Economic populism is a body of ideas, often random and irrational, crafted to win over frustrated voters. It tends to be good politics, bad economics, and it’s having a moment in the spotlight. As US presidential candidate Kamala Harris vows to subsidise home buyers and punish price gougers, her rival Donald Trump offers universal tariffs and “no taxes on tips”. Such slogans poll well but are likely to backfire if implemented, raising this question: are there populist ideas that can lift the economy and still win votes?
Here’s one missing in the campaign so far, that fits nicely on a bumper sticker: No More Bailouts! Doling out dollars by the hundreds of billions in 2008, and trillions in 2020, state rescues have helped incumbent companies, undermining competition and productivity. Bailouts are the new trickledown economics, claiming that everyone gains from benefits for the rich and powerful, but in the end only fuelling a sense that the system is failing and unfair.
The US government has developed a suite of bad habits in recent decades, including more state spending in good times and bad covered by more borrowing, thus almost quadrupling US public debts as a share of GDP. Stopping this snowball would, however, require capping Social Security and Medicare — middle-class entitlements that are so popular neither party dares touch them.
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Bailouts, in contrast, are generally unpopular, and capping them would at least moderate the escalating crippling debts and related dysfunction. These rescues are slowing productivity growth by supporting corporate deadwood, clogging the system with barriers that prevent newer companies challenging the entrenched.
In 2008, the authorities injected taxpayer money into giant banks while letting community banks fail by the dozens. The public reacted angrily, compelling Congress to rule out that type of rescue. Then the pandemic hit, and authorities found new ways to pump money into financial markets, and into banks and corporations whether large or small, distressed or not.
In 2023, the economy was in recovery, yet losses at two smallish banks (Silicon Valley and Signature) triggered new bailouts, justified by fear that letting depositors suffer could cause “another 2008” — a systemic meltdown. Every bailout deepens the faith of investors that government will always be there to backstop their bets, which inspires them to take more risk, making the system more fragile — and for authorities, justifying ever bigger, quicker bailouts.
Disrupting this doom loop requires resetting expectations of state relief before the next crisis hits. Companies need to know that losses will not be covered by the state, so their risk-taking becomes more rational. This is not as radical as it may sound, since modern bailout culture is so new.
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In its first 200 years, the US organised relief for banks and corporations only twice, in crises of the 1790s and the 1930s. The next bailouts were delivered amid the shocks of the 1970s, for select companies such as Penn Central and Chrysler, over fierce resistance. Critics asked why a democracy would single out a few big corporations for help.
The first bailout of a major bank, Continental Illinois, came in 1984. Later that decade came the first industry bailout, in the Savings and Loan crisis, and the first pledge of official support for financial markets — from Federal Reserve chair Alan Greenspan. By 2008, relief spending reached its no-limit maximalism.
The time to slow this momentum is now, before it does more damage. Since bailouts have undermined the dynamism of the economy, they should be doled out less frequently and tilted towards small enterprises, the main engines of job creation. Authorities do need to stabilise markets in distress, but with a sense of balance.
Increasingly, bailouts are indiscriminate, nurturing “zombie” companies. Authorities would do well to recall Walter Bagehot, the father of central banking, who argued that aid should be used to help solvent businesses endure passing storms, not to keep failing ones alive indefinitely.
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Fearful of the fragility they have created, governments now vow to err on the side of spending too much, to prevent a depression. The result in 2020 was way too much relief for too long, driving up inflation, debts and risk in the economy. The size of bailouts should be based on need, not deliberate excess.
The alternative: increasingly financialised capitalism that favours the established, leaving angry voters vulnerable to cynical populism. The answer is practical populism, starting with a call to contain the bailout state.
MORE than 9,000 British pubs are at risk of going bust within a year, a shocking new poll shows.
The survey found one in five boozers believes it is unlikely to survive the next 12 months unless the Chancellor reverses last year’s brutal tax hike on spirits.
