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☆ Britain’s Conservative Party Is Being Held Captive by Bad People - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Geoffrey Wheatcroft | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

At 3 a.m. one day last December, a 78-year-old volunteer for the British Conservative Party was reportedly woken by a call from Mark Menzies, the Conservative lawmaker she worked for. The volunteer, a former campaign manager for Mr. Menzies, paid the sum out of her own savings. Mr. Menzies, who was suspended from the party last month, denies that allegation and others, which include using £14,000 from party funds for personal medical bills. Yet the affair epitomizes a Conservative Party in crisis. Lord Salisbury, Stanley Baldwin, Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher led the Conservative Party for more or less 15 years.

Persons: Mark Menzies, ”, Menzies, Rishi Sunak, Mr, Sunak, Lord Salisbury, Stanley Baldwin, Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher, — Organizations: British Conservative Party, Conservative, Conservative Party, Tories, Conservatives, Labour Party, Tory Locations: England, Wales

☆ Sadiq Khan wins third term as London mayor, Labour sources say, capping strong showing for opposition in English elections
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-04 | by ( Rob Picheta | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Sadiq Khan has won a third term as London’s mayor, Labour Party sources claimed on Saturday, capping a round of local elections across England that confirmed the political supremacy of the main opposition party. Sunak has resisted calls to outline when he will hold that vote, and Labour leads opinion polls by a huge margin. Keir Starmer’s opposition party won control of eight councils, and also stormed to victory on Thursday in a Westminster by-election in Blackpool. In particular the loss of Oldham council, a north-west English town, where around a quarter of the population is Muslim. If his victory is confirmed, Khan would become the first mayor of London to serve a third term since the post was created in 2000.

Persons: CNN — Sadiq Khan, Khan, Susan Hall, Rishi Sunak, –, Sunak, Keir Starmer’s, Yvette Cooper, Donald Trump Organizations: CNN, Labour Party, Conservative, England, Labour, Conservatives, Tories, BBC Locations: England, West Midlands, Tees, Westminster, Blackpool, Gaza, Oldham, London

☆ U.K. Conservatives Hold Their Breath: How Bad Will Local Elections Be?
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Mark Landler | More About Mark Landler | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When voters in England and Wales go to the polls on Thursday to elect mayors and local council members, the outcome will inevitably be seen as a barometer for Britain’s coming general election. Given the sour public mood and the Conservative Party’s dire poll ratings, the storm clouds are already forming. The big question is not whether the governing Conservatives will lose seats — that is a foregone conclusion among pollsters — but whether the losses will exceed or fall short of expectations after 18 months in which the Tories have consistently trailed the opposition Labour Party by yawning margins. “If a party has been 20 points behind the opposition for 18 months, how much worse can it get?” said Tony Travers, a professor of politics at the London School of Economics. “The losses would have to be very, very bad for it to be viewed as a negative result for the Conservatives, and they are unlikely to be good enough for Labour for it to be viewed as a success.”

Persons: pollsters, ”, Tony Travers Organizations: Wales, Conservative, Conservatives, Tories, Labour Party, London School of Economics, Labour Locations: England

☆ Rishi Sunak Back in Hot Seat After Losses, but His Ouster Is Unlikely
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-16 | by ( Mark Landler | Stephen Castle | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of Britain could find himself in a familiar predicament after his Conservative Party went down to defeat in parliamentary elections in two districts on Thursday: isolated, embattled and the subject of whispered plotting by restive Tories bent on pushing him out for a new leader. The crushing loss of two seats in once-reliable Conservative areas capped another dismal week for Mr. Sunak. Economic data confirmed on Thursday that Britain had fallen into recession at the end of last year, undermining one of the prime minister’s five core pledges — that he would recharge the country’s growth. Yet the scheming against Mr. Sunak, analysts said, is no more likely to go anywhere than it has during his previous leadership crises. However desperate the political straits of the Conservatives, they would find it hard, at this late stage, to replace their languishing prime minister with someone else.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Sunak, Liz Truss, Boris Johnson — Organizations: Conservative Party, Conservatives, Conservative Locations: Britain

