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Lebanese ministers warn of a dangerous next 48 hours after pager attacks

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Lebanese ministers warn of a dangerous next 48 hours after pager attacks


Explosions in Lebanon considered an 'act of terror,' economy minister says

Lebanon’s leadership warned that the risk of further violence and escalation is extremely high following two days of attacks involving exploding communications devices across the country.

The next 48 hours, ministers told CNBC Thursday, will be particularly dangerous.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, thousands of communications devices — including pagers and two-way radios — used by members of Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah exploded in an apparent widespread act of sabotage, killing at least 37 people and injuring at least 3,000 more.

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Hezbollah called the act an “Israeli aggression”; Israel, meanwhile, has not commented on the blasts. Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, was among those injured, while a son of a Hezbollah member of parliament was killed in the attack. Children were also among those killed.

“It’s definitely a very serious escalation. I don’t see any act of escalation that will not lead to provocation, and that is what we fear most, because what happened yesterday will only trigger more escalation into the conflict,” Lebanon’s Minister of Economy Amin Salam told CNBC’s Dan Murphy on Thursday.

“This will be a really, very, very dangerous … 48 hours that this country will witness to see how the reaction will be.”

Hezbollah, the Shia organization that also dominates a large swathe of Lebanon’s politics, is already engaged in near-daily exchanges of fire with Israel to its south. The group has now vowed retaliation, raising fears of all-out war in a region already ravaged by conflict.

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Hezbollah has launched thousands of rockets into Israel in the nearly 12 months since the latter began its war against Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza in October last year, with Israeli retaliatory fire killing hundreds of Hezbollah fighters and scores of Lebanese civilians. Tens of thousands of people on both the Lebanese and Israeli sides of the border have been evacuated from their homes.

‘Unparalleled kind of unification’

The attacks, Salam said, managed to unify many Lebanese behind Hezbollah, despite many in the country normally being opposed to the group.

“It created a massive, massive reaction, even with people in Lebanon that were against Hezbollah, now they are taking a stand more with Hezbollah,” the minister said.

“So the provocation turned from one entity in Lebanon into the entire country. Yesterday, we witnessed an unparalleled kind of unification among Lebanese political parties towards what happened.”

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“I think yesterday broke all rules, all borders,” Salam added. “It went beyond because in Lebanon, this is considered, you know, an act of terror … That’s why I’m terribly concerned that this will lead to further violence, and this will definitely escalate the situation.”

Lebanese army soldiers stand guard near a hospital (not pictured) in Beirut on September 17, 2024, after explosions hit locations in several Hezbollah strongholds around Lebanon amid ongoing cross-border tensions between Israel and Hezbollah fighters.

Anwar Amro | Afp | Getty Images

CNBC also spoke to Lebanon’s Health Minister Firas Abiad, who said the attacks and the subsequent floods of injured casualties were a shock to the country’s hospital system.

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“We had around 2,800 patients who presented to the emergency rooms, which eventually we had 12 fatalities,” after the first wave of device explosions, Abiad said. “We had almost 300 patients in critical conditions, and almost 450 patients who required operations for eye injuries, hand injuries, amputations … There were more than 90 hospitals that were involved in receiving patients.”

The attacks are a blow to Lebanon’s already fragile infrastructure, which suffers daily power cuts, and its economy, which is one of the most indebted in the world and has undergone a series of crises in recent years.

“We are working in a low resource environment,” Abiad said. “If there is a major escalation, it will put a major stress on the health system. There is no questioning about that.”

A Lebanese army soldier gestures to an ambulance rushing wounded people to a hospital in Beirut on September 17, 2024, after explosions hit locations in several Hezbollah strongholds around Lebanon amid ongoing cross-border tensions between Israel and Hezbollah fighters. 

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Anwar Amro | AFP | Getty Images

U.S. officials are reportedly scrambling to find a diplomatic solution that avoids an all-out war, as Israel moves more of its troops and military hardware further north to the Lebanon border area. Just hours before the first wave of devices — pagers — began exploding, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to return Israel’s northern residents, who were evacuated last year, back to their homes.

