Digital ID cards are a sign of a Groundhog Day government that’s out of ideas October 2, 2025 Digital ID cards – or ‘Brit cards’ as Starmer calls them – are a Blair-era policy being recycled at the worst possible time, says James Ford It has been estimated that there are no fewer than 138 movie sequels currently in production. By any estimate, that is a lot of sequels. Even Homer Simpson is [...]
Keir Starmer unveils ‘Brit card’ to tackle illegal migration September 26, 2025 The UK government will introduce a mandatory digital ID card – labelled the ‘Brit card’ – in a bid to make Whitehall more efficient and take control of illegal work by some migrants as Keir Starmer said the country had to take on “the politics of predatory grievance”. The Prime Minister announced plans on Friday [...]
Keir Starmer puts Treasury manpower in No 10 at expense of Reeves September 1, 2025 Keir Starmer has made a series of new appointments that point to his drive to bolster No10’s focus on the UK economy at the expense of the Treasury. Starmer has given Darren Jones the newly-created position of chief secretary to the prime minister after he previously served as the chief secretary to the Treasury. In [...]
Top private school faces job cuts after Reeves’ tax grab June 21, 2025 A prestigious private school has said it may be forced to make job cuts due to the Labour government’s removal of VAT exemption on school fees. Edinburgh-based Fettes College – where former Prime Minister Tony Blair is among alumni – has said the introduction of VAT on school fees contributed to the “difficult” decision to [...]
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 [...]