UK universities have been warned over financial risk by the higher education regulator if there is a sudden drop in demand from students from China, which could lead to issues in achieving financial resilience. The watchdog, The Office for Students, has written to 23 universities with high levels of Chinese students to ensure they have contingency plans in place for any sudden drops. In 2021-2022, there were 151,690 Chinese students enrolled at UK universities, up from 89,735 in 2014-15 and some Universities have become acutely dependent on fee income from international students.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to reinstate mandatory house-building targets and make it easier to build on some green belt land, aiming to capitalise on the UK government's poor record on housing supply. His party's new emphasis comes as Conservative housing policy encourages help-to-buy while penalising landlords, despite their lack of market competition, and new legislation increases costs and risk for landlords, potentially further reducing supply. Although previous UK politicians have pledged similar goals to Starmer's, they have typically faltered in the face of NIMBYism, the "professional obstructionists and time-rich troublemakers" against the plans. A successful Starmer policy could tap into the latent, unsatisfied "YIMBYism" vote, and make housebuilding a key part of Labour's electoral coalition. Nonetheless, Labour must realise that housebuilding's broad economic results may buck its unpopularity in the UK.
Danny Kruger, a Conservative MP, has defended his comments about the role of conventional family values, stating that society prospers with families who remain together and that the government should support such arrangements. He also defended his comments made at the National Conservatism Conference, where he was accused of attacking other family models, stating that such claims were untrue and misunderstood.
The heart of national conservatism in the twenty-first century is about defending the cultural particularity of nations. The first British National Conservatism conference this week showcased a new and pathbreaking suite of ideas. Since 2021, the National Conservatism conferences have attempted to explore the connections between these hitherto disaggregated thinkers and their work. The history of postwar conservatism in the West has revolved around the free-market right, but the fall of the Berlin Wall and “Third Way” convergence between parties of right and left rendered economics far less central to conservatism. Conservatives’ concerns are increasingly cultural and social, revolving around what Harvard political scientist Robert Putnam calls the loss of “bridging” and “bonding” social capital. National conservative positions, notably reducing immigration and defending traditions in elite institutions, carry significant support but punch below their weight politically. The task of national conservative reformers is to rectify that imbalance, which underlies much voter alienation and weak Tory support, and to prioritise cultural issues in messaging, policy implementation and candidate selection.
A senior economist at the UK's Office for Budget Responsibility has said that the “age of massive rises of house prices may be nearing an end” and suggested that this will lessen the economic boost for retired homeowners, who have proven to be financially efficient using their homes. David Miles, speaking at the University of Birmingham, cited slowing population growth, rising interest rates and an increase in working from home as contributing factors in the slowing growth of house prices. Additionally, he said housing was likely to be more plentiful in the coming decades with increased construction.
London's economy is faring better than other regions in the UK, growing by 0.9% between Q2 and Q3 2020, according to data from the Office for National Statistics. This compares with a contraction of 0.1% nationally for the period. Wales and Scotland saw falls in output of 2% and 0.3% respectively, while growth was flat in Northern Ireland and England. “Growth in the capital has been masking a disappointing performance across much of the rest of the UK," said Susannah Streeter of Hargreaves Lansdown.
A female councillor at Europe's largest local authority, Birmingham, has said she felt "suicidal" amid leadership issues which have been exposed in a leaked report. The document outlined numerous failures of leadership and raised concerns about "levels of misogyny". A local campaign improvement board commissioned by the Labour Party's national executive committee compiled the report, which called for Labour leader Ian Ward to resign. Birmingham City Council serves 1.3 million residents and the party hopes to announce a new leader by 23 May.
The Canadian federal government is seeking to join a class-action lawsuit against McKinsey & Co, which alleges the consulting company participated in the opioid crisis after it was accused of creating marketing materials that boosted opioid sales. The British Columbia government launched the lawsuit last year and received approval to allow other federal government bodies to become co-plaintiffs. Conservative MP, Garnett Genuis, said it was "utterly absurd this Liberal government paid over $100m to a consulting firm it is simultaneously suing". McKinsey has denied the allegations stating "the plaintiff has not alleged material facts necessary to connect McKinsey to any wrongdoing".
Stellantis, formerly PSA, has warned that if the UK and EU do not adjust the so-called rules of origin requirements for the automotive industry, they may be forced to close their factory at Ellesmere Port in north-west England. These tariffs are set to rise to 10% for exports next year. This story shows that Brexit is becoming a ‘live’ issue again, especially as Sir Keir wants to arrest the slow death of the car industry, but doesn’t want to join a customs union with the EU? It raises broader questions about how ambitious the UK should be in the five-year review of the TCA in 2025, and with EU relations more generally. The Windsor framework deal has unblocked relations with Brussels but the Windsor framework still needs to be delivered in practice.
Why are some British Conservatives behaving like the next election is already lost?
CNN
23-05-18 15:19
A three-day National Conservatism conference, promoting the ideology of a strong nation state and traditional family values, among other things, took place in London this week. The conference was hosted by the Edmund Burke Foundation and was seen as a direct challenge to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's authority. UK National Conservatism is the right-wing political movement that puts strong nation states and traditional values of home, law and order, and sovereignty. While this movement has been gaining popularity overseas, in the UK, evidence suggests that it is not popular with the public. The Conservatives have experienced their worst polling numbers for a year, however, supporters of Sunak believe his slow-and-steady approach is what the public want rather than ideas and culture wars. The general theme of the conference was that British Conservatism is having an identity crisis and the National Conservatism ideas could be the solution. The UK’s tax burden is at its highest since World War II. Tax and Brexit are major issues for people on this side of the party.
