Politics
Why Iran is not a new ‘forever war’
The post Why Iran is not a new ‘forever war’ appeared first on spiked.
Councillor Thomas Heald is a Scottish Conservative councillor for Dunblane and Bridge of Allan, a former Scottish Conservative and Unionist candidate for the Scottish Parliament, and a former political advisor in the Scottish Parliament.
It has been quite the week in UK politics, and none more so than here in Scotland.
For nearly twenty years, Scotland has been governed by a party that has mastered the art of escaping accountability. Well-documented declining public services, stagnant economic growth, ferries with painted-on windows, growing NHS waiting lists, and a school system sliding down the international league tables. Yet instead of a deserved hammering at the ballot box, all we saw last week was the nationalists being rewarded by the electorate with a fifth term in office.
At some point, as democrats, we have to confront an uncomfortable question: what exactly does the SNP have to do to lose?
Because under normal democratic conditions, two decades in power would bring scrutiny. Instead, the SNP benefits from a political culture where constitutional grievance too often overrides governmental competence. Failure is excused because the argument is never about delivery; it is always redirected back towards independence.
That has trapped Scottish politics in a permanent holding pattern.
Responsibility for changing the cycle does not rest with the SNP. They are content to remain in government as long as possible. Instead, it rests with the opposition, particularly the Scottish Conservatives.
As the dust settles on a, not particularly unexpected, poor result, we need to ask ourselves a more fundamental question: do we actually want to govern Scotland?
That may sound absurd.
Of course, political parties exist to govern, otherwise what is the point? It may be uncomfortable for those involved in party strategy, but too often the Scottish Conservatives have behaved like a party content to merely oppose, survive, and occasionally exceed expectations. This is, to a certain extent, a result of the circumstances following the 2014 independence referendum. Scotland needed a strong Unionist Party then, and we delivered that. But the results of last week have shown that, by and large, the electorate believes the threat of a repeat of 2014 is off the table, at least for the foreseeable future.
Unionism matters enormously to the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party; the clue is in the title, but opposition to independence is not a programme for government.
If the Scottish Conservatives want to become a serious political force again, we must start acting like a party that believes Scotland can and should be governed differently, not simply managed slightly better.
That means we must clearly express a distinctive, positive vision for Scotland’s future—one that addresses the needs and aspirations of all Scots, beyond the perpetual constitutional debate.
A Scotland with lower taxes and faster growth. A Scotland that builds homes instead of blocking them. A Scotland where aspiration is encouraged rather than viewed with suspicion. A Scotland where public services are judged on outcomes rather than slogans.
The manifesto for Holyrood 2026, entitled ‘Get Scotland Working’, was a genuine step in the right direction and one that I was proud to stand on. It was more optimistic, more serious and more policy-driven than those that have gone before. But manifestos alone do not change political fortunes. The brutal reality is that almost no one outside the political class reads them.
Politics is driven by perception, emotion and identity long before policy detail enters the conversation.
For years, the Scottish Conservatives have struggled with an image problem that no manifesto can fully address. Too often, we seem defensive, managerial, and reactive, qualities that do not attract optimism or confidence.
And voters notice.
The SNP, for all its failures, still projects belief. Labour at least attempts to project change. The Conservatives frequently project caution.
That is not enough in a political environment where voters are increasingly angry, volatile and impatient.
The rise of Reform UK should be understood in that context. Not necessarily as an ideological shift, but as a warning sign that many centre-right voters no longer believe mainstream conservatism is prepared to fight for anything meaningful.
But the answer is not to simply imitate Reform or chase every populist impulse. Ruth Davidson understood that the Scottish Conservatives only become electorally relevant when we build a broad coalition that reaches beyond the party’s traditional base and appeals to mainstream Scotland.
That means listening carefully to the frustrations driving voters towards Reform, whether that be concerns about economic insecurity, political detachment, cultural alienation or the sense that too many institutions no longer work for ordinary people. This can all be achieved without abandoning the moderate voters who ultimately decide elections in Scotland.
