Week in the UK. Good or bad

This week was full of memories, starting with Partygate investigation and ending with continuation of the story of a pupil identified as cat and Rishi Sunak's five pledges. On Sunday, Lord Heseltine, the former deputy prime minister under John Major has called for Britain to “recreate our position at the centre of Europe” after the failure of Brexit; Rishi Sunak mocked trans women in leaked video footage; Prince William pledged to 'end homelessness' and announces plans to build social housing on own private estate the Duchy of Cornwall; and the Tories face the threat of new Partygate police probe. Learn more here . On Monday, 'a dancing woman’ revealed to be aide to a Tory shortlisted to become his party’s London mayoral candidate; school leaders’ union opened national strike ballot for first time in its history; and one of Britain's top judges called for a tough clampdown on illegal Channel crossings. Learn more here . On Tuesday, Jacob Rees-Mogg got under f...

On Saturday, Rye College has denied allegations that a pupil self-identified as a cat as the education secretary started an investigation into the claims . Penny Mordaunt, the Commons leader, confirmed the inquiry days after a video featuring an exchange between two 13-year-old girls and a teacher at Rye College, in East Sussex, went viral. The teacher said that the pair were “despicable” for saying that gender should be linked to biological sex and told one of them she should “go to a different school” for rejecting the idea that a classmate could identify as a cat. Rye College said yesterday that it had met the Department for Education over the matter. It added that none of its pupils identified as cats or any other animal. Sir Desmond Swayne, the former Conservative minister, told the Commons: “Pupils have been denounced as despicable for failing to accept at the reality of a fellow pupil who identified as a cat. Can we have a debate on Confucius, for it was he who observ...

On Friday, Brits were choosing their favourite holiday destination in Britain , together with the Daily Mail Britain has several beautiful holiday destinations from beautiful beaches to quaint villages in the rolling countryside and rugged mountains and Express.co.uk wanted to know which is your favourite. As the cost-of-living crisis continues to hit household finances, staycations are a popular choice for Britons wanting to travel without the additional cost of going abroad. A survey from earlier this year found that 36 percent of Britons are planning a short break of one to four days in the UK in 2023. The research of 1,000 people was conducted on behalf of audit, tax and consulting firm, RSM UK and found some 28 percent are planning a longer break in the UK of five or more days.  Many British holidaymakers enjoy taking a trip to the seaside, with millions flocking to the south-west of England to explore the sandy beaches of Devon and Cornwall. For those who enjoy a more ...

On Thursday, we've learned another grave news about British economic from National Institute of Economic and Social Research. 1.2 million UK Households Insolvent This Year as a Direct Result of Higher Mortgage Repayments .  UK households are about to be hit by yet another shock as a result of the Bank Rate rising to 5 per cent, and by the end of 2023 more than a million households (4 per cent of all UK households) will run out of savings because of higher mortgage repayments, taking the total proportion of insolvent households to nearly 30 per cent (around 7.8 million), according to the latest research by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR). With the Bank Rate rising at their fastest pace since the Bank of England gained independence in 1997, millions of households will be affected by higher mortgage repayments. A significant proportion of the population will see their savings wiped out because of the rise in interest rates and thus higher mortga...

On Wednesday, the Sky News reported that s tubbornly high inflation increases pressure for interest rate hike . The cost of second-hand cars, flights, live music events and computer games kept the inflation rate higher than expected, despite the drop in petrol prices. The rate of price rises has remained at 8.7% despite expectations of a fall, according to official figures. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) announced the consumer price index measure of inflation stood at 8.7% in the year up to May, the same as the rate in April. A slight decrease, to 8.4%, had been expected by economists. It puts the government's pledge to halve inflation this year in doubt. The rate has been kept high due to the rising cost of second-hand cars, live music events and computer games, the ONS chief economist said, though they were partially offset by the fall in petrol prices. More expensive flights were also partially to blame, the ONS said.   ...

 On Tuesday, Jacob Rees-Mogg got under fire for backing anti-abortion misinformation .  Abortion rights campaigners have criticised Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg for amplifying debunked anti-choice propaganda in Parliament that “could increase xenophobia” against Chinese people. Rees-Mogg and his Conservative colleague Tim Loughton signed their names in support of a document from the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) called ‘Complicit: Is UK money contributing to coerced abortion in China?’ last month. The report was launched in Parliament and promoted on Rees-Mogg’s GB News show. The report claims on its first page that “close to 500 million” forced abortions have been carried out in China under the country’s one-, two- and three-child policies since 1980, with the backing of UK funding through the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). "I genuinely don't see why the conservatives like this guy -...

On Monday, the Partygate theme continued with further analysis of the video. And ‘dancing woman’ revealed to be aide to a Tory shortlisted to become his party’s London mayoral candidate, the Standard can reveal. Malin Bogue is seen dancing in a red dress with Jack Smith, who works in Parliament for Tory minister Graham Stuart. At the time Ms Bogue reportedly worked for Shaun Bailey’s mayoral campaign, which ended in defeat to Sadiq Khan in 2021, as did Ben Mallet, who is also seen in the video that was obtained by the Sunday Mirror. Both Mr Mallet, who was awarded an OBE in Boris Johnson’s resignation honours list, and Ms Bogue work for Moz Hossain KC, the barrister bidding to secure the Tory nomination to run against Mr Khan in next May’s City Hall elections. The Standard has learned that Ms Bogue accompanied Mr Hossain to the first Tory mayoral hustings, at the Queen Elizabeth conference centre last Friday night, including to the invite-only pre-event drinks.   " This ...

On Sunday, Lord Heseltine, the former deputy prime minister under John Major has called for Britain to “recreate our position at the centre of Europe” after the failure of Brexit. The Tory grandee accused political leaders of hiding from the damage being caused by the UK leaving the EU and said the time has come “for the British people to be told the truth”.  Writing for The Independent , Lord Heseltine laid bare the failings of Brexit, from a shortage of skilled workers holding back economic growth to trade deals with Australia and New Zealand which will be “so damaging for farmers”.  This statement was met with disbelieve by users. the majority liked an idea, though. "Do they honestly think Britain will just be able to get back it’s former standing like “my bad guys, did a silly, just going to sit back in my special place seat and we will act as if the last few years didn’t happen, deal?” Nah IF we are allowed to join once again it’ll be *bottom rung of the ladder an...