LONDON (AP) — Voters in two districts in England delivered new blows to beleaguered Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, electing opposition-party lawmakers in seats that Sunak’s Conservatives had held for years. Labour Party candidate Damien Egan won the House of Commons seats of Kingswood in southwest England, and Labour's Gen Kitchen took Wellingborough in the country’s center, results announced Friday showed. The Conservatives won both by large margins at the last national election in 2019 but saw support collapse in Thursday's special elections. The hard-right Reform party — formerly known as the Brexit Party — came third, putting more pressure on the Conservatives. The Conservatives pointed to the low turnout — less than 40% of eligible voters cast ballots — as a sign British electors are not enthusiastic about Labour.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Damien Egan, Kitchen, —, Brexit Party —, Keir Starmer, Chris Skidmore, Peter Bone, Sunak, Liz Truss, Brexit, Boris Johnson, John Curtice, ” “, ” Organizations: —, Labour Party, Wellingborough, Conservatives, Brexit Party, Labour, Conservative, European Union, University of Strathclyde, BBC Locations: England, Kingswood, Wellingborough

☆ U.K. Opens Inquiry Into Jeff Zucker’s Emirati-Backed Bid for The Telegraph
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Michael M. Grynbaum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Jeff Zucker’s re-entry into the global news business has hit a snag. The announcement capped a week of growing outcry in Westminster over Mr. Zucker’s use of roughly $1 billion in Emirati money to acquire the news organizations, which are hugely influential in British conservative politics. Tories lined up to denounce the proposed deal, warning that the Emiratis’ involvement could lead to undue foreign influence over The Telegraph’s coverage. The review, announced by Britain’s culture secretary, does not necessarily end Mr. Zucker’s chance of success. Since then, Conservative Party eminences have lined up to denounce his bid — often in essays published by newspapers controlled by Mr. Zucker’s rivals — and Tory members of Parliament urged regulators to consider the constraints on press freedoms in the Middle East.

Persons: Jeff Zucker’s, Zucker, Zucker’s, Rupert Murdoch, Lord Rothermere, Murdoch, — Organizations: CNN, The Daily Telegraph, The Spectator, Tories, The Daily, The, Conservative Party Locations: Westminster

LONDON (AP) — U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faced heavy pressure from his own Conservatives to take swift action to bring down migration, as new data published Thursday showed net migration numbers were higher than previously thought. The Office for National Statistics revised its estimates for net migration to the U.K. — meaning the number of people arriving minus those leaving — in the year to December 2022 to 745,000. The more hard-line wing of the Tories called for Sunak to “act now” as a general election looms next year. The latest figures do show that net migration in the 12 months up to June 2023 was 672,000. Sunak's office at Downing Street said that net migration remained “far too high” and indicated that further measures could be introduced to bring down the figures.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, ”, “, Jay Lindop, we’re Organizations: National Statistics, Tories, New Conservatives, European Union, Britain, Channel, Downing, Authorities Locations: Britain, Ukraine, Hong Kong

☆ UK's Hunt offers incentives, penalties to get more people into work
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Andy Bruce | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

British Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt during Britain's Conservative Party's annual conference in Manchester, Britain, October 2, 2023. The "Back to Work" plan, billed as a way to help people "stay healthy, get off benefits and move into work", will form part of the Autumn Statement that Hunt will present next Wednesday. Anyone choosing to coast on the hard work of taxpayers will lose their benefits," Hunt said of the "Back to Work" plan. "This sort of language just pushes people away – alienating those who could benefit from support, alienating employers and alienating partners like GPs and voluntary services," Wilson said. Labour said Hunt's plan was "more of the same".

Persons: Jeremy Hunt, Toby Melville, Hunt, Tony Wilson, Wilson, Hunt's, Liz Kendall, Andy Bruce, Susan Fenton Organizations: Britain's Conservative, REUTERS, Institute for Employment Studies, Labour Party, Conservative, IES, Labour, Tories, Confederation, Thomson Locations: Manchester, Britain, British

☆ Suella Braverman fired as David Cameron returns to UK government
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( Rob Picheta | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

The hardline Home Secretary Suella Braverman was fired early on Monday morning, after making inflammatory comments about the policing of pro-Palestinian protests in central London over the weekend. Cameron served as prime minister from 2010 to 2016, resigning after Britain voted to leave the European Union in a referendum that he had called. Unlike Braverman, neither Cleverly nor Cameron are likely to go off script and lash out at the police or protesters. Monday marks the second time in just over a year that Braverman has been sacked as home secretary. Under Sunak, Braverman spearheaded a heavily publicised push to clamp down on small boat crossings made by asylum-seekers.