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Chancellor Rachel Reeves will deliver her Budget on October 30Credit: Alamy
Pub bosses argue the tax cut for draught beer has been a total flop, with only 4 per cent saying it provided any meaningful support.
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They are now urging Rachel Reeves to scrap the 10.1 per cent duty hike on spirits at the Budget, which they claim has not only hit pubs and distillers hard but has also cost the Treasury £298 million in lost revenue.
The poll of more than 200 pubs by Survation for the UK Spirits Alliance (UKSA) also found 89 per cent of pub owners have seen boozers in their area close in the last six months.
Another 58 per cent fear a negative outlook for their own business in the next year and 53 per cent say spirits generate a higher profit margin than other drinks.
Megha Khanna, owner of the Gladstone Arms in London, warned: “By choosing to support only beer and cider makers while raising taxes on other products, the previous Government damaged our pubs and bars and targeted those consumers who choose to enjoy a cocktail, gin and tonic or spritz.
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“The Chancellor can back pubs, and the fantastic spirits makers that supply them, by reversing the disastrous decision by the last Government to hike duty by 10.1 per cent, which heaped pressure on pubs, slammed the breaks on the gin-boom, and ramped up inflation.”
Founder of Westminster-based Tamesis Dock Neema Rai added: “This is a sector we should be proud of and invest in. Reversing the last duty increase now at a time of economic hardship is a win-win situation for the Chancellor and businesses alike.”
A Treasury spokesperson said: “Thriving pubs are often at the heart of our communities and play a vital role in supporting economic growth across the UK. That’s why it is important for us to act on the challenges that they face, including through our national growth mission.
“Business is at the heart of that mission, which is why we have pledged to cap corporation tax at 25 per cent, make the business rates system fairer, and publish a business tax roadmap so that future investments can be planned with confidence.”
In June 2023, London gallery owners Jacob Barnes and Jonny Tanna posed themselves a question: “Can two guys get up off the couch and run an art fair?” By October they had proved that the answer was “yes” with Minor Attractions, which launched as a satellite to Frieze. “We refer to last year’s edition as a proof of concept,” says Barnes, “but this year it’s a real art fair.”
Taking place at The Mandrake, a five-star hotel in Fitzrovia, the week-long event will commandeer rooms as fair booths, “creating a new context for London’s buzzing art scene”. Local exhibitors include Mayfair institution Sadie Coles HQ but also new nomadic gallery Bolanle Contemporary; others are joining from further afield: Tbilisi to Toronto to Seoul. “We want to create a level playing field where exciting project spaces stand alongside major international galleries,” says Barnes.
The native New Yorker opened art space Season 4 Episode 6 in Marylebone earlier this year, while Tanna runs north-west London gallery Harlesden High Street. Among their fair highlights are an LED light work by German multimedia artist Christian Jankowski, a life-size Plexiglas mannequin by Klara Zetterholm (both from Bucharest-based gallery Suprainfinit), and the deftly distorted paintings of Georgia Semple (with Deptford-based gallery Studio/Chapple).
Accessibility is key. Tickets are required but are free of charge, while a programme of night-time happenings is being hosted by the likes of dance music collective Touching Bass (which Semple is part of) and performance platform Diasporas Now. “It’s out with the old and in with the new,” says Tanna, “that’s what we’re trying to do.” VW
This year marks the 30th anniversary of not-for-profit arts and education organisation Studio Voltaire, and its director, Joe Scotland is on a mission. “Like many art organisations, the support we get from the Arts Council is very small — it equates to 4 per cent of our turnover,” he says. “But we’re being very proactive about it. We’ve established the Studio Voltaire Future Fund to support our work over the next five years; thus far we’ve raised half a million pounds.”
Based in a former Victorian Methodist church in Clapham, south London, Studio Voltaire is centred on a programme of exhibitions and events that champion emerging and under-represented artists. Frieze Week presents an opportunity to celebrate its three-decade output — from career-launching shows to the “Rainbow Plaques” initiative, honouring queer communities across London — but also to add to the pot.