And on Wednesday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel’s focus has moved to its northern front, starting a “new phase” of the war. The Times of Israel reported earlier that day that the Israel Defense Force’s 98th Division was being deployed to northern Israel, after months of fighting in the Gaza Strip.

“The position of the Lebanese government has been very clear from day one that Lebanon does not want war … we’ve believed that a diplomatic solution is the best option” Abiad said.

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“But unfortunately, the escalation that we have seen in the last two days … I’m not sure that this is going to help us reach that diplomatic solution.”



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David Lammy dismisses past criticism of Donald Trump as ‘old news’

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David Lammy dismisses past criticism of Donald Trump as 'old news'

Foreign secretary David Lammy questioned on calling Trump ‘neo-Nazi-sympathising sociopath’

The foreign secretary has dismissed his previous criticism of Donald Trump as “old news” and insisted he would be able to find “common ground” with the president-elect.

When he was a backbench MP in 2018, David Lammy described Trump as a “tyrant” and “a woman-hating, neo-Nazi-sympathising sociopath”.

But in his first interview since Trump’s victory, he told the BBC’s Newscast podcast the president-elect was “someone that we can build a relationship with in our national interest”.

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Lammy praised his election campaign as “very well run”, adding that: “I felt in my bones that there could be a Trump presidency.”

In the interview, Lammy was challenged over comments he had made about Trump before he was foreign secretary.

In 2019, ahead of Trump’s state visit to the UK, Lammy also posted that the then-president was “deluded, dishonest, xenophobic, narcissistic” and “no friend of Britain”.

Pressed over whether he had changed his mind, Lammy said the remarks were “old news” and you would “struggle to find any politician” who had not said some “pretty ripe things” about Trump in the past.

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He added: “I think that what you say as a backbencher and what you do wearing the real duty of public office are two different things.

“And I am foreign secretary. There are things I know now that I didn’t know back then.”

Asked if Trump brought up his previous comments when the pair met for dinner in New York in September, Lammy said: “Not even vaguely.”

“I know this is a talking point today, but in a world where there’s war in Europe, where there’s a tremendous loss of life in the Middle East, where the US and the UK genuinely have a special relationship, where we got someone who’s about to become again, the US president, who has experience of doing the job last time round, we will forge common interests,” he said.

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“We will agree and align on much and where we disagree, we’ll have those conversations as well, most often in private.”

Lammy was also asked about the potential impact of Trump’s policies on UK trade.

During the election campaign, he vowed to dramatically increase taxes, or tariffs, on foreign goods imported into the US.

Such a move could hit billions of pounds’ worth in British exports, including Scotch whisky, pharmaceutical products, and airplane parts.

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Asked if the UK would seek a special trade arrangement so there were no extra tariffs on British exports to the US, Lammy said: “We will seek to ensure and to get across to the United States, and I believe that they would understand this, that hurting your closest allies cannot be in your medium or long-term interests.”

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UK support for Ukraine ‘iron-clad’, Keir Starmer tells Zelensky

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UK support for Ukraine 'iron-clad', Keir Starmer tells Zelensky

Sir Keir Starmer has assured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky the UK’s support for Ukraine in its war with Russia remains “iron-clad”.

The two men met at a summit of the European Political Community in the Hungarian capital, Budapest.

The US has been by far the largest single donor of military aid to Ukraine.

But fears have been expressed that the return of Donald Trump to the White House in January might slow, if not halt, the flow of American military aid to Kyiv.

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The prime minister said the summit was “not just about sovereignty of Ukraine”, but also “our freedom, our democracy and our values”.

Following his talks with the Ukrainian leader, Sir Keir sidestepped a question about whether Trump’s presidential election victory was good for Europe and Ukraine.

He said he had met President Zelensky for the sixth time since becoming PM, adding it was an opportunity to affirm the UK’s “iron-clad support of Ukraine”.

