There was a curious apolitical quality to the budget this week. Stood before the commons, a visibly nervous Jeremy Hunt announced the government’s latest fiscal blitz to an atmosphere of detached demur. There were hints of a new activist tilt on tax (see the lifetime pensions allowance rejig for instance), » Read More
The race to succeed Nicola Sturgeon as SNP leader entered a new brutal phase this week as claimants to the Bute House throne battled for position. Taking to our TV screens for the first time, the disputable heirs health secretary Humza Yousaf, finance secretary Kate Forbes and former minister Ash Regan upped the ante — and
If you like your political leaders technocratic and their pledges vague and bullet-pointed, then the first two months of 2023 will have been truly gripping. The latest batch of bromides came courtesy of Sir Keir Starmer on Thursday, as the Labour leader outlined his “five national missions” in a speech in Manchester. » Read More
As I write, Rishi Sunak is locked in the middle of a 48-hour diplomacy blitz, amid reports that a Northern Ireland Protocol resolution has been reached. It comes after weeks of speculation about a deal in the six counties, with some reports suggesting an agreement has been resting on the prime minister’s desk for some
