AI and digitally-enabled healthcare could be revolutionary – but what about the fine print? June 6, 2025 AI and digital technology hold transformative potential for healthcare, but to fully realise their benefits, we must address public concerns around trust, misinformation, and regulation while ensuring the human element of care remains central, says Heather Smith As Sir Tony Blair said this week, there is enormous potential for digital and AI technology to reshape [...]
Labour exploring plans for ‘Britcard’ digital ID to curb illegal migration June 6, 2025 Labour is exploring a new national, universal digital ID card for every adult in the UK to tackle illegal migration. The ID is being tentatively branded as ‘Britcard’, and could be downloaded onto a smartphone in the shape of a “free verifier app”. Plans for the digital ID were laid out in detail by the [...]
Luton Airport appoints former Labour cabinet minister as new chair May 5, 2025 Luton Airport has appointed former Labour cabinet minister and peer Lord John Hutton as chair as it presses ahead with plans to significantly expand capacity. Lord Hutton served in both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown’s cabinets as Secretary of State for Defence, Business and in the Department for Work and Pensions, where he led initiatives [...]
Solar panels must be fitted on all new homes from 2027 in net zero push May 1, 2025 New rules will mandate that housebuilders fit solar panels on the roofs of almost every new-build home from 2027, in a move slammed as an “ideological crusade”. According to a report in The Times, the policy change would add around £3,300 to the cost of building a semi-detached or terraced house, with a £4,000 premium [...]
Tony Blair calls for Net Zero ‘reset’ in break with Miliband April 30, 2025 Sir Tony Blair has called for a reset of “irrational” Net Zero plans, with an extended critique of the current state of the climate debate that has been seen as a direct rebuke to the energy secretary Ed Miliband. Blair, the last Labour leader to win an election before Sir Keir Starmer, cautioned in a [...]
Tony Blair is right to call for ‘reset’ of ludicrous Net Zero debate April 30, 2025 If energy secretary Ed Miliband still believes that critics of his dash to Net Zero are peddlers of “nonsense and lies” he has a new name to add to his list of dangerous misinformation merchants: Tony Blair. I do appreciate that some people believe that his name belongs on exactly that kind of list, but [...]
Jimmy Carter: King Charles and PM honour former US president after his death aged 100 December 30, 2024 Sir Keir Starmer has led a host of tributes to former US president Jimmy Carter, saying he “redefined the post-presidency with a remarkable commitment to social justice and human rights at home and abroad”. The Prime Minister said Mr Carter, who died aged 100, will be remembered for the Camp David Accords between Israel and [...]
Political deaths in 2024: The well-known names we lost in the last year December 30, 2024 Whether a former deputy Prime Minister infamous for throwing a punch, to a Scottish independence campaigner and former First Minister, 2024 saw the deaths of several political heavyweights. As the year draws to a close, we look back at the lives of some well-known Westminster names who have died over the past 12 months. Derek [...]
The Capitalist: King tickles Starmer, a French misstep and Blair’s good advice December 5, 2024 It’s the way he tells them To the ancient Guildhall in the heart of the City at the start of this week, where the new Lord Mayor Alastair King welcomed Sir Keir Starmer for the PM’s traditional foreign policy speech. The banquet is always a grand affair; white tie, no less, with judges, ambassadors, City [...]
Who will be Labour’s next John Prescott? November 25, 2024 He couldn’t have been more different to Tony Blair, yet John Prescott ended up being our longest serving deputy prime minister. But is there a talent like him in Starmer’s cabinet? Asks William Atkinson As well as having a decent right hook, the late John Prescott was our longest-serving deputy prime minister (DPM). The formal creation of the [...]