Politics
Wings Over Scotland | Clocks And Calendars
We think The Scotsman might have gotten a bit confused and/or carried away when it came to putting the clocks forward at the weekend. At 6am on Sunday morning they tweeted this:
But the link was a 404. We checked the print edition of Scotland On Sunday but there was nothing there. Finally, though, the article has shown up in today’s paper and on the website, and to be honest, readers, we still think it must be some sort of mistake, because it’s two days early for April 1st.
And this is too batshit crazy to explain any other way.
Fortunately it’s the end of the month and time for our latest election analysis piece, so let’s pick our way through the madness. Heaven knows we could all do with the laugh.
“Labour believes it has identified a route to forming the next Scottish government by flipping a dozen constituencies from the SNP and relying on a strong Reform performance on the regional list to deprive John Swinney’s party of the keys to Bute House.
Anas Sarwar’s team believe that in battlegrounds across the Central Belt, where constituencies can be framed as a straight fight between Labour and the SNP, turning 11 or 12 seats red would create three large party blocks, with an assumption Labour would be the only party able to form a government with the help of Reform.”
Good lord, where to even start? The first thing to note is that given all current polling figures, any constituency gains by Labour would be all but guaranteed to be wiped out by a corresponding loss of list seats, so the entire premise of this strategy is demented from the start.
If you look at the last 10 polls, Sarwar’s party is sitting on anywhere from 12% to 19% of the list vote, which ought to be good for 2-3 list seats per region, but if they picked up a few constituencies across the Central Belt that’d be slashed into single figures.
The definition of “Central Belt” is a matter of interpretation, but by any reasonable measure includes at least five regions and possibly six. West Scotland includes areas that anyone would class “Central Belt” – Clydebank, Milngavie, Strathkelvin, Eastwood.
Obviously Edinburgh And Lothians East counts.
Same goes for Central Scotland (clue’s in the name!) And Lothians West.
Ditto for Glasgow.
Mid Scotland And Fife is probably the most debatable, but Dunfermline, Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy are hardly in the Highlands and are areas Labour has traditionally been strong in and will at least fancy a shot at. And remember, even picking up a single seat in (say) Kirkcaldy would be enough to halve Labour’s list vote for the whole region.
There can’t be much debate about South Scotland either, unless you’re going to seriously try to dispute that Hamilton and East Kilbride are in the Central Belt.
(Wikipedia defines it as including large swathes of Fife and the Borders.)
So even if Labour picked up “11 or 12” constituencies due to their concentrated vote – and that’s a very, very big ask unless their polling dramatically improves – the likely impact on their total seat count would be zero, because they’d lose the same number on the list.
“The claim is they would have a “moral mandate” to govern, but in order to stand a chance of forming the next government, Labour needs the polls to tighten dramatically to around four or five points. Currently, Labour trails the SNP by around 18 points – meaning Mr Sarwar’s campaign will need to bring forward something extraordinary to move the dial on public opinion in the coming weeks.“
No kidding. But even that understates the magnitude of the problem. Labour’s current constituency-vote polling (again on the last 10 polls, covering the whole of 2026) ranges from 12% to 20%, so to close an 18-point gap they’d need to almost DOUBLE it in the next five weeks, and if you think there’s the tiniest chance of that happening then please contact us at once to take advantage of a fantastic offer we’re currently running on magic beans.
(Labour still haven’t managed to identify a single meaningful policy difference between themselves and the SNP, as Wings has been pointing out for the last three years and which the Scottish mainstream media has finally noticed.)
To be honest, after this arrant nonsense the rest of the Scotsman article is just padding and waffle to fill out the page.
“Labour’s potential route to Bute House would rely on unionist parties, including Reform, to vote in Mr Sarwar as first minister following May’s election, with Labour attempting to govern as a small minority administration.”
Even the most outlandish arithmetical scenario by which Sarwar could win a vote to become FM would require the support not just of Reform but also the Tories, Lib Dems and Greens. Let’s all just pause for a moment and ponder that five-party coalition including Malcolm Offord, Alex Cole-Hamilton and Ross Greer, shall we?
(I asked Grok to visualise it. Yikes.)
