- “Forget the election – Rishi Sunak’s allies wonder if he’ll get that far” – Senior figures around the Prime Minister think he’ll face a confidence vote if the Tories are thrashed at the local elections in May, which they will be. After that, all bets are off, says the Times.
- “U.K. military ‘couldn’t fight Russia for longer than two months’” – Failure to secure more funding for the Armed Forces puts Britain at a major disadvantage, warns the Deputy Chief of Defence Staff in the Telegraph.
- “There’s nothing conservative about the Tories’ free childcare rollout” – From April, parents of two-year-olds will get 15 hours of free childcare. In September, this will be extended to infants of nine months or more. Why, exactly, is this a Conservative policy? asks Fraser Nelson in the Spectator.
- “Tory MPs plan for migrant crime league tables” – A ranking system that shows the percentage of crimes committed by different ethnic groups would allow the Home Office to tighten restrictions on certain countries, according to a group of Conservative MPs, as reported in the Telegraph.
- “Illegal immigrants still come in their thousands. This will be the end of Rishi Sunak” – Ross Clark in the Telegraph is disillusioned by the gap between the Government’s rhetoric on illegal immigration and its actions.
- “Boost for Rwanda plan as ECHR makes it harder to block deportations” – A rule change embraced by the European Court of Human Rights allows injunctions against deportations of illegal migrants only where they face an “imminent risk of irreparable harm”, reports the Telegraph.
- “Justin Welby says he will not block Rwanda Bill” – In a surprising move, the Archbishop of Canterbury accepts that “open borders” are not the answer and promises not to block the Rwanda Bill, says the Telegraph.
- “Let’s kick ‘racial justice’ out of the Church of England” – The Venerable Dr. Miranda Threlfall-Holmes, archdeacon of Liverpool, should read the Bible rather than attend racial justice conferences, says Gareth Roberts in the Spectator.
- “Church tribunal clears clergyman who called trans archdeacon ‘a bloke’” – Brett Murphy described Rachel Mann, a biological male who identifies as a woman who’s an archdeacon in the Church of England, a ‘bloke’ and a ‘fella’, but a CofE review ruled the words were “not in themselves offensive”, according to the Times.
- “Civil servant sued over gender critical beliefs has case dropped” – Elspeth Duemmer-Wrigley, who works alongside Defra, was due to appear at an Employment Tribunal this week accused of harassment for comments including “only women menstruate”. But her colleague has dropped the complaint, reports the Times.
- “If the West abandons Israel, we all lose” – The UN ceasefire vote confirms that our rulers are retreating in the war to defend democracy, argues Mick Hume in Spiked.
- “Westminster council scrambles to celebrate Easter after only putting up Ramadan display” – Labour-run Westminster Council rushes to put up Christian decorations after Tory councillor Paul Swaddle pointed out that so far the Council has just honoured Ramadan, says the Telegraph.
- “BBC ‘abandons Christianity’ after dropping traditional Easter service broadcast” – Corporation criticised as celebratory mass from King’s College, Cambridge is no longer being broadcast on the BBC, reports the Telegraph.
- “Why you’re more at risk of cancer than 25 years ago – here’s what to do about it” – Cases of cancer in the U.K. have jumped by about 50% over the past 25 years due to an ongoing rise in risk factors, says the Telegraph.
- “Why are more young people getting cancer?” – Experts say the increase in diagnoses could be down to a rise in obesity, alcohol and smoking, as well as changes in diet and the microbiome, reports the Times. Nothing to do with mRNA vaccines, then?
- “Ultimate guide to going private for cancer treatment amid NHS waits” – Chaotic scenes facing the thousands of cancer patients receiving NHS care every day are comparable to ‘Heathrow on a Bank Holiday’ according to a respected oncologist. Is going private the solution? asks the Mail.
- “Follow the vast sums of money” – Public health is a racket, says Christopher Snowdon on Substack.
- “RKI protocols reveal pandemic managers providing ‘fictitiously accurate’ R-values and overstating Covid risk on the explicit directions of their political overseers in the Health Ministry” – Eugyppius on the latest revelations in Germany about the manipulation of public health authorities by the federal government.
- “Covid and the politics of panic” – Good leading article in the Spectator criticising the panic that informed the pandemic response four years ago.
- “Andrew Bridgen must pay Matt Hancock legal fees of £40,000 in libel claim” – The independent MP cases a costs bill of £40,000, not including his own costs, in his libel case against the former Health Secretary, repots the Guardian.
