The Slapp Trap
A freelance reporter was hit with a £10,000 (≈$12,800) libel claim – later followed by a £250,000 (≈$320,000) suit – by Italian property magnate Claudio Di Giovanni after publishing an investigation. Despite promises from the Johnson and Sunak governments to curb strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPP), comprehensive anti‑SLAPP legislation has been repeatedly shelved. The Society of Media Lawyers (SML), a coalition of top UK libel firms, has mounted a discreet but powerful lobbying campaign that has effectively blocked broader reforms. The episode highlights how the UK’s claimant‑friendly libel regime continues to enable wealthy individuals and foreign oligarchs to silence journalists at great cost.
Miranda Priestly Is Still My Hero
The Devil Wears Prada 2 opened with roughly US$250 million, delivering lavish couture set‑pieces and a soundtrack featuring Lady Gaga, Raye, and Doechii. While critics faulted its uneven tone and an over‑caffeinated Anne Hathaway, audiences responded warmly, especially to the film’s visual splendor. Central to...
The Case for Manchesterism
The essay argues that Britain’s supply‑side architecture – from energy and water to housing and care – remains locked in a pre‑2008, privatised regime that extracts wealth and drives chronic under‑investment. It proposes a "Productive State" that publicly owns and...
The Road to Retirement
TrinityBridge frames retirement as a multi‑decade journey, urging early engagement with pensions and tax‑advantaged accounts. It highlights the power of compound growth when contributions start in the 30s and stresses regular reviews, especially in the 50s, to align investments, risk...
Policy Sclerosis Is Ravaging the NHS and Whitehall
The Health Foundation reports that UK healthy life expectancy (HLE) has slipped to just under 61 years, dropping the country to 20th place among 21 high‑income nations. The decline follows a decade‑long fall in HLE, contrasting with gains elsewhere. The...
When Steven Spielberg Predicted AI
Steven Spielberg’s *AI* returns to theaters on May 8, marking the film’s 25th anniversary and prompting renewed discussion about artificial intelligence. The movie, based on Brian Aldiss’s 1969 short story and developed by Stanley Kubrick before Spielberg took over, tells the...
Olivia Dean’s Definition of Love
Olivia Dean’s second album, *The Art of Loving*, won Brit Awards Album of the Year and propelled her to six consecutive sold‑out shows at London’s O2 arena. The record, inspired by bell hooks and reminiscent of Carole King’s *Tapestry*, blends...
Israel Never Stopped Mowing the Grass
Israel continues to apply its long‑standing “mowing the grass” doctrine, using disproportionate force to deter Hamas, Hezbollah and now Iran without a clear post‑conflict plan. The approach, rooted in the 2006 Lebanon war, has expanded geographically and intensified, leading to...
Iran’s New Ocean Imperium
The article links the escalating Iran‑U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz to a centuries‑old debate over “freedom of the seas.” It argues that the legal doctrine, famously codified by Hugo Grotius in *Mare Liberum*, was originally crafted to justify Dutch...
I Read Russell Brand’s Unreadable New Book, for My Sins
Russell Brand’s new book *How to Become a Christian in 7 Days* arrives on Tucker Carlson’s Skyhorse imprint, a publisher known for polarising titles. The memoir blends Brand’s personal conversion story with a litany of pop‑culture riffs, conspiracy‑theory tangents, and...
Nick Clegg Is Not Sorry About the AI Revolution
Former deputy prime minister Nick Clegg told the New Statesman he has no regrets about the 2014 sale of DeepMind to Google and is "delighted" by AI‑driven education for millions of children. Clegg, now a director on the boards of AI...
Will Clean Energy Ever Deliver a UK Jobs Boom?
The UK government’s clean‑energy jobs plan targets up to 860,000 positions by 2030, including 400,000 brand‑new roles. The Office for National Statistics reports 652,000 green‑job workers in 2024, a 25% rise since 2015, but the UK still lags behind Germany,...
The NHS Cannot Solve Women’s Health Inequalities Alone
The UK government’s renewed Women’s Health Strategy promises to add a decade to healthy life expectancy in deprived areas and curb medical misogyny, but it largely ignores the social determinants that drive health outcomes. Evidence shows women are disproportionately affected...
The Public Are Ahead of Their Politicians on Heat Pumps
Public opinion in the UK is outpacing politicians on the transition to zero‑carbon heating, with 58% backing all new heating systems to be carbon‑free by 2035 and half supporting a boiler phase‑out. While the Conservative government initially pledged a 2035...
The Myth of Michael Jackson
The new Michael Jackson biopic, titled *Michael*, was produced with a staggering $200 million budget but deliberately sidesteps the star’s child‑abuse allegations, citing a settlement clause that bars depiction of the alleged victim. The film focuses on Jackson’s artistic triumphs and...