“We’ll now have a more pragmatic, proportionate, and realistic approach” Yesterday, in perhaps the most significant speech of his premiership, Rishi Sunak articulated his new net zero approach. Disguised as ‘realistic’ and ‘pragmatic’ it has instead added to confusion and uncertainty for businesses, investors and voters. Nobody is now sure
It was quite the return to Westminster after the summer recess. Record hospital waiting times, schools threatening to crumble around us and the Cinderella of public services – prisons – gave us a jail break. The escape in a chef’s uniform, under a catering van from HMP Wandsworth by Daniel
“The missing ingredient is hope,” commented The Observer’s Andrew Rawnsley recently while discussing Labour’s “recipe for power”. He may have a point. At least, there is a perception that hope is not front and centre in our recipe. Why is this and what do we do about it? No more
Labour’s five missions are national in scope, but success hinges on what happens locally. Britain’s challenges cannot be understood without the deep inequalities in prosperity and opportunity facing different parts of the country. Recent analysis from the Financial Times found that without London, the UK would be poorer per head
How can Labour bolster the UK’s cybersecurity in line with the framework set out in the ‘securonomics’ agenda and its modern industrial strategy? Business, our personal lives and even our nation’s critical infrastructure are increasingly dependent on cyberspace. While the technology brings benefits, it also exposes us to new risks,
For a minor by-election, Uxbridge has caused major ripples. Pro and anti-climate advocates are out swinging, united in a chorus of “it was ULEZ what won it”. Labour, meanwhile, has been cautious not to pick a lane. Yet some commentary would have us believe this is unacceptable; that any attempt
“We’re going to throw everything at this” remarked Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer in Leith last month. Describing his pledge to decarbonise the power sector by 2030 as “the biggest opportunity we’ve had in decades to make this country work for working people”. Much has changed the past week. The
There are cracks running through all our communities. Cracks symptomatic of over a decade of Tory rule. In my constituency of Broxtowe where I am standing at the next election, I see how public services are close to breaking. No case is more tragic, or underappreciated than that of school
Labour’s problems with immigration can be traced back to the early days of the European Union’s major expansion into its Eastern and Central neighbours in 2004, allowing in 8 new countries. In reaction, most EU member states triggered transitional controls to stop mostly young, skilled (and unskilled), workers exercising their
What regulatory reforms should a pro-growth Labour government adopt as it seeks to build a more successful and fairer economy? Since 2010, the Conservatives have failed to achieve their main objective of reducing regulation while, at the same time, making the quality of regulation worse. Many of the most memorable