But the paper clutches at one last straw.
“One potential scenario, seen by The Scotsman, forecasts that if Labour can take four of the six Glasgow constituencies, the SNP would not be fully supplemented for the losses on the regional list due to the strength of the anticipated Reform vote.
The scenario suggests that instead of the SNP picking up three regional list seats for Glasgow, Reform would come first as the highest performing party that has not won a constituency, with it likely four seats would then be split evenly between Labour and the SNP – with Reform picking up a second regional MSP.”
So even in the miraculous event of Labour picking up FOUR seats in Glasgow (where the SNP’s average majority is around 8,000), the supercoalition would only make a net gain of two, with Labour somehow getting TWO list seats despite their list vote having been divided by FIVE, which would currently put it on something like 3%.
(Which of course is nowhere even REMOTELY close to enough for a SINGLE list seat, let alone two. If they won four constituencies they’d need to be on around 40% of the list vote to have a chance of ONE list seat. They’ve achieved that exactly once in Scottish Parliament history, in 1999.)
The only tiny theoretical chance for the Unionist parties to oust the SNP on anything like current polling is if Reform (the only opposition party who are reasonably strong across the country, not just in pockets of concentrated support) win a lot of constituencies, clearing the others to sweep up on the list. But that’s stupendously unlikely, because no other party is going to knock doors and tell people to vote for Reform. Labour trying to somehow achieve it by picking up a few seats in Glasgow is just suicidally stupid.
So, y’know, wow. We have every sympathy with the press in having to find stuff to write about over the next five wretched weeks and attempt to create some sort of jeopardy as to who’s going to win this election, but if this – “What if Labour suddenly DOUBLED their vote?” – is how crazy they’re getting when it’s still March, we dread to imagine what sort of desperate insanity we’re going to be reading by the start of May.
Politics
Zelenskyy Calls For Russia Deal While Putin Faces Challenges
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned Donald Trump that Ukraine may only have the upper hand in negotiations with Russia for a few more months.
The Ukrainian president predicted that Kyiv has just “this period of time before winter” to gain the diplomatic advantage over Moscow.
His warning comes as the American president’s enthusiasm for ending the four-year war has waned and US-brokered peace talks between the warring countries have broken down.
Much of the White House’s focus since February has been on the war it started in Iran, which Trump is now desperately trying to find a way out of.
But Zelenskyy told CBS News that there is still a window of opportunity, because Vladimir Putin has been on the back foot since December last year.
Russia is burning through troops at a shocking rate – the UK estimates Putin has lost nearly half a million soldiers since the war began – and has struggled to make many territorial gains this year.
As Zelenskyy noted:”(I)t began in December 2025, Russia began to lose initiative on the battlefield.
“And from this point of view, I shared this information with our American partners. I said to them in January, I think that we have window for the negotiations, because each month they will lose more and more people … So now we have this period of time before the winter.
“So I think that in winter — we have, before the winter, we need to find a way, diplomatic way, to sit and to speak.”
Zelenskyy also noted that there has “never” been an American negotiation group in Ukraine even though they’ve been several times to Moscow.
He pointed out that any success relies on the amount of international pressure on Russia.
Zelenskyy said: “But it depends [on] the pressure on Putin, the pressure in his society, and I think that is increasing, the pressure by sanctions – not to lift them, to put more. It’s good, it’s diplomatic way.
“I hope that the United States will do it, and European sanctions, but they made more than 20 packages of sanctions already.”
But Trump recently suspended some of America’s Russian oil sanctions due to high gas prices caused by the ongoing conflict in Iran.
In March, Zelenskyy also told Reuters the US ties its offer of security guanratees for a Ukraine peace deal to the idea of Ukraine giving up its entire eastern Donbas region to Russia.
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Politics
ETIAS: UK Start Date, Countries, And Rules Explained
If you’ve flown to a Schengen country as a non-EU citizen recently, you might have been confronted with long lines and even cancelled flights.
That’s because the new Entry/Exit System (EES) rules have become fully operational, and require all eligible passengers who haven’t done so yet to provide new data like fingerprints.
While the pass stays valid for three years, signing multiple passengers up to the system for the first time all at once has led to chaos in some airports.