To that end, Allied Editions is offering a lithograph print by British painter Rose Wylie — “Party Clothes (RW and Cat)”, 2024 — in the main fair, while at Casa Loewe on New Bond Street, the fashion label’s Foundation has collaborated with Studio Voltaire and artists including Alvaro Barrington, Anthea Hamilton and Sheila Hicks on a new series of limited editions.
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“Loewe is a really important partner of ours,” says Scotland, highlighting the Loewe Foundation / Studio Voltaire Award that supports an international residency as well as free studio space for London-based artists. “They also have amazing in-house artisans.” This has enabled Barrington to create a “chain wrapped in leather, which can be used as jewellery or a charm”, while Hamilton has conceived a leather fan, de-embossed with the phrases “Che Bello/Che Brutta” (How Beautiful/How Ugly). VW
Lygia Clark (1920-88) revolutionised art by making it interactive. Fed up with the rigidity of concrete art, the Brazilian trailblazer created works that were meant to be touched, manipulated and experienced by audiences. Her innovative “Bichos” (“critters”) were hinged geometric forms that viewers could fold and reshape. These feature in The I and the You, a major survey at Whitechapel Gallery that traces her output from the mid-1950s to the early 1970s. During this period, Clark experimented with ways to transform art into a shared experience while navigating Brazil’s military dictatorship and, later, exile in Paris. The show includes paintings, works on paper and even performances restaging the artist’s participatory group works. KF
Myth and grief swirl through Marlene Dumas’s new exhibition at Frith Street Gallery. Its title, Mourning Marsyas, references Ovid’s tale of a satyr who challenged Apollo to a music competition; his punishment for losing to the god was to be flayed alive. In a haunting painting of the same name, the South African painter transforms this gruesome story into what the gallery calls “a homage to those prepared to die for speaking truth to power”. Drawing from a range of visual and literary sources, other works, with their spectral figures and blurred faces, allude to distressing tragedies or capture dark moods. KF
In Searchers, a two-part exhibition, Robert Longo continues his career-long exploration of diverse visual media. At Thaddaeus Ropac, the American artist builds on his multimedia “Combines” with a seven-metre work, “Untitled (Pilgrim)”, composed of five panels each executed in different media: charcoal drawing, video, painting, sculpture and photography. Inspired by Sergei Eisenstein’s montage theory and John Berger’s seminal book Ways of Seeing, the new work contrasts art-historical images with film stills, ads and news photographs of disasters to interrogate how meaning is created and disseminated. Concurrently, a companion piece, “Untitled (Hunter)”, will also be exhibited at Pace Gallery. KF
October 8-November 20 ropac.net; Oct 9-Nov 9, pacegallery.com
Letizia Battaglia put her life on the line with her work. Her career as a photojournalist began in the 1970s, and though she frequently captured daily life in her hometown of Palermo, she is remembered for her fearless documentation of the Mafia’s unrelenting grip on Sicily during the 1970s and 1980s. The Photographers’ Gallery will show a wide selection, from arresting images of small children brandishing guns to bodies beneath white sheets and a woman dancing at a New Year’s Eve party. NA
With decades of era-defining artwork behind her, it is difficult to imagine how Yayoi Kusama will continue to excite attendees at her latest exhibition. Yet with Everyday I Pray for Love at Victoria Miro, the 95-year-old artist does just that. Paintings feature her singular explorations of line and form and signature polka-dot patterning; treelike forms are made from stuffed and sewn fabrics; drawings of women’s profiles are given new life in bronze. But the big draw is Infinity Mirrored Room — Beauty Described by a Spherical Heart, where visitors will find their reflections refracted into infinity in a new light-filled installation. NA
Emajendat is the first UK exhibition of Los Angeles-based artist Lauren Halsey. Her South Central upbringing is an integral source of inspiration in her work, and her mixed-media installations and standalone objects often explore material culture. At the Serpentine, pink plastic tubes are turned into palm trees and luridly coloured signs are emblazoned with brand names in a maximalist vision. Visitors will find themselves wading through technicolour sand dunes and wandering past mirrored walls and floors plastered with discarded CDs. NA
MILLIONS of households have just hours left to submit their meter readings amid the fresh energy price cap.