Persons: London CNN — Britain’s, Rishi Sunak, David Cameron, Suella Braverman, Sunak, Cameron, Downing, James, Braverman, London’s, Braverman’s, ” Neil Basu, we’ve, King Charles, Alec Douglas, –, Edward Heath’s, “, ”, —, ” Cameron, Tories ’, Carl Court, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, Jeremy Hunt, they’d, Liz Truss’s shambolic, lambasting “, Keir Starmer, ” Starmer Organizations: London CNN, Britain, European Union, Downing Street, Times, London, Sunak, BBC, Downing, Conservative Party, Liberal Democrats, Tories, EU, Braverman, Human, Rwanda –, Conservatives, Labour Party Locations: London, Braverman, Downing, Westminster, Cameron, Rwanda, Britain, United Kingdom

Out of the 29 cabinet roles, at least 16 backed remaining in the EU, compared with 10 who supported leaving. Sunak's party still languishes around 20 points behind the opposition Labour Party before an election that must happen by January 2025. But as he was talking, he asked a former cabinet minister to the right of the party for her thoughts. With few Conservatives believing they can win the next election, others might follow her in preparing for a new job. For the Conservatives to stand a chance, they need to change that perception, and it's hard to imagine how bringing David Cameron back does that," he said.

Persons: David Cameron's, Rishi Sunak, Suella Braverman, Sunak, Liz Truss's, Braverman, Cameron, Boris Johnson, Johnson, Dehenna Davison, Keiran, David Cameron, Kylie MacLellan, Elizabeth Piper, Kate Holton, Alex Richardson Organizations: British, European Union, EU, Conservative, Labour Party, Liberal Democrats, Labour, Conservatives, Thomson Locations: England

☆ Former UK Prime Minister David Cameron made foreign minister in surprise political comeback
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( Karen Gilchrist | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 19: Former British Prime Minister David Cameron leaves after giving evidence at the Covid-19 inquiry on June 19, 2023 in London, England. The UK Covid-19 Inquiry is examining the UK's response to and impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and learning lessons for the future. Cameron served as prime minister from 2010 to 2016 and presided over Britain's controversial Brexit vote, which ultimately led to his resignation. 10 — the official residence and office of the British prime minister — to meet with Sunak, following the abrupt sacking of Suella Braverman as interior minister. Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt remains in his post, though further reappointments at the top of government are expected Monday.

Persons: David Cameron, Carl Court, Sunak, Cameron, —, Suella, Cameron's, King Charles III, James, Jeremy Hunt Organizations: British, Tories, China, Conservative Party, Labour, The Times, Downing, London, Finance Locations: ENGLAND, London, England, China, Ukraine, Rwanda

☆ UK PM Rishi Sunak's leadership on rocky ground as party rebellion mounts
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-04 | by ( Karen Gilchrist | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak listens to a speaker address delegates at the annual Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, northern England, on October 2, 2023. (Members) should not blindly support a Conservative Party that no longer represents our values (and is) headed for electoral disaster. Independence Party (UKIP), was also in attendance and later said that a wing of the Conservative Party is "very much coming in [his] direction." "Two-thirds [of voters] think it's time for a change, and that's the real struggle that the Conservative Party has to turn around." Medical workers marched outside of the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, England in a dispute with the government over pay.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Oli Scarff, Sunak, Tory psychodramas, Liz Truss, —, Truss, Ronald Reagan, faithfuls, Priti Patel, Peter Cruddas, Patel, Boris Johnson —, Lord Peter Cruddas, I've, Lord Cruddas, Johnson, Nigel Farage, Farage, Gideon Skinner Organizations: Britain's, Conservative Party Conference, Afp, Getty Images, Conservative, Labour Party, Conservative Growth Group, Conservatives, Conservative Party, Conservative Democratic, Conservative Democratic Organisation —, Independence Party, UKIP, News Agents, Tories, Labour, CNBC Locations: Manchester, England, Getty Images MANCHESTER, ENGLAND

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Britain’s Treasury chief is to announce a hike in the national minimum wage on Monday, as the governing Conservative Party tries to persuade voters it is on the side of those who are struggling financially. Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt has ruled out tax cuts, saying they would fuel inflation. The exact amount will be set after a recommendation by the Low Pay Commission, an advisory body. The right-of-center Tories, in power since 2010, are lagging far behind the center-left opposition Labour Party in opinion polls. Truss, whose plan for billions in unfunded tax cuts spooked the financial markets, is calling for the party to “revive Conservative values” such as “cutting red tape, lower(ing) taxes and trusting that markets will find the solutions we all want.”