But this was step one of enabling another EU security system called the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), set to start operations in the final quarter of 2026.
What is ETIAS?
It’s a visa waiver system that’s linked to people’s passports. The BBC reported that it will build on the EES; The Independent explained that it depends on the EES being fully operational.
“Starting from the last quarter of 2026, some 1.4 billion people from 59 visa-exempt countries and territories are required to have a travel authorisation to enter 30 European countries for a short stay,” ETIAS’ site reads.
It’s a permit that some people from “third-country visa-free nations”, which includes the UK after Brexit, will have to obtain before short stays in Schengen countries. It’s been compared to the US ESTA scheme.
ETIAS is meant to increase border security.
How can I tell if I need to make an ETIAS application?
Per the EU, “UK nationals [will be] required to have a valid Etias travel authorisation if they travel to any of the European countries requiring Etias for a short-term stay (90 days in any 180-day period).”
Which countries will require ETIAS passes?
- Austria,
- Belgium,
- Bulgaria,
- Croatia,
- Cyprus,
- Czechia,
- Denmark,
- Estonia,
- Finland,
- France,
- Germany,
- Greece,
- Hungary,
- Iceland,
- Italy,
- Latvia,
- Liechtenstein,
- Lithuania,
- Luxembourg,
- Malta,
- Netherlands,
- Norway,
- Poland,
- Portugal,
- Romania,
- Slovakia,
- Slovenia,
- Spain,
- Sweden, and
- Switzerland.
Ireland is excluded from the list. UK passport holders will need an ETIAS to access Gibraltar.
How long before travel will I have to make my ETIAS application?
The application should be processed in “minutes,” ETIAS’ site said, though they warned it could take longer – up to 30 days if they decide to interview you based on your application.
“This is why you should apply for an ETIAS travel authorisation well in advance of your planned journey,” they said.
In fact, the EU said, it’s best to apply “before you buy your ticket or book your accommodation”.
How much does it cost?
It will cost €20 (£17) to complete the forms.
How long will my ETIAS pass last?
It lasts for three years or until your passport expires, whichever comes first.
Because ETIAS passes will be linked to people’s passports, the EU has said that “If you get a new passport, you need to get a new ETIAS travel authorisation.”
When will ETIAS come into force for UK fliers?
That’s a bit vague at the moment. Though the ETIAS site says the scheme will “start operations in the last quarter of 2026,” that doesn’t mean it’ll be roundly enforced by that date.
The EU have not set a specific start point in stone yet: “The European Union will inform about the specific date for the start of ETIAS several months prior to its launch”.
“The launch of ETIAS will be followed by a transitional period of at least six months,” the EU added. That means UK fliers can expect rule changes in April 2027 at the earliest.
Then, there’s a six-month, one-time “grace period” for fliers “coming to Europe for the first time since the end of the transitional period”.
These “will be allowed to enter without an ETIAS provided they fulfil all remaining entry conditions. All other travellers will be refused entry if they do not hold an ETIAS travel authorisation”.
You can only take advantage of this once, however, on your first post-ETIAS flight.
How will people apply to ETIAS?
You’ll apply using the official ETIAS website or the ETIAS app. No non-Internet option is mentioned on ETIAS’s site.
What will happen after I apply?
Applicants will be given a number which you are advised to keep for future reference.
Your data will be checked against various databases, including those from the RU and Interpol.
You’ll be given an email explaining the outcome of your application once it’s been processed.
If you’ve been denied entry, the email will explain why and will give you information on how to appeal.
Do I need to bring my ETIAS pass with me separately?
No – it’s linked to travel documents like your passport.
That’s why you need to make sure its details are consistent with those on your ETIAS application.
When your passport is checked at the border, your ETIAS status will be too.
A successful application doesn’t guarantee entry, either: “When you arrive at the border, border guards will verify that you meet the entry conditions. Those travellers who do not meet the entry conditions will be refused entry.”
Politics
Ariana Grande’s Hate That I Made You Love Me Has An Intriguing Meaning
Over the last decade, Ariana Grande has become renowned for her confessional approach to songwriting, whether she’s singing about personal tragedy, heartbreak or the public’s misconceptions about her as a person.