After tomorrow (October 8), Octopus Energy customers will no longer be able to backdate their October 1 meter readings, meaning they could risk unexpected charges to their bill.
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Octopus Energy has allowed customers extra time to backdate their meter readings from October 1Credit: EPA
Energy suppliers often recommend customers submit their meter readings on National Meter Reading Day, October 1, so they can secure an accurate bill when the price cap changes.
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However, some suppliers have allowed customers extra time to submit the reading from October 1 in case they missed the date.
Households on a Standard Variable Tariff (SVT) are affected by the price cap and should submit a meter reading.
Households without an accurate bill could risk being overcharged – or if they are undercharged, they could eventually owe money – so either way it pays to get it right.
The new energy price cap, which limits the amount that can be charged, is now around 10% higher than the previous level which had been in place since July.
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According to Ofgem, which sets the limit, this means the average dual fuel bill rises from £1,568 on average to £1,717, though the exact amount you pay still depends on usage and can be higher or lower.
The energy price cap changes every there months – for instance, in June, the cap fell to the lowest level in two years, from £1,690 to the previous rate of £1,568.
Now, a household in England, Wales and Scotland using a standard amount of gas and electricity will see their annual bill rise by about £149.
The price cap makes sure that prices for people on SVTs are fair and reflect the cost of energy.
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I lost £7,000 after a British Gas smart meter billing error destroyed my credit score
It is calculated using a range of factors, including wholesale energy prices, as well as network, operating and policy costs, and VAT.
In order to maintain an accurate bill amid the price cap change, customers should have remembered to take a meter reading from the first day of October.
Octopus Energy customers must submit this reading via the phone, website, or mobile app by the end of tomorrow..
Keep in mind that if you are planning to submit your reading via the phone, Octopus phone lines close at 5pm.
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If you don’t submit your reading by this date you can still tel the supplier later on, but it may not be applied to your next bill.
Can I backdate my meter reading if I’m with another supplier?
Octopus customers aren’t the only ones with hours to submit – E.on Next is another supplier which has set its deadline as tomorrow.
E.on Next advises that the best way to submit a reading is via your online account – the website also informs customers on how to take an accurate meter reading.
EDF, OVO and British Gas customers have a bit more time, with EDF’s deadline being October 9, OVO’s being October 11, and British Gas allowing another week, until October 14.
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EDF customers can submit meter reads through the EDF app, their online MyAccount, or via telephone, email, text or Whatsapp.
Ovo Energy customers can submit their meter readings via the app, online account, phone, Whatsapp or webchat at any time, however the closer to the bill date the customer provides their bill date, the less of the bill will need to be estimated.
For accurate bills, Ovo recommends customers opt for a smart meter.
Meanwhile, back in September British Gas said: “If customers take a read on 1st October, but don’t get a chance to provide it on the day, a form on our website, including on our meter read page, will be available until 14th October.
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“This will allow them to submit the read they took on 1st October and we will use that reading to calculate what they pay before the rates change.”
For customers of Scottish Power or Utility Household, the deadline to submit a meter reading has unfortunately closed.
What if I have a smart meter?
If you are on a smart meter, you do not need to submit a reading, as this is automatically sent by your device.
Those on prepayment plans or fixed rates also do not need to worry, as their bill is either predetermined, or their rate is locked in for the duration of their deal.
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Only households on an SVT are required to submit a meter reading, so they can avoid any disputes with their energy dealer when their bill comes through.
If you’re unsure what plan you are on, visit your suppliers website or revisit your paperwork from when you began your energy package.
If you’re concerned about the new price cap
If you’re worried about affording hiked up bills this winter, many energy suppliers are opening Support Funds to help struggling customers.
For example, British Gas has reopened its Individual and Families support fund, which in the past has helped over 21,000 British customers with energy debt write off grants of up to £2,000.00.
