The truce declared this week between the US and the Islamic Republic after months of conflict appears likely to reopen the strait of Hormuz for the passage of ships, but little else appears certain. The agreement has put off the fate of Iran’s nuclear programme for further talks; there is
As a mother to two primary‑aged children, the negative impact of social media dominates conversations among friends, fellow parents and WhatsApp groups. For too many, it feels as though our children’s childhood is being poisoned. In my local area of Barnet, a campaign was won last year to ensure no
HS2 is a mess. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander announced this week that it was likely to cost up to £102 billion just to get to Birmingham. It will not be the fastest train in the world either. HS2 will now go at 320 kilometres an hour. Fast for Britain but
There’s no denying that private renters are feeling the strain of a longstanding affordability squeeze. For the past 15-20 years, rents have taken up a persistently high proportion of renters’ incomes, compared to housing costs for those in other tenures. Renters now spend an average of a third of their
For too long, talent has been held back by a ‘class ceiling’ which is less transparent and more resilient than many care to admit. It is a ceiling which doesn’t just limit individual ambition; it limits our country’s potential. And nowhere is this more painfully obvious than in the towns and cities across
I represent one of the most beautiful constituencies in England. Banbury, Chipping Norton, Charlbury, and the North Oxfordshire villages are places where people choose to live, work, and raise families precisely because of their character. As a local MP, I understand instinctively the impulse to protect what we have. But
(📸 ABC News/ Che Chorley) In 2021, a campaign in a suburban shopping centre of South Australia emerged from a collective of angry retail workers. The shopping centre had started charging workers $30 a day to park. It meant most were parking off site, walking late at night after work
For the first time in Israel’s history, this week the government passed a budget in election year. Passage of the bill avoided immediately triggering elections and now means they will take place closer to the October deadline. The NIS 850.6 billion (approximately £203.5bn) spending package is unprecedented in scale. Not
Europe faces a critical and urgent defence readiness gap. The War in Ukraine has led to a necessary reckoning by European governments of their capacity to prepare for and respond to a range of security threats, while the conflict in the Gulf has underlined that we are destined to live
Critics of our Labour government say it has no “vision.” Starmer, they say, has abandoned hope in favour of cold pragmatism. Labour should have a vision that brings hope to people and not crush hope with hard matter-of-factness. This criticism is erroneous. The error may arise from a lack of