Persons: Jeremy Hunt, Hunt, ” Hunt, “, Rishi Sunak, Sunak, Liz Truss, Boris Johnson, pocketbooks, Suella Braverman, Kemi Badenoch, James, Truss, ” Organizations: —, Treasury, Conservative Party, Conservatives, Low, Commission, U.K, Sky News, Labour Party, European Union Locations: MANCHESTER, England, Ukraine, Britain, Manchester

☆ British Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt rules out short-term tax cuts
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( Karen Gilchrist | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Jeremy Hunt, Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, speaks on the second day of the the Conservative Party Conference on October 02, 2023 in Manchester, England. Christopher Furlong | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesMANCHESTER, ENGLAND — U.K. Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt on Monday ruled out tax cuts in the short-term, arguing that to reduce them now would be inflationary. "Right now we're focused on bringing down inflation," Hunt said on the second day of the Conservative Party Conference currently underway in Manchester, England. Hunt has previously argued that tax cuts are "virtually impossible," and could only be afforded if the government took some "difficult decisions." Hunt also unveiled plans for tougher benefit restrictions in a bid to make savings on the government's welfare bill.

Persons: Jeremy Hunt, Britain's, Christopher Furlong, Hunt, Margaret Thatcher, Liz Truss, Truss, Rishi Sunak, flack Organizations: Conservative Party Conference, Getty, Getty Images, Finance, Conservative Party, Tories, Labour Party, Conservative, British Locations: Manchester, England, Getty Images MANCHESTER, ENGLAND

☆ Britain’s PM seeks to rally his party ahead of an election they are tipped to lose
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-01 | by ( Luke Mcgee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

London CNN —Rishi Sunak will gather with members of his governing Conservative Party on Sunday for what is likely to be their final party conference before the UK’s next general, which Sunak is currently projected to lose. Party conference season is an important date fixture in the annual British political calendar. For the governing party, conference is typically a time when members rally around the leadership and unite against the opposition, insulated from whatever is happening in the wider world of politics. Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak led the UK government through much of the Covid pandemic. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaking in June on his plan to "stop the boats."

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Sunak, Boris Johnson, Dan Kitwood, Priti Patel, Margaret Thatcher, Johnson, Rishi, Reuters Johnson, He’s, ”, Yui Mok, “, Will Jennings, it’s, Brexit, Jeremy Corbyn Organizations: London CNN, Conservative Party, Conservatives, Labour Party, for Fiscal Studies, Party, Conservatives ’, British, Conservative, Daily Mail, Greenpeace, Reuters, University of Southampton, Labour Locations: tacking, Sunak, France, “, Manchester

LONDON (AP) — Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is preparing to water down some of Britain's environmental commitments on Wednesday, saying the country must fight climate change without penalizing workers and consumers. “For too many years, politicians in governments of all stripes have not been honest about costs and trade-offs," Sunak said. U.K. greenhouse gas emissions have fallen by 46% from 1990 levels, mainly because of the almost complete removal of coal from electricity generation. The government had pledged to reduce emissions by 68% of 1990 levels by 2030 and to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Automakers, who have invested heavily in the switch to electric vehicles, expressed frustration at the government's apparent change of plan.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Sunak, backtrack, Prince William —, Doug Parr, ”, Parr, Mike Hawes, Lisa Brankin, Tara, Hargreaves Lansdown, ” Copp, Sadiq Khan, “ We’re, Suella Braverman, Alok Sharma Organizations: —, Conservative Party, United Nations General Assembly, Greenpeace, Society of Motor Manufacturers, Traders, Ford, ” Britain's, Labour, London’s Labour, BBC Locations: Britain, New York, London Uxbridge, Glasgow

☆ Britain has a new big problem: crumbling concrete in schools, hospitals, airports, and theaters
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-09 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The "crumbly concrete" was used in hundreds of schools and some have been shut over fears of collapses. The UK government said more than 100 schools faced closure because they contained reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), a material typically used in roof planks and wall panels. AdvertisementAdvertisementOther structures such as hospitals, theaters, universities and some apartment buildings are also being checked for the concrete. Why was the concrete used? According to the think-tank the Institute for Government, those cuts are linked with schools' RAAC closures.