- “Dems, media push new study linking climate change to inflation, but economists aren’t buying It” – The Earth’s average temperature does not affect the amount of currency in circulation, says Nick Pope in Whats Up With That.
- “New York first U.S. city to introduce congestion charge” – Manhattan motorists will pay a $15 toll from June despite a fierce backlash and string of lawsuits designed to stifle the plan, reports the Telegraph.
- “In the new world of EVs and AI, renewable green energy means more gas or coal capacity, not less” – The development of EVs and AI requires a huge amount of electricity, points out the Telegraph.
- “Germany’s Alfred Wegener Institute shows January Arctic sea ice now 20 years stable!” – Winter sea ice in Arctic stable over past 20 years hasn’t disappeared; on the contrary, it’s become more plentiful, according to Whats Up With That.
- “Some classics are slapped with warnings to appease modern readers” – Over recent years, many classic tales and childhood favourites have been given trigger warnings, says the Mail, including Harry Potter, The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland and more.
- “Barristers should be allowed to join the Garrick” – the Bar Council is hinting it will forbid any member of the Bar from being a member of the Garrick. That’s a monstrous intrusion into individual liberty, argues Andrew Tettenborn in the Spectator.
- “Police Scotland could reveal complaints over ‘hate incidents” to employers” – Scottish police officers could disclose ‘non-crime hate incidents’ recorded against people’s names in enhanced criminal record checks, according to the Scottish Sun.
- “Bullying, cowardice, and careerism behind BBC disinformation on gender” – Current and former BBC journalists have condemned the media giant for embracing trans rights dogma, says Michael Shellenberger on his Public Substack.
- “Sir Jeffrey Donaldson latest: DUP leader quits after being charged with historical sex offences” – The leader of the DUP has resigned after he’s charged over historic allegations of rape, reports the Telegraph.
- “Iranian journalist stabbed multiple times outside London home” – A U.K.-based Iranian journalist who’s critical of the current regime is in a stable condition after being attacked by two people outside his house in London, according to the Telegraph.
- “Easter egg hunt in Wrexham cemetery pulled after backlash” – Friends of Wrexham Cemetery, who organised the Easter egg hunt, say their aim was to get young people “interested in local genealogy”, reports the BBC. But the event has been cancelled after a backlash from locals whose relatives are buried in the cemetery.
- “Copying the mistakes of Greece” – Labour’s tax raid on private schools was tried by Syriza in Greece and proved to be a disaster that was quickly abandoned, says Mr. Chips on Substack.
- “The UAE bid for the Spectator is over” – In the Spectator, Fraser Nelson celebrates the Government’s amendment to the Digital Markets Bill which will make it impossible for foreign states to own even 0.1% of British newspapers or magazines.
- “This is magnificent to watch” – Watch this clip of the President of Guyana putting a BBC journalist in his place when he tries to lecture him about the risks of climate change.
If you have any tips for inclusion in the round-up, email us here.
To join in with the discussion please make a donation to The Daily Sceptic.
Profanity and abuse will be removed and may lead to a permanent ban.
Nothing will ever change without totally dismantling the health system as it stands, and I can’t see anyone getting to grips with that anytime soon. It doesn’t help that the NHS is seen as some kind of sacred cow that most people praise rather than criticise, despite the evidence in front of their eyes. I am willing to bet 50 to 60% of the management jobs, which often appear to duplicate each other, could be got rid of.
This coming winter…covid, blah blah blah, flu, blah blah blah – and of course it will all the the fault of the general public because they are thoughless enough to catch things, get sick and clutter up the wards. The NHS often has the knack of making you feel you are a nuisance, doesn’t it?
Cleansing the structural Blairism might already help.
Every problem that has afflicted this country since Bliar was encouraged to quit can be attributed to –
Tony Bliar.
That horrible, evil piece of crap will still be undermining this country even when he has been called to Satan’s side.
An interesting question would be how much direct influence he possibly still wields. Eg, both NHS management and the Tony Blair Institute favour the same policy decisions wrt the so-called pandemic. Is this really coincidence or is someone exploiting still existing person networks there?
Poor Satan.
…and Starmer now ‘channeling’ his inner Tony Blair, gawd help us.
Couldn’t agree with you more.
