Editorial: Labour’s vision for a new era for NHS England – one with community hubs, artificial intelligence and early diagnosis at its heart – could be a model of public policymaking. But if it is to have a chance of success, the health secretary must now persuade the trade unions and professional bodies to join him
© PA
Editorial: Labour’s overhaul of the benefits system failed because it was clearly a raid by the Treasury looking for savings at speed. The government should produce a Beveridge report for the 21st century – or risk a future, right-wing government taking up the challenge
© Dave Brown
A poorly devised cuts policy was mis-sold as reform and MPs were dismissed when they pointed out the problem
A clash between the government and Labour MPs over disability benefits was foreseeable long before this week’s Commons rebellion. That doesn’t mean a crisis was inevitable. Compromise might have been reached before the 11th-hour climbdown that averted a defeat in parliament.
The conflagration that burned a lot of Sir Keir Starmer’s authority was all the greater because trust had broken down. The twin causes were failure of political judgment in Downing Street and bad policy. The prime minister underestimated the potency of MPs’ objections to the withdrawal of personal independence payment (Pip) from disabled people, and overestimated the capacity of his whips to bully and cajole his party into accepting the changes.
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© Photograph: Matthew Horwood/Getty Images
© Photograph: Matthew Horwood/Getty Images
Entry-level tasks are being taken over by new technology. Businesses and government must not sacrifice the next generation on the altar of tech
As annual degree ceremonies take place on campuses across the country this month, new graduates will doubtless be turning their thoughts to enjoying some stress-free time off. Given the current state of the labour market, some may be forced to make that break a long one.
For university leavers, these are worrying times. A mounting pile of data suggests that accessing the kind of entry-level jobs that traditionally put degree holders on a path to professional success is becoming ever harder. One report published last month by the job-search site Indeed found that the market for young people fresh out of university is tougher than at any time since 2018. Compared with last year, the number of jobs advertised for recent graduates is down 33%.
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© Photograph: David Cheskin/PA
© Photograph: David Cheskin/PA
Editorial: The prime minister was right to insist on reforms that will reduce the welfare benefits bill. After a difficult Commons vote, he must regain his authority over his party and show himself to be a leader who has the grit and determination to get things done
© PA
With net zero targets under attack from the populist right, dangerously high temperatures should refocus minds
At times like now, with dangerously high temperatures in several European countries, the urgent need for adaptation to an increasingly unstable climate is clearer than ever. From the French government’s decision to close schools to the bans in most of Italy on outdoor work at the hottest time of day, the immediate priority is to protect people from extreme heat – and to recognise that a heatwave can take a higher toll than a violent storm.
People who are already vulnerable, due to age or illness or poor housing, face the greatest risks from heatwaves. As well as changes to rules and routines, public health warnings are vital, especially where records are being broken and people are unfamiliar with the conditions. In the scorching European summer of 2022, an estimated 68,000 people died due to heat. Health, welfare and emergency systems must respond to those needing help.
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© Photograph: Salas/EPA
© Photograph: Salas/EPA
Funding is plummeting as needs grow, with the closure of USAID, the slashing of UK and European aid budgets, and the obstruction of debt reform and cancellation
When one door closes, you would hope that another opens. As USAID was formally shut down on Monday, a once-in-a-decade development financing conference was kicking off in Seville. But while initially intended to move the world closer to its ambitious 2030 sustainable development goals, it now looks more like an attempt to prevent a reversal of the progress already made.
A study published in the Lancet predicted that Donald Trump’s aid cuts could claim more than 14 million lives by 2030, a third of them among children. For many poor countries, the scale of the shock would be similar to that of a major war, the authors found. More than four-fifths of the US agency’s programmes have been cut, with surviving projects folded into the state department.
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© Photograph: Desmond Tiro/AP
© Photograph: Desmond Tiro/AP
Editorial: Labour’s messy compromise over cuts to disability benefit is an unfortunate way to mark a first year in office, but the prime minister still has much to be proud of
© Jordan Pettitt/PA
Editorial: The British public has voted for change three times and been disappointed. If Starmer’s government doesn’t turn things around and if the Conservatives don’t regain some ground, Nigel Farage will be the beneficiary
© Getty
Editorial: The British public has voted for change three times and been disappointed. If Starmer’s government doesn’t turn things around and if the Conservatives don’t regain some ground, Nigel Farage will be the beneficiary
© Getty
Clean tech’s key minerals now drive western rearmament, reviving extractive ambition and exposing the toxic cost of dependence
It’s an irony that the minerals needed to save the planet may help destroy it. Rare earth elements, the mineral backbones of wind turbines and electric vehicles, are now the prize in a geopolitical arms race. The trade agreement between Washington and Beijing restores rare earth shipments from China to the US, which had been suspended in retaliation against Donald Trump’s tariffs. Behind the bluster, there has been a realisation in Washington that these are critical inputs for the US. They are needed not just by American icons such as Ford and Boeing but for its fighter jets, missile guidance systems and satellite communications.
This understanding suggests that Washington will scale back some of its countermeasures once Beijing resumes delivery of rare earths. The paradox is that to reduce its dependence on China, the US must depend on Beijing a little longer. This is not yet decoupling; it’s deferment. That, however, may not last. Mr Trump has signed an executive order to boost production of critical minerals, which encourages the faster granting of permits for mining and processing projects. He eyes Ukraine and Greenland’s subterranean riches to break dependence on China.
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© Photograph: David Gray/Reuters
© Photograph: David Gray/Reuters
Editorial: Universal healthcare free at the point of need is a noble idea but it desperately needs Labour’s reforms to work if it is to survive
© Getty/iStock
Editorial: Abandoning cuts to disability benefits has resulted in a messy compromise that ensures all future PIP applicants will receive less than existing recipients. This calls for more sensible and sensitive reforms to our social security system
© Alamy/PA
Israel’s attack on Iran overshadowed the ongoing carnage. Its allies are complicit in the horror; they must instead help to build a future for Palestinians
“We cannot be asking civilians to go into a combat zone so that then they can be killed with the justification that they are in a combat zone.” It defies belief that the Unicef spokesperson, James Elder, should have needed to spell that out this week. And yet each day Palestinians continue to be killed while attempting to collect aid for their families from food hubs in Gaza, forced to make a lethal choice between risking being shot and letting their families slowly starve. More than 500 have died around the centres since the system was introduced – yet, with attention fixed on Israel’s attacks on Iran, there has been little to spare for recent deaths.
The Israeli military has given shifting accounts of events. But soldiers told the newspaper Haaretz that commanders ordered troops to shoot at crowds that posed no threat. The Israeli prime minister and defence minister attacked the allegations as “blood libels”. Médecins Sans Frontières has accurately described the system as “slaughter masquerading as humanitarian aid”. Meanwhile, Israel has closed crossings into the north.
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© Photograph: Mahmoud Issa/Reuters
© Photograph: Mahmoud Issa/Reuters
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