UK Politics

Misjudgement now could cost the Conservatives dear at the next general election

— Rishi Sunak is more authentic and emotional, and Liz Truss more analytical, according to computerised text analysis of a recent hustings.

OPINION

Truss is a gift to the cause of Scottish independence

— Boris Johnson is a liar and a cheat but like all successful con artists, he is basically a showman. Even so, the people of Scotland proved immune to his charms. Liz Truss’s problem is that she has no charm at all.

Fact-Check

Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak want to crack down on migration – An expert reviews their plans

— An expert breaks down the promises from the two Conservative leadership candidates on immigration, despite the fact it isn’t a pressing issue with voters anymore.

Cost of Living Crisis

Gordon Brown economics versus Liz Truss tax cuts: A new twist in the battle to resolve the UK’s cost of living crisis.

— It is only reasonable to expect the UK government to provide millions of individuals, households and companies with the immediate direct financial support they need to survive the cost of living crisis.

Justice

The jetset tycoon, the Tory council, and the missing £138m of taxpayers’ money.

— A Conservative council has been accused of misusing half a billion pounds of taxpayers’ money, with £138 million of that cash now seemingly unaccounted for.

OPINION

This is a cost of corporate greed crisis.

— What we are facing is not a cost of living crisis, it is a cost of corporate greed crisis. Ordinary households are suffering while a small minority become rich on the backs of their misery.

COMMENT

The last white woman, Liz Truss.

— Had it been anyone but Rishi Sunak, would Liz Truss really be the frontrunner in the Conservative Leadership Contest to replace Boris Johnson?

UK Politics

Is race an issue that might explain why Rishi Sunak is doing so badly among Tory members?

— A difficult question for pollsters to investigate: Is race an issue for Rishi Sunak? No one says ‘yes, ethnicity is an issue for me’ when pollsters ask but Conservative party members do show an above-average opposition to diversity drives.

Analysis

Without a fresh new vision, the next Conservative prime minister risks leading their party to election loss.

— Be it Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak, the incoming leader – and next prime minister – will inherit a party in deep trouble and in a precarious position that risks losing the next general election.

Brexit

How might Labour’s Brexit policy be made to work?

— Professor Chris Grey’s analysis on how Keir Starmer's timid policy could become less constipated, the implications of his foolish stance on post-election cooperation and the best/worst scenarios that follow.

OPINION

Human rights and Tory wrongs.

— Liz Truss is reportedly far ahead amongst Conservative party members who blame Rishi Sunak for defenestrating Boris Johnson – a view which Johnson himself is keen to foster... to prepare a triumphant return when Tory MPs decide to get rid of an inept Truss.

OPINION

It’s been 12 long, painful years of Tory governments...

— From the start, the Tories chose to reduce public investment and encouraged companies to prioritise profits over investment too. The result: whilst we claim to be a rich country, we now have 14.2 million people in poverty.

OPINION

The Tory chancers trashing the rule of law.

— The British Government has now pretty much abandoned any pretence that the rule of law counts for anything when it is supposed to apply to... the British Government.

Analysis

Boris Johnson is a bit like Churchill – but not in the ways he might want.

— Both Churchill and Johnson had a complicated relationship with the Conservative Party. The only way they compare?

UK Politics

Boris Johnson says his time as UK PM was ‘mission largely accomplished’. How does that actually stack up?

— Boris Johnson is about to leave 10 Downing Street to be replaced by one of two colleagues. His history in the top job is a chequered one.

Long-Read

London’s Olympic legacy: Why £2.2 billion investment in primary school PE has failed teachers.

— The 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics promised to have a major impact on school sports. Ten years on, many primary school PE lessons have been outsourced to private sports contractors, resulting in the ‘deskilling’ of a generation of teachers.