On This Day : Reagan declares: “We begin bombing in five minutes” August 11, 2026 On this day in 1984, a lighthearted quip from Ronald Reagan nearly sparked World War Three, writes Eliot Wilson Ronald Reagan was an old pro. By the summer of 1984, it was more than 50 years since he had made his radio debut as a sports broadcaster for WOC in Davenport, Iowa, commentating on baseball [...]
Burnham should go on a ‘cost of doing business’ tour August 11, 2026 An alarming note from one of the City’s top economists warns that October’s Budget could see taxes rise by almost the same amount as they did last year when Rachel Reeves cooked up £26bn worth of fresh hikes. Ruth Gregory, Deputy Chief UK Economist at Capital Economics, suggests that higher taxes “perhaps worth up to [...]
Richard Branson: Support founders to build the next Virgin in Britain August 11, 2026 We must give every founder the best chance to flourish, so the future Virgins, Microsofts and Googles of the world are also built by British entrepreneurs, says Sir Richard Branson I was very flattered by Philip Salter’s suggestion that Britain needs another Richard Branson. But beyond the headline, we need to do more to champion [...]
Going on holiday as Prime Minister comes at a cost August 11, 2026 Prime Ministers too deserve a holiday, just maybe not while your party's still fighting for survival, writes Michael Martins.
On this day: ‘We begin bombing in five minutes’ – Reagan’s accidental broadcast August 11, 2026 On this day, 11 August 1984, a risqué joke from Ronald Reagan accidentally made his weekly radio broadcast, writes Eliot Wilson.
Burnham is wrong. Devolution will only grow Whitehall August 10, 2026 Despite promises to streamline, the Civil Service has only grown and grown. Burnham's devolution will make it worse, says Arthur Reynolds.
Improve technical education for women to plug engineer shortage August 10, 2026 Technical education, in particular for women and ethnic minorities, has a big role to play in addressing the skills shortage in engineering.
‘Good growth in every postcode’ is a woeful catchphrase August 10, 2026 Burnham and co's bid to 'back British' and generate 'good growth' everywhere is a bid to fool voters with their own money, writes Eliot Wilson.
The BBC shouldn’t push Londoners to accept antisocial phone behaviour August 7, 2026 Life is already hard enough. The public don’t need commentators telling them that playing music out loud on public transport is a kind of performance art, writes Matt Kenyon A few years back, I was sitting on a Chiltern Rail train opposite a woman who didn’t realise her headphones weren’t properly plugged in, as her [...]
Britain’s problem isn’t too much Thatcherism, but too little August 7, 2026 Margaret Thatcher remains a bogeyman for Andy Burnham and the British left despite having left Downing Street 35 years ago, but their critiques are wide of the mark, says Emma Revell Everyone has someone or something they blame when things get tough. Astrology girlies use the position of Mercury to absolve themselves of any responsibility [...]