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Peter Wilby was editor of the Independent on Sunday from 1995 to 1996 and of the New Statesman from 1998 to 2005. He writes the weekly First Thoughts column for the NS.
Local businesses in my suburb report sharply increased custom, after years of struggle. New jobs will emerge, often closer to workers’ homes.
Matt Hancock says the replacement for the disgraced Public Health England will be “world-renowned”. Renowned in the same way as King Harold's performance in 1066?
The UK has an over-elaborate system for allocating university places – perhaps the government will seize the opportunity to design a better one.
19 September 1975: How can exams be designed that stretch the most able without being too difficult for the less able pupils even to attempt?
Only 30 per cent of Britons are certain they’d have a coronavirus vaccine, if one was discovered.
The Guardian is the latest newspaper to reveal its wounds from Covid-19. It plans to cut 12 per cent of its workforce and shut four sections from its Saturday edition, but crucial issues remain unresolved.
Only 36 per cent of Britons wear masks in public places, against 90 per cent in Singapore, 85 in Italy, 79 in France, and 65 in Germany.
From October, the government proposes to hold White House-style televised daily press briefings, hosted by “an experienced broadcaster”.
With Times Radio, Rupert Murdoch hopes to entice listeners to subscribe to the Times. And he can pursue his vendetta against the BBC.
International Trade Secretary Liz Truss says talks with Australia and New Zealand will pave the way for “a global Britain”.