Campaigners seeking greater protection for British servicemen and women have called on the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to move rape cases out of internal military courts, following the publication of new evidence of continued sexual abuse within the armed forces. The evidence was provided to the Defence Sub-Committee on Women in the Armed Forces and detailed whistleblower reports that included failures by senior military figures to act on sexual assault allegations and condemned servicemen continue to serve openly.
Experts, activists and relatives of those detained in Tunisia have warned that the intensifying crackdown on opposition leaders and critics, instigated by President Kais Saied, imperils society and risks the return of autocracy. Since February, over 20 dissidents, activists, journalists and opposition figures have been arrested, with charges often thought to be trumped up. Seizing power in 2021 following his victory as an independent social conservative, Saied has pursued critics and Ennhahda politicians. The party emerged in 2011 as the largest group in Tunisia’s first parliamentary elections following the removal of protest-hit Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, winning 37 percent of the vote. Soumaya Ghannoushi, daughter of Rached Ghannouchi, the Ennahdha president who was arrested in April, said Saied has “devoured” Tunisia’s democracy bit by bit.
The proposed Renters' Bill set out by the UK government has been criticised by landlords and Conservative supporters. The bill, which would eliminate so-called "no fault" evictions, letting renters stay without a contract for just one year instead of six months, and making landlords give three months' notice before raising rents, has led some landlords to claim they will sell their properties. A recent government survey found that almost one in three tenants were concerned about being made to leave their rented homes. One of the commenters in the Telegraph newspaper said that the bill deprived them of any meaningful sense in which their property would remain theirs, calling it "socialist nonsense". Another commenter said "economically, it is a total disaster".
Boris Johnson has been decried by the Conservative Party of making a ‘chicken run’ to Henley at the next election by the town’s current Tory MP, John Howell. Despite repeated denials from allies, it is widely speculated that Johnson is considering a move from his Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat - which is now highly vulnerable to Labour – to the more solidly Conservative constituency just 18 miles away. However, sources say Tory party bosses would likely block the move, arguing MPs can only relocate if boundary changes negatively affect their current seat.
Poilievre introduces motion to end safe drug supply policies, direct funding to treatment programs
CBC
23-05-18 19:36
The leader of the Conservative Party in Canada, Pierre Poilievre, has proposed that the national government end all programmes that provide non-toxic drugs to those with drug addiction and instead move the funding to treatment services. He stated that government-funded drugs are being sold by addicts and the proceeds are being used to buy fentanyl-laced opioids that lead to overdose deaths. Although the toxic supply of contaminated street drugs is a significant contributor to the opioid crisis, proponents of pharmaceutical-grade drugs suggest that the safe supply of these drugs saves lives, particularly when people cannot cope with the withdrawal of stronger drugs.
Danielle Smith, the United Conservative Leader, has stated that a party candidate who compared transgender students in schools to feces in food would not be sitting in her caucus if elected on May 29. Jennifer Johnson has since apologised and stated that if she is elected, she would seek advice on how to best communicate her views on these issues moving forward. Smith has encouraged Johnson to meet with parents, students, teachers and members of the LGBTQ community to learn, grow and inform herself. Smith also stated that it's time to depoliticise LGBTQ issues.
United Conservative Leader Danielle Smith has condemned comments reportedly made by Alberta election candidate Jennifer Johnson, and stated that Johnson would not sit in her caucus if elected. Johnson, who is contesting the seat of Lacombe-Ponoka, has been linked to remarks offensive to transgender students in schools, which Smith criticized as “vile”. Smith urged Johnson to work with the LGBTQ community to become better informed on the issue.
Canada’s incoming regulations for cleaner fuel, which will limit the amount of greenhouse gases per unit of fuel, have costings that could add up to 17 cents per litre of petrol and diesel within eight years, hitting low-income households considerably harder than wealthy ones, according to independent analysts at the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO). The analysis led Conservative party leader Pierre Poilievre to describe the regulations, which have been postponed repeatedly, as "yet another tax on the backs of hard-working Canadians." Poilievre went on to state the Conservatives would abolish the regulations and instead reduce emissions with incentives for green technology and the development of clean energy projects.
Workers should "actively fight back" if their employers seek to roll back remote working after the pandemic, according to Microsoft executive Lucy Cooper. Speaking at a conference, Cooper insisted that such a step would hit parents, young people and those with non-standard working environments particularly badly. Workers at main UK bank Lloyds have criticised the company at its AGM over plans to tighten rules on flexible working arrangements. Microsoft has so far committed to a hybrid model of work, requiring staff to come into the office for around 50% of their working time unless they have permission to work from home.
The UK government’s plans for low-carbon hydrogen development under its net zero carbon emissions pledge could see household energy bills rise by nearly £120 ($163) a year from 2025 to 2040, according to centre-right think tank Onward. The levy could be used to fund subsidies for green energy such as wind farms and household retrofitting for more efficient energy use. The plans, however, are likely to face resistance from as many as 50 MPs and from voters. Onward proposed raising funds through a carbon tax on heavy industry instead, stating that it would be unfair to levy householders directly.
