A state of the nation tale: The National Rail Museum won’t accept a model railway set May 19, 2026 From museums that won't accept model railway sets to the NHS's refusal to share data, British inefficiency is costing us billions.
Labour’s leadership Phoney War continues, this time as farce May 18, 2026 Labour is conducting Schrodinger’s leadership election and it’s increasingly looking like I, Claudius performed b y the cast of Up Pompeii, says Eliot Wilson Following Labour’s punishment beatings in the local and devolved parliamentary elections, the guerrilla war over Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership of the party has finally erupted into open warfare. Or has it? [...]
The story of Keir Starmer’s failure is boringly familiar May 18, 2026 Keir Starmer’s fate was not brought about chiefly by his lack of personality. It was the predictable result of the economic conditions that have wracked Britain for almost two decades, a political system poorly attuned to fixing them, and more than a little of his own hubris, says Andrew Griffith Analysing why Keir Starmer failed [...]
The City is paying the price for Britain’s energy failure May 18, 2026 High, unstable energy costs don’t stay in the energy sector. They get absorbed into operating margins, debt-service forecasts, insurance assumptions, infrastructure returns, and the discount rate applied to British assets, says Alan Chang The City does not need another price shock to understand Britain’s energy problem. Markets are already pricing the risk. Renewed tensions with [...]
Good policing is the unsung pillar of growth May 18, 2026 Market confidence in the City is inseparable from its security, and the police are a core enabler of that security, writes Chris Hayward.
On this day in 1940: McDonald’s is born in a strange kitchen in California May 15, 2026 On this day in 1940, Mac and Dick McDonald opened an octagonal kitchen in San Bernardino and changed food forever, writes Eliot Wilson.
Banning Russia but not Israel shows Eurovision has lost its moral compass May 15, 2026 Banning Russia from Eurovision was easy because it had near-universal Western consensus behind it. But is that is the precedent then it must be applied equally to Israel, says Pablo O’Hana There’s a particular kind of grief in cancelling something you love. After 14 years of hosting what I can only describe as genuinely joyful [...]
How repeat entrepreneur relief could strengthen the UK start-up ecosystem May 15, 2026 Repeat Entrepreneur Relief is proposed to strengthen the UK start-up ecosystem by incentivizing successful founders to reinvest their capital and expertise into the next generation of UK businesses, thereby addressing the domestic funding gap and creating a self-sustaining growth environment, says Zuleika Salter While the UK has long been recognised for its strength in innovation [...]
Happy 170th birthday British Land – here’s to 170 more years May 15, 2026 Despite facing industry headwinds like high construction costs, property giant British Land is showing no signs of slowing down on its 170th anniversary, says Joanna Hodgson As millions of Brits headed to polling stations last week for the UK local elections, Emma Cariaga couldn’t help but think about the origins of her employer, the property [...]
The economics of Eurovision: Politics isn’t the only thing driving dropouts May 14, 2026 It’s not just politics but economics driving this year’s high profile Eurovision withdrawals, says Matthew Allen.