The Conservatives achieved their greatest modern success when we looked optimistic, competent and outward-looking: patriotic without sounding angry, serious without sounding technocratic, conservative without appearing reactionary.
Many centrist voters now feel politically homeless, too. They are frustrated by declining public services, over-government, identity politics and economic stagnation. But they are equally wary of politics that feels permanently furious or defined entirely by grievance.
The Scottish Conservatives cannot out-Reform Reform. Nor should we try.
We must articulate and champion a serious centre-right alternative rooted in aspiration, competence, and a clear vision for Scotland. One which is capable of appealing to both voters frustrated by the status quo and those weary of polarisation.
This will not be fixed by a one-hour meeting with party strategists, but at least if we can establish our end goal, we can implement a five-to-ten-year strategy.
In establishing this goal, we as Scottish Conservatives now face an existential choice. We can continue operating as a party primarily defined by resistance to independence, hoping SNP fatigue eventually delivers office by default. Or we can become a movement that genuinely seeks to reshape Scotland politically, economically and culturally.
One path leads to managed decline.
The other at least offers the possibility of relevance, at least outside the Scottish Borders and the North East.
Because devolution itself has not failed, not yet. But if Scotland continues to reward governmental failure indefinitely, faith in the institutions of devolution will eventually.
Michael Enea is a Welsh Conservative Party member who is a weekly columnist in the South Wales Argus newspaper. He is also the author of ‘The Pointy Finger’ blogging page.
So, in January, I made a bold prediction for Newport in the Welsh Senedd election.
Out of the six seats available for the Newport and Islwyn constituency, I predicted 3 seats would go to Reform, with 1 to Plaid Cymru, 1 to Labour and 1 to the Conservatives. I felt the Greens would miss out.
Looking back, I predicted the winning order correctly. I was slightly out however, as both Reform and Plaid Cymru won 2 seats each.
As the polls closed on Thursday, I also correctly predicted the so-called ‘Portillo Moment’. The big shock of the election? I said Wales First Minister Eluned Morgan would lose her seat – and of course – she did.
Five years ago, I stood as a Welsh Conservative candidate in the 2021 Senedd election for the Newport West constituency.
It was a difficult election. Half of the campaign period fell under tough restrictions imposed by the second ‘lockdown’.
All being said, I fought a robust and hard hitting campaign. At one stage, I topped over one million views on social media. Over 40 people attended my final campaign session in Marshfield on the eve of the election – including the then Welsh Tory Leader Andrew RT Davies. In the end, I gained a respectable 35 per cent vote share. This uplift in votes saw two Conservative Members of Senedd elected on the regional list system.
We almost got a third!
I achieved 10,353 votes, which was the highest number of votes ever obtained by a Conservative in a Welsh parliamentary election for Newport. It is a record that still stands to this day after Thursday’s election where the Conservatives only gained 8,847 votes (in what is now a bigger constituency).
Fast forward five years, and it’s fair to say, the 2026 Senedd election has been a difficult one for the Welsh Conservatives. Five years ago, the Tories secured 16 seats, however this time around they only returned 7 seats in a bigger Welsh Parliament now holding 96 Members of Senedd.
Obviously, the political landscape is very much different in 2026, when compared to five years ago. However, from a Conservative perspective, could they have performed better?
Firstly, a deeply unpopular incumbency rule allowed sitting Tory MSs a ‘priority pass’ at obtaining the top spot on each regional list.
This rule caused major splits, division and even defections among party members. There was real anger over this incumbency rule and lot of members simply ‘downed tools’ when it came to campaigning. Had a free vote been in place, it’s likely a quarter of the old Tory MSs may have failed to claim a top spot.
Secondly, it’s no secret a majority of Conservative Party members support abolishing the Senedd. Rather than risk turning the Conservatives into the ‘Abolish Party’ there were sensible calls to adopt a neutral policy of offering a ‘referendum’ or a four way ‘preferendum’ on 1) abolish, 2) independence 3) MaxoDevo or 4) Small Senedd.