Persons: Matthew Byatt, RAAC, –, Chris Goodier, What's, Keir Starmer, Rishi Sunak's, NAO, Gareth Davies, Rishi Sunak Organizations: Service, Health, Safety, National Audit Office, Guardian, Financial Times, of Structural Engineers, Labour, Loughborough University, Department for Education, Institute for Government, The Times, National Health Service, European Union Locations: Wall, Silicon, Heathrow, Gatwick, Kent, Sweden, London, he's, India

☆ Why Britain Needs to Build Again - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-12 | by ( Ross Douthat | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

There’ll be books; it will linger onIn galleries; but all that remainsFor us will be concrete and tyres. Larkin wrote these words in 1972. On the basis of a trip through England and Scotland in summer 2023 I can report that his fears were premature. British conservatism, of which Larkin was an eccentric representative, has always had a stronger conservationist streak than its American cousin. The Conservative Party, in power for most of this period, is often blamed for backing post-financial crisis austerity and lurching into Brexit.

Persons: ” Philip Larkin, “, ”, There’ll, Larkin Organizations: Health Service, Conservative Party Locations: England, Scotland, Europe, United States, Britain, Italy, Brexit

Britain’s governing Conservative Party suffered crushing defeats in the race for what had been two safe seats in Parliament, but narrowly avoided losing a third contest, according to the results early Friday for by-elections viewed as a critical test of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s popularity. The main opposition Labour Party won in Selby and Ainsty, in Yorkshire in the north of England, in one of its biggest ever by-election victories, overturning a large Conservative majority and winning 16,456 votes to the Tories’ 12,295. The small, centrist, Liberal Democrats party also scored an emphatic victory in the electoral district of Somerton and Frome, in the southwest of England, another former stronghold for the Tories. The Liberal Democrats received 21,187 votes, and the Conservatives 10,790. There, the final count was 13,965 votes for Steve Tuckwell of the Conservative Party, and 13,470 for Labour’s Danny Beales.

Persons: Rishi, Sunak, Boris Johnson, Steve Tuckwell, Danny Beales Organizations: Conservative Party, Labour Party, Conservative, Tories, Liberal Democrats, Liberal, Conservatives, Labour Locations: Selby, Ainsty, Yorkshire, England, Somerton, Frome, Uxbridge, South Ruislip, London

☆ Uxbridge by-election: In Boris Johnson's back yard, Britons are desperate for a change
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Rob Picheta | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

A mid-term by-election to replace Johnson is taking place on Thursday, alongside two other by-elections to replace MPs elsewhere in the country. Boris Johnson is seen on a walkabout in Uxbridge in 2020, during his time as prime minister. Inside, the owner told CNN: "They're all the same ... Johnson’s company ran the first major opinion poll ahead of the Uxbridge by-election, which found a solid but assailable eight-point lead for Labour. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer (far right) and Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves (right) on a campaign visit with Danny Beales, the local Labour candidate (back center).

Persons: Mike Okoli, ”, Okoli, Boris Johnson –, Johnson, “, ” Okoli, Rob Picheta, CNN Johnson, Manoj Supeda, I’ve, hasn’t, ‘, ’ He’s, Supeda, Johnson’s, ” Supeda, “ It’s, ” Manoj Supeda, Tony Blair, Labour's, Brexit, CNN Okoli, he’s, “ I’ve, Sonia Caetano, Boris Johnson, Stefan Rousseau, there’s, ” Caetano, Danny Beales, We've, Caetano, Keir Starmer, Steve Reed, Piers Corbyn, Jeremy Corbyn, Steve Tuckwell, ” Tuckwell, Reed, ” Reed, They’re, Mick, Starmer, “ We’re, we’re, ” James Johnson, Theresa May’s, Sir Keir Starmer, Rachel Reeves, ” Tracy Peabody Organizations: United Kingdom CNN, European Union, CNN, Labour Party –, Tories, Labour, Conservatives, Britain, Uxbridge, Beales, London’s Labour, Conservative, Hillingdon Hospital, CNN ‘ Labour, “, Press Association Locations: Uxbridge, United Kingdom, Nigeria, Caribbean, London, South Ruislip, Britain, “, Okoli, Portuguese, Yiewsley, Portugal, Covid, Ukraine, Hillingdon, Ruislip Manor

☆ Britain’s Tories Expected to Face Election Losses - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Michelle Goldberg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

A recent poll shows the Labour candidate ahead in Selby and Ainsty, where in 2019 Adams won more than 60 percent of the vote. In Somerton and Frome, the candidate of the centrist Liberal Democrat Party appears to have a strong chance of prevailing. Still, there’s a broad sense that, with national elections due sometime in the next 18 months, the Conservative Party is imploding. Yet in Britain, the right appears to be approaching something like free fall, with a recent poll showing Labour with a 21-point lead nationally. Less than four years ago, the party won its fourth consecutive national election by a staggering margin, leaving Labour, then led by the leftist Jeremy Corbyn, decimated.