And on her new single Hate That I Made You Love Me, it seems the Grammy winner has a couple more things to get off her chest.
The Wicked star kicked off a new era in her music career on Friday morning with the lead single from her upcoming eighth album Petal.
Ostensibly a break-up song reflecting on a past relationship, it’s already been speculated by many fans that on Hate That I Made You Love Me, Ariana is actually singing about complicated feelings about fame, celebrity, her own public persona and the parasocial relationships between a performer and their audience on her new musical offering.
“Tell me, why is it this way? Why you so hate to see women endure?” she sings in the bridge, before continuing: “Is it really my fault you all gave me your hearts of your own accord? I don’t really think so.”
She also laments on the chorus: “I hate that I made you love me. Sorry if I made you my type. I hate that I made you love me. ’Cause I barely tried.”
Elsewhere on the song, she questions: “What’s happening now? You studied my crown and borrowed my body.
“Warm, kissed by the sun, then cold likе the wind, a bee stuck in honey.”
Have a listen to Hate That I Made You Love Me below:
Ariana previously described Hate That I Made You Love Me as “one of my favourite songs i’ll ever give to you, the greatest fans in the entire world”.
“I’m so grateful for all of the art, moments, songs we have shared,” she told her fans. “I can’t wait for this next chapter and all of the surprises I have for you.”
The music video for Hate That I Made You Love Me, starring actor Justin Long, is also due to premiere next week.
Petals will follow on 31 July, and has been described by Ariana as being “full of life” and inspired by “growing” in light of “cold and hard and challenging” life experiences.
Before that, though, Ariana is due to embark on a world tour, the European leg of which will consist of just 10 nights at London’s O2 Arena.
Politics
Ian Blackford Mocked Over Nicola Sturgeon Explanation Amid Embezzlement Row
Ian Blackford stunned online critics after he came up with a strange explanation for former first minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon’s ignorance about her estranged husband’s embezzlement crimes.
Peter Murrell, chief executive of the Scottish National Party between 2001 and 2023, pleaded guilty to taking more than £400,000 from the SNP this week.
He has been charged with embezzling funds from the party between August 2010 and October 2022.
Murrell was arrested as part of Operation Branchform, a Police Scotland probe into the party’s finances, in 2023, and charged in April 2024.
He has been remanded in custody and is set to be sentenced at the end of June.
He made a series of extravagant purchases while he was SNP chief, including a £124,550 campervan for his own personal use.
His estranged wife Sturgeon was also arrested in 2024 and questioned by detectives, but was never charged with any offences.
Sturgeon, who led Scotland from 2014 until 2023, has insisted she “did not know at all” about her husband’s crimes and that she has been “deceived, misled, lied to and betrayed”.
The ex-SNP leader, who separated from her partner in January 2025, revealed that this has been the “worst week of my life”.
Speaking at Listowel Writers’ Week in Co Kerry, Sturgeon said she was not aware of many of the luxury products Murrell had bought, including three coffee machines worth over £1,000 each.
Explaining how she did not notice such purchases, the former first minister of Scotland said: “We were two people on high salaries, no kids. I was doing a job – and this is another factor – I was doing a job that had me working around the clock, away from home a lot of the time.
“Maybe this doesn’t reflect well on me: I didn’t spend a lot of time in my kitchen – spend any time in my kitchen – but I would never question that some of these things he was buying that I was aware of he couldn’t have afforded, because on the basis of our incomes he could have afforded it.”
Blackford, who worked as the SNP’s Westminster leader from 2017 and 2022, told Times Radio: “I know Nicola very well, she’s a friend of mine.
“Nicola does not have a passion for cooking, it’s not something that she does, so I think that explanation is one that I absolutely can understand.”
“She’s given her explanation, I’m satisfied with the explanation, she’s not someone who would normally spend that much time in the kitchen,” he said.
That explanation went down like a lead balloon on social media, with many criticising the “bizarre” and “insane” response…
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Politics
Trump Turns On Tucker Carlson And Other MAGA Critics With Spiteful AI Truth Social Post
President Donald Trump mocked multiple right-wing Trump critics, including Tucker Carlson and former congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, in an AI-generated photo on Saturday amid his ongoing habit of portraying his political foes in unfavourable ways using artificial intelligence.