Offering a referendum on devolution would have literally grabbed the headlines in the Senedd campaign. It would have propelled the Tories onto the centre-stage in the political debates and amongst the public. A referendum policy may have boosted the Conservatives up to a 20 per cent share of the vote. This would’ve returned around 19 Members of Senedd rather than the 7 that were actually returned.
To their peril, a referendum on devolution was totally dismissed by the Welsh Tory leadership.
Then there were the Tory election addresses that dropped through letterboxes across Wales. In my view, they were convoluted and over-loaded with information and text boxes. Meanwhile, the Reform leaflet was simple, easy-to-read, and outlined policies with ‘high impact’ wording. I’m not the only one to take this view.
Finally, the campaign slogan of ‘Fix Wales’ was simply too bland and unimaginative. It could’ve been a slogan used by any of the opposition parties. I’ll be honest, I was somewhat disappointed. A slogan of “Lower Taxes, A Stronger Economy” would have at least related to a right-lean political party like the Conservatives.
Obviously, I’m delighted the Conservatives have returned 7 members of Senedd, including our very own Natasha Asghar in Newport. This return is in the ‘ball park’ of what was expected and there is some relief that the party wasn’t totally obliterated with zero seats. However, let’s be frank, out of the 96 seats available, 7 is a poor return.
As the dust settles on the election, there now needs to be an honest, open and thorough review of the Conservatives performance in the election. More than anything, the ‘disconnect’ with the party’s membership has to be repaired, especially on the thorny issue of devolution and abolish.
There also needs to be a total clear-out of staff at the top of the Welsh Conservatives. A change of leadership is needed and that means Darren Miller needs to step aside as the leader. A two or three way leadership race, including a series of hustings, would be a good way to start re-engaging with the party’s membership base.
A total overhaul is now needed with a fresh start.
Summer holiday season is fast approaching. If you’re newly-separated and have children with your now-ex, a private investigator wants you to be aware of some ‘red flag’ signs that could indicate parental abduction.
Now let’s be clear – most parents aren’t going to abduct their own children over the holidays. But there are, unfortunately, instances where this can happen.
According to Reunite International, a UK-based charity specialising in international parental child abduction, around 500 children are abducted from the UK by a parent every year.
Private investigator Paul Jones from ARF Investigations has worked on child abduction cases before. He warns that one of the biggest mistakes separated parents can make is treating overseas travel as a routine arrangement.
And if your ex wants to take the kids away, but their travel plans are vague, Jones warned this should ring some alarm bells.
You must seek permission before taking children abroad
Per UK government guidance, parents must get permission from everyone with parental responsibility or from the courts before taking a child abroad. A letter from the other person with parental responsibility is usually enough to show they can go abroad.
“You can take a child abroad for 28 days without getting permission if a child arrangement order says the child must live with you, unless a court order says you cannot,” reads the advice.
Taking a child abroad without the correct permission is classed as child abduction.
Jones said: “When you hear of abductions, you think of a stranger, but in my experience, the majority of the time a child is taken by a parent or a family member who has taken them on holiday and then kept them after the agreed holiday end.”
He suggested these abductions “often happen during school holidays, where a child is not returned after a visit to a parent’s home country”.
Red flags to watch out for
Jones said parents don’t need to panic over every holiday request, but there are signs to look out for that might indicate something is amiss.
“Details matter,” he said. You should know:
- Where your child is going,
- When they are coming back,
- Who they are staying with,
- How they can be contacted while they’re gone
- What flight they are returning on.
“If you don’t have all of this information, then you need to stop the holiday,” he added.
If your ex becomes defensive about basic travel information, if they refuse to provide an address where they are staying, if they request your child’s passport earlier than necessary, or if they become vague about a return date, these are red flags, the investigator suggested.
He added parents should be cautious if the other parent has previously ignored past contact agreements, blocked communication between you, or made past threats about leaving the country with your children.
“You should also listen to your child,” he noted. “If they start saying things like they may be staying longer, or they’re going to a new school, or even they may not be coming back for a while – don’t dismiss it, as children often repeat things they have heard from adults.”