Persons: Adams, ”, that’s, Joshua Simons, Emmanuel Macron, Le Pen, Jeremy Corbyn, Reed Organizations: Labour, Liberal Democrat, Conservative, BBC, Conservative Party, Financial, Conservatives, Labour Party, Tories Locations: Selby, Ainsty, Somerton, Frome, Europe, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Finland, Greece, Germany, Britain, Republic

☆ UK economy in growth 'doom loop' as business investment slumps versus G7 peers, think tank says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Karen Gilchrist | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Decades of underinvestment by government and business have left Britain's economy in a growth "doom loop," according to center-left think tank IPPR. Decades of underinvestment by the government and businesses have left Britain's economy in a growth "doom loop," according to the U.K.'s Institute for Public Policy Research. New research from center-left think tank estimates that the U.K. has contributed $500 billion ($638 billion) less to business investments than did other comparable wealthy countries. The IPPR said that U.K. underinvestment in infrastructure, research and development, skills and training had spanned several decades and successive governments, dating back to 2005. "The U.K. is in an investment and growth doom loop.

Persons: Luke Murphy, —, IPPR, George Dibb, pare Organizations: for Public Policy Research, OECD, IMD, CNBC, Conservative Party, International Monetary, Biden, Labour Party —, Tories Locations: Poland, Luxembourg, Greece, IPPR

☆ Another Blow to Boris Johnson as U.K. Parliament Ratifies Damning Report
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Mark Landler | Stephen Castle | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Still, however tortured the deliberations, the outcome was a damning verdict for Mr. Johnson. It foreclosed — at least for the moment — any plausible return to power for a flamboyant figure whose three years in Downing Street were marked by a landslide electoral victory in 2019 but nearly ceaseless scandals after that. After more than five hours of discussion lawmakers voted by 354 to 7 to approve the report, a crushing victory for Mr. Johnson’s critics. In a debate marked by sorrow, anger and occasional flashes of humor, lawmakers from both sides stood up to condemn Mr. Johnson for his duplicity and to call for Parliament to endorse the report, as a way of rebuilding trust in British public life. A handful of Tories spoke in defense of Mr. Johnson, a shrunken band of loyalists for a figure who once enjoyed firm command of the House of Commons.

Persons: Johnson, Johnson —, Johnson’s, Theresa May, ” “, Mrs, May Organizations: Conservative Locations: Downing

☆ Trounced, Conservatives Feel Voters’ Wrath in English Heartlands
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Stephen Castle | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

LITTLEWICK GREEN, England — Aged 22 and not long out of college, George Blundell never expected to win when he ran in municipal elections against a Conservative Party bigwig in a region long loyal to the Tories. But for a young, enthusiastic, former politics student it still seemed worth a shot. It’s not something you get to do every day, is it?” recalled Mr. Blundell, a member of the centrist Liberal Democrats, as he sipped a beer outside the village pub where he once washed dishes as a summer job. To his surprise, Mr. Blundell is now a councilor representing the area around Littlewick Green, having defeated the powerful incumbent in perhaps the biggest upset from local elections that have sent shock waves through Britain’s governing Conservative Party. Unhappy about Brexit and aghast at the economic chaos unleashed during Liz Truss’s brief leadership last year, traditional Conservative voters are deserting the party in key English heartlands, contributing to the loss of more than 1,000 municipality seats in voting this month.

☆ ‘A Trump tribute act’: Meet Suella Braverman, the commander-in-chief of Britain’s culture wars
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Rob Picheta | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

London CNN —Late last year, after a breakneck ascent of British politics put her in charge of the country’s migration, crime and national security agenda, Suella Braverman revealed her political fantasy. Leon Neal/Getty ImagesAnd she is an equally furious culture warrior, borrowing rhetoric from the American right when lambasting “woke” culture, transgender rights and climate protesters. Sameer Al-Doumy/AFP/Getty ImagesIt is a stance that has drawn sharp criticism – including from within the traditional wing of Braverman’s Conservative Party. Should Braverman succeed at her next bid for the party leadership, her critics fear another rightwards shift in British politics. “She’s recognized that in the current political climate, her way of creating an impact… (is) positioning herself as a Trump tribute act.

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