Author: Blake Anderson

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Labour has postponed a London drinks reception sponsored by UK outsourcing group Mitie after a backlash over the company’s employment practices as the government tries to bring crucial services back in-house.The Financial Times last week revealed the acrimony within the governing party over a planned soirée for north-west MPs at the Shard head offices of Mitie, featuring appearances from senior government figures.Unison had planned to picket the event — set to take place on Tuesday night — due to concerns over the…

The government has given contradictory signals about its vows to spare “working people” from higher taxes as chancellor Rachel Reeves faces questions about how she will fill a deepening black hole in the UK’s public finances. Darren Jones, chief secretary to the Treasury, on Monday appeared to create room for tax rises in the Autumn Budget as he pledged that the “headline rate” of key taxes would be unchanged, rather than ruling out wider changes. Reeves gave a broader commitment on Monday, however, as she promised the government would not increase the taxes that “working people pay — their income tax, their…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Prenuptial agreements are on the rise in England and Wales, particularly among those entering second marriages or bringing assets into a relationship. Yet, unlike in many other countries, they are not automatically legally binding in court, despite being upheld in many cases.Family lawyers have long argued that this legal grey area leaves some couples vulnerable, particularly where one partner is significantly wealthier than the other. Some campaigners are calling for reform to make pre-nups fully enforceable, but others question whether they undermine…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the Cyber Security myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.The writer is a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and advises Gallos TechnologiesA string of mysterious undersea cable incidents is spooking governments and Nato. But they should spook another group too: the financial services industry. If several cables connecting Britain or the US east coast were severed, the City of London and Wall Street would face colossal disruption and losses. Both London and New York should prepare for it.On Christmas Day last year, the Cook Islands-flagged tanker Eagle S hit five…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the Climate change myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.There is a curious idea doing the rounds on the right: that climate change is real, that it is caused by human activity but that European countries cannot meaningfully shape whether the world reaches net zero and is thus able to limit warming. Adding a new fear to flying, Kemi Badenoch opted to use this heatwave week to travel to Stansted airport and criticise the Labour government’s “ideological” focus on net zero. What is unexpected about this line is that there is a…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.The writer is a former British diplomat and author of ‘Hard Choices’ “France and the United Kingdom agree that there is no extreme threat to Europe that would not prompt a response by our two nations.” This sentence in the Northwood declaration issued by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and President Emmanuel Macron at the UK-French summit last week signalled a potentially far-reaching shift in the defence priorities of both countries as they come to terms with Vladimir Putin’s aggression in Ukraine and Donald…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Thames Water has announced a hosepipe ban for several areas in an effort to preserve water following persistent dry and warm weather.The ban will come into place across parts of Swindon, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Wiltshire on Tuesday July 22, as a lack of rain and increased demand stretched the water supply, the water group said on Monday.The Temporary Use Ban means customers living in affected areas are asked not to use hosepipes for activities such as washing cars, watering gardens and…

This article is an on-site version of our Inside Politics newsletter. Subscribers can sign up here to get the newsletter delivered every weekday. If you’re not a subscriber, you can still receive the newsletter free for 30 daysGood morning. Can Labour still deliver significant changes to how the state works and money is spent? Reform to how children with special educational needs are looked after this autumn are, I think, a big test for the government. Some thoughts on that below. Inside Politics is edited by Harvey Nriapia today. Follow Stephen on Bluesky and X. Read the previous edition of…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.This article is part of FT Globetrotter’s guide to LondonMy mother was an incredible home cook, known for single-handedly executing 25-course Chinese banquets for family festivities, instilling in me a love of food. She gave me the gift of a discerning palate from an early age, which has been key for what became my adulthood obsession: wine. When I first moved to London from Sydney nearly 30 years ago, I threw myself into experiencing the capital’s thrilling restaurant scene. Wine was yet…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Several councils run by Reform UK have resisted efforts by the party’s Elon Musk-style “Doge” unit to access personal and commercially sensitive data, slowing the progress of the highly controversial cost-cutting drive.Senior lawyers and data handlers at some Reform-run councils in England have so far blocked access to sensitive information by unelected volunteers running the party’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency, according to people briefed on the situation.Kent county council, one of 10 local authorities where Reform took control in local elections…