Labour’s plans for Great British Railways all but set up by Tory government

theguardian.com This is one renationalisation that even an ultra-cautious Labour had to embrace: voters like it, there is no upfront outlay, and the Conservative government has already done…

Immigration Fears on Both Sides of the Atlantic

newsweek.com To the naked eye, London seems as when I lived there in the 2000s. Londoners still mind the gap between the train and the platform, close the pubs early, serve sausages…

Why is 2.5% UK's magic number when it comes to defence spending?

theweek.com Rishi Sunak has promised to put Britain's defence industry "on a war footing" as he promised to boost defence spending to 2.5% of national income by 2030. The plan to ramp…

Europe’s political leaders have been slow to recognise financial reality of long wars

theguardian.com Two years and two months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine started the biggest war in Europe since 1945, and Rishi Sunak has announced that the UK’s own defence industry…

It's clearer than ever that Brexit has failed

theguardian.com Only those born before 1998 could vote on Brexit, so there is no conceivable way of knowing which way today’s 18- to 30-year-olds would have felt about it. Oh, except there…

UK passes controversial bill to send asylum seekers to Rwanda

semafor.com Semafor Signals Supported by Insights from The Guardian, BBC, and The New York Times The News U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak scored somewhat of a political win after the…

Ravaged by austerity, chastened by Brexit, how can Britain have a ‘place in the world’ when it’s destitute at home?

theguardian.com Deciding on what the UK’s place in the world should be has been like watching politicians spin a wheel. Then spinning it again when the option they landed on doesn’t work…

Spice Girls Reunite for Brief Birthday Show

vanityfair.com “It’s important to evolve and try new things,” Victoria “Posh Spice” Beckham said in an interview on the eve of her landmark birthday celebrations. And while that's probably…

The U.K. is seeing to “offshore asylum”

marketplace.org Want fewer migrants at your doorstep? Send them somewhere else. Many lawmakers in the United Kingdom think that is the solution to the uptick of migrants arriving on British…

Boris Johnson ‘refused to be open’ with watchdog about hedge fund role

theguardian.com Boris Johnson was “evasive”, “avoided answering specific questions” and has “refused to be open” about his relationship with a hedge fund on whose behalf he met the…

India seeks UK carbon tax exemption in free trade deal talks

theguardian.com India is demanding an exemption from the UK’s planned carbon tax as part of negotiations aiming to finalise a free trade deal before the UK election. India’s negotiating…

UK Chancellor says he replaced Downing Street carpet after flea problem

semafor.com U.K. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt confirmed former Prime Minister Liz Truss’ account of Downing Street’s flea problem detailed in her new book. Truss said in her book, Ten Years…

US politics is awash with crude and misleading attack ads. Now it’s the UK’s turn

theguardian.com One of my favourite jokes in The Simpsons concerns the unhinged nature of US political advertising. “Mayor Quimby supports revolving-door prisons,” a growly voice narrates…

There’s a gaping hole at the centre of the Tory party where ideas should be. The risk is Liz Truss will fill it

theguardian.com It would be charitable to ignore Liz Truss. Attention is her addiction and any dose, even laced with scorn, sustains the toxic belief that she has important things to say.…

UK lawmakers back landmark bill to gradually phase out smoking for good

apnews.com The British government's plan for a landmark smoking ban that aims to stop young people from ever smoking cleared its first hurdle in Parliament on Tuesday despite vocal…

UK lawmakers to vote on landmark bill with goal to create Britain's "first smoke-free generation"

pbs.org A plan by Britain’s government to introduce a landmark smoking ban that aims to stop young people from ever smoking is expected to clear its first hurdle on Tuesday, despite…

‘Riddled With Contradictions’: Times Radio Host Unleashes Brutal Review Of Liz Truss’ Downing Street Memoir

mediaite.com Times Radio host Matt Chorley unleashed a merciless review of former Prime Minister Liz Truss’ new book, blasting the work as a conflicted call for a “deeper state” by a…

Britishvolt ‘gigafactory’ site sold for £110m to US private equity firm

theguardian.com The site in north-east England previously owned by the failed battery startup Britishvolt has been bought for £110m by a US private equity firm, which plans to build one of…

Tobacco firms lobbying MPs to derail smoking phase-out, charity warns

theguardian.com Tobacco firms are lobbying MPs and peers in an effort to derail Rishi Sunak’s flagship policy to phase out smoking, the head of Britain’s biggest cancer charity has said.…

Even Europe’s far-right firebrands seem to sense Brexit is a disaster

theguardian.com Exports are performing badly, pace the fantasy world of the Daily Express; supply lines for imports once regarded as routine are disrupted or discontinued altogether; staff…

Boris Johnson Roasts U.S. For Picking ‘Oldest Presidential Candidates’ But Praises Octogenarian ‘Fizz And Spunk’

mediaite.com Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson joked that while the United States is not the “oldest democracy” it certainly offers the “oldest presidential candidates” – commending…