Environment

Why clean, affordable water should not be in the hands of private companies targeting profit

— Paris has successfully taken water back into public ownership. There is growing evidence to suggest England should do the same as after 33 years, the private ownership experiment has totally failed.

Cost of Living Crisis

Cost of living crisis: The UK needs to raise taxes not cut them

— Tax cuts are unlikely to help Britain address its current crises. Extra spending has to be financed. To do this, Britain needs higher taxes, not tax cuts.

Energy Crisis

Will the UK experience blackouts? Three scenarios for this coming winter

— The UK could experience its first large-scale blackout in decades this winter if gas shortages combine with particularly cold weather.

Analysis

UK strikes: How industrial action at a major port could disrupt supplies of clothing, cars and canned food

— With a looming recession, the UK’s political and business leaders need to develop solutions that will support economic recovery and growth.

Long-Read

What the leadership contest tells us about Brexit

— Professor Chris Grey’s analysis on how, although scarcely mentioned, Brexit permeates the Tory leadership contest between Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss, and David Frost’s essay inadvertently revealed why whoever wins will fall prey to the impossibilities of post-Brexit politics.

UK Politics

Misjudgement now could cost the Conservatives dear at the next general election

— Rishi Sunak is more authentic and emotional, and Liz Truss more analytical, according to computerised text analysis of a recent hustings.

Climate Change

Influential oil company scenarios for combating climate change don’t actually meet the Paris Agreement goals

— Most oil company scenarios claiming to be compatible with the climate agreement show a strong continuing reliance on natural gas and coal.

Fact-Check

Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak want to crack down on migration – An expert reviews their plans

— An expert breaks down the promises from the two Conservative leadership candidates on immigration, despite the fact it isn’t a pressing issue with voters anymore.

Cost of Living Crisis

Gordon Brown economics versus Liz Truss tax cuts: A new twist in the battle to resolve the UK’s cost of living crisis.

— It is only reasonable to expect the UK government to provide millions of individuals, households and companies with the immediate direct financial support they need to survive the cost of living crisis.

Donald Trump

How the FBI knew what to search for at Mar-a-Lago – and why the Presidential Records Act is an essential tool for future historians.

— A presidential scholar sets the history and context for the battle over President Trump’s official records – and says it isn’t the first records battle between the government and a former president.

Donald Trump

New photos suggest how Trump, flush with power, may have sent official documents down the toilet.

— Photos showing what appear to be torn-up documents in two different toilets may provide more evidence of the former president’s habit of destroying his presidential documents.

UK Politics

Is race an issue that might explain why Rishi Sunak is doing so badly among Tory members?

— A difficult question for pollsters to investigate: Is race an issue for Rishi Sunak? No one says ‘yes, ethnicity is an issue for me’ when pollsters ask but Conservative party members do show an above-average opposition to diversity drives.

Brexit

Four ways Brexit and the loss of free movement have made life harder for mixed British-European families.

— Brexit – and the end of free movement between the UK and the EU – has had notable consequences for family life, particularly for mixed British-European families whether they are living in the UK or Europe.

Analysis

Without a fresh new vision, the next Conservative prime minister risks leading their party to election loss.

— Be it Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak, the incoming leader – and next prime minister – will inherit a party in deep trouble and in a precarious position that risks losing the next general election.

Brexit

How might Labour’s Brexit policy be made to work?

— Professor Chris Grey’s analysis on how Keir Starmer's timid policy could become less constipated, the implications of his foolish stance on post-election cooperation and the best/worst scenarios that follow.

Education

How teachers supported children and parents through COVID-19 school closures.

— Teachers went to great effort to help parents support their children’s learning during the lockdown periods.