Popularity polling
Vladimir Putin won the Russian presidential election with 87.3% of the vote. But he doesn’t appear to be quite the world’s most popular leader. Some others who have won commanding election victories:
– Robert Mugabe won 61.9% of the vote in the 2013 Zimbabwean election.
– Alexander Lukashenko won 81% in Belarus’s 2020 presidential election.
– Ilham Aliyev won 94% of the vote in last month’s election in Azerbaijan.
– Bashar al-Assad won 95% of the vote in Syria in 2021.
– Kim Jong-Un was elected with 100% of the vote on a 100% turnout in the Mount Paektu District in the North Korean elections in 2014. Across the country the Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland won 100% of the vote on a turnout of 99.9%.
Hotting up
Are the installation costs of heat pumps falling? Average cost adjusted for inflation.
2019 £10,328
2020 £11,592
2021 £12,041
2022 £13,396
2023 £11,287
Source: National Audit Office
Road runners
The M25 was closed either side of junction 10 with the A3 for an entire weekend to allow reconstruction works – the first such closure during daytime in the motorway’s 40-year history.
Get Britain's best politics newsletters
Register to get The Spectator's insight and opinion straight to your inbox. You can then read two free articles each week.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in