Trump’s Truth Social post featured a fake image of Carlson, Greene, Repuplican Representative Thomas Massie, far-right political commentator Candace Owens, Representative Lauren Boebert and Senator Rand Paul crowded together in an SUV.
In the AI image, a smiling Massie was at the wheel of the vehicle with Greene to his right in the front passenger seat. Carlson was squeezed in between Owens and Boebert in the middle row, while Paul is seen in the far backseat with a smirk.
The group of MAGA outriders presumably was driving through Washington DC as the US Capitol building appeared in the background.
“Get in loser, we’re going losing,” the photo was captioned.
Trump’s post came after Massie lost the Republican primary earlier this month to challenger Ed Gallrein, who was backed by the president, and following Trump’s withdrawal of his support for Greene, whom he called “wacky” and accused of having “gone Far Left.”
Trump also called Carlson and Owens “low IQ” people, and attacked Boebert for her support for Massie and her push to release the Jeffrey Epstein files. Rand has also been criticised by Trump for voting against the GOP on key issues.
The president took aim at several of his other political opponents on Saturday, using AI-generated images on Truth Social.
In a separate post, he shared a fake image of himself wearing a New York Knicks jersey and slam dunking on Governor Kathy Hochul.
“PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP vs. Kathy Hochul, New York’s failed Governor who, if people are smart, will vote for Bruce Blakeman — He will, MAKE NEW YORK GREAT AGAIN!” Trump captioned the post.
Trump’s post appeared to be in response to Hochul jeering his Knicks fandom last week by challenging him to name the starting lineup of the “1993 championship team” to test his knowledge of the New York team.
Hochul was ridiculed online over her jab after she apparently mixed up the dates, considering the Knicks haven’t won an NBA championship since 1973.
Politics
Euphoria Will Not Return For Season 4, Its Creator Has Finally Confirmed
The season finale of Euphoria has now premiered, and with it, its creator has announced that the show will not be returning to our screens.
Speculation has been rampant since even before season three had even started airing that the latest run of episodes would be the show’s last.
Finally, on Sunday evening, it was confirmed that the award-winning drama has reached its end.
After the episode aired, executive producer Sam Levinson said on the New York Times podcast Popcast: “In terms of the story that we set out to tell, which is a story about addiction and its consequences, this feels like the end to me.”
In the run-up to season three’s release, series lead Zendaya indicated that she didn’t see a future for Euphoria past the episodes that had already been shot.
“I think so, yeah,” she told Drew Barrymore when asked if she thought Euphoria would end with season three. “I think so. Yeah. Closure is coming!”
Sam Levinson also told Variety at the new season’s premiere that he writes every iteration of Euphoria “like it’s the last”, and has “no plans” to continue it in the future right now.
“I want to finish this as strong as I can,” he noted. “I’m [putting the finishing touches on episodes] seven and eight still.”
He added: “I just want to deliver a fucking slam dunk season.”
It’s fair to say that Euphoria’s third season has been the most divisive in its entire run, with some critics suggesting the show lost its footing in growing its characters up from high-school students to young adults.
The show’s depiction of women has also been called into question, with the penultimate episode and finale also serving up back-to-back deaths of major characters.
All three seasons of Euphoria are available to stream on Sky and Now in the UK.
Politics
Rosamund Pike Slams Inter Alia Audience Member For Texting During Show
Rosamund Pike had something to get off her chest after spotting someone texting in the audience of her West End show.
The Oscar nominee is currently appearing in a production of Inter Alia at the National Theatre in London, and at the end of Saturday night’s performance, she took a moment during curtain call to address the audience.
“I just wanted to say, for anyone going to the theatre, it’s a huge thing that we’re trying to give you,” she began (as reported by The Independent). “I am trying to tell you a story, and I’m feeling you, and I hope you’re feeling me too.
She then explained that she’d seen someone in the house texting during an emotional part of the show.
