Today’s Edition – 26th July 2024​
Ed Miliband’s statist Great British Energy is a car crash in the making
A monolithic state behemoth is far from the ideal vehicle for effective energy transition.
Ed Miliband’s statist Great British Energy is a car crash in the making
A monolithic state behemoth is far from the ideal vehicle for effective energy transition.
All eyes on Paris ahead of Olympics opening ceremony
France’s opening ceremony promises to be quite the spectacle, provided security threats can be kept at bay.
Word Watch: Vibrancy
Is it really a compliment for one’s home to be described as “vibrant”?
Venezuela election: Maduro’s regime is crumbling, but he won’t give up without a fight
Sunday’s historic vote could bring the 11-year reign of Venezuela’s authoritarian president, Nicolás Maduro, to an end.
The joy of Longborough’s Ring Cycle is its purityÂ
Ring heads and Ring virgins alike descended on the Cotswolds for an evening of Wagner at Longborough Festival Opera.
A government takeover of Thames Water would be an outrage
The new government’s hand is strong enough to resist nationalisation, which would stick over £18bn of debt onto the taxpayer.
Shaping news: terrorism spreads in the Sahel and China plays peace-broker in the Middle East
Pay attention to the shaping news, not just the breaking news.
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Columnists
Fit, functioning and feasible: Kamala Harris clears a low bar
Harris might not be the perfect candidate but the Democrats have done the right thing.
Democrat soap opera is only just getting started Â
The Democrats have leapt out of the frying pan into the fire.
Trump shooting: what comes next
Donald Trump’s proxies have been quick to blame Democrats for a Republican supporter shooting an AR-15 which Republicans have repeatedly refused to ban.
The Tory modernisers’ project has reached completion
Look back to the deep divide over the Corn Laws to see parallels with the ructions within the Conservative party today
The Blazing Saddles defence at Thames Water
Ofwat and Labour will be to blame if they let Thames get away with jacking up bills by 59 per cent.
Columnists
Trump outdoes Roosevelt in Milwaukee
Unusually, Donald Trump’s Thursday evening homily was no rant. His tone was all national unity and self-control.
Maudlin Britain overrun with mourning and makeshift shrines
It has become acceptable to turn any landmark, distinguished or not, into a shrine, a habit dating back to the death of Diana.
ID cards: Starmer  won’t be able to avoid another big debate despite ministers ruling them outÂ
The PM will have to tread carefully around Blair’s call for UK to introduce ID cards which he claims will curb migration
French voters have done what Macron asked by swerving leftÂ
France is out of the frying pan and straight into the fire
We should feel queasy about Royal Mail being sold to private equity
Kretinsky’s takeover of our postal service is high-risk leveraged buy-out
What on earth happens now? Seven thoughts
It was an extraordinary election. There are going to be consequences.
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World
Could Kamala Harris shift the swing states to the Democrats?
Harris’s vice-presidential pick could make all the difference.
The striking similarities – and key difference – between the US and China’s continental empires
Unlike the US, Beijing has become a global superpower while still in the process of integrating its perceived territory. Meaning its foreign policy is driven not only by aggression, but by insecurity.
Whacking more tariffs on Chinese goods won’t solve anything
The US and Europe risk a serious bout of inflation if they carry on down the same path.
Most significant IT outage in world history unleashes chaos
Today’s unintentional lapse exposes the alarming vulnerability of our global digital systems. Systems that are ripe for targeting by malicious actors.
Trump’s draconian plans to curb mass undocumented migration
A re-elected Donald Trump has vowed to undertake the “largest deportation effort in American history”.
Tory leadership race officially begins, as James Cleverly joins contest
The shadow home secretary is the first Conservative to throw his hat in the ring, as nominations for the first round of the contest opened today.
Culture
The colourful history of the Olympic opening ceremony
Spectators arguably owe the grand scale of today’s opening ceremonies to cold war rivalry.
Stop and Look: Portrait of Martin Luther by Lucas Cranach
Cranach painted Luther many times, from his youth to his death, leaving a richly detailed record of him as observed by a close acquaintance.
Ian Stewart’s summer reading list
From a longread on late bloomers to a podcast on quaker shopkeepers, Deloitte’s Chief Economist recommends six free reads and two listens.
Word Watch: Granular
The word granular has been much misused – best to stick to its sugar origins.
English fairyland brought to you by Britten at Garsington Opera
The open glass walls of the theatre allow you into the woodlands of A Midsummer Night’s Dream
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