Yvette Cooper has announced an urgent national review of the scale of grooming gangs amid a raft of other new measures to tackle them, in a significant shift of approach on the issue after intense political pressure. The announcement does not create the full national inquiry the Conservatives have demanded. It is undeniable, however, that … Read more
Hollywood would struggle to come up with a better plot. On Monday, as Donald Trump returns to the White House, the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) annual talk fest kicks off in Davos. The arch protectionist v the spiritual home of globalisation. The man who says “tariff” is “the most beautiful word in the dictionary” being … Read more
Britain’s centre of power is stalked by a zombie. Across Westminster, the mere mention of her name summons up a grim past, but she remains ever present: blond bob, eyes that never move and a grin slightly aslant so it expresses not mirth, but faint menace. When least expected, she can bark a laugh that … Read more
Patients are dying in hospital corridors and going undiscovered for hours, while others who suffer heart attacks cannot be given CPR because of overcrowding in walkways, a bombshell report on the state of the NHS has revealed. So many patients are being cared for in hospital corridors across the UK that in some cases pregnant … Read more
John, 42, said he was “quite angry” after spending about 24 hours in a hospital corridor in south-west England, having arrived in A&E on Monday afternoon with chest pain. “It was very clear that the hospital was running beyond capacity.” At the time of writing, he had moved to a different hospital in the area … Read more
In theory, Tulip Siddiq’s resignation as a junior Treasury minister ought to be a political bump in the road for Keir Starmer, not a pothole crash. Siddiq is a moderately interesting politician, but not a major one. She is not a household name. She is therefore expendable. The government’s direction is unaffected by her departure. … Read more
Rachel Reeves has been handed breathing space after better-than-expected inflation figures raised expectations for a Bank of England rate cut and reduced UK borrowing costs. After a tough week for the government on the economy, official figures showed inflation unexpectedly cooled in December to 2.5%, down from 2.6% in the previous month, meaning prices rose … Read more
No 10 has been accused of having a “revolving door” after it refused to say whether the new Treasury minister Emma Reynolds would recuse herself from policy on China after she lobbied the government on the issue. Reynolds, who worked as managing director for TheCityUK, a lobby group for banks and other financial services companies, … Read more
It’s becoming existential. First the Tory MPs began to wonder if there was any point to them being in Westminster. Sure, the title impresses some people and gets them one or two freebies, but those minor thrills soon start to pall as reality kicks in. Just drifting in the liminal spaces. Out of power. Out … Read more
On Monday morning, a couple of hours after the UK government’s AI opportunities action plan was published, I started getting messages from artists. “We are not going to continue drawing so that the founders of [AI companies] can get rich. I am quitting this job now,” said one. Another told me: “I have given up … Read more