If you have concerns about parental abduction
If you’re worried your child may be taken out of the country without your permission, per government guidance you should contact the police and ask about a Port Alert.
“This will allow the police to contact the National Border Targeting Centre and alert all UK departure points, including airports and ports, to stop your child from being taken out of the country,” said Jones.
“This only lasts for 28 days, so you will need to speak to a family lawyer after this.”
According to the Met Police, you might need a court order to prevent your child from being taken out of the country – in this instance, you should consult a lawyer as soon as possible.
In some boroughs of Lancashire, it is said that when a southerner next turns their attention to the economic fortunes of the north, then the Gates of Heaven shall open, and the end times will spill out upon all the world above Solihull. If I were a young man or young woman from the north, and I wanted to bet my deliverance from the apocalypse on something, betting it on Whitehall not caring about my hometown would look pretty sound to me.
Then again, looking around, I could be forgiven for thinking the apocalypse had already arrived. Because if I’m young and I live in Doncaster, if I should land a minimum-wage job, I’ll already be making 82 per cent of my region’s median salary. That means the wage gap between me, fresh in the door, and the grafter with 15 years of experience comes down to a few pence an hour. I, at the outset of my career, have almost peaked. At the bottom.
If I’m in Sunderland, the minimum wage is 80 per cent of the median. Wigan, a fraction of a per cent above that, maybe. And if I were from Burnley, Huddersfield or Middlesbrough, the Centre for Cities Outlook 2025 would tell me I lived in one of the lowest-paid towns in the country, where the average annual salary now sits about £20,000 below London’s. If I were from the north-east more broadly, my median weekly pay would be approximately £200 below the London median. If I were from Middlesbrough specifically, roughly 30 per cent of my working-age neighbours would be NEET (not in education, employment or training), and the closure of the SSI steelworks at Redcar in 2015 would still be the local economic event most likely to come up in conversation.
None of these numbers is news to anyone who lives in any of these places. They were the entire point of the Tory canard of ‘Levelling Up’, which must seem like the cruellest punchline yet of a very long joke in these places, a joke that just gets sadder every time.
It’s not difficult to see how it got this way. All these towns lost their industries in two recessions, and by deliberate policy – namely, the pursuit of Net Zero, and the consequent green deindustrialisation of Britain. More than six million manufacturing jobs have disappeared since the mid-1960s. The coal industry declined from 240,000 workers in 1981 to 6,000 by 2011. British Steel has shrunk from 268,000 employees in the 1960s to its present rump of 3,500. Ravenscraig, the last Scottish steelworks, closed in 1992. What grew in the gaps was logistics, care work and retail – sectors that pay at or near the legal minimum.
And then, of course, there is the almighty wage depressant of unchecked migration, that miracle phenomenon which puts downward pressure on wages below the 20th percentile of wage distribution.
The economic demise of the north has become a multi-generational fact of life. But facts of life can have solutions.
What is needed is what has been in absence since the start: profound economic imagination and industrial will. The north of Britain has not been Chernobylised. There is no reason why industry cannot still flourish there. South Korea, Singapore and Bavaria each took a region that had been written off and rebuilt it within a generation. The recipe was the same in each: special economic zoning anchored on specific sectors, technical colleges training for the industries in those zones, and a state willing to back the result against a financialised economy’s preference for distribution warehouses.
Nor is there any greater method of investment in youth than this. Sod youth clubs, I want a million apprentices trained a year across hundreds of recognised occupations, with two-thirds offered jobs by the firms that trained them. The Germans can do it. We have a history of equalling them, don’t we? And with it all must also come a permanent reduction in low-skilled migration, so the labour market tightens and wages rise on their own, without an act of parliament every April to raise the wage floor.
Of course, Whitehall comes into this again not merely because its industrial strategy is dead on arrival, but because what were once both the engine of our industry and the wellspring of our skills base were public works. In the 1960s, public-works investment and entitlements were an equal share of GDP. Now, we spend £10 on entitlements for every one pound we spend on infrastructure. Our decline is etched into these figures. It can be revised out again.