Earlier, summit host Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Europe’s leaders had agreed that they needed to take responsibility for their security and not just rely on the US for their defence.

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“To be blunt, we cannot wait for the Americans to protect us,” Orban said.

The Hungarian leader is a staunch Trump supporter and has close ties to Moscow. He has been reluctant to impose sanctions on Russia or to supply Ukraine with weapons.

Trump has said he wants to end the Ukraine war “within a day”, but has declined to set out how this would be achieved.

Some commentators have suggested it could mean the new US administration putting pressure on Zelensky to give up some territory as part of a peace deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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The Ukrainian leader said he had yet to discuss the conflict with the US president-elect.

Sir Keir urged Ukraine’s allies to “step up” their backing, telling Zelensky: “As you know, our support for Ukraine is unwavering.

“It’s very important that we see this through. It’s very important that we stand with you.”

The Ukrainian president thanked him “for sticking with us all through this tough period”.

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French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz have also repeatedly pledged to stand by Ukraine.

Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte said Trump’s first term had stimulated Europe to spend more on defence, but “we need to do more”.

He stressed that the threat of Russia, and its alliance with North Korea, China and Iran, posed problems for the US as well as Europe.

“If Russia would be successful in Ukraine, you would have an emboldened Russia at our border,” he said in Budapest.

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Rutte, who was Dutch prime minister during Mr Trump’s first 2017-2021 presidency, added: “I worked with him very well for four years.

“He is extremely clear about what he wants. He understands that you have to deal with each other to come to joint positions. And I think we can do that.”

Sir Keir dodged a question about a report Trump had privately described him as “very left-wing”.

The prime minister said their meeting in New York in September and their phone call on Wednesday after the US election result had been “very positive, very constructive”.

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Whitehaven ex-miner calls for ‘unjust’ pension payment change

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Is Reform UK's plan to get Farage into No 10 mission impossible?
BBC Dave Cradduck stands in a garden overlooking the town of Whitehaven. He has a stern expression and he is looking at something out of shot. He has short grey hair and is wearing a grey woollen cardigan over a green and blue polo shirt. A pair of glasses are hanging from the collar of his top. BBC

Dave Cradduck worked in the ventilation department at Haig Pit in Whitehaven

A former miner who is among those missing out on extra pension payments is calling for the government to address the “injustice”.

A pension boost for those signed up to the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme (MPS) was announced in last week’s Budget, to address what Energy Secretary Ed Miliband called a “scandal” in historic management of the fund.

Dave Cradduck, who spent 20 years working at Haig Pit in Whitehaven, Cumbria, said it was “unjust” that “not a penny” would be given back to those on a different scheme.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) said the pension funds operated differently and it “must consider the two schemes separately”.

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When coal mining was privatised in 1994, the government agreed to guarantee miners’ pensions.

It also said it would put aside some of the pension fund profits, in case the fund did not have enough money in it later.

Ex-miners had campaigned for years for money to be returned to them and the government has now pledged to return about £1.5bn to 112,000 former coalminers and their families.

It only applies to those who were part of the MPS and not those, like Mr Cradduck, who were signed up to the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme (BCSSS).

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‘Our money’

Mr Cradduck said it was “immoral and unjust”.

The 77-year-old said the government had taken £4.8bn out of the MPS fund, and £3.2bn out of BCSSS, therefore those on the scheme were also owed money.

Mr Cradduck, who worked in the pit’s ventilation department ensuring the flammable gas underground was kept to safe levels, added: “I greatly wonder whether they’ll ever do anything about it.

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“It’s not their money, it’s our money – we just want our own money back.

“Is that too much to ask?”

Getty Images Pit head winding gear at the Haig Colliery Mining Museum, pictured close to the former Woodhouse Colliery in Whitehaven.Getty Images

Mr Cradduck worked at Whitehaven’s Haig Pit for 20 years

Mr Cradduck said although promises about the pension fund had been made by previous governments, this was the first time any money was going to be paid out.

