When a wave of Scottish independence accounts suddenly fell silent as the internet went down in Iran, analysts discovered that many of them weren’t Scots at all.
They were Iranian bots.
John Prescott was one of the great figures of our political era—passionate, loyal, and full of life. I will never forget our many lively exchanges across the despatch box. John was a formidable debater, unflinching in his commitment to his values, and he had a unique ability to
Decriminalising drugs is the only way forward. Instead of pointlessly talking tough, we should follow Portugal in treating addiction primarily as a health problem. Read my latest @thetimes column here:
Since I’ve seen reports of people placing bets on me being the new party chairman, please be aware that I will absolutely not be returning to politics in any shape or form, including that one.
Humiliating Denmark, Canada, and other allies comes easily at the moment, but the day will come when America once again needs their trust and support.
The White House may enjoy beating up a few friends, but the US will need more strength than it yet imagines stopping the fight
It is becoming more likely that the United States will “take a pass” on securing peace for Ukraine.
The UK and EU must urgently expand their defence industrial capacity to support Kyiv to fight on with reduced American support.
When Starmer arrives at the White House to discuss the future of Ukraine, he must fix his eye on the bust of Churchill and relay his message that ‘The belief that security can be obtained by throwing a small state to the wolves is a fatal delusion’.
The future of Europe depends
President’s Trump’s tariffs show that we need to take what he says both seriously and literally.
Many tariffs are here to stay, and we need to take his statements on Canada, Greenland, and a third presidential term at face value.
The Prime Minister is now expected to announce a compulsory digital ID scheme.
Exactly the right move.
Now it’s important the scheme is done properly as I argued in my column earlier this week: secure, ambitious, and with public trust at its core.
Arguments against digital ID are paper thin. The reality is most voters now back them.
The Prime Minister should have the courage to embrace them in full.