That’s how The North Gets Its Own Back – the industries, the wages, and the right of a young person in Burnley or Doncaster to make a living where they come from. Neither the vision nor its fulfilment will come from the players currently on the board. But it is not written in any book that the immiseration of all those above the Watford Gap must be permanent. Those who want to work for Britain’s revival should look north first.
Maxi Gorynski is an engineer and founder of Progress, an organisation dedicated to a brighter future for Britain. He also maintains Heir to the Thought on Substack.
Brad Raffensperger, the Georgia Secretary of State and candidate for governor, was the target of a credible written threat, his campaign said Tuesday.
Campaign spokesperson Ryan Mahoney said the threat came in the form of an apparent manifesto to a sheriff’s office in Mississippi that featured a photo of Raffensperger with the word “boom” scrawled across his face.
It was unclear if it was related to the discovery on Tuesday — a day after the campaign was notified about the written threat — of a suspicious object found inside a vending machine at a campaign stop in Macon that prompted the campaign to move the event outside.
The manifesto was not released and the motive was not publicly known, but the incidents are an apparent reminder of the potent threat of political violence in the U.S. especially for a high-profile candidate such as Raffensperger, who drew fierce criticism for resisting President Donald Trump’s efforts to resist the results of the 2020 election in Georgia.
“When you stand on principle, when you do the right thing, and when you put people ahead of politics, not everyone will like it. In fact, some people may try to intimidate or do you harm,” Raffensperger said in a statement posted to social media. “So yes, we are dealing with an active threat. And no, I will not back down.”
The Atlanta Journal Constitution first reported the written threat.
The suspicious object was detected by a law enforcement canine at the Middle Georgia Regional Airport where Raffensperger was set to hold a campaign event later in the day. The Bibb County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release later that there were no hazardous devices detected, but did not provide specifics of what was discovered.
The campaign went ahead with the scheduled event, opting to hold the gathering outside in the parking lot instead.
No arrests have been made.
Georgia State Patrol is leading the effort with support from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the FBI, Mahoney said, and the secretary will continue campaigning in the last week ahead of Georgia’s May 19 primary with heightened security.
“The secretary of state’s office has a law enforcement unit, so we’ll start traveling with a handful of those guys until the threat is alleviated,” Mahoney said.
The presence of the Palestinian flag in European stadiums is no longer an exceptional event or a fleeting snapshot linked to a match or celebration.
Rather, it has become a recurring sight within the wider world of football, reflecting the transformation of the sport from a game into an open space for the expression of stances, symbols and identities.
During Barcelona’s celebrations of their La Liga title in Plaça de Catalunya, the scene was not limited to Catalan flags and the atmosphere of the victory.
The Palestinian flag appeared amongst the crowds, raising a question broader than the event itself: why does this presence recur in European stadiums, particularly in Spain?
The answer does not lie in a single moment but in a broader context.
WATCH: Palestine’s flag raised at La Liga title parade
In Catalonia specifically, the stands have long been associated with the idea of symbolic expression, whether at Barcelona matches or on other occasions. Take the match between the Catalan and Palestinian national teams, which from the outset carried a dimension that went beyond the sporting nature of the event towards a clear message of solidarity.
But solidarity does not stop at the borders of Catalonia.
In recent years, similar scenes have been repeated in various European stadiums, where fans of multiple clubs have raised Palestine’s flag at domestic and continental matches, in moments not directly linked to the cause. Yet they reflected a gradual shift in the very function of the stadium itself, from a place of support to a space for expression.
This recurrence calls for a deeper interpretation: football is no longer isolated from the global context but has become part of it.
Stadiums are where culture and politics collide
Fans, in many cases, no longer view the match merely as a sporting event but as an opportunity to convey a message, affirm a stance, or highlight an identity. It is precisely here that Palestine’s flag emerges as one of the most prominent symbols in this European context.
In Spain, sport is intertwined with the political and cultural history of cities and regions. This overlap is particularly evident in stadiums, which have never been entirely neutral spaces but rather an extension of broader social debates, where the public finds a space for indirect expression of their views.
