My new stuff column

I’m now doing a column for The Post and my first one is here. It’s on the health system. It’s paywalled, but to give you an idea of what it covers here is one paragraph:

At the time of Labour’s 2018 budget where they promised $1.9 billion extra funding for mental health, there were 746 adult inpatient mental health beds. Four years later this had dropped to 723. $1.9 billion more funding and fewer beds could almost be a script for a Yes Minister episode.

It does take special skill to spend so much more, and produce so much less.