Amid lackluster prospects for economic growth, the British government announced it would cut taxes for workers ahead of a general election this year. Jeremy Hunt, Britain’s top financial official, told lawmakers on Wednesday that he would cut National Insurance, a payroll tax paid by workers and employers that funds state pensions and some benefits, by […]
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Rishi Sunak Back in Hot Seat After Parliamentary Election Losses
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of Britain could find himself in a familiar predicament after his Conservative Party went down to defeat in parliamentary elections in two districts on Thursday: isolated, embattled and the subject of whispered plotting by restive Tories bent on pushing him out for a new leader. The crushing loss of two seats […]
Read MoreKing Pushed for Transparency on Diagnosis. He Raised Questions in the Process.
When Buckingham Palace announced on Monday that King Charles III had been diagnosed with cancer and would halt his public engagements to undergo treatment, it predictably set off a storm of questions. What kind of cancer? How advanced? What form of treatment? How long would he be sidelined? And the essential, if often unspoken, question […]
Read MoreBritons Love the N.H.S. Some Will Also Pay to Avoid It.
For David Haselgrove, it was a battle each day to get out of bed, then another struggle to put on his socks. Stairs were often impossible, and the pain made him tetchy and difficult to live with. But when he sought medical help for his arthritis, Mr. Haselgrove was told the wait for a specialist […]
Read MoreRishi Sunak’s Dilemma: When to Hold an Election He Looks Poised to Lose
No question in British politics will be more regularly asked, and reliably brushed aside, over the next few months than when Prime Minister Rishi Sunak plans to call the country’s next general election. He must do so by January 2025. The conventional wisdom is that with his Conservative Party trailing the opposition Labour Party by […]
Read MoreKeir Starmer, UK Labour Party Leader, Vows to Rebuild Britain Amid Protest
Buoyed by the polls and brimming with confidence, the leader of Britain’s opposition Labour Party, Keir Starmer, declared on Tuesday that he was ready to assume the mantle of power. But first he had to shake the glitter off his suit jacket. As Mr. Starmer took the stage at his party’s annual conference in Liverpool, […]
Read MoreHow Palantir Became a Front-Runner for the UK’s Multimillion-Dollar NHS Contract
It began with a £1 contract. In the hours after a pandemic was declared in March 2020, Palantir, the secretive American data analytics company, was invited to 10 Downing Street along with other tech groups, including Amazon, Google and Meta, to discuss how it could help the British government respond. Within days, Palantir’s software was […]
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