Ultimately, no single scene can be interpreted in isolation from this accumulation.
The Palestinian flag appearing in European stadiums — whether during celebrations, matches or mass gatherings — is no longer a mere detail but an indication that the stands have become another language. A language that speaks beyond the boundaries of the pitch and writes its own messages in its own way, amidst the clamour of the world’s biggest game.
And its influence on the space has expanded over the past two years through repeated calls to expel Israel from FIFA as a result of its ongoing violations of sport in Palestine.
Featured image via Reuters/ Phil Noble
By Alaa Shamali
At least 81 Labour MPs have signed Catherine West’s letter for Keir Starmer to immediately announce a timetable for his departure to allow an election in September. This graphic by @toryfibs names those who are known:
Signing up for that timetable is an indication of likely support for an Andy Burnham leadership bid, as Burnham would need time to persuade an existing MP to step down and allow him to stand. However, the pro-Israel right’s stranglehold on party mechanisms is so tight it is far from certain he would ever get to stand. It is far from certain Labour would win a by-election even if he did.
Starmer: now or later?
Yet more MPs are pushing for Starmer to go immediately. These almost certainly back the awful Wes Streeting, as they believe he would have no chance against Burnham if he gets back into Parliament.
The pressure is mounting on the worst PM in history – worse even than the notorious Liz Truss. But Starmer – always a woeful politician – has told them MPs this morning that he will not go unless a leadership election is formally triggered.
Featured image via the Canary
By Skwawkbox
King Charles will address Parliament on Wednesday (Alamy)
6 min read
On Wednesday, Charles III will deliver the King’s Speech in Parliament, setting out the government’s plans for policies and legislation for the coming parliamentary session.
The speech will come as Keir Starmer fights for his premiership amid a swathe of resignations and increasing calls for the Prime Minister to set out a timetable for electing a new leader of the Labour Party.
The government has said that the King’s speech is expected to unveil over 35 bills and draft bills.
Here is what could be in the King’s speech, set to be delivered at 11 30am:
Economy
Nationalisation of British Steel: The government is expected to introduce legislation to allow for the nationalisation of Chinese-owned British Steel, subject to a public-interest test. Last year, the government passed emergency powers to save British Steel from closure. It is unclear how much nationalisation would cost.
Tourist tax: Legislation to allow mayors and councils to introduce a tourist tax for overnight stays is expected. Local government Secretary Steve Reed said last year that the move would “unlock growth through investment”.
Closer alignment with the European Union: At a speech on Monday, Starmer said that a closer relationship with Europe is at the heart of the “Labour choice” going forward. The government has said that new laws will deliver more trade, more opportunities for young people and help to reduce the cost of living.
Financial services Bill: According to The Financial Times, the bill will set out changes to major regulators, alongside a package of City of London reforms.
Late Payments Bill: The Department for Business and Trade published its response to the late payments consultation in March and said that mandatory interest on late payments would be introduced. Late payments to suppliers are estimated to cost the UK economy £11bn each year.
National Wealth Fund Bill: The government previously established the National Wealth Fund, replacing the UK Infrastructure Bank in October. Legislation could be brought forward to further outline next steps.
Public Procurement (British Goods and Services) Bill: The bill, which was introduced in 2024, aims to increase the use of UK suppliers and would introduce mandatory reporting on the proportion of British food supplied to the public sector.
Technology
Digital ID: While the government U-turned on plans to introduce a mandatory form of digital ID, a voluntary form of the technology is set to be introduced.
Cyber attacks: First announced in the 2024 King’s Speech, the legislation aims to make essential and digital services more secure in the face of cyber criminals.
Health
Abolishing NHS England: Legislation will be needed to deliver on the abolition of NHS England, announced last year by Health Secretary Wes Streeting, and implement several commitments in the 10-year health plan.
Energy and water
Water regulator bill: The government said last year that Ofwat would be replaced with a new, single, powerful regulator to be established to cut water pollution in England’s rivers, lakes and seas, and protect families from massive bill hikes.
