With a new government and new prime minister, the UK is taking a new direction. But this moment is also a once-in-a-generation turning point.
Back in the 1950s, former prime minister Harold MacMillan faced a similar challenge. The real problem with a turning point, he said, is deciding "which way to turn". That's the challenge for Keir Starmer.
He has begun well by being tough in the face of riots in some of England's towns. Lawbreakers go to jail. Racism and Islamophobia are clearly rejected by the vast majority of citizens. But in most newspapers, the froth of political life still dominates.
We discovered that the country's highest-earning MP is Nigel Farage, the leader of the Reform UK party. Reform is often in the news despite the fact that it managed to secure fewer seats in the whole of England UK (five) than Sinn Fein did in the much-smaller Northern Ireland (seven).
Mr Farage earns £98,000 ($127,000) a month as a TV presenter on a largely unwatched right-wing TV channel. He earns more in one month than an MP's annual salary. When Parliament resumes, other legislators may wonder how a part-time MP truly represents his constituents. Even if he makes news because he has a kind of charisma (love it or loathe it), Mr Farage remains a sideshow.
Besides, I prefer uncharismatic politicians who get the job done. These include former prime minister Clement Attlee, dull on the surface but the most transformative leader in recent history. Winston Churchill is supposed to have said Attlee was so boring that "an empty taxi arrived at 10 Downing Street and Clement Attlee got out of it".
Attlee became prime minister in 1945. This post-Second World War turning point led to the creation of the National Health Service, the nationalisation of key industries, including the coal mines, and profound educational reforms that continued through the 1960s with the creation of new universities and a better modern UK.
Attlee himself wanted results, not headlines. He instructed government ministers: "You will be judged by what you succeed at, not by what you attempt." Mr Starmer – regarded as a sharp brain but a dull speaker – should follow that principle.
He has an enormous parliamentary majority based on a one-word election slogan that captured the feelings of millions of Britons: change. But what – if anything – can change mean when the core British problem is lack of money? Taxes are already high. The public sector is crumbling.
Yet again Attlee is an inspiration.
The post-war UK was so strapped for cash that in the fierce winter of 1947 thousands of Londoners went to the glass hothouses at Kew Gardens meant for plants just to keep warm. Taking power in 1945, Attlee expanded the state enormously. Even when Conservative governments took power, Attlee's basic principles of an expanded public sector remained until 1979.
That's when Margaret Thatcher began the counter-revolution. After this Thatcherite turning point, houses built with public money were sold off to private owners – a hugely popular policy. The railways, the publicly owned airline, the publicly owned coal mines and other industries, including water supplies, were sold off, transformed or closed.
Luckily for Starmer, the opposition Conservative party is such a shambles that he has breathing space
But now in 2024, we are again at a turning point potentially as profound as 1945 or 1979. When I travel to public meetings, voters speak of a hunger for change. There's a culture of complaint about everything from poor train services to the inability for many of us to see doctors and dentists. Prisons are full. Police are stretched. Some universities face an autumn financial crisis.
Mr Starmer has a huge majority, but it's less clear if he has a mandate for specific changes. Yet perhaps, that is an asset. It means that he can be pragmatic, not dogmatic. And it would be immensely cheering if we have now, as with Attlee in 1945, a government thinking beyond the next day's headlines and even beyond the next election to the next generation.
Luckily for Mr Starmer, the opposition Conservative party is such a shambles that he has breathing space. The Conservatives can grumble but not get in the way. After seeing them in power for 14 years, many voters have stopped listening to their message altogether.
Moreover, Conservatives themselves are at a turning point. Do they turn to the right to see off the existential threat from Reform UK, an even more right-wing party? Or do they scramble back to the centre of politics, which is where most voters are? Whatever they do, nobody (except party members) needs to care for a year or two.
Mr Starmer, therefore, has room to get on with the job of changing the UK, perhaps – as with Thatcher and Attlee – for a generation. Even if there is no magic money tree, Mr Starmer also rides on a huge wave of public longing for a better UK.
He's lucky in his political enemies. Those on the right loathe each other so much their internecine feuding means that they have no time to get in the way. Yet the key question remains: at this turning point, which way will Mr Starmer turn?
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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Analysis
Maros Sefcovic is juggling multiple international trade agreement files, but his message was clear when he spoke to The National on Wednesday.
The EU-UAE bilateral trade deal will be finalised soon, he said. It is in everyone’s interests to do so. Both sides want to move quickly and are in alignment. He said the UAE is a very important partner for the EU. It’s full speed ahead - and with some lofty ambitions - on the road to a free trade agreement.
We also talked about US-EU tariffs. He answered that both sides need to talk more and more often, but he is prepared to defend Europe's position and said diplomacy should be a guiding principle through the current moment.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
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PROFILE OF STARZPLAY
Date started: 2014
Founders: Maaz Sheikh, Danny Bates
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment/Streaming Video On Demand
Number of employees: 125
Investors/Investment amount: $125 million. Major investors include Starz/Lionsgate, State Street, SEQ and Delta Partners
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SERIES INFO
Cricket World Cup League Two
Nepal, Oman, United States tri-series
Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu
Fixtures
Wednesday February 5, Oman v Nepal
Thursday, February 6, Oman v United States
Saturday, February 8, United States v Nepal
Sunday, February 9, Oman v Nepal
Tuