Ten Things You Need to Know Today: 29 August 2022
The Week’s daily digest of the news agenda, published at 8am
- 1. Johnson ‘wants a populist return’
- 2. Tories press Truss to extend support
- 3. Starmer told to ‘get a spine’
- 4. Ministers must go further on cyberflashing
- 5. Chain closure rate slows
- 6. Pakistan floods could get worse
- 7. Racial disparity in cancer diagnosis
- 8. Growing Tory support for nationalisation
- 9. Air France pilots fight in cockpit
- 10. Gibraltar declared a city
1. Johnson ‘wants a populist return’
Boris Johnson hopes “to do a Berlusconi” and make a “populist return” to Downing Street after being ousted by his own MPs, according to a former Tory minister. Speaking to The Guardian, Rory Stewart, who ran against Johnson in the Tory 2019 leadership election, described the PM as “dangerous” and said “there are people who want him back”. Stewart added: “He’s trying to do an Imran Khan or a Berlusconi. He’s going to be hovering around, hoping for a populist return.”
2. Tories press Truss to extend support
Conservative MPs have warned Liz Truss she must extend her financial support to help deal with soaring winter energy bills. It is feared that the favourite to replace Boris Johnson as prime minister will limit her help to only benefit claimants and pensioners. A senior backbencher told The i: “It cannot just be people on benefits who are in line for support. I have people who are having to work seven days a week just to try and make ends meet in my constituency.” Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi has also insisted that middle earners must be included.
3. Starmer told to ‘get a spine’
Sir Keir Starmer has been told to “get a spine” after the Labour leader banned shadow ministers from appearing on picket lines in support of strikes. Sharon Graham, the general secretary of the Unite union, said that Labour would suffer at the polls if Starmer did not support striking workers. Last month, Starmer sacked a shadow transport minister who appeared on a picket line with striking RMT workers. Unite, which has 1.4m members, is one of a number of unions threatening walk-outs in the coming months.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
4. Ministers must go further on cyberflashing
Campaigners say men should be prosecuted for sending nude images to women unless consent has been given. Female academics and women’s groups said ministerial plans to prosecute men for cyberflashing are insufficient because they will require proof that men sent the images for their own sexual gratification or to cause distress. “Cyberflashing is alarmingly common,” said Clare McGlynn, professor of law at Durham University. “Many studies show that around half of young women are being sent sexually explicit images without their consent and the figures are even higher for those aged under 18.”
5. Chain closure rate slows
There has been a significant fall in the number of chain stores shutting across Britain, said accountancy firm PwC. Closures in the first six months of the year dropped by a third compared with the first half of last year and closures are now at their lowest level for seven years. Betting shops and banks are in decline but the restaurant sector is growing. However, although PwC said the shock of the pandemic had “eased” it warned that high inflation will hit the retail sector.
6. Pakistan floods could get worse
Experts have warned that widespread floods in Pakistan that have killed more than 1,000 people since June may not have reached their peak yet. Over 30 million people have been affected as all four of the country’s provinces were hit by the unusually heavy rains. Nearly 300,000 homes have been destroyed, roads are impassable, and there have been widespread electricity outages. People around the globe are experiencing “dramatic heatwaves, deadly floods and wildfire” as a result of climate change, said the BBC.
7. Racial disparity in cancer diagnosis
Black and Asian people have to wait longer for a cancer diagnosis than white people, with some forced to wait an extra six weeks, according to analysis for The Guardian. A review of the world’s largest primary care database by the University of Exeter discovered minority ethnic patients wait longer than white patients in six of seven cancers studied. Race and health leaders have described the findings as “deeply concerning” because delays in diagnosis reduce the odds of survival.
8. Growing Tory support for nationalisation
Nearly half of Tory voters support the renationalisation of Britain’s energy industry, according to a poll in The Times. Some 47% of Conservative voters favour returning the energy companies to public ownership, with 28% opposed to such a move and 25% unsure. Among those who voted for the Conservatives in 2019, the figure rises to 53% in favour of renationalisation. Maggie Thatcher privatised the energy industry in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
9. Air France pilots fight in cockpit
Two pilots have been suspended after physically fighting in the cockpit on a Geneva-Paris flight in June. The pilot and co-pilot had a dispute shortly after the Air France flight took off and grabbed each other by their collars after one apparently hit the other, reported Switzerland’s La Tribune. A spokesperson for the carrier said the flight continued and landed safely, and the dispute didn’t affect the rest of the flight.
10. Gibraltar declared a city
Gibraltar has officially been declared a city, 180 years after it was first granted the status by Queen Victoria. When the British overseas territory bid to become a city earlier this year as part of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, officials examining the National Archives found it had already been recognised as a city in 1842. After the Rock had its status confirmed, Boris Johnson declared it an “excellent” development, describing it as a “huge accolade” to its “rich history and dynamism”.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
5 fact-checked cartoons about the VP debate
Cartoons Artists take on civil disagreements, admissions, and more
By The Week US Published
-
The Japanese villages where time stood still
The Week Recommends Up to 200 villagers cooperate to thatch a roof in a single day, preserving this beautiful tradition
By The Week UK Published
-
Crossword: October 6, 2024
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
10 things you need to know today: January 24, 2024
Daily Briefing Trump closes in on nomination with New Hampshire win over Haley, 'Oppenheimer' leads the 2024 Oscar nominations, and more
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
10 things you need to know today: January 23, 2024
Daily Briefing Haley makes last stand in New Hampshire as Trump extends polling lead, justices side with US over Texas in border fight, and more
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
10 things you need to know today: January 22, 2024
Daily Briefing DeSantis ends his presidential campaign and endorses Trump, the US and Arab allies push plan to end Gaza war, and more
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
10 things you need to know today: January 21, 2024
Daily Briefing Palestinian death toll reportedly passes 25,000, top Biden adviser to travel to Egypt and Qatar for hostage talks, and more
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
10 things you need to know today: January 20, 2024
Daily Briefing Grand jury reportedly convened to investigate Uvalde shooting response, families protest outside Netanyahu's house as pressure mounts for hostage deal, and more
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
10 things you need to know today: January 19, 2024
Daily Briefing Congress averts a government shutdown, DOJ report cites failures in police response to Texas school shooting, and more
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
10 things you need to know today: January 18, 2024
Daily Briefing Judge threatens to remove Trump from his defamation trial, medicine for hostages and Palestinians reach Gaza, and more
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
10 things you need to know today: January 17, 2024
Daily Briefing The US strikes Houthi targets in Yemen a third time, Trump's second sex defamation trial begins, and more
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published