“They obviously think it’s an injustice, and if it is, why isn’t the other scheme treated as an injustice as well?”

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Those affected are writing to MPs to ask for their concerns to be raised in Parliament.

A DESNZ spokesman said it was open to considering any proposals for changes from the trustees of the BCSSS.

They added: “The BCSSS operates in a different way to the MPS, with the government taking no money from the scheme’s surpluses.

“All of that surplus is used purely to fund future pensions.”

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£100m cost for HS2 bat safety ‘shed’ in Buckinghamshire

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Getty A night sky with a bat flying across the black background and an elderflower tree to the left with white spray flowers and green leaves. The bat has its mouth open and its wings are spread open wide. It has a white furry body and brown head with pointy ears.Getty

The current HS2 chairman asked “did people think about the bats?” when setting the project’s budget

HS2 Ltd is spending more than £100m building a “shed” for bats, the chairman of the government-owned company said.

Sir Jon Thompson told a rail industry conference the bat protection structure in Buckinghamshire was needed to appease Natural England, as bats are legally protected in the UK.

Government adviser Natural England was contacted for comment.

The 1km (0.6 mile) curved barrier will cover the tracks alongside Sheephouse Wood near Calvert to prevent bats being disturbed by high-speed trains.

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Sir Jon said there was “no evidence that high-speed trains interfere with bats”.

PA A bat protection structure which will run for around one kilometre (0.6 miles) alongside the wood, creating a barrier allowing bats to cross above the high-speed HS2 railway without being affected by passing trains.  The drawing shows trees and grass either side of a railway line, with a black wire fence on the left side of the track and a curved structure over with stripes over the top. PA

The barrier will allow bats to cross above the high speed line without being disturbed (artist’s impression)

“We call it a shed. This shed, you’re not going to believe this, cost more than £100m to protect the bats in this wood,” he said.

Other more expensive options, including a bored tunnel and re-routing the railway, were considered.

After receiving the go ahead from Natural England for the design, HS2 Ltd was forced to spend “hundreds of thousands of pounds” on lawyers and environmental specialists because the local council did not approve the work, Sir Jon said.

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“In the end, I won the planning permission by going above Buckinghamshire Council’s head,” he explained.

PA Ariel view of an artist's impression of Sheephouse Woods with the railway running alongside it, covered by the curved barrier to protect bats - which looks like a tunnel that is above ground.PA

The bat protection structure would run for 1km over the railway line, costing £100m

Buckinghamshire Council’s Peter Martin, who is deputy cabinet member for HS2, previously expressed “extreme disappointment” about the structure.

In March 2023, the council said HS2 was cutting back trees in Sheephouse Wood in order to protect the “Bat Mitigation Structure” and railway line.

Earlier this year, Mr Martin said: “We believe HS2 Limited is unnecessarily damaging Sheephouse Wood, a Site of Special Scientific Interest and Ancient Woodland.”

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Sir Jon claimed the issue was an example of the UK’s “genuine problem” with completing major infrastructure projects.

He told the Rail Industry Association’s annual conference that HS2 Ltd has been required to obtain 8,276 consents from other public bodies in order to build phase one of the railway between London and Birmingham.

He said: “People say you’ve gone over the budget, but did people think about the bats [when setting the budget]?

“I’m being trite about it, but I’m trying to illustrate one example of the 8,276 of these [consents].”

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Sir Jon, who has led the project since Mark Thurston left his role as chief executive in September 2023, warned in January that the estimated cost for phase one has soared to as much as £66.6bn compared to the £37.5bn forecast in 2013.

HS2 A silver-coloured train coming out of a tunnel with grass growing over the top. There are grasses and a fence in the foreground.HS2

HS2 will see high speed trains running between London and Birmingham

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Former NI assembly member dies

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Pacemaker Anna Lo pictured on her last day at StormontPacemaker

Anna Lo was born in Hong Kong and moved to Northern Ireland in 1974

The Alliance Party has paid tribute to its “ground-breaking” and “trailblazing” former assembly member Anna Lo, who has died at the age of 74.

