Briefings
Daily news analysis: the fact-checked story behind the day’s biggest political events, every figure verified against the public record.
When Immigration Politics Becomes Something Else →
Hate crime is rising, nurses are being told by patients they do not want to be treated by someone of their race, and a man who has lived in Britain since he was five says there are now days he wishes he could hide his skin. When every party treats immigration as a crisis, the people who look like immigrants become the target.
The Caretaker Premiership: Starmer Governs but Burnham Rules →
Keir Starmer has announced he is leaving. Andy Burnham has not yet been elected to replace him. In between, the government is publishing a £298 billion defence plan that will bind a successor who has not been asked to approve it. The country is being governed on borrowed time.
£298 Billion on Defence, and Nobody Knows Where £4.7 Billion Is Coming From →
The government’s £298 billion Defence Investment Plan commits to nuclear renewal, a new fighter jet, drones and munitions. But of the £15 billion in new money, £4.7 billion has not been found, and the plan is silent on a pre-existing equipment shortfall the National Audit Office put at £16.9 billion.