European Union

MEPs issue formal request to grill EU Commission president von der Leyen over COVID vaccine contracts

— The EU Parliament’s COVID-19 committee has issued a formal request for von der Leyen to appear before MEPs to provide them with information to further their investigation into the EU’s response to the pandemic.

UK Economy

UK avoiding a technical recession, not broader economic malaise

— Friday’s GDP figures are far from reassuring, despite a growth of 0.1% in November, and it is clear that the UK economy is still struggling to gain momentum.

Person of The Year

PMP’s Person of The Year 2022

— Our 5th award given to an individual, group of people or organization to recognize them and their influence during the past year.

Festival of Brexit

Investigation into the B̶r̶e̶x̶i̶t̶ UNBOXED festival

— Lack of audience engagement at the UNBOXED festival which was intended as a celebration of Brexit.

Environment

Just Stop Oil, Rupert Murdoch and the M25 protest

— How can eco-activists halting the traffic on the M25 possibly threaten Rupert Murdoch so much that his newspapers decide to invent stories about them?

Climate Protests

Just Stop Oil joined thousands demanding a general election and action on the cost of living crisis

— Just Stop Oil joined the People’s Assembly coalition in a protest on Saturday to demand a general election and an immediate response to the climate and cost of living crisis.

What The Experts Say

Do not ignore COVID, experts say

— What health experts think about the current COVID situation, and why getting the winter booster jab and wearing face masks now is important.

COMMENT

When the strong help the weak, it makes us all stronger

— Former PM Gordon Brown’s budget analysis sums up Liz Truss’s government plans perfectly. Wouldn’t it be good to be governed by grown-ups again?

What The Experts Say

COVID-19: It looks like we are in for a bad October – Experts

— What health experts say about the autumn COVID wave currently hitting the UK and what they think we should do next.

COVID-19

End of global COVID-19 pandemic in sight — WHO chief

— According to the head of the World Health Organization, the world has never been in a better position to end the COVID-19 pandemic but now is not the time to stop the fight against the virus that already killed 6 million people worldwide.

What The Experts Say

It’s reassuring that summer was spent wisely planning for the coming COVID winter... or was it?

— This summer, the government has done absolutely nothing to prepare schools, the NHS and communities for the coming autumn COVID wave nor has it got any plans for the subsequent winter COVID wave, a health expert explains.

UK Politics

Liz Truss, craving for Vogue and attention.

— When Nicola Sturgeon met Liz Truss at the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow last year, the Foreign Secretary didn’t talk to her about climate change. She talked about... Vogue.

Investigation

Investigation into the government’s contracts with Randox Laboratories.

— The government’s public procurement approaches were not appropriate at the pandemic’s start, especially when dealing with Randox Laboratories, the National Audit Office reports.

Stats

How well or badly is the Government doing at responding to the rising cost of energy?

— It is all well for Number 10 to fly the flag and for ministers to celebrate the Lionesses’ win at the Euros, but is the Government currently doing enough to deal with serious issues such as the rising cost of energy in the country?

UK Politics

Truth now banned in government.

— Reactions to reports that Attorney General Suella Braverman has now banned government lawyers from telling her if proposed government actions are illegal.

Conservative Leadership Contest

Tory leadership hopefuls fail to address the reality that Brexit is a disaster.

— LBC presenter James O’Brien explains everything that needs to be understood about the current Conservative Leadership contestants and their failure to recognise that Brexit is an escalating national tragedy.