our UK edition

The Nato meeting of defence ministers in Brussels today will give its participants an opportunity to discuss the issues facing the alliance in perhaps a more cordial, if frank, manner before the inevitably more theatrical leaders’ summit in The Hague at the end of the month. Much of the focus will be on proposed defence expenditure increases, not least in Britain, where following the publication of the government’s Strategic Defence Review (SDR) this week there were suggestions that Nato would 'force' Keir Starmer to raise defence spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP. Next week’s spending review should cast light on how feasible this is, given current plans to reach 2.5 per cent by 2027. At the same time, Europe is bracing for a diplomatic rollercoaster of a month.

Thursday

Alexander Baker

Should police have the power to search homes without a warrant?

From our UK edition

It’s back. The government is once again attempting to give the police powers to search homes without a warrant. Buried within the mammoth Crime and Policing Bill that is currently making its way through parliament are a couple of clauses that give the police warrantless powers of entry to search and seize stolen goods. Ministers and MPs are clearly desperate to be seen to be doing something about the rampant theft of easily traceable phones, bikes and other possessions, especially across the capital. But while one might see the appeal of the Old Bill being given the green light to kick down doors at will to rescue stolen phones, we should recognise that doing so has serious consequences for personal liberty and privacy.

Wednesday

Alexander Baker

Watering down police search warrants won’t help cut phone theft

From our UK edition

Your phone has been stolen. In the bustle of the crowd there’s no way of telling who took it and how far away it is by now. Luckily, you’re with a friend and can use any number of tracking apps to quickly pinpoint the exact location of the stolen phone. You bound over to the nearest policeman to report the crime and location, only to be met with a shrug and perhaps a crime reference number.   For those of you who spend too much time on X, the above story may sound familiar. It tends to do the rounds every couple of months, usually related to a stolen phone, laptop, or bike, and accompanied by a photo of GPS coordinates marking the stolen goods and a rant about ineffectual policing.