Doubtless there will be an outbreak of mask-enforcement and social distancing at hospitals this month. This will have two effects. First, it will increase the illusion that the NHS is battling with an unprecedented and overwhelming rise in Covid cases, thus diverting attention from the more fundamental long-term and systemic problems that the NHS faces. Secondly, it will provide renewed employment to the mask-bouncers at hospitals and to the installers of sticky-backed arrows and Perspex screens.
PS: it’s Thursday tomorrow; do we bangs saucepans, deploy rainbows or kneel?
Actually, I will be out with my neighbours tonight – not banging pans, just standing around chatting over a bottle or 2 of wine. Every cloud has a silver lining.
For as long as the NHS spends as much as £1 on general political agendas (eg, workforce diversity training instead of medical training), it’s obviously overfunded and throwing more money at it won’t improve anything.
I’ve just been for an x-ray at my local hospital this afternoon and I was not looking forward to it. I was expecting some meeter and greeter with mask and hand sanitiser, but there was none. So I walked in without a mask went to reception booked in. I was taken for an x-ray 10 minutes later and sent on my way without a glance or a word from any member of staff of whom there seemed to be plenty about. A strange experience.
Wow! How lovely! My last encounter with the NHS was in August. Two out of three chairs taped off, plastic screens everywhere & the demand to wear a mask from the reception staff. The HCA who did the pre consultant baselines of height, weight & bp was more than happy to take off hers as was the consultant! He even did a bare hands examination of muscle tone & reflexes.
It’s definitely coming from the top of each Trust. Sadly the compliance amongst the general population attending was high.
Lucky guy. My last few encounters with NHS (dentist and GP) have been very confrontational. Exhausting tbh. Seems to vary wildly though – and that just supports the fact that none of them know what the hell they’re doing or why.
I think you are just being unlucky. Neither my gp surgery nor my dentist (not NHS though) requires masks, and hasn’t done for many months. I think it’s just down to regional variation.
I made an appointment with my GP yesterday (I know what’s wrong and need a prescription-only cream) and the nearest time-slot available is 4 weeks away. And that’s in a small west country town, goodness only knows how long it would be if I lived in an overcrowded city.
From October last year. It’s the annual bleatings for more money etcetera.
As in education, too little money and capacity are not the problem, too much of it certainly is.
Instead, the real problems are attitude, ever worsening work ethics and commitment, internal politics and vested interests leading to now cemented misorganisation and mismanagement.
As with many departments, short term political appointments are subject to manipulation by established professional “servants” which are, in fact “complex and long lasting”. They tend to last long in their jobs, with a nice pension later on.
“The question on everyone’s tongue right now is will the NHS be in crisis this winter?”
Well, let me beg to differ – it’s certainly not a question on my tongue and the subject never entered my head. The opening statement is pure propoganda. Boll Ox.
Actually, the question on my tongue is; are we all going to be nuked into oblivion?
Putting rouge on the cheeks of a corpse. Again.
It is a State run industry. All State run industries fail – fact, backed by multiple examples in multiple Countries over the last Century – and they fail for precisely the same reason, they are State run, therefore they must primarily serve political objectives, secondly serve the interests of the unionised workers who are paid on length of service or grade rather than merit or industry – no incentive to work better/harder.
They cannot go bankrupt and have no shareholders therefore require no fiscal discipline and have no access to private capital. They are cost centres, so there us a perverse incentive to do less to keep within budget. They have no cost/price structure so efficiency/productivity cannot be measured,
There is no competition so consumers have no choice, Leviathan has no need to improve or serve consumer interests.
This will not, can not be changed until the monopoly is taken away and a competitive private market in health insurance and provision can develop.
Absolutely right on every point. Very well said.
Everyone says the NHS is much loved with its free at point of use, but it’s also almost unique in the world in the way it is funded and centrally managed.
Most European systems are to a certain extent ‘private’ in that they’re not managed by central government.
The question is, can a government in the UK change to the European model without too much push back from all the vested interests? Probably not, but one of them really needs to try as the current system of just increasing the money put in is clearly not working.
The other feature that is often not well understood is that some specialists in various roles are available to work for third party private firms, or for themselves, part time. Often in non-NHS buildings just next door, or even in the same building in smaller outfits, such as dental surgeries.
This is relatively unusual in other industries – after all, many contracts do not permit one to work for competitors while employed by a particular firm, for good reasons in most situations.
I am sure face masks worn all day by staff make them feel so much happier and securer in their jobs and the reintroduction of social distancing and other Covid protocols should leave all staff with so much more time for the latest diversity course.