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Over £140 million has been set aside this winter season for those who are struggling financially.
This extends to British Gas customers and non-customers, who live in England, Scotland or Wales.
To find out if you are eligible, visit the British Gas website and search for the Individual and Families support fund – here you will find all the details available.
It is recommended that customers from companies with hardship funds first seek assistance from their own schemes.
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For example, Octopus Energy has recently launched a scheme for pensioners after their Winter Fuel Payments were slashed, offering fresh discretionary credit of between £50 and £200.
Scottish Power’s Hardship Fund has also handed out more than £60 million to struggling customers.
And Utilita also offers grants to its customers to help clear of minimise debt, by operating through its charity partner, Utilita Giving.
Utilita Giving also partners with other charities such as IncomeMax, which helps customers make sure they are claiming what they are entitled to, and Let’s Talk, which provides replacement white goods.
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E.ON’s Next Energy Fund also provides grants and appliance replacement services to struggling customers.
To find out what support your energy supplier is offering this colder season, visit their website or ring their helpline (which can be found online).
Help can also be accessed from the government via the Household Support Fund, which has renewed a fresh pot of £421 million funding for vulnerable households.
To find out if this is available with your supplier or council, and whether you are eligible, go to their websites and read the terms and conditions of the scheme.
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How to save on your energy bills
SWITCHING energy providers can sound like a hassle – but fortunately it’s pretty straight forward to change supplier – and save lots of cash.
Shop around – If you’re on an SVT deal you are likely throwing away up to £250 a year. Use a comparion site such as MoneySuperMarket.com, uSwitch or EnergyHelpline.com to see what deals are available to you.
The cheapest deals are usually found online and are fixed deals – meaning you’ll pay a fixed amount usually for 12 months.
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Switch – When you’ve found one, all you have to do is contact the new supplier.
It helps to have the following information – which you can find on your bill – to hand to give the new supplier.
Your postcode
Name of your existing supplier
Name of your existing deal and how much you payAn up-to-date meter reading
It will then notify your current supplier and begin the switch.
It should take no longer than three weeks to complete the switch and your supply won’t be interrupted in that time.
If you’re just looking for simple ways to reduce your bill this winter, each of these supplier schemes, as well as the Household Support Fund also offer free electric blankets as part of their deal.
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For example, Octopus have said they will distribute 20,000 electric blankets from Dreamland to its most vulnerable customers, keeping them warm for “as little as 3p an hour”.
The “heat yourself not your home” approach is trending fast, with retailers such as B&M introducing ranges of affordable self-heating appliances.
However, it is important to note that the elderly should not avoid turning the heating on if they are cold – for energy help contact your provider or local council, or read our article here.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.
It took the US Department of Justice four years of painstaking preparation to win its sweeping antitrust case against Google’s online search dominance. What it will ultimately mean, however, depends on what happens next.
Amit Mehta, the judge who branded Google a “monopolist” at the conclusion of the trial in August, will by Tuesday receive the DoJ’s proposed “high-level framework” for remedies in the case.
They could range from restricting its ability to strike exclusive search agreements at the heart of the case to forcibly breaking up the company. A days-long hearing on the request is set for April, and Mehta has said he will try to rule by August 2025.
The sanctions could transform a business that has vaulted Google’s parent Alphabet, led by chief executive Sundar Pichai, into the ranks of the world’s most-valuable companies. But equally it could prove too little, too late to stop the dominance of Google, whose name has become shorthand for online search.
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“Without question, it’s an important first step in the direction of imposing greater controls on Google . . . But there are many, many rivers to cross,” said William Kovacic, a former Republican chair of the Federal Trade Commission.
The DoJ’s last major antitrust win against Big Tech highlights the sometimes glacial and political nature of antitrust enforcement. That verdict, which in 2000 ordered Microsoft to be broken up for illegally squashing competition, was ultimately overturned on appeal. The company later settled with the new, more business-friendly administration of George W Bush.
