Stephen Booth: The UK’s parallel trade negotiations are of unprecedented ambition
While working on its Brexit deal, it is simultaneously cultivating trade relationships with Japan, the US, Australia and New Zealand.
Daniel Hannan: Sweden settled in for the long haul, and now doesn’t need to worry about a second surge
Having correctly judged that there would be no immediate vaccine, it opted for a sustainable response.
Ryan Bourne: “Levelling the playing field” is no argument for an online sales tax
Wind and nuclear power both produce electricity. But if someone said we needed a tax on wind power to subsidise nuclear, you’d think they were mad.
Rebecca Lowe: CNN’s “individuals with a cervix” Tweet, and why denying the realities of biological sex is so harmful
From healthcare, to sex-specific concerns around bodily privacy and security, words matter.
Howard Flight: Parkinson’s Law revisited
The NHS employs 1.75 million people and is too monolithic. The number of civil servants has risen to 460,000. This is territory which the Chancellor needs to examine in detail.
Richard Holden: Across the “Blue Wall”, there’s little sign Starmer’s approach to the crisis has cut through
His “Goldilocks Politics” of “too much/too little, too fast/too slow” throughout the pandemic is unlikely to win over voters.
David Gauke: Without a proper state aid regime, the UK is unlikely to reach a deal with Brussels
Even putting aside the EU dimension, there are very good arguments for having one in place.
Iain Dale: My end of term report on the Cabinet. Part Two.
By the way, it is a travesty that the Chief Secretary to the Treasury and Leader of the House aren’t full members.
Henry Hill: If Gove and Johnson want to save Britain, they’re going to have to use the word ‘Britain’
Also: Galloway shakes up Holyrood battle with new unionist alliance; DUP wracked by major rebellion over Stormont reform; and more.
Garvan Walshe: Italian governments have failed to revive Naples for centuries. What are the lessons for its British equivalents?
The lively and chaotic city presents a warning to the Government as to how its regeneration plans could go wrong.
Ben Roback: Trump’s facing an uphill battle to convince voters he’s the man to bring the US out of the pandemic
Political commentators have flocked to describe the President’s ‘new tone’. But can it last?
Robert Halfon: Do Twitter’s bosses believe that anti-semitism is worth indulging for profit?
I’m haunted by how media propagation of tribalism in Rwanda helped to desensitise people – and was followed by genocide.
Darren Grimes: “Hey folks, eat out and spend more – no, not you, fatty. And here’s a new tax for you, consumer-friendly online retailer.”
We should have a laser-like focus on reducing the tax burden, instead of relying on nannying to get us off of our bottoms.
Andy Street: One, two, three – it’s a hat-trick of coming Conservative Party conferences for Birmingham
This decision reiterates the political importance of the UK’s cities to our party – and we must aim for a blue-led council in 2022.
Neil O’Brien: Why closing the marriage gap between rich and poor is a vital mission of social justice
My modest proposal is this: let’s do a major programme of controlled trials to test these ideas, and see what, if anything, makes a difference.