Gove has signed a cladding deal – but it could kickstart a fight over affordable homes April 14, 2022 Political tensions enmeshed in the cladding crisis have raised their ugly heads again this week, as developers have come out and argued they won’t be able to build enough affordable homes if they’re made to pay even more for cladding remediation. Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove has secured his first real win, with a deal [...]
Behind-the-story: A British volunteer soldier turned twitter persona April 13, 2022 The war in Ukraine has been fought on two fronts: on land against Russian troops – and on social media. Aiden Aslin, a British national fighting with the Ukrainian forces, personified these simultaneous struggles. The former care worker from Newark, in Nottinghamshire, was engaged in the very real fight against Russian troops. But was also [...]
From Calais, with love: CCTV funding rows capture our migration challenge April 12, 2022 In the first five weeks of war in Ukraine, more than four million people have fled their home, according to the United Nations. The bulk of these have gone to Poland, but many are trying to find permanent homes elsewhere in Europe. Before introducing the Homes for Ukraine scheme, the UK was scrambling to process [...]
Explainer-in-brief: Energy strategy won’t push prices down for years to come April 11, 2022 When asked about the effect the newly unveiled energy strategy would have on prices, business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng replied“the impact could be very soon”. By very soon, he specified, he meant three or four years. Now, we know a transition to sustainable energy produced here takes time. No government could simply do some magic and [...]
Explainer-in-brief: Downing Street’s non-domicile resident April 8, 2022 The latest in a string of bad news for the chancellor’s PR team post-spring statement is, unfortunately, his other half. Akshata Murty, the daughter of an Indian billionaire, has apparently been claiming non-domicile status since she moved to the UK in 2015. This means Murty pays tax on money earned in the UK, but not [...]
As we loosen Russia’s grip on energy, we mustn’t hand the reins to Beijing April 7, 2022 As the much delayed energy strategy is set to come out today, one thing is clear: the rhetoric has been centered around the need to phase out Russian oil and gas, and increase British self-reliance. Reaching both of these aims won’t be possible in the short-run, as an energy revolution of such Herculean proportions takes [...]
Closing the autism employment gap means success for businesses up and down the country April 6, 2022 Tracy Clements is an English and Drama teacher. An avid traveller, she’s married with two kids and she’s on the autism spectrum. She’s in a safe job she likes, but she’s almost an exception. Only 22 per cent of autistic adults were employed in the UK in 2020 – but one in ten people across [...]
Explainer-in-brief: Macron gears up for the first hurdle of the election April 5, 2022 France will head to the first set of polls this Sunday, with Emmanuel Macron widely expected to be re-elected – but not without a challenge. He currently sits with a projected 27 per cent lead, followed by right-wing Marine Le Pen who has around 20 per cent, hard-left Jean-Luc Melenchon with 15 per cent and [...]
Explainer-in-brief: Behind the upcoming energy strategy April 4, 2022 As we brace ourselves for higher energy bills this month, the energy strategy is expected to finally come out this week. Boris Johnson has made clear that his juice of choice is nuclear, setting the goal of getting a quarter of the country’s electricity from nuclear power. Yet nuclear can’t be the only homemade source, [...]
Explainer-in-brief: A fertiliser win for farmers – even if it stinks April 1, 2022 British farmers have won a battle over manure in a bid to find alternatives to increasingly unaffordable and scarce chemical fertilisers. Fertiliser costs have been steadily going up, with the last spike following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The government had previously banned using manure as a fertiliser last autumn. This decision was taken following concerns [...]