The DoJ’s most draconian move would be to demand a break-up of Google or spin off of its Chrome web browser or Android mobile operating system that are embedded with its search engine.
Those kinds of structural remedies are rarely pursued and granted, but experts said Jonathan Kanter — the head of the DoJ’s antitrust division, who has a reputation for vigorous enforcement — might consider proposing them.
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A person familiar with the DoJ’s approach said: “If you’re trying to create competition and the conduct has raised barriers to entry, then the remedy should lower those barriers to entry.”
More straightforward penalties include a ban or reduction in Google’s ability to make payments to smartphone makers Apple and Samsung, or browser developer Mozilla, to enshrine itself as the default search option.
Another option is to require Google to share its troves of user data to help rivals build and refine their own search products, but that could breach strict data protection rules in the US and Europe.
Kanter would probably “at least [seek] something more than just an injunction” that would bar the company from re-engaging in the offending behaviour, said Herbert Hovenkamp, a professor at University of Pennsylvania’s law school. “The problem Kanter faces . . . is that a simple injunction may not do all that very much.”
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“After smooth sailing for nearly 20 years, there is an uncomfortable air of unpredictability around Google,” said Bernstein analyst Mark Shmulik. There are “hundreds of search remedy permutations” and “it’s highly unlikely that Google comes out unscathed”.
Alphabet is also embroiled in a separate DoJ lawsuit over anti-competitive behaviour in its digital advertising business. The trial ended last week and closing arguments are set for the final week of November.
The company has said it is prepared to appeal against the judges’ decisions up to the Supreme Court, if necessary, meaning any remedies could take years to implement.
“Google has good lawyers and won’t take this lying down,” said Ben Reitzes, a tech analyst at Melius Research. “Our message to investors: don’t draw definitive conclusions yet; we have a hunch it isn’t as bad as it looks.”
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According to Mehta’s decision, nearly 90 per cent of US search queries flowed through Google in 2020, and 95 per cent for mobile. It has no serious rivals — the next closest, Microsoft’s Bing, accounted for just 6 per cent.
The advertising business Google has built around its search business generates enormous revenue: $175bn last year, more than half its $307bn total. It has spent lavishly to protect its cash cow: Google’s total payments to the likes of Apple and Mozilla to make it their default search engine reached more than $26bn in 2021 alone, Mehta said.
The European Commission has sought to curb Google’s market power for years, but despite imposing multibillion-dollar penalties, the search giant has brushed these off to retain its dominance in the region.
Following the commission’s 2018 ruling that Google abused its dominant position in smartphones, Android manufacturers must offer European users a choice of search engine when they first use their device.
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The EU’s new Digital Markets Act, whose obligations on so-called “gatekeepers” came into force in March this year, imposed new mobile “choice screens” and rules against Google “self-preferencing” its own services in search results.
But Brussels’ interventions have made no discernible dent in Google’s monopoly. According to online activity tracker Statcounter, Google still accounted for more than 90 per cent of search traffic in Europe as of July.
“Not all that many people would switch away from Google search if they were given the choice,” Hovenkamp said.
“It’s clear both Europe and the US share the concern about Google’s abuse of its dominant position,” said Bill Baer, who led the DoJ’s antitrust division during the Barack Obama administration. “But what the [EU] Digital Markets Act shows so far is that it’s really hard to reintroduce competition once it’s been shut up . . . The US, working with the district court, will now be in a position to try and come up with some creative remedies, which break up Google’s unlawful dominance.”
A person familiar with Google’s thinking said the reason it continues to pay for default search agreements — despite most users picking Google over rivals regardless when given the choice in Europe — was down to how to the smartphone and browser makers choose to run their platforms.
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“Apple and Mozilla get to design the product and decide how [Google] bids and competes,” the person said. “Google is playing their game to compete for their shelf space.”
US federal agencies were slow to act as Google built its empire. The FTC previously spent two years investigating the company for allegedly prioritising its own content on its search results page, but dropped the case in 2013 because of a lack of evidence. Since then, Google’s share of US search queries has only grown, offering dim prospects for Big Tech and start-up competitors who might invest in rival products.
