Month: May 2026
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A heatwave, a war in the Gulf driven by bluff and braggadocio and a war in Ukraine seeing the slip of the Russian mask. A local TWOP correspondent visiting Kew Gardens reported temperatures of 35C (95F.) The country was awash in a public conversation about climate change. Welcome to our future. This week was also…
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There have been a number of developments that should have been positive for the Government this week: – immigration numbers fell sharply (thanks Rishi)– inflation fell faster than expected (but it will be back up next month)– the IMF upgraded UK growth forecasts (if only by 0.2%)– fuel duty rises were postponed (a U-Turn, if…
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Parliament returned to work with the ceremonial portrayal of calm and order of the State Opening and the King’s Speech floating, surreally, on top of the turbulent threat to Sir Keir Starmer’s premiership. An (over-)ambitious legislative programme then commenced the traditional five days of debate against a backdrop that provided further copious evidence of Sir…
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There has, technically, been some political news outside the accelerating collapse of Labour authority. Whether anyone noticed is another matter. Ebola, Ukraine, Iran and strategic distractions A fresh Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo briefly reintroduced the possibility of an international public health emergency (James Gallagher, BBC News, 17th May 2026, “How worrying…
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This week the political system finally stopped pretending that Sir Keir ’s difficulties are temporary. The local elections did not produce many surprises, just confirmation. The public mood that had been detectable in polling, by-elections and Westminster manoeuvring for months, finally translated into hard electoral numbers. The result was not a sudden collapse, but something…
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The central political fact of the week is that the Prime Minister now faces not simply criticism, but procedural damage (which is not without irony for the “Process PM”!) Authority that had been trickling away from the PM already is now in full flood. HMS Starmer, which has been sailing around aimlessly for some months,…