“You know who you are and I’m not going to single you out,” the Saltburn actor continued. “Maybe it was very important, and maybe you’re a doctor, and you’re saving someone’s life, and I hope you are.
“But we do see these [things, and] we do feel them.”
She added: “I’ve got you, I feel like I’ve got to hold you all, so when I feel that and see it, it’s hard.”
One of the most notoriously outspoken figures on the matter is stage icon Patti LuPone, who once went as far as swiping an audience member’s phone after seeing them on it during a performance in 2015.
British performer Gemma Arterton also claimed during an interview on The Graham Norton Show that she did the same, after spotting a patron filming her while she was performing in the West End musical adaptation of Made In Dagenham.
Back in April, Cynthia Erivo was similarly irked at seeing someone on their phone in the crowd during her one-woman show, even briefly stopping the performance around an hour in so the matter could be dealt with.
Phone use during theatrical performances is becoming an increasingly contentious issue.
Meanwhile, just a few weeks ago, Lesley Manville took issue with the current trend that has seen theatres allowing guests to film the curtain call on their phones.
Lesle told Radio 4: “Clap or don’t clap, but don’t just stick your phone in our face. I find it insulting.”
Politics
Dua Lipa Marries Callum Turner In Intimate London Wedding Ceremony
Dua Lipa and Callum Turner are officially married after tying the knot over the weekend.
On Sunday afternoon, the British pair held an intimate wedding ceremony at Old Marylebone Town Hall in central London, around a year after it was first rumoured that they were engaged.
Pictures taken on the day show the happy couple leaving the venue arm in arm while being showered with confetti by loved ones.
Dua wore a custom pale blue Schiaparelli suit for the occasion, including a floor-length skirt and oversized hat, while the Masters Of The Air actor wore a double-breasted navy suit by Ferragamo.
Check out photos from the big day in The Sun.
Since they began dating in January 2024, Dua and Callum have largely kept their relationship out of the spotlight, aside from the odd Instagram post.
However, they made their red carpet debut together at the 2025 Met Gala, around a month before confirming their engagement.
The Future Nostalgia singer told British Vogue in June last year that the engagement was “very exciting”, revealing her new fiancé had designed her engagement ring for her, and that she was “obsessed with it”.
“It’s nice to know the person that you’re going to spend the rest of your life with knows you very well,” she beamed.
Shortly after this, Callum had the entire world swooning when he gave a candid interview about how he and Dua first met.
“We sat next to each other and realised we were reading the same book, which is crazy,” he told The Times. “I had just finished the first chapter and I told her and she looked at me and said, ‘I just finished the first chapter too’. I said, ‘So we’re on the same page’.”
“In the movie version of it I look up to the sky and I’m like, I hear you. I understand. The signs are loud, don’t worry. And that was really the first [moment],” he added, revealing that prior to that, there’d been several near misses when they almost met by chance, but didn’t.
Politics
BBC Expert Calls Iran War A Severe Blunder In Trump Critique
A senior BBC expert has branded the Iran war “a severe blunder” as he slammed Donald Trump’s handling of the crisis.
Jeremy Bowen, the corporation’s international affairs editor, said the US president’s decision to launch air strikes in February had been “a gross miscalculation”.
He also hit out at Trump’s “famously limited attention span” and said he was now desperately trying to find a way out of the conflict.
His comments came as the president once again claimed Iran wants to agree a deal to end the war – but with no permanent ceasefire in sight.
Bowen said: “It seems that President Trump is deeply reluctant to get back into any kind of sustained military action against the Iranians. He’d like this whole thing to be over, he’d like to find a way out of what actually was a gross miscalculation back in February.
“On the Iranian side, they have fundamental demands that they believe are existential, and it’s pretty clear I’d say that more strikes are not going to budge them on that.”
He said the “best case scenario” at the moment would be a memorandum of understanding between both sides which would allow them to continue peace talks without a return to fighting.
But he added: “If the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened, that is economically disastrous for much of the rest of the world, including the United Kingdom.
“I think we’re seeing the consequences of what was a really severe blunder by the Americans and the Israelis to attack Iran back in February. They got it wrong because they underestimated the degree to which the Iranians were prepared to rise this out.”
