Society

Gulp. But what about England? That’s one of the questions to be asked in the aftermath of the latest Scottish spending and revenue figures, published today. The figures do not lie. Even when North Sea oil figures are taken into account – a geographic accident that, while welcome, remains an unearned accident – England (as a whole) subsidises other parts of the United Kingdom. This is a good thing. This is the way it is supposed to be. But – double gulp – shouldn’t Scotland be subsidising other parts of the UK too? Identifiable spending per capita in Scotland is a bit higher than in Wales, London and north-eastern England,

There have been many occasions since the financial crisis that I have been led to question the calibre of the more-than-amply remunerated  ‘masters of the Universe’ who inhabit the City. But this morning brings a fresh insight into the competence of the fund managers who look after our pensions and investments. Biggest riser in the FTSE250 this morning is Domino Printing Services, a Cambridge-based company which makes machines to print barcodes and other rather dull stuff like that. It is up over 30 per cent after confirming that it has accepted a takeover from the Japanese company Brother. Second highest riser in the FTSE250 is the rather better-known Domino Pizza Group,

The government has today announced a drive to get more physics and maths graduates into teaching. It’s a good idea, given the struggle that many headteachers report in recruiting teachers with those backgrounds. The package includes £15,000 for students to help with their university costs in return for them teaching for three years post-graduation; fast-track retraining for professionals already working in medicine and engineering; and one-to-one support for those who have already trained as teachers and are considering returning to the job. The reason it is becoming even more important to encourage more numerate people to become teachers is that by 2030, the science-based industries are expected to employ more than

Apple’s new smart watch, unveiled by Tim Cook yesterday, had incredible potential. But its functionality has been hindered by technical hitches – and, especially, overzealous legislators. Their cloying presence must have been felt at every product meeting. Engineers working on Apple’s watch did so with the rasping breath of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on the back of their necks. The result? Apple is nowhere near giving us a device that allows comprehensive self-monitoring of health – thanks to federal regulations. Public health services everywhere tell us that prevention is better than cure. But the FDA doesn’t trust Apple, or any manufacturer of wearable tech, to gather the sort of intimate

I have always treated the ‘Islamophobe of the Year’ event with the scorn it deserves. Not least because each year this fantasy prize for a fantasy concept is run by a British Khomeinist organisation laughably named the ‘Islamic Human Rights Commission.’  The nominees include anybody opposed to the agenda of Islamic extremists, including Muslims.  Of course each year, whilst laughing at it, those of us who are regular nominees also regard it as being to our great good fortune that the IHRC is a British charity operating in the United Kingdom rather than an Islamic charity operating in an Islamic country.  If the latter were the case then rather than laughing

This year’s Crufts has been something of a doggy disaster with one canine competitor dead from an alleged poisoning and six more cases being investigated. Now, Mr S has got wind of a new scandal engulfing the dog competition. A petition has been launched calling for the winning Scottish Terrier Knopa to be stripped of her Best in Show award. However, rather than Knopa, who beat 21,000 dogs to the title, being at fault, it is the Scottie dog’s handler Rebecca Cross who has provoked ire from the public. Viewers have complained after Cross, who is American, appeared to pick the dog up by the neck and tail. This is forbidden in Britain under show rules, and many see

Mr S was a guest at the press night of Ruby Wax’s one woman show at the St James Theatre. The comedian gave the audience a break down of her best selling book Sane New World, which tells you how to train your brain to cope with the demands of the 21st century. The topic of ambition was raised, with Wax making the point that drive isn’t always a healthy thing to have. She cited Bill Gates, who she once attempted to interview, as an example of an ambitious person who might not have it all: ‘Social media, magazines and the internet can make you crazy to be the best or to be a winner like Richard Branson. We can’t have it

The three main parties are in an aggressive mood today. TheTories have a new attack poster warning voters about the dangers of a Labour-SNP deal, while Labour is warning voters of the danger of ‘1930s’ Tory spending plans, and the Lib Dems are launching their own plans to grow the economy.  For Labour, today’s speech by Ed Balls is an attempt to give the party a foothold in the economic debate as the Budget approaches. Balls and colleagues saw an opportunity in the row last autumn over whether the Tories plan to take Britain back to the 1930s, with polling showing that voters were less enthusiastic about  George Osborne’s future

Mr S’s disclosure that the Electoral Commission have approved Al Murray’s Freedom United Kingdom Party as an official party for the election has not gone down well with Nigel Farage. The leader of Ukip says the decision is a ‘disgrace’ as FUKP are a joke party. Speaking at the Ukip South West conference, Farage called for everyone in the commission to lose their jobs as a result of the decision: ‘If you add to that the scandal of postal voting fraud, I want everyone in the Electoral Commission fired and the organisation closed down.’ Farage will now have to compete against the comedian for the South Thanet seat. Ukip supporters have taken issue with the the Pub Landlord’s