All the latest analysis of the day's news and stories
It is Prime Minister’s Questions today and there is certainly much for Kemi Badenoch to go on. From increased government borrowing to the IMF’s UK downgrade, there is a veritable smorgasbord of failure for her to choose from. But Mr S wonders if there might be a more personal angle for Badenoch, following Keir Starmer’s
Britain borrowed nearly £152 billion in the financial year to March – almost £21 billion more than at the same point in the last financial year, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The latest public finance figures reveal that borrowing in March was the third highest since records began in 1993. Crucially, it’s
Since Australia’s general election was called by Labor prime minister Anthony Albanese at the end of March, the contest for the 3 May poll has been an uninspiring one. Voters must choose between a mediocre Labor government that overpromised and woefully underdelivered since coming to office in 2022, and an underprepared and underpowered conservative opposition.
When will Keir Starmer finally show some leadership over the most fundamental distinction in human society: the difference between men and women? The Prime Minister’s silence after the Supreme Court judgement last week had been deafening. The ruling – which stated that sex is binary – brought clarity and restored sanity; it’s a pity the
There’s one key thing that one should know about Ukraine peace talks scheduled to begin in London today, and that is that they will fail. The reason is simple: Volodymyr Zelensky is being asked to concede Russia’s legal possession of the Crimean peninsula which Moscow annexed in 2014. And Ukraine’s president has said, in the
On Monday, the liberal outlet National Public Radio reported that Donald Trump’s administration was looking for a replacement for Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth. This report may in fact have helped shield Hegseth from being sacked for having arranged a second Signal chat group about impending war plans for Yemen that apparently included his wife, Jennifer,
The reaction in Ireland to the UK Supreme Court’s decision on the meaning of ‘woman’ in the Equality Act has been revealing. The ruling, which found that women are defined by their biological sex and not a gender recognition certificate, has been watched carefully in Ireland, where trans people have been able to apply to change
“Storm clouds are gathering. We can all see them.” No, not Winston Churchill on the rise of the Nazis in Europe, but John Swinney on the march of the “far right” in Scotland. Today, the First Minister will host a “mobilisation of mainstream Scotland” against Reform and its “racist” leader, Nigel Farage, who he says,
As the Birmingham binmen’s strike, full on since 11 March, grinds well into its second month, there is talk of similar action spreading nationwide. A crop of lurid headlines have been appearing in the press: ‘My Mercedes was destroyed by rats’, exclaims the Daily Telegraph, while the Daily Star announces that ‘Psycho seagulls and super rats
Talk about a turn-up for the books. In an unusual breach with convention, it was Kemi Badenoch rising for HM Loyal Opposition this afternoon to respond to Bridget Phillipson’s statement in response to the Supreme Court ruling last week. But the Tory leader – whose conviction on same-sex spaces has been applauded by JK Rowling
Kemi Badenoch, pressed on the Today programme about the leisurely pace of her policy agenda, and the looming council elections, insisted on Tuesday morning that ‘welfare is not a local government issue’. On the ballot instead, she suggested, were such issues as ‘who’s fixing the roads, potholes, [and] adult social care’. This answer seems plausible,
Another day, another rant by lefty loudmouth James O’Brien. Today LBC’s eviscerator-in-chief has decided to take issue with Labour’s decision to publish migrant crime league tables, fuming that ‘I don’t know what else this is designed to do but to feed hatred’ before demanding: ‘Are they going to publish the fact that the massive majority
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Parliament is back after the Easter holiday and the Supreme Court ruling over what is a woman continues to dominate talk in Westminster. The Prime Minister has changed his tune on trans, declaring he does not think that trans women are women. This has caused some disquiet in the party, with a number of senior
Safety concerns around Notting Hill Carnival are nothing new. During last year’s event alone, 334 people were arrested and two people were killed, including 32 year-old Cher Maximen, who was stabbed to death in front of her young daughter during the festival’s ‘family day’. Forty-one year-old Mussie Imnetu was beaten to death during a separate
The waves from Donald Trump’s tariff upheaval continue to ripple through the global economy. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has downgraded its forecasts for global growth to 2.8 per cent for this year and 3 per cent for 2026, down from previous estimates of 3.3 per cent for each year. The UK isn’t immune: the
As the independent bar in Scotland, the Faculty of Advocates is by necessity a reserved and disinterested body. It does not issue letters like the one that has gone out this morning to Karen Adam, the convenor of Holyrood’s equalities, human rights and civil justice committee. The correspondence takes issue, in blistering terms, with the
Compared with the mobs chanting against sunbathers on Tenerife or the new entry fee just to set foot in Venice, Britain’s own war on tourism may seem mild. Nevertheless, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council, the UK government is ‘sabotaging’ its own tourism industry. In 2024, it says, international visitors spent 5 per
Hurrah! The day has finally come: Prime Minister Keir Starmer has, after almost a week of deafening silence, eventually got round to welcoming the Supreme Court’s unanimous judgment that backed the biological definition of a woman. In a rather revealing clip on ITV News today, the PM insisted to interviewers that he is ‘pleased’ about
You’re being ridiculous, they kept saying. Why do you keep talking about fish? The Brussels lobby could scarcely conceal its disdain when rumours emerged that the price of Britain concluding a defence agreement with the EU at next month’s London summit might be concessions on fishing rights. Defence secretary John Healey chided Labour’s critics for
Dog theft in France is soaring. Animal protection groups estimate that up to 70,000 dogs are stolen each year – nearly 200 a day. The scale of the problem is staggering, and it’s getting worse. Small, high-value breeds are the main targets. French Bulldogs, Pugs, Chihuahuas and Siberian Huskies are among the most frequently stolen.
