Politics

Tory MPs often like to talk a tough game on China – but is it Labour who are now making the running? While the Conservatives are often at pains to wrap themselves in the flag and bang the drum for King and country, Mr S can’t help but notice in recent weeks how frequently members of the Labour party like Lisa Nandy and Stephen Kinnock are to be found urging a firmer line on Beijing. First, there was the appalling attack on the Hong Kong democracy demonstration in Manchester outside the Chinese consul, in which suspected Chinese consular officials destroyed posters and assaulted a protester. The government response was assailed

The new Prime Minister has said this week that NHS funding will be ‘prioritised’ when it comes to spending decisions, while NHS bosses seek up to £7 billion in extra funding. That is wrong. In 2000, government health expenditure in the UK was equivalent to about 14 per cent of total public spending. By 2009, as the Labour government came to its end, that had risen to 16 per cent. Then came the period of Tory austerity, from 2010 onwards. Other departments were cut dramatically, but the NHS was ringfenced and NHS expenditure continued to rise. Total health expenditure reached the equivalent of 17 per cent of public spending by 2013, 18 per cent by 2018 and 19 per cent by 2019, an inexorable ratchet.

Europe is lost in space. Ever since the Soviets orbited Yuri Gagarin and America landed men on the moon, Europe has proclaimed the ambition to compete on the final frontier. More than half a century later, Europe is unable to compete even with India, as in October it became incapable of launching its own payloads into space.  Europe’s space agency is an example of European chauvinism at its absolute worst Protected by political and bureaucratic omertà, and with little curiosity on the part of politicians and journalists, Europe’s clumsy space exploration efforts have forced it to turn for launch services to the Twitter and Tesla tycoon, the anarchist squillionaire Elon