Energy Independence Bill: Government is expected to bring forward the Energy Independence Act, which will “establish the framework for Labour’s energy and climate policies” and provide “energy independence from dictators like Putin”. It will also give government more power to tackle the affordability crisis and speed up the delivery of clean energy technologies.
Housing and local government
Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill: The legislation, a draft version of which has already been published, will make it easier for residents to extend their lease and buy their freehold, as well as cap ground rents at £250 a year.
Building Safety Remediation Bill: This legislation will aim to strengthen building safety standards and accelerate the remediation of residential buildings with unsafe cladding in England, following the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017.
Local government standards: The government has tabled amendments to the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill in a bid to strengthen scrutiny of mayors.
Home affairs
Policing reform: Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has previously said she would reduce the number of police forces in England and Wales and pledged to abolish Police and Crime Commissioners.
Immigration: The government has previously said it would like to narrow the scope of the use Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which provides a right to respect for family and private life, as it is being used too often as a ground to block removals.
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Courts and Tribunals Bill: The controversial bill, which will abolish jury trials in some cases, will be carried over from the previous parliamentary session.
Terrorism: The Prevent learning review from the Southport attack identified a gap around the understanding of radicalisation indicators where a specific ideology does not seem to be present.
Animal welfare
Vet costs reforms: After a Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found problems in the veterinary market could be costing households up to £1bn over five years, the government said it would set out a series of reforms to the sector.
Animal welfare reforms: In December, the government announced a tranche of animal welfare reforms, including ending puppy farming and improving conditions for farm animals.
Transport
Railways Bill: The legislation is currently making its way through Parliament and will nationalise railways in England, Wales and Scotland under ‘Great British Railways’.
High Speed Rail (Crewe – Manchester) Bill: The bill, first introduced under the Tories, is being repurposed for Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR), which aims to boost connectivity in the North of England.
Road safety: Measures could be introduced after the government published its new road safety strategy, including mandatory eye tests for older drivers.
Other legislation
Public Office (Accountability) Bill: The legislation, also known as ‘The Hillsborough Law’ is currently making its way through Parliament. As first reported by The Times, the government is expected to scrap an expectation that the duty of candour will not extend to the intelligence services.
Representation of the People Bill: The government will look to finalise this bill, which will lower the voting age to 16 for general elections, a key Labour pledge in 2024.
Peerages: Following additional revelations about Peter Mandelson’s relationship with the paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, the government said it would draft legislation to remove disgraced peers.
Conversion therapy: Ministers have said that they will bring forward legislation for a full trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices. The Conversion Practices Bill was announced in the 2024 King’s Speech.
Education
School system: The government will set out previously published reforms aiming to transform the school system. While the government has set out reforms to the special educational needs and disabilities system, it is still consulting on those proposals.
Pakistan has reiterated plans to issue a yuan-denominated “Panda bond” as it seeks to shore up its economy. This move comes amid inflationary and geopolitical pressures triggered by Trump’s war on Iran. The longer-term strategy is to reduce Pakistan’s reliance on the dollar. Meanwhile, Pakistan aims to raise funds through Chinese capital markets.
These plans, announced by Pakistan’s finance minister, Muhammad Aurangzeb, are expected to take effect next week:
God willing, next week you will hear good news that for the first time, we will be accessing Chinese capital markets through Panda bond.
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Pakistan’s initial $250 million Panda bond, backed by the Asian Development Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, is part of a $1 billion package.
The dual shock of soaring inflation and collapsing remittance incomes has put Pakistan’s economy in a squeeze, alongside others across Asia. They’re reeling as a direct consequence of disruptions to the Strait of Hormuz, cutting off 20% of the world’s oil and gas supplies.
In South Asia, inflation is set to rise from 2.9% in 2025 to 5.0% in 2026, driven by higher food and energy prices.
Abandoned by the UAE
Pakistan was recently also rocked by the UAE’s refusal to renew a $3.5 billion financial facility, a move viewed by Islamabad as a betrayal. Saudi Arabia stepped in with $3 billion in additional support to help bridge the multi-billion-dollar gap in the country’s finances.
