The biggest item of note in Andy Burnham’s recent devolution speech was his commitment to ‘the biggest council house building programme since the post-war period’. It is estimated such construction will cost the taxpayer up to £13bn a year. This is merely the tip of the iceberg, however. Research released by the Centre for Policy Studies shows the state is already implicitly subsidising social housing rent to the tune of £43bn every year and paying out £36bn in housing benefi

Despite not having won Best Picture or Best Director at the 2026 Oscars, I have no doubts that Ryan Coogler’s Sinners will stand the test of time as one of the greatest cinematic achievements of the 21st Century. In a media landscape saturated with franchises, reboots, and sequels, Coogler’s original genre-bending film about a black community in the Jim Crow south, who find their newly-established juke joint and promise of emancipation devoured by undead vampires, is both inc

At a news conference regarding agricultural policy on the 12th of August 1986, Ronald Reagan delivered one of his most recognisable quips satirising the organisation he had been elected to lead two years prior: “I think you all know that I've always felt the nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the Government, and I'm here to help”. Given the enduring appeal of this line for so-called libertarians and free-marketeers, the words that followed Reagan

Donald Trump did not engineer the decline of American soft power, though he would probably trademark it if he could. Instead, he is one of its clearest consequences and biggest brands. Long before he entered the White House, faith in the American model was already eroding at home and abroad. Trump emerged from this decline and has spent his presidency accelerating it. After failing to secure a Nobel Peace Prize last year, Trump petulantly wrote to Norwegian Prime Minister Jon

On the 4th of November 2026, South Africa is holding its municipal elections. Johannesburg, the city built on gold and still the economic hub of Sub-Saharan Africa, has found itself in a mayoral race caught between politicians' moral stance on the Middle East and their ability to fix a decimated, chronically underfunded infrastructure. Helen Zille is the Democratic Alliance's (DA) candidate for Johannesburg. In a system of proportional representation, the DA is the main liber

The beginning of May heralds many celebrations. May Day, Early Bank Holiday, spring finally rearing its head (as much as it can in English weather, anyway). Yet perhaps the most prominent event for netizens and socialites alike is the Met Gala, a fundraiser and fashion event held in New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art on the first Monday of May. This year, the 4th of May saw celebrities strut across a garden-like carpet dressed in reference to this year’s theme: ‘Fashion is

A terrible event took place on the 30th of April in Golders’ Green, London. A man tried to murder two people with a knife. The Metropolitan Police publicly stated the man had been charged with terrorism and attempted murder. Thankfully, all victims survived, and the culprit was taken into custody and also to hospital. The two victims were Jewish, although the man did not seem to have been charged with an aggravating factor (religious or racial). His case is not simple – he h

If we were to ask whether the UK Wealth Tax Movement was successful last year, an instructive litmus test might be the frequency with which the topic appeared in BBC headlines. This is undoubtedly a major feat, but only half the battle. Commentators everywhere, like coiled springs , raised their concerns about how effective and feasible the tax would be, rattling off the list of unintended consequences. The media asserted – the Wealth Tax cannot be introduced until all conce