Ms Lo was the first ethnic-minority politician elected to Stormont, and the first Chinese-born person to be elected to a legislative parliament in western Europe

Alliance leader Naomi Long described her as a “great friend” and paid tribute to her “dedication and passion for serving her constituents” in Belfast.

She added that Ms Lo had been brave in confronting the “appalling racism” she faced during her political career.

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Pacemaker Anna Lo at an Alliance Party manifesto launch.  She is wearing a white jacket, a monochrome patterned top and is speaking into a microphone.Pacemaker

Anna Lo represented the Alliance Part at the Northern Ireland Assembly

‘Championing causes from hospital bed’

Born in Hong Kong, Anna Lo moved to Northern Ireland in 1974.

At first she took jobs as a translator and as a BBC secretary, before attending Ulster University where she qualified to begin work as a social worker.

She later became the director of the Chinese Welfare Association in Belfast and a founding commissioner of the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland.

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Lo was first elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2007, representing South Belfast for the Alliance Party.

She was re-elected five years later and served until her retirement in 2016.

Her sons, Owen and Conall Watson described her as a “campaigner for equality and social justice in Northern Ireland”.

In a family statement, they confirmed that she died in Belfast City Hospital on Wednesday, following complications of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

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They added that even from her hospital bed, she “continued to champion the issues that she had dedicated her life to”.

“We are incredibly proud of Anna and what she achieved throughout her life and career,” her sons said.

“She was a wonderful mother, grandmother, partner and friend, whose energy, joy and integrity inspired those she met.”

“Anna stood for and fought for equality, for women’s rights, against discrimination including racism, and for a political system to serve the needs of people rather than reinforce historic divisions,” they added.

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‘Trailblazer in Northern Ireland politics’

Pacemaker Anna Lo heading into a polling station during European and council electionsPacemaker

Anna Lo was also an Alliance candidate in the European elections in 2014

In a party statement, the Alliance leader said: “Anna will forever be remembered as a ground-breaker in local politics.”

Ms Long added: “Her service to the Chinese community, to good relations and to the city of Belfast, much of which went unseen by most, was transformational.”

She said her friend had “a number of causes close to her heart, including protection of the environment and human rights, and was a strong voice on women’s rights and equality”.

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Former Alliance leader David Ford also expressed his condolences and described Ms Lo as a “trailblazer in Northern Ireland politics”.

“I first met Anna in her previous career as a social worker, where she was known for the exemplary care she gave all her clients,” he said.

“On a professional level, she gave Alliance a massive boost when she made the party’s first Assembly gain, in South Belfast in 2007.”

He added: “I am sad to hear the news of her passing but her legacy as a trailblazer in Northern Ireland politics will live on.”

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Lo served on several assembly scrutiny committees, including as chair of the environment committee.

In 2014, she said she would not be seeking re-election, explaining that continual racist abuse had influenced her decision.

She made headlines earlier that year after declaring her preference for a united Ireland at a time when she was an Alliance election candidate for the European Parliament.

She is survived by her sons Conall and Owen, two grandchildren and partner Robert.

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If I were a cautious, centre-left prime minister, Trump’s victory would have me worried | Andy Beckett

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Badenoch spars with Starmer over Labour’s view of Donald Trump at PMQs – video

Whatever determinedly positive things centre-left leaders around the world have said about Donald Trump’s victory in public, in private they must have greeted it with a shudder. Not just because of the dark and chaotic prospect of another Trump presidency, but because in many ways the defeated Kamala Harris is just like them. She is a hard worker, a patient reformer, a reasonably good communicator, an instinctive mover towards the ideological centre, a supposed antidote to rightwing populism, and yet also an incumbent, in an era when such perceived protectors of the status quo are widely despised.

