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British politics is hooked on flashy fake numbers – and the AI investment debacle proves it | Jonathan Portes

A claim that the UK is attracting billions of pounds in AI investment has been debunked. That’s no surprise when our establishment runs on dubious ‘good news’ One trillion dollars. That’s the amount of financial aid Gordon Brown triumphantly announced at the 2009 London G20 summit. (I contributed my own two cents here.) Except it wasn’t exactly real: the number was a mixture of already promised apples and aspirational future oranges. So it should hardly be a surprise that when ministers proclaim

Jonathan Guttentag: Iran exposes the West’s crisis of moral clarity

Within days of military strikes against Iranian targets, demonstrations appeared in several Western cities condemning Israel and the United States, while paying little attention to the actions and ideology of the Iranian regime itself. The post Jonathan Guttentag: Iran exposes the West’s crisis of moral clarity appeared first on Conservative Home.

UK urges allies to keep up pressure on Russia as US eases sanctions

Ministers say the UK will not be following the US by loosening sanctions on some Russian oil.

Labour Breaks ‘Secret Promise’ That Chagos Deal Would Be Done by Mauritius Independence Day

Yesterday was the 58th anniversary of independence in Mauritius. A tough day for Starmer, whose government had been making private promises to the Mauritians that the Chagos sellout would be complete by that milestone, which had been driving the UK parliamentary timetable… As the Mauritian press puts it, PM Ramgoolam – in his independence day…

Petrol Retailers Pull Out of Meeting With Reeves Over Staff ‘Abuse’

The Petrol Retailers Association (PRA) has pulled out of a scheduled meeting with Rachel Reeves in Number 11 today over “inflammatory language by Government Ministers“, which it claims has led members of the public to verbally ‘abuse’ its staff. That helpful language being “price gouging” and “profiteering”…  Gordon Balmer, executive director of the PRA, said…

First image appearing to show Andrew, Mandelson and Epstein together emerges

The image appears to show Lord Mandelson and the former prince in bathrobes sitting on wooden decking with Epstein.

Rachel Reeves humiliated as UK petrol chiefs pull out of meeting with scathing statement

Top petrol bosses in the UK claimed the Chancellor "did not understand how the fuel market works".

Unite’s Withdrawal of Funds for Labour Threatens Union-Backed MPs

The long-running battle between Sharon Graham, General Secretary of the Unite union and Starmer continues. With Rayner and other union allies out in the cold, the deep-pocketed socialists over at Unite are pulling the plug… Unite voted this week cut its party affiliation fee by £580,000, which usually goes straight into Labour HQ coffers. As…

Towie star's plea for mandatory ice skating gloves rejected

The Only Way is Essex celebrity Chloe Lewis launched her plea when her son lost part of his finger.

UK urges allies to keep up pressure on Russia as US eases sanctions

Ministers say the UK will not be following the US by loosening sanctions on some Russian oil.

Caption Contest (Peas in a Pod Edition)

Neil Garratt and Luke Robert Black: Stop building affordable housing – build subsidised instead

If developers make a profit, they are more incentivised to build communities and, importantly, increase their risk appetite. By ensuring stronger returns, we are more likely to see more diversity, more beauty and, chiefly, higher quality homes for Londoners. The post Neil Garratt and Luke Robert Black: Stop building affordable housing – build subsidised instead appeared first on Conservative Home.