Stone me
Boris Johnson threatened to unleash the ‘terrors of the Earth’ on an unidentified Tory MP who claimed that Labour’s deputy leader, Angela Rayner, deliberately crossed and uncrossed her legs to distract the Prime Minister at the dispatch box – in the manner of Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct. But that was just one way in which the 1992 film caused offence. It was also accused of glorifying violence, portraying negative stereotypes of gay people, making smoking glamorous and exploiting Sharon Stone, who later claimed that she had been tricked into removing her knickers for the offending scene.
Let us pay
How is the cost of living crisis beginning to bite?
– In March, 87% of households saw an increase in the cost of living compared with the previous month
– 23% reported that it was difficult or very difficult to pay their household bills
– 43% said it was difficult or somewhat difficult to afford their energy bills
– 30% said it was difficult or somewhat difficult to pay other housing costs
– One third of renters said their rent had increased over the past six months
– 17% said they were borrowing more money than last year
Source: Office for National Statistics
Journey times
How have travel patterns changed since the pandemic? Percentage of journeys of various modes of transport on Wednesday 13 April compared with the pre-pandemic average for Wednesdays:
Cars 90%
Light commercial vans 108%
HGVs 106%
National rail 74%
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