It’s the Year of the Pothole and Britain is crazy November 17, 2023 Forget the Chinese Zodiac – Britain’s automotive association has appointed itself responsible for assigning the symbol of the year. And they’ve chosen potholes.
Why has levelling up failed? November 17, 2023 Levelling up has become a semi-religious mantra to which Labour has joined in the ubiquitous chanting. Yet the scheme has been mired in criticism – its selection process was condemned as “corrupt” and local authorities are struggling to spend their lot.
It would be senseless to delay a tax supported by greenies and the steel industry November 16, 2023 Implausible though it sounds, businesses in Britain are clamouring for a new tax this Autumn Statement. Even more unlikely, both heavy industry and environmentalists are aligned in wanting it. That’s right, the unsexily-titled carbon border adjustment mechanism (which parades around the punchy acronym CBAM) has managed a feat few thought possible: the union of greenies [...]
Five common sense things for the ‘common sense’ minister November 14, 2023 As Esther McVey assumes the role of 'minister for common sense', we look at five pressing issues for her in-tray.
From pints to politics: Whatever happened to David Cameron’s ‘Golden Era’ of China relations? November 13, 2023 Before Trump, before the Belt and Road initiative, before pangolins, wet markets and the “Chinese virus”, before Ukraine, Chinese spies in parliament and the Uyghur genocide, there existed a brief golden window of time in which posh British kids learned Mandarin at school, politicians drank beer with President Xi Jinping and the City of London [...]
Floating cities or climate visas: Is this the choice for environmental migrants? November 11, 2023 The climate crisis could force over 1bn people from their homes by 2050. Some 150m p ople are currently living on land that will be below the high-tide line by 2050. T
Forget the UK, how has Europe dealt with pro-Palestine marches? November 10, 2023 This week a Yougov poll showed half of the UK thinks the pro-Palestine march planned for this Saturday 11 November ought to be banned. The Home Secretary has dubbed it a “hate march”. The ethics – and law – around banning marches is controversial. In the UK Sir Mark Rowley, head of the Metropolitan Police [...]
Bird watching: What’s going on with X/Twitter’s Community Notes? November 9, 2023 It’s always embarrassing to be called out on a lie. That’s the cruel genius behind Twitter’s Community Notes feature, which brutally exposes mistruths with a cool, simple fact box. As Labour’s shadow foreign secretary David Lammy recently found out, the hard way. He tweeted “As I said on Radio 4 Today this morning, it is [...]
Pedicab pandemonium? Unlicensed and unstoppable since 1869 November 7, 2023 “This is one of the biggest issues in Westminster,” Nickie Aiken MP told City A.M., earnestly, minutes after the King’s announcement today. It’s not surprising she was excited: the former leader of Westminster City Council has spent a full four years campaigning to remove a loophole on unlicensed pedicabs. Why is this issue so important, [...]
Gone smishing: Would you recognise an impostor texting you? November 6, 2023 The first warning sign was an anonymous new number being added to my Whatsapp group with my parents. I was later removed from the chat – but I was busy so I didn’t think too much about it. I started to really smell a rat when my parents’ references to bathwater reached double figures. In [...]
