Stephen Webb

Kemi Badenoch’s announcement that the Conservatives are no longer committed to the net zero target in 2050 represents a massive breach in fifteen years of bipartisan consensus. It was greeted with predictable hostility by other parties, but also by pro-net zero forces within the Conservative party too. The Conservative Environment Network commented: 'Abandon the science and voters will start to doubt the Conservative Party’s seriousness on the clean energy transition'. Is the power of the demand to ‘follow the science’ losing its effect after Covid, lockdowns and the growing realisation that net zero is likely to be hugely expensive?

The uproar following the acquittal of Police Sergeant Martyn Blake over the death of Chris Kaba exposes a deep unease with the police complaints process. Even without knowing about Kaba’s past criminal record, the jury spent barely three hours before acquitting Blake. Yet last night's BBC Panorama documentary suggests that those in the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) – who took the original decision to refer the case to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) – remain convinced they were right to do so. This apparent failure to learn lessons raises worrying concerns about the IOPC’s approach.

Keir Starmer and Yvette Cooper have set out a blunt message to rioters that they will end up in prison – but the policing response needs to step up in parallel with this robust rhetoric. It is incredible that after the outrageous threats against mosques and attacks on hotels, and other assaults, this disorder has still not been brought under control. There are fears of further violence today. This week's riots constitute the worst public order challenge since the London riots of 2011, or perhaps even since the Miners’ strike of 1984-5. It's time to restore order to Britain's streets.

Dame Sara Khan, the government’s adviser on social cohesion, has produced a powerful and brave report with some stark findings which should make for seriously uncomfortable reading among political and public sector leaders. The report describes how politicians, academics, artists and journalists are self-censoring because of severe levels of harassment and abuse, which Khan calls ‘freedom restricting harassment’, a finding mirroring the survey Policy Exchange commissioned from teachers last year in the report Blasphemy in Schools.

The Scottish parliament’s decision to ban its staff wearing campaigning lanyards may seem like a small step. But could it set a precedent for rolling back a trend for tolerating staff activism that has spread throughout the civil service in recent years? In an email to staff, the move was justified 'to minimise the risk of perceived bias and avoid any perception that wearing such items may be influencing our own decision-making.' But the problem of staff activism goes further than this.  The real change came since George Floyd and the rise of trans ideology I have recently left the civil service as a director after a 30-year career in four departments.