Home Office blunders shame this country
What is wrong with the Home Office? It is hard to imagine a more dysfunctional Whitehall department; and yet listening to the hapless Kevin Foster, a junior…
Virtue-signalling MPs could hardly have made a bigger mess of our energy policy
We could hardly have made a bigger pig’s ear of our domestic energy policy had we tried. The crisis in Ukraine has exposed the flaws, mistakes and…
How Tom Odell’s Another Love became an unlikely anthem for Ukraine
When Sussex-born singer Tom Odell wrote the song Another Love a decade ago, he couldn’t have known it would play a role in boosting morale during a…
Boris Johnson looks again at fracking amid energy supply crisis
The European Commission on Tuesday published plans to cut EU demand for Russian gas by two-thirds and make Europe “independent from Russian fossil fuels well before 2030”. …
UK faces paying Brussels billions after ECJ ruling on Chinese shoe scam
The UK faces a bill from Brussels of up to €2.7bn after the European Court of Justice ruled on Tuesday that Britain failed to stop a cheap…
Lord Chidgey, Liberal Democrat who captured Eastleigh from the Tories in a spectacular by-election victory – obituary
With John Major’s government in trouble, the Lib Dems threw everything into the by-election campaign. Chidgey’s margin of victory would have been even greater had not Labour’s…
Grant Shapps ‘impounds’ private jet linked to Roman Abramovich’s oligarch friend
Mr Shvidler made his £1.5 billion fortune during the privatisation of Russian industry and is said to maintain a close connection to Mr Abramovich. In 2008, the…
Moldova braces for ‘spectrum of threats’ as Russia bids to seize south of Ukraine
Many Ukrainian refugees are unlikely to stay in Moldova, which is one of Europe’s poorest countries. Chisinau estimates that approximately 100,000 Ukrainians have already moved onto neighbouring…
Germany rejects boycott of Russian oil and gas as it will leave millions without heat
But oil and gas exports, the mainstay of the Russian economy, are exempt from the sanctions. They were worth a combined total of $235.5 billion (£179 billion)…
War in Ukraine makes European recession almost inevitable
Of all the arguments, this third one is the weakest. Even with the emerging cost of living squeeze, it may have been right a month ago. Though…
Nicola Sturgeon’s opposition to North Sea oil and gas ‘reckless in light of Kremlin threats’
However, only 56 per cent of electricity used in Scotland was from renewables in 2020, with the rest generated by nuclear and gas plants. Only 6.4 per…
Foreign Office leak: Aid cuts harmed women and girls the most
Cuts to international aid being implemented by Liz Truss disproportionately affected women and girls, despite her flagship policy to lift them out of poverty, leaked Foreign Office…
Theresa May: Women who work from home risk ‘losing out’ in their careers
A culture of working from home means that women risk “losing out” against men, Theresa May has warned. The former prime minister welcomed the right to request flexible…
Boris Johnson appoints fellow Old Etonian Peter Wilson as new principal private secretary
Mr Reynolds sent an email to staff inviting them to a “bring your own booze” gathering in the Downing Street garden in May 2020. Number 10 has…
John Bercow banned from Parliament after inquiry brands him ‘serial bully’
John Bercow has been banned from Parliament for life after being found to be a “serial bully” and a liar. An independent inquiry upheld 21 allegations against…
How to invest during choppy stock markets in 2022
“The UK market is also likely to gain from inflation and incoming interest rate rises,” he said. “This is because there are a lot of commodity, energy…
Are you financially secure for retirement? Take a midlife MOT
How to test your finances First, you should find out how financially vulnerable or secure you are. Start by putting your current finances under the microscope. Most…
How to beat UK inflation and make your pension pot last a lifetime
Millions of pensioners will feel the squeeze as bills rise sharply and the cost of living rockets, but they should not turn to their pension to increase…
England’s best small cities for families, landlords and downsizers in 2022
For great schools but lower prices, Lichfield in Staffordshire ranks highly. Here, homes cost that cost roughly half those in St Albans, at £322,437. It has become…
Questor: Despite the range of threats facing Vistry, much of the risk is already priced in
Best of all, the valuation suggests that a lot of bad news is already factored into the share price. Vistry trades on only seven times forecast earnings,…
Savers have £5bn sitting in ‘rip-off’ investment funds
Laith Khalaf of stock brokers AJ Bell said customers were being “ripped off”. “If you’re paying an annual charge of over 1pc for a basic tracker fund,…
Easy ways to boost your pension pot before the tax year ends
Partner’s and children’s pension allowances You could also think about paying into your partner’s pension. The usual tax relief limits apply – they get relief on your…
Living standards face ‘biggest fall since the 70s’ as household incomes will drop 4pc
The think tank called on the Government to do more to cushion the burden of rising energy bills. Levies that increase electricity bills by around £170 a…
Banks hit panic button and pull mortgage deals
Karen Noye, of advice firm Quilter, said affordable mortgage had become “increasingly hard to find”. This would only continue as Britain grappled with the economic consequences of…
The top 10 most fuel-efficient new cars you can buy in 2022
One way around skyrocketing fuel prices is, of course, to buy an electric car. But they still don’t work for everyone just yet – so if you…