By the time that remedies are set and the appeals process exhausted, the case’s “central argument may not be pragmatically relevant, like Microsoft two decades ago”, said a former Google manager who now works for a rival search company. “The real impact on Google is slowing down execs right now by having to manage these issues — which does create material openings for other start-ups.”
However, an antitrust lawyer familiar with the matter disagreed, arguing that Mehta could set “interim measures while appeals are pending” and had “discretion on which course to take”.
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The lawyer added Microsoft’s ruling had remained relevant. “It actually had an impact because it changed” the company’s practices, they said. Arguments made in that case also underpinned the Google lawsuit. The DoJ compared Google’s exclusive deals to contracts Microsoft signed with PC makers to promote its Internet Explorer browser and crush rival Netscape.
Others point out the Google case is backward-looking, considering the threat that the emergence of generative artificial intelligence and chatbots could present to traditional search engines.
OpenAI is developing a prototype search tool called SearchGPT to compete with Google, funded by a $13bn partnership with Microsoft and billions more in venture capital cash. The start-up has also struck a deal with Apple to integrate ChatGPT into its Siri assistant to answer questions, a development that could eat into searches typed into the Google-powered Safari browser. Other fast-growing AI search start-ups include Perplexity and You.com, though their threat to Google remains nascent.
“The way SearchGPT plays out will materially impact the final resolution of this case [and] how the industry manages the potential rise of a new disruptive offering,” the former Google manager added. “It can be argued that nothing was really disruptive to Google in the last 20 years.”
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Whatever remedies are chosen, Mehta’s conclusions underline how the bipartisan US political backdrop to antitrust enforcement has moved against Big Tech. For years, US antitrust policy tolerated corporate growth as long as consumers were not harmed by higher prices.
Donald Trump, however, bucked the more hands-off antitrust approach of his Republican predecessors. The Google search probe began during his presidency before being passed to the Biden administration, which brought on a progressive pair of antitrust enforcers in Kanter and FTC chair Lina Khan.
Kanter has another probe under way against Apple. The FTC is pursuing cases against Meta and Amazon. Mehta’s decision is a “shot in the arm” for these efforts “because it shows that the government can prevail”, Kovacic said.
There is no guarantee that a second Trump administration, should he win in November, would look more favourably on Big Tech — and tackling these companies’ power has proven a popular position for both parties. His vice-presidential candidate, JD Vance, recently told the Financial Times that Google is “way too big, way too powerful” and “ought to be broken up”.
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That has left tech companies scrambling to defend cases that threaten their empires. One person familiar with Google’s thinking described the current US approach to antitrust as “Calvinball” — a reference to the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip in which the rules are made up by a six-year-old while the game is played, changing constantly.
In the current AI frenzy, Big Tech is rewriting the dealmaking playbook too. Google, Microsoft and Amazon have recently made so-called “acqui-hires” of staff from promising AI start-ups, which critics say are structured to skirt antitrust rules.
According to Baer, Mehta’s ruling “reinforces the US antitrust principle that while you can be big because you came up with a better idea, were a first mover . . . you can’t then take steps that preclude the possibility of anyone else challenging you and succeeding in that marketplace”.
“What Judge Mehta did was say: ‘Here are the limits and boy, you went way beyond them’,” he said.
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This article has been updated since it was first published to reflect recent events.
Additional reporting by Richard Waters in San Francisco
BUTLIN’S has opened a new multi-million-pound attraction at its holiday park in Bognor Regis next.
First announced last year, the £15million PLAYXPERIENCE is set across two floors, covering 50,000 square feet.
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Butlin’s has opened its new new £15million PLAYXPERIENCE attraction at its Bognor Regis siteCredit: Butlin’s
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The huge new hub is set across two floors and features nine state-of-the-art gamesCredit: Butlin’s
Open today, the immersive hub features nine state-of-the-art experiences from Escape Rooms to digital arts and a huge gaming wall, with celebrities Jeff and Freddy Brazier given an exclusive sneak peek ahead of its opening.
