Chagos Collapse Exposes Britain's Shrinking Diplomatic Leverage
The UK shelves its Chagos Islands deal after Washington pulls the rug. Meanwhile, Trump's NATO provocations leave European allies scrambling.
Geopolitics
Orbán's Last Stand: Hungary Votes and Europe Holds Its Breath
Editorial digest April 10, 2026
Last updated : 18:16
Two elections have defined the shape of Europe this decade. One was Donald Trump's return to the White House. The other happens on Sunday — and it may prove just as consequential.
Hungary goes to the polls this weekend in
Starmer Preaches Resilience. His NHS Is On Strike.
Editorial digest April 10, 2026
Last updated : 09:19
The prime minister is in the Gulf warning that Britain must stop being "at the mercy of events abroad." Fine words. Back home, the NHS is on strike, the military's transformation programme is being called a "
Gulf, Starmer, Taiwan: the World Bets Against US Reliability
Editorial digest April 10, 2026
Last updated : 09:18
The American guarantee is fraying. Not in think-tank papers or diplomatic communiqués — in the actual decisions of actual governments, quietly recalculating their exposure to a Washington that can no longer be read like a treaty.
That recalculation went public this week.
Deaths in the Channel, Terror at Home — Britain's Unfinished Business
Editorial digest April 09, 2026
Last updated : 13:03
Four people drowned off the French coast on Wednesday trying to reach Britain in a small boat. Two men, two women — names we may never learn, lives reduced to a line in a news bulletin. The same week, a British citizen
While the World Watches Lebanon, the Wars That Don't Stop
Editorial digest April 09, 2026
Last updated : 13:02
The Lebanon ceasefire dominated headlines this week. Handshakes were exchanged, statements were read, and for a brief moment the diplomatic machinery appeared to function. But step back from the Middle East, and the picture looks far bleaker. The wars and threats
Labour's Support Is Fraying — And No One Knows Where It Goes
Editorial digest April 09, 2026
Last updated : 11:04
Eight people sat in a room in Birmingham Yardley last week. All of them voted Labour in 2024. Almost none of them plan to do it again. That finding, from a More in Common focus group published today, is more dangerous