At least half the 40 new hospitals promised by Boris Johnson will not be built until the 2040s, the Guardian has learned, in a move described as “devastating” for staff and patients. Labour is preparing to announce that many of the crumbling NHS hospitals in England due to be replaced by 2030 are in effect … Read more
The economist John Van Reenen lacks the public status of Gordon Brown’s “two Eds” – Balls and Miliband – who ranged across Whitehall in New Labour’s first term, enforcing the Treasury’s will.But ask today’s Labour apparatchiks about Rachel Reeves’s approach to growth, which she will set out in a speech later this month, and they … Read more
The task of deconstructing the internal manoeuvrings of the leadership of the Soviet Union was once regarded as little short of a science such was the paucity of information. Today, the court of Donald Trump is perhaps no less enigmatic – but for quite different reasons. Trumpologists trying to keep up with the machinations of … Read more
Lord Wolfson: “My worry is it’s going to be harder and harder for people to enter the workforce” Tax changes announced in the Budget could make it “harder for people to enter the workforce”, according to the boss of retail giant Next. Lord Wolfson told the BBC that a rise in National Insurance paid by … Read more
Well, finally. Only eight years on from kneecapping the economy and crowing “you lost, get over it” at anyone impertinent enough to notice, a Conservative party leader has tacitly admitted the painfully obvious: Brexit was an act of wilful negligence by a government that dragged Britain out of its most important trading relationship “before we … Read more
The MP for Runcorn and Helsby, Mike Amesbury, has pleaded guilty to assault. Appearing at Chester magistrates court, Amesbury, who was suspended by the Labour party after an investigation, admitted the single charge of section 39 assault in relation to an incident after a night out in his constituency. Police interviewed Amesbury, 55, after footage … Read more
It was unusual to see Muhammad Yunus, a widely respected Nobel laureate and the chief adviser of the unelected interim government of Bangladesh, taking aim at a British minister, accusing Tulip Siddiq of benefiting from “plain robbery” in his home country and calling for her to apologise. But once that happened, things moved swiftly: accusations … Read more
Keir Starmer has announced a “historic” 100-year partnership with Ukraine, saying the UK would support the country “beyond this terrible war” and into a future where it is “free and thriving again”. Speaking during his first trip to Kyiv as prime minister, Starmer said the unprecedented agreement reflected the “huge affection between our two nations”. … Read more
Seeing is not always believing. Fair to say that Kemi Badenoch’s time as leader of the Tory party has not got off to the best of starts. Hopeless at prime minister’s questions and seemingly already out of ideas, many in the party are already looking around for possible successors. Even Robert Jenrick. Things really are … Read more
Labour’s plan to push through £3bn of cuts to incapacity benefits has received a setback after a judge ruled an official consultation setting out the proposals was misleading and unlawful. The high court said the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) had presented UK-wide incapacity benefit assessment reforms as a way to support disabled people … Read more