In the Escape Rooms, four guests can spend 70 minutes hunting for clues and solving puzzles in a bid to escape.
There are four themed rooms to choose from, including the Sherlock Holmes-inspired 221B Baker Street.
Traditional pastimes like darts have been given a modern-day upgrade thanks to advancements in technology.
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During the 60-minute Digi Darts activity, guests will throw digital darts at an AR dartboard.
Up to eight people can play against each other in one lane, all players will need to be aged 10 and over.
The PLAYXPERIENCE also has an AI-powered Batting Cage where holidaymakers can compete in sports like baseball, tennis, lacrosse, and cricket.
Each batting cage can hold up to 10 players, with players aged four and over given 60 minutes to try out the sports.
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A TechPutt Zone features three different nine-hole courses, including a Music Course, a Vegas Course and a Neon Course.
Each course takes roughly 40 minutes to complete – depending on your putting skills.
There will also be a Laser Tag venue where players, armed with their phasers, will be given a mission to complete.
Laser Tag will last for 60 minutes, with only players aged eight and over allowed to take part.
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The PLAYXPERIENCE also features a space called Neo Games, a huge interactive wall covered in video games as well as a VR-cade.
Other entertainment zones include Glow Pong and Shuffleboard Zone.
Meanwhile, in the evening, older guests can experience interactive bar games.
The PLAYXPERIENCE also has a cafe and a bar on site.
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Holidaymakers will need to pay for the new games using Activity Tokens, which can be purchased digitally.
Activities can cost anything from one token per person to six tokens for a course.
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A TechPutt Zone features three different nine-hole courses, including a Music Course, a Vegas Course and a Neon CourseCredit: Butlin’s
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Other entertainment zones include Glow Pong and Shuffleboard ZoneCredit: Butlin’s
Butlin’s says it has introduced Activity Tokens to help give holidaymakers “flexibility” and “keep track of their budgets”.
Jon Hendry Pickup, CEO at Butlin’s said: “As the Home of Entertainment, we’re immensely proud to be the first UK holiday resort to open something as spectacular as PLAYXPERIENCE.
“There’s nothing else like it in the holiday market and we know families visiting Bognor Regis and friends coming down on a Big Weekender break will love the range of activities on offer.
“PLAYXPERIENCE was designed with something for everyone in mind – whether visiting with family, a partner or a group of friends on a Big Weekender. No matter what break you’re on, everyone loves a bit of friendly competition while having fun in the process!”
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BIG WEEKENDER HEADLINERS 2025
Meanwhile, the Butlin’s Big Weekenders are already set to make a return next year.
Next year, Butlin’s will host 15 different Big Weekender themed breaks, featuring a choice of musical eras from the 80s, 90s and 00s.
Pop legends like Matt Goss and Busted‘s Charlie Simpson will be performing on set weekends in 2025.
Platinum-selling artist Matt Goss will be headlining an “Ultimate 80s” break, while Charlie Simpson will perform a DJ set straight from the 00s.
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Other artists are also slated to perform throughout the year, including Peter Andre, Blue and Boyzlife.
TRAVEL writer Catherine Lofthouse has been visiting the Butlin’s parks for 40 years – here’s her verdict:
“When I was little, my family would head to Butlin’s every July for a week by the sea, and I even worked at the Minehead resort as a lifeguard in my teens.
“One thing that’s always set Butlin’s apart from its rivals are the photo opportunities that you have during your break, including Teletubbies and TV star Stephen Mulhern.
“There’s also lots of sports and activities to choose from, like football, archery, crafts and soft play.
“I think Butlin’s lost its way a bit in the 2000s when it seemed to become a mecca for stag and hen dos, but in the last decade, there’s been a bit of a turnaround in terms of rebranding and investment.
“I would say that anyone who hasn’t been for a while or who has written Butlin’s off as not for them might be wise to give it another go.”
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