In the UK, Margaret Thatcher was the most successful Conservative prime minister in recent history. She won three elections beginning in 1979 and brought in sweeping reforms to the British economy, selling off state owned enterprises, taking on trade unions and shutting down industries at the heart of some working class communities, most notably coal mines. Mrs Thatcher was divisive, sometimes loathed but generally respected. She mostly did what she said. She also had a phrase she repeated over and over: “You can’t buck the market.” It was an unusual kind of humility from someone who rarely lacked confidence, because she was pointing out that in a market economy investors will act in their own best interests and if a government – even a strongly led one like hers – makes mistakes the market will penalise those mistakes.
Britain’s new prime minister Liz Truss is no Margaret Thatcher. She and her coterie in Cabinet, including the Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng (nicknamed "Kamikaze" Kwarteng on social media), are much influenced by a group of right wing so-called "think tanks"– generally, well-funded lobbyists – based in Westminster. These lobbyists have for years called for very low taxes, especially on the rich, de-regulation and for the UK to leave the EU. Impressionable politicians, like Ms Truss, have swallowed these supposed "free market" ideas whole, without apparently wondering how the real markets would react if ever these ideas were put into practice. Now we know. The Truss experiment, announced last week, has been, essentially, for the UK government to tax much less, borrow much more, spend the money and pretend this is just the shake-up the British economy needs.
Politically this was always hazardous. Rewarding a millionaire with a tax cut while a person of average income struggles to pay the bills is tone-deaf politics. But it is stunning that the Truss-Kwarteng free-marketeers did not seem to understand what the free market would think of the British government. The result has been the pound – which at the time of the Brexit vote in 2016 was trading at just under $1.50 – is now hovering at around a record low of $1. And Mr Kwarteng, removed from reality, promises more of the same toxic medicine. What is also astonishing is that none of the key players in the British government, and especially not the prime minister, seem to have learnt anything from even a brief glance at economic history.
The great British economist JM Keynes argued back in the 1930s that what we now call "trickle down" economics, namely making the rich richer and believing their wealth will in some magical way "trickle down" to the less well off, does not work. That is because very rich people often "hoard" their money. If you are worth millions there simply are not enough mansions, yachts, cars and designer clothes you will ever buy to make a real difference.
The great British economist JM Keynes argued in the 1930s that what we now call 'trickle down' economics does not work
By the 1980s, US President George HW Bush described trickle down theories as "voodoo economics". In Britain the Truss-Kwarteng economic policy has been compared to the 1971 "dash for growth" under the then Chancellor Anthony Barber. The idea was to "set the people free" by not "propping up lame duck" enterprises – exactly the kind of voodoo chants that prime minister Truss and her supporters have engaged in during the past month.
The Barber Boom was a bust, an economic and political disaster setting the tone for the 1970s in which the UK was "the sick man of Europe". What is astounding is that the senior group in and around Ms Truss either did not know of the history of failure of the economic policies they are pursuing, or they did know yet somehow, recklessly, they decided to go ahead anyway.
The sad truth is that the Conservative party has been in the doldrums for years. It tore itself apart during Brexit. It tolerated Boris Johnson’s lies, until finally shamed into getting rid of him. And it is now led by someone who has never been the first choice even of her own MPs. Ms Truss has filled her government with people chosen for loyalty rather than competence.
Conservative MP Chris Philp, for example, is Mr Kwarteng’s number two at the British Treasury. He describes himself as a serial entrepreneur. Mr Philp took to Twitter just as Mr Kwarteng began announcing his new economic strategy and boasted: "Great to see sterling strengthening on the back of the new UK Growth Plan." The pound’s crash then began. A British Treasury official told a newspaper that his boss, Mr Philp, was an "idiot".
What happens next? The Conservative party drama enters a new phase. Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng have been revealed as the shallowest of political leaders. The Labour party is reviving. But watch Conservative MPs, the competent ones who always thought Liz Truss would be a disaster. What will they do now? Perhaps they will reflect that you really cannot buck the market. But you can get rid of a failing leader.