Bowen went on: “We’re seeing this continued period of confusion, and at the centre of it is Donald Trump, with his famously limited attention span when it comes to really difficult situations, his desire for quick victories, and in this case, his absolute inability to deliver one.”
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Politics
Leigh Ingham MP: ‘The government must buy British, build British and back British’
Forty-eight percent of people in England and Wales live in towns – nearly half the population – and it’s clear to me that the UK will not succeed unless its towns succeed. But for too long we have reached for a cities-first playbook – as though towns exist to serve the economies of nearby cities rather than to drive their own.
The data tells the story plainly. Over the last ten years, employment in cities grew by 10.7%. In towns, 5.4%. A stark difference. And people living in places like Stafford have to live with the consequences of that – watching investment land nearby but not reach them, watching young people move away believing opportunity lies somewhere else, and watching their high streets shrink and decline.
The issue is of course, multifaceted. But I believe some small but important changes could be huge engines of growth for our towns, and therefore the economy of our country.
The data shows that certain sectors are more likely to employ people in towns than cities – manufacturing is a strong example, which employs 9% of all employees in towns, more than double the 4% who work in manufacturing in cities. Investing in our manufacturers is therefore a brilliant way to invest in our towns, creating a virtuous cycle of business growth, job creation, and spending in the local economy.
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But for too long, our government procurement framework hasn’t been doing enough to reward companies that are already manufacturing in Britain. Public procurement is a hugely powerful tool, with the government spending £434 billion in 2024/25 across the UK. How this money is spent affects our businesses, our workforce, our environment, and our communities. It impacts how we build homes, whether we meet net zero, how healthy our communities are, and whether our local businesses succeed.
These factors form the social value of a contract – the benefits beyond pure delivery of a product or service. While of course price and quality remain key factors, given today’s fragile supply chains and increased global competition, the importance of Social Value is going up.
The historic social value weighting hasn’t been sufficient to tip decisions in the favour of UK manufacturing. Businesses in my constituency have felt this firsthand – and I’ve been pushing the Government to change it.
It is clear from approaches taken in the US, European Union, and elsewhere that there is an appetite for domestic-focused procurement. Germany shows strong preference for domestic suppliers, particularly for critical assets and maintenance reliability, which is crucially important in times of increased global uncertainty.
The European Commission has recently proposed the Industrial Accelerator Act to increase the share of EU products and services in public procurements – a significant change to its current legal framework for investment. The act aims to increase manufacturing to 20% of the EU’s GDP by 2035.
This trend is showing how procurement is becoming a key priority for economic growth and resilience, and things are no different in the UK.
The government’s procurement reform, announced in March 2026, marks the biggest overhaul in a generation and one I believe is an excellent move for the UK. It will mean that bids that deliver real community support, local jobs, skills, and apprenticeships will be rewarded. And it shows this government is committed to buying British, building British and backing British.
The reforms focus on four key sectors: steel, shipbuilding, energy infrastructure, and AI – those that are key to our national security. Importantly, they include a new definition of Social Value to put local communities at the heart of procurement decisions, as well as requiring government departments to publish and annually assess the social value delivery of contracts over £5m.
But I think there is more we can do. We could look at increasing the UK content weighting: where government money is spent it should support domestic production and skilled jobs wherever possible. For the businesses in my constituency, like Perkins making engines, GE Vernova making transformers, or Bostik making adhesives, this would make a real difference.
Outside of procurement reform, the government has recognised that our manufacturers require real support too, announcing £120 million of investment into ceramics manufacturing, £350 million to support the chemicals sector as well as legislation that brings the option to nationalise British Steel. Supporting British manufacturing in more industries, particularly ones like ceramics and steel where energy prices are having a real impact, will help us meet our targets as a country, while supporting British employment in our towns.
The government has made an excellent start, but until businesses in my constituency have a fair shot at their tenders, one that considers their local impact and UK manufacturing properly, I’ll keep pushing. When businesses are already backing Britain, we should absolutely be backing them. And when 48% of people in England and Wales live in towns, we should be creating policy that reflects that – not just reaching for the age-old cities-first playbook we’ve been relying on for so long.
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