According to the FT, the UAE’s decision follows growing frustration with Pakistan’s deepening ties with Saudi Arabia and what it considers Pakistan’s meek response to Iranian attacks on the Gulf.
Recent UAE developments, including the US dollar swap request, exit from OPEC, and expulsion of 15,000 Pakistani Shias, can be read as interlocking signs of the Gulf state’s increased subservience to the US/Israel axis.
Michael Kugelman of the Atlantic Council, a pro-war group, in an interview with DW, said that Pakistan’s role as a mediator was to protect itself because of its vulnerability. The country depends heavily on Gulf remittances from overseas workers, and energy imports from the Middle East.
Pakistan’s need to protect its fiscal position is shaped in large part by the need for cash in a cash-strapped, politically turbulent region.
By contrast, the US interests, which Kugelman presumably thinks are altruistic, are applauded… American exceptionalism and all.
What he presents as opportunistic behaviour by Pakistan is, in fact, a question of survival. After all, his institution’s backers in Washington and Tel Aviv are the ones who started the war. So, are countries in the Global South expected to absorb these consequences without protest? Or should they do so without mitigation?
The curse of IMF loans
Pakistan has received $4.8 billion from the International Monetary Fund so far. These funds were received under two separate programmes.
The first is the Extended Fund Facility, a 37 month arrangement approved on September 25, 2024. This is the main bailout program. In addition, the second is the Resilience and Sustainability Facility. It is a 28-month arrangement approved on May 9, 2025. It focuses on climate and disaster resilience.
IMF is a Western neoliberal international finance institution that offers the poorer nations no viable exit from the death spiral of debt.
According to the Tricontinental Institute:
the IMF not only engineers austerity-driven debt crises, but its policies are designed to ensure and manage a permanent debt crisis, not to erase debt.
Ali Hasanain, a professor at the Lahore University of Management Sciences, explained on Al Jazeera that Pakistan entered the Iran war crisis with virtually “no economic cushion”. This was because it had already been subjected to a long-standing IMF-managed austerity programme.
As a result, the government was unable to shield ordinary people from rising energy prices. Consequently, it was forced to pass most of the inflation directly onto consumers.
The US-Israeli war on Iran has impacted fiscally vulnerable nations like Pakistan. Hence, its entry into the Chinese capital market through the Panda bond is a much-needed lifeline.
Featured image via the Canary
By The Canary
Members of Knesset (MKs) in Israel have passed a bill establishing a so-called ‘special tribunal’ for Palestinians detained on 7 October 2023.
The tribunal is designed to strip fair trial rights and has the power to impose death penalties on detainees.
The bill passed without a single dissenting vote. A total of 27 MKs in Israel’s parliament did not vote.
Israel MKs voted 93-0 in favour of the bill
Human rights groups in Israel and occupied Palestine say the bill removes any legal impediments to executing prisoners.
Muna Haddad, a lawyer with The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel (Adalah), told Al Jazeera that the bill is designed to make it easy to secure the mass conviction of Palestinians.
She said:
The bill explicitly permits mass trials that deviate from standard rules of evidence, including broad judicial discretion to admit evidence obtained under coercive conditions that may amount to torture or ill-treatment.
This constitutes a severe violation of fair trial guarantees that falls well short of international law requirements.
The provisions governing public hearings…violate the presumption of innocence, the right to a fair trial, and the right to dignity. The framework effectively treats indictment as a finding of guilt, before any judicial examination has begun.
Show trials
In a move designed to humiliate those seized, the trials will be publicly broadcast, including sentencing.
Israel murdered hundreds of its own citizens on 7 October 2023 under the ‘Hannibal directive’ in repeated attacks from early morning to late at night. Israel’s then-defence minister Yo’av Gallant told a TV interviewer that he wished the IOF had killed more.
At least 200 people were detained after the raid on ‘suspicion’ of involvement, but no evidence has ever been presented against them.
Featured image via Anadolu Agency
By Skwawkbox
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