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Leap of Faith
Michael J Mazarr
Public Affairs
Dh67
RESULTS
5pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner AF Nashrah, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)
5.30pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner Mutaqadim, Riccardo Iacopini, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami.
6pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner Hameem, Jose Santiago, Abdallah Al Hammadi.
6.30pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner AF Almomayaz, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
7pm Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner Dalil Al Carrere, Fernando Jara, Mohamed Daggash.
7.30pm Handicap (TB) Dh70,000 (D) 1,000m
Winner Lahmoom, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
8pm Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,000m
Winner Jayide Al Boraq, Bernardo Pinheiro, Khalifa Al Neyadi.
Grand Slam Los Angeles results
Men:
56kg – Jorge Nakamura
62kg – Joao Gabriel de Sousa
69kg – Gianni Grippo
77kg – Caio Soares
85kg – Manuel Ribamar
94kg – Gustavo Batista
110kg – Erberth Santos
Women:
49kg – Mayssa Bastos
55kg – Nathalie Ribeiro
62kg – Gabrielle McComb
70kg – Thamara Silva
90kg – Gabrieli Pessanha
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Juliot Vinolia’s checklist for adopting alternate-day fasting
- Don’t do it more than once in three days
- Don’t go under 700 calories on fasting days
- Ensure there is sufficient water intake, as the body can go in dehydration mode
- Ensure there is enough roughage (fibre) in the food on fasting days as well
- Do not binge on processed or fatty foods on non-fasting days
- Complement fasting with plant-based foods, fruits, vegetables, seafood. Cut out processed meats and processed carbohydrates
- Manage your sleep
- People with existing gastric or mental health issues should avoid fasting
- Do not fast for prolonged periods without supervision by a qualified expert
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
if you go
The flights
Fly to Rome with Etihad (www.etihad.ae) or Emirates (www.emirates.com) from Dh2,480 return including taxes. The flight takes six hours. Fly from Rome to Trapani with Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) from Dh420 return including taxes. The flight takes one hour 10 minutes.
The hotels
The author recommends the following hotels for this itinerary. In Trapani, Ai Lumi (www.ailumi.it); in Marsala, Viacolvento (www.viacolventomarsala.it); and in Marsala Del Vallo, the Meliaresort Dimore Storiche (www.meliaresort.it).
The Saga Continues
Wu-Tang Clan
(36 Chambers / Entertainment One)
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
FIGHT CARD
Bantamweight Hamza Bougamza (MAR) v Jalal Al Daaja (JOR)
Catchweight 67kg Mohamed El Mesbahi (MAR) v Fouad Mesdari (ALG)
Lighweight Abdullah Mohammed Ali (UAE) v Abdelhak Amhidra (MAR)
Catchweight 73kg Mostafa Ibrahim Radi (PAL) v Yazid Chouchane (ALG)
Middleweight Yousri Belgaroui (TUN) v Badreddine Diani (MAR)
Catchweight 78kg Rashed Dawood (UAE) v Adnan Bushashy (ALG)
Middleweight Sallaheddine Dekhissi (MAR) v Abdel Emam (EGY)
Catchweight 65kg Rachid Hazoume (MAR) v Yanis Ghemmouri (ALG)
Lighweight Mohammed Yahya (UAE) v Azouz Anwar (EGY)
Catchweight 79kg Omar Hussein (PAL) v Souhil Tahiri (ALG)
Middleweight Tarek Suleiman (SYR) v Laid Zerhouni (ALG)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Essentials
The flights
Emirates flies direct from Dubai to Seattle from Dh6,755 return in economy and Dh24,775 in business class.
The cruise
UnCruise Adventures offers a variety of small-ship cruises in Alaska and around the world. A 14-day Alaska’s Inside Passage and San Juans Cruise from Seattle to Juneau or reverse costs from $4,695 (Dh17,246), including accommodation, food and most activities. Trips in 2019 start in April and run until September.
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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Mobile phone packages comparison
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
