UK Politics

Suella Braverman: Why the home secretary can’t force the police to cancel a pro-Palestine march

— Suella Braverman criticised the Met Police for alleged double standards in handling pro-Palestinian marches, accusing them of leniency. Her interference raises concerns about the police’s non-partisan role, damaging the fragile contract of public trust, essential for effective policing.

LGBTQ Rights

‘Conversion therapy’: UK government kicks ban down the road – and there’s a major problem with what’s been proposed so far

— The UK government’s 2018 commitment to ban “conversion therapy” for LGBTQ+ individuals remains unfulfilled. A potential exemption for consent from those over 18 weakens the ban’s impact, as it may lead to coerced consent, contradicting legal standards.

PPE Scandal

Tory donor’s firm secures lucrative PPE storage contracts: The inside story

— A firm linked to a major Conservative Party donor received £546,000 in PPE storage contracts from the Department of Health and Social Care. The timing of these contracts and donations raises concerns about potential influence and transparency in contract allocation.

UK General Election

New Labour dominance in the 1990s is now weakening the Conservative voter pipeline

— A study on voting trends in Britain spanning 55 years reveals that growing older doesn’t directly lead to increased Conservative support. Instead, age appears to have a greater influence on Labour voting.

COVID-19 Inquiry

Dominic Cummings has exposed a hole at the heart of the British government – and a glaring problem with the way we choose prime ministers

— Giving evidence to the COVID inquiry, Boris Johnson’s former adviser exposed the dysfunction of an administration lacking in the expertise needed to manage a crisis.

COVID-19

‘We look like a terrible, tragic joke’: COVID WhatsApps show government chaos

— The COVID inquiry was shown Whatsapp chats from the early days of the pandemic in which cabinet secretary Simon Case said government decision-making made it look like a ‘terrible, tragic joke’.

COMMENT

Britain’s cosplay with warships and suchlike in the eastern Mediterranean

— What is the purpose of Rishi Sunak’s Government deploying a notably smaller naval task group in the Middle East compared to the United States, if not to project a larger presence on the international stage?

Long-Read

Brexit has driven the Tory Party mad

— The influence of Brexit on the Conservative Party has bolstered populism and pushed the party further from moderate conservatism towards the influence of Nigel Farage, which is characterised by detachment from reality and ideological purity.

UK Politics

The government quietly ditched its plans to help refugees learn English

— Suella Braverman’s attack on immigrants followed the government’s failure to deliver the promised strategy to teach English.

Immigration

Labour’s immigration policy: Will focus on ‘security’ win an election?

— Labour’s immigration policy emphasises border security and targeting smuggling gangs, aiming to win back “red wall” voters concerned about immigration. Labour’s strategy can talk tough on security while not demonising migrants themselves, offering a nuanced position.

OPINION

The Conspiracy Party conference

— The Conservative Party conference has revealed the Tories’ embrace of conspiracy theories, extremism, and threats to democracy. The Tory party is moving towards far-right ideologies, attacking trans people and migrants, posing a significant danger to democracy.

UK Politics

Rishi Sunak packages U-turns as challenges to consensus politics – an improbable effort to rebrand as the candidate for change

— A prime minister who has been an MP for nearly a decade now wants to challenge 30 years of ‘vested interests’.

Food

No UK politician is calling for a meat tax – but maybe they should

— Misinformation is a challenge, but the success of the UK’s sugar tax suggests the feasibility of a tax on food. If implemented effectively, a meat tax could tackle health and environmental issues.

15-Minute Cities

What is the 15-minute cities conspiracy theory?

— At the Conservative Party Conference, Mark Harper voiced criticism against the concept of ‘15-minute cities’, hinting it is a local authority ploy to control citizens. Some conspiracy theories even link it to oppressive rules and ‘climate lockdowns’.

HS2

What Rishi Sunak scrapping HS2 – and promising a new ‘Network North’ – means for the north of England

— Infrastructure development in Northern England has been increasingly muddled in recent years. Few will be convinced by Rishi Sunak’s new pledge to fix this.

Immigration

Suella Braverman warns of ‘unmanageable’ numbers of asylum seekers – The data shows we hardly take any

— The current government is the most aggressively anti-refugee administration in British history, with laws threatening to send asylum seekers to Rwanda and language used to discuss refugees linked to increasing unrest. Yet, Suella Braverman warns that millions more people will come to Britain, “uncontrolled and unmanageable”. A migration “hurricane” is