Letters: New Starmer, New Labour May 5, 2022 [Re: Keir Starmer could not have a stronger position – but he’s still squandering it, May 4] Maybe Keir Starmer’s problem isn’t that he’s not using the fruits of Boris Johnson’s failure, but that he is playing the New Labour tune at all. Tony Blair is one of the few Labour Prime Ministers to make [...]
Explainer-in-brief: The cost of delays of the Elizabeth line May 5, 2022 The Elizabeth line is finally due to open on May 24, the week before the Queen’s jubilee. Given the line’s name is an homage to the Queen’s legacy, this almost sounds like perfect timing. In reality, the line has been troubled by four years of problematic delays. It was meant to launch in December 2018, [...]
Boris Johnson needs to find the Tory heartlands before he fights for them May 5, 2022 The biggest challenge facing the Conservative Party is not just the growing question of who leads it but also where in the country it can build an electoral majority. Put simply: is the future heart of conservatism likely to be in Southern home counties or in the post-industrial towns of the North and Midlands? The [...]
We should be creating a Right to Build not reviving more Thatcherite dreams May 5, 2022 This week, Boris Johnson mooted the idea of breathing new life into the Thatcherite right-to-buy policy. As the Conservatives face down the barrel of fierce local elections, headline-grabbing policies are a useful tool. With the new right-to-buy scheme, up to 2.5 million households could be able to buy their homes at a discounted price of [...]
As the British Virgin Islands fights off corruption, the UK must learn our help can hurt May 5, 2022 Last week, the Premier of the British Virgin Islands was arrested in the US on drug smuggling charges; corruption and the ongoing power imbalance in the dying embers of the British empire has once more been thrust into the spotlight. This is a constitutional crisis. However, the proposed solution of direct rule from London reveals [...]
Letters: Don’t dye me a dirty river May 4, 2022 [Re: Fast fashion slammed over cargo plane usage, May 3] The clamour over emissions from fast fashion brands using aircraft to ship stock into the UK is valid. However, an even bigger problem for the fashion industry, which needs urgent attention, is the punishing environmental impact of textile dyeing processes. According to the Carbon Literacy [...]
Explainer-in-brief: A very leaky Supreme Court judgment May 4, 2022 Yesterday, a leaked draft judgment from the Supreme Court suggested Roe v Wade could be overturned. The ruling has protected a woman’s right to an abortion in the US since 1973. If it is overruled, it would return the power to decide on abortion reforms to individual states. A host of states have already begun [...]
Starmer could hardly ask for a stronger position – but he’s still squandering it May 4, 2022 You couldn’t open Twitter on Sunday without seeing the name – Tony Blair. Sunday marked 25 years since New Labour trounced John Major’s broken Conservative Party at the 1997 General Election. Mr Blair handed the Tories – riddled with sleaze and incompetence – their worst drubbing since 1906. Less than a year before, the die [...]
Sprinkling local football clubs with money won’t make them sustainable endeavours May 4, 2022 The domestic football season has come to a dramatic close, with two sides from the North West jostling for the title and four London teams competing frantically for the coveted spots in Europe. Since its inception, clubs from these two areas have dominated the Premiership, especially over the past twenty years. Perhaps it is something [...]
Sunak must welcome Bitcoin into the financial markets with its core principles intact May 4, 2022 Mainland Brits often joke about their expat compatriots in Gibraltar, saying that watches have to be turned back 20 years when you’re there. Gibraltar has always been a popular target for condescension. Yet this supposedly “backward” place has been consistently ahead of the curve on Bitcoin adoption and regulation. In 2018, the territory was the [...]