"Let us suppose that foreigners came from another country, and brought opium into England, and seduced the people of your country to smoke it, would not you, the sovereign of the said country, look upon such a procedure with anger, and in your just indignation endeavor to get rid of it?" This is an excerpt from the famous 1839 letter, penned by Lin Zexu, addressed to Queen Victoria. Supposedly, this letter was never received by the monarch; no halt in the export of the goods

In recent weeks, eyes and ears have been focusing on the Middle East. Starmer’s hesitancy to go in behind the Americans and Israelis with all guns blazing has gone down well with the public, and his opposition to the right of him have taken a real misstep. It is a safe bet to assume that he will see a small rise in his favourability ratings in the coming weeks. However, Starmer would be foolish to think that this uptick will steady the ship. Whilst this has all been going on

In 2016, Lord Heseltine spent several months in the Tees Valley area, producing an extensive 91 page report titled ‘ Tees Valley: Opportunity Unlimited ’. He concluded, despite the fact that “Four miles of the south bank of the Tees is a scene of desolation, a memory of industrial activity now gone...” that the “Tees Valley has an exciting future.” A decade on from this report, how are things looking for the region? In 2024 Lord Houchen was voted in as Mayor of the Tees Valle