Hunt plots an ‘OK, but’ budget to spread the pain and fling it to the future November 18, 2022 As Jeremy Hunt competed for headlines with the Australian soap opera Neighbours, its theme song was unwitting inspiration for his financial plan.
Explainer-in-brief: Tax rises? Make it someone else’s problem November 15, 2022 As the Autumn statement looms this week, Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt are trying, desperately, to do anything except break the manifesto promise not to raise income tax. But by freezing income tax thresholds people will wind up paying more anyway, without actually having to break the promise. Elsewhere, there were suggestions council tax could [...]
Explainer-in-brief: An NHS with too much to bear November 11, 2022 All year, the crisis in the NHS has been worsening, with many fearing the effects of the winter months and a flu season. But October was the worst month in the NHS’ entire history. The number of people waiting more than 12 hours in A&E hit 43,792, and only 69 per cent of patients were [...]
Explainer-in-brief: A return to identity cards… on the cards? November 9, 2022 It might be that in an era after vaccine passes, there is much less opposition. But they still need to be proven effective before justifying the cost.
Explainer-in-brief: Trying to fill the £50bn blackhole November 7, 2022 Rishi Sunak and his chancellor, Jeremy Hunt have a £50bn hole to fill in the budget. And big infrastructure projects could be on the chopping block, including the new nuclear power station in Suffolk, Sizewell C.
Explainer-in-brief: Ben Wallace and his hardline for defence spending October 27, 2022 Ben Wallace is one of the few faces in Rishi Sunak’s cabinet who hasn’t been doing a kind of hokey-poke between his department and the back benches. The Defence Secretary has significant political pull as a result of his handling of the war in Ukraine and has consistently tried to stay above the internal turmoil [...]
Can anyone survive the cacophony of politics by Twitter and Whatsapp? October 21, 2022 It seems to be the fate of any prime minister who models themselves on heavyweights of our past to not so much fall short of them, but absolutely trash their legacy. Boris Johnson’s obsession with being Winston Churchill prevented him from being a prime minister who would even see out his term. Astonishingly, Liz Truss, [...]
Liz Truss has installed Jeremy Hunt in the driving seat and is in for a wild ride October 18, 2022 NICOLE Richie, the American reality TV star, once described getting an Uber as “going somewhere with a friend, just that friend doesn’t know you.” Last week, Liz Truss had a similar realisation as her government veered dramatically off the road.
Explainer-in-brief: After summer of strikes, barristers wig up once more October 11, 2022 In April this year, barristers took the almost unprecedented decision to strike. In September, that was ramped up to be an uninterrupted, rolling strike over pay. Yesterday, they put their wigs back on after the government offered a 15 per cent pay rise.
Dispatch from Birmingham: Truss’ MPs go into hiding as the tide turns once again October 5, 2022 As Conservative politicians, members, policy wonks and journalists decamped to Birmingham, there was a rumour one unnamed Tory MP had arrived early to take pictures around the city, which they could then post on social media while spending Tory conference from the comfort of their hotel room. Elsewhere, one journalist complained of being unable to [...]