President Trump yesterday escalated his attacks on the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell over his reluctance to cut interest rates, prompting a fresh plunge on Wall Street. The President may appear determined to cut his central banker down to size. And yet the reality is that Powell is completely right not to cut
Caryma Sa’d has captured the definitive image of the Canadian federal election. Over the weekend, the independent journalist posted a photograph from an event in Brantford, Ontario for Mark Carney, the former Bank of England governor who has replaced Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader and prime minister. The pic shows an older gentleman appearing to
Just when you think the Scottish Greens can’t get any battier, they do. This Easter Weekend eco-zealot MSP Maggie Chapman took to the streets of Aberdeen on Sunday to pour scorn on last week’s Supreme Court ruling – that saw justices unanimously back the biological definition of a woman – and rant that she sees
Official league tables displaying nationalities of migrants with the highest rates of crime are set to be published for the first time in Britain. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has reportedly ordered officials to publish the detailed breakdown of offences committed by foreign criminals living in the UK while awaiting deportation. Unofficial tables have previously been
Every Christmas, Easter and other public gathering, the Royal Family are faced with an unfortunate choice: what to do about the two pariahs in their midst? One of them, Prince Harry, is sulkily ensconced in Montecito, and tends mainly to pop up in this country when he’s fighting yet another legal battle. The other, however,
Like most people, I haven’t tuned in to Have I Got News For You for years. But when I heard of a staggering omission in last Friday night’s edition, I just had to see it – or, rather, not see it – with my own eyes. The biggest news story of the week – the
If you’ve been in the City of London recently, you’ll likely have seen one of the blue plaques that have sprung up on pavements. Instead of pointing out the home of someone memorable, these tell a very different story: “A member of the public had their phone stolen here” reads the message, with the City
Easter Monday would have been Queen Elizabeth II’s 99th birthday, a milestone that invites reflection on her extraordinary reign and the faith that defined it. An aspect of the late beloved Queen’s character that set her apart from so many other modern world leaders was her profound commitment to her faith. Her Christian belief was
My contention was always that Reform UK would struggle to reach 30 per cent in the polls and, while the party is edging upwards, that still seems to be a ceiling. However, the latest MRP poll in the Sun suggests that, for Nigel Farage to become our next Prime Minister, the party need not gain
Kramatorsk, Donetsk region In a wooden Greek-Catholic church on the frontline of a warzone, encircled by red tulips and military vehicles, the priest’s sermon is woven through with the war – just like the soldiers’ Easter baskets, packed not only with paska bread, pysanky and sausages, but also with drones, waiting to be blessed. ‘This
As timing goes, a pope simply can’t do better than to die just after Easter Sunday. The moral of the thing hardly needs saying. Francis died in Christ and will share His Resurrection. In fact, that’s exactly what several bishops have been observing today. But Francis also had his Good Friday. He was desperately ill
Pope Francis was a man of remarkable complexity who cultivated an image of utmost simplicity. He began the moment he first stepped out on the balcony overlooking St. Peter’s Square in plain white papal attire, without the traditional red mozzetta covering his shoulders, and greeting onlookers with a homely ‘buona sera’. The following day, he
Pope Francis has died aged 88. At 7.35 a.m., the Vatican announced that Pope Francis had ‘returned to the house of the Father’ at his residence in the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta. Cardinal Farrell, who announced the death, added that Francis ‘taught us to live the values of the Gospel with fidelity, courage and universal
Modern popes, for better or for worse, tend to be defined in soundbites. John Paul II’s clarion call of ‘Be not afraid’ became emblematic of his invitation to young Catholics to embrace their faith and his rallying of the West against the spectre of international Communism. Benedict XVI’s great theological career, and his term as