Explainer: Back to work, Britain. Is Hunt’s plan to get people out of retirement working? May 16, 2023 It was one of the key ambitions of Jeremy Hunt's spring budget, to get Britain back to work, and on the surface, it seems to be working.
UK isn’t alone in this recession merry-go-round – just look at Europe May 16, 2023 It’s worth remembering that Britain isn’t some sort of pariah in the rich world that’s undergoing a tough economic slump, which is threatening to extend the growth slow down since the 2008 financial crisis. Europe’s major economies, led by Germany, its powerhouse, are also in the teeth of a slump. Numbers out last week revealed [...]
To win younger voters, Labour needs to weed out the anti-housing nimbys May 16, 2023 Labour wants to portray itself as the party of housing. But to succeed, Keir Starmer will have to manage nymbies on his backbenches, showing he's serious about building new homes, writes Elena Siniscalco
A CEO-style figure managing Whitehall would make achieving real reform possible May 16, 2023 Our ministers can't enact reform because they're often blocked by an outdated Whitehall system. We should improve it with a CEO-style figure who would manage departments effectively, writes Tim Knox
Our tax system is not as bad as we think – but it won’t be our magic bullet for growth May 16, 2023 Our taxes are not attracting nor repelling many businesses; they sit somewhere in the middle. It's not that bad, but we shouldn't rely on our tax system to boost our economy any time soon, writes Tim Sarson
Explainer: Rishi Sunak goes further with military support for Ukraine May 15, 2023 The United Kingdom has been holding a leading role in gathering Western support for Ukraine since Russia’s invasion. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy used to call Boris Johnson “a true friend” and praised him even in his last days as prime minister. Johnson was, indeed, the most vocal supporter of Zelenskyy, and took leadership in ensuring [...]
Braverman’s fight with the Lords over migration laws is unconstitutional May 15, 2023 Suella Braverman is trying to delegitimise the House of Lords' efforts to amend her migration laws, saying the Lords have to respect the will of the British people. This strategy is dangerous, writes Eliot Wilson
Productive relations with the EU are a win-win for the City and the UK as a whole May 15, 2023 The City can only benefit from improved relations between the UK and the EU. As the leading financial centre, the Square Mile should push for even stronger cooperation with EU partners, writes Chris Hayward
Prevention is the last chance left to save the NHS from an inevitable death spiral May 15, 2023 As NHS waiting lists reach a record high, we should seriously invest into prevention - so we can save lives, free up hospital beds and ultimately save money for the health service, writes Hamish Grierson
Explainer: After the political spats with Italy and the UK, what is France’s strategy on migration? May 12, 2023 Who loves a diplomatic row? Surely France, especially when it comes to migration. After endless squabbles with the UK over pretty much everything related to the Channel, Emmanuel Macron’s government has just finished having a punchy exchange with the Italian right-wing government of Giorgia Meloni. The drama started unfolding last week. The French interior minister [...]