British pundit laments 'basket-case Britain' in Daily Mail column

A Daily Mail column by veteran commentator Richard Littlejohn depicts Britain as a “basket-case” nation, arguing that the current government and its policies have produced a cascade of social and economic problems. Published on Sept. 25, 2025, the piece portrays a mood of fatigue with recent headlines and a sense that controls over domestic affairs have deteriorated under the leadership of Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Littlejohn contends that the next four years under Labour would likely worsen conditions, citing what he calls a far-Left agenda and highlighting policy ideas such as a mansion tax on property in London and the South East, along with a return to a 50p top rate of income tax. He argues these steps would discourage investment and prompt high earners to relocate funds abroad, echoing long-standing criticisms of tax policy and revenue forecasting. He also references welfare spending projected toward £100 billion annually and notes reports that anxiety- and depression-related benefit claims have surged since the pandemic, with around 700,000 people signed off and roughly 250 more joining each day. He adds that some claimants would be tens of thousands of pounds better off than minimum-wage workers who stay in the labor market, framing the dynamic as evidence of an impairment to work incentives.

The column transitions to concerns about everyday economic fragility, including predictions that a significant share of pubs could close next year due to alcohol duty, business rates and tax changes, while hospitality losses have already been tallied in the tens of thousands of jobs. He attributes much of the housing market’s weakness to fears of higher property taxes, noting that sales fell through in a fifth of transactions in a recent month as buyers hesitated.

Crime and public safety are depicted as deteriorating in parallel with fiscal anxieties. Littlejohn describes what he calls an “epidemic” of shoplifting and other street crime, arguing that police have withdrawn from communities and that surveillance footage shows persistent theft with minimal police intervention. He cites a two-tier justice system, alleging uneven treatment across cases, including a Muslim individual notched into a controversial incident outside a mosque. He accuses some political actors of endorsing forms of religious arbitration and warns that mass immigration has become a top voter concern, pointing to local controversies over migrant transport and housing arrangements, such as taxis to appointments and hotels for new arrivals.

On foreign affairs, the column suggests that Starmer’s government has faced mixed outcomes. It contends that a close relationship with the United States yields a limited economic upside while traditional sectors like fishing and manufacturing face new frictions with European partners. The piece argues that promises to support Ukraine with equipment and troops are unrealistic given Britain’s own fiscal pressures and naval maintenance backlogs, framing the scenario as emblematic of broader strategic and resource constraints.

Littlejohn also casts doubt on several domestic and international policy moves, including what he describes as a punitive approach to motorists through a new levy and widening road-use charges, as well as the potential implementation of national identity documentation. He concludes with a bleak assessment of the government’s ability to stabilize the country, characterizing the era as a risky period for the British economy, security, and social cohesion, while still acknowledging that readers can rely on newspapers to provide a continuous stream of headlines.

In closing, the columnist reiterates his long-standing habit of daily newspaper consumption and, while expressing disappointment, implies that sustained scrutiny of leadership and policy remains essential for ordinary Britons. The column encapsulates a blend of familiar critiques about taxation, immigration, policing, and welfare, framed as a urgent warning about the country’s trajectory.