Enough with the "levelling up" nonsense. Let's actually balance the books.

I was down in Dover last week visiting my sister, and you can't help but notice the strain. So many new faces, and frankly, it feels like the local infrastructure is creaking under the pressure. The shops are packed, the buses are full, and you wonder how much longer it can all be sustained without proper planning and, more importantly, the funding to match. It's not about being unwelcoming, it's about being realistic.

This brings me to what I think is the core economic issue we're facing: the complete lack of fiscal discipline masquerading as "investment." For years now, we've been told that throwing money at grand projects, often with questionable returns, is the way forward. "Levelling up" was the latest iteration of this flawed thinking. It sounds good, but where's the tangible benefit to the taxpayer?