Keir Starmer may have particular cause to worry. On her campaign website, Harris promised to “bring together” trade unions and business, “grow the economy” and increase both basic pay rates and employment. She said she had voted for legislation “creating hundreds of thousands of high-quality clean-energy jobs”, and “ensuring America’s energy security”. She said she would “cut red tape” to “build more housing”. She pledged “tough, smart solutions to secure the border … and reform our broken immigration system.” Above all, she presented her rightwing opponent as “cruel”, “dangerous” and “unfit to lead”.

All these policy ideas and political messages, and sometimes their precise language, could come from a Starmer speech or Labour press release. If they’ve been rejected by voters in the US, could that also soon happen here?

Supporters and members of the Starmer government who want to believe that Harris’s defeat is not cause for panic can point to the Conservatives’ weakness compared with the Republicans. While the catastrophes of Trump’s first presidency, such as his mishandling of Covid, appear to have been forgotten by many Americans, the Tories are weighed down by their more recent and much longer record in office, and are likely to be for years to come.

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Britain and the US can also be very different politically. In the week that the notoriously reactionary Conservative membership nevertheless elected Kemi Badenoch as party leader, many Americans seem to have been put off by Harris’s race and gender. Yet other contrasts between the countries are less reassuring. While the administration of which Harris is part has overseen strong economic growth, Starmer’s government is likely to bring only a more modest improvement, according to the official forecasts that accompanied last week’s budget. If many voters did not notice, or refused to give Harris credit for, the boom under her and Joe Biden, what chance is there that Starmer’s probably smaller economic successes will be electorally rewarded?

This apparent breakdown in the relationship between a government’s achievements and its popularity poses a profound threat to centre-left politics. For decades, centrists have assumed that “what counts is what works”, as Tony Blair put it. As its name implies, centre-left politics is about compromise and alliances, which are meant to make steady, measurable progress on concrete issues. Yet it appears that more and more voters prefer the dogmas, tribalism, symbolic gestures and fantasy policies of rightwing populism. This dramatic, accelerated, often more short-term politics comes across better on digital media. It also expresses many voters’ anger about the present and anxiety about the future – or their desire to ignore looming disasters such as the climate crisis for as long as possible.

Badenoch spars with Starmer over Labour’s view of Donald Trump at PMQs – video

In the two previous periods when western democracies were consumed by doomy thoughts, the 1930s and the 1970s, many centre-left governments also struggled and were sometimes replaced by authoritarian rightwing populists. At prime minister’s questions this week, hours after Trump’s election, there was a new mood, which could not just be attributed to the fact that Badenoch was making her debut. She beamed with satisfaction at Trump’s victory, and woundingly remarked that Labour’s budget had been “cut and paste Bidenomics”. Meanwhile, Starmer gave unconvincing assurances that Anglo-American relations would continue as normal.

In these exchanges was possibly the beginning of a political shift: towards a situation where his government, while still theoretically dominant at Westminster because of its majority, in fact loses the ideological initiative and becomes isolated, even beleaguered.

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We’re not there yet. Despite her aggression, Badenoch is not a commanding public performer and may never be one, given her tendency to bluff and her party’s lack of credibility and fresh ideas. Labour also has time on its side. By our next election, Trump’s final, four-year term may be over – and may also have demonstrated, as he did last time, that populists are better at electioneering than governing.

It’s possible that his latest victory will be the Republican equivalent of the Tory win in 2019: achieved by making impossible promises in circumstances that favour the right to a greater than usual extent, with Biden’s infirmity analogous to the huge but fleeting Conservative opportunity created by the vote for Brexit.

Yet simply waiting for Trump and other populists to fail in office again would be a slow and uninspiring strategy for the centre left: an acceptance that change can only come after further, possibly terminal, social and environmental damage. Instead, the centre left could make a better case, whether in government or opposition, by addressing inequality with more urgency, as Biden did before beating Trump in 2020, having incorporated ideas from Bernie Sanders’ insurgent campaigns to become the Democratic candidate.

We live in a different world to the one that formed the modern centre left. Unless it becomes more aggressive and more class-conscious – effectively, more populist – it will continue to rule only occasionally and with modest success. The rest of the time, the radical right will run riot.

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