Does Britain care more about bats than people? December 19, 2024 For each animal saved by the £100m the government spent on a ‘bat tunnel’ for HS2 we could have stopped 76 children dying of malaria. The affair illustrates the state’s total inability to consider trade-offs, says Samuel Hughes Last month saw much discussion of the £100m ‘bat tunnel’ built for HS2. There are several morals [...]
Bleak midwinter for the economy? It could be worse… December 19, 2024 The political and economy outlook for the UK may seem gloomy, but spare a thought for our European counterparts, says Tim Sarson It’s the last working week of 2024 for many of us. I’ll be switching off the laptop on Friday afternoon and packing up for what I hope is a restful Christmas break, give [...]
Devolution will give London the powers it needs to thrive December 19, 2024 The government’s plans for a new era of devolution means three things for London, all of which have the potential for the better and for good, says Sadiq Khan When the late, great John Prescott outlined his vision for a Mayor to lead our capital, he said it would “provide a choice and a voice [...]
The class divide: Why social mobility is the missing piece in DEI December 19, 2024 Any DEI framework that’s focused on ethnicity but silent on the messy realities of social mobility risks letting down the very people it’s trying to champion, says Eliza Filby A couple of months ago I was running a workshop for trainees at an international law firm in the UK helping bright Gen Z recruits integrate [...]
It’s not just Waspi women, the government has taken everyone for fools December 18, 2024 You don’t have to agree with the principle of the Waspi women’s campaign to sympathise with their feelings of betrayal. Cynicism is one thing in politics, but saying absolutely anything to get in power will ultimately harm democracy, says Alys Denby Waspi stands for: Women Against State Pension Inequality. It’s a confusing name, because the [...]
Build a new town in London December 18, 2024 The government has committed to building new towns with at least 10,000 homes but where should they go? London is the obvious place, says Jonathan Seager If you were asked to picture a new town in England, what comes to mind? Some of the better-known settlements established in the mid-20th century may well feature – [...]
Labour’s growth gamble will decide Britain’s future December 18, 2024 Labour’s plan to invest for growth is Keynesianism 101. Delivering on it will require discipline and competence — recent history gives us plenty of reasons to be sceptical, says Damian Pudner Britain’s economic fortunes have hit a moment of reckoning. Public debt has ballooned to an eye-watering £2.8 trillion, roughly 100 per cent of GDP. [...]
Monarchists shouldn’t sweat over Prince Andrew December 18, 2024 Prince Andrew is an embarrassment but the Royal Family is still one of Britain’s greatest assets on the international stage, says James Price This Christmas, many of us will be forced to fraternise with embarrassing uncles (not you, if you’re reading this, Uncle Mike!) – and the Royal Family is no exception. As if his [...]
Starmer’s diplomacy downplays “epic scale” of Chinese spying December 17, 2024 Yang Tengbo insists that he is not a spy and that he would “never do anything to harm the interests of the UK.” He was speaking yesterday after instructing his legal team to disclose his identity following the “high level of speculation and misreporting in the media and elsewhere.” Much of that reporting focused on [...]
Recent Conservative governments have been more left wing than Attlee December 17, 2024 Here’s a Christmas quiz: Which has been Britain’s most left-wing government? According to Paul Ormerod, it’s not the one you think…. The extended Christmas holidays loom. One way of filling the time is to think about crucial questions such as who is England’s greatest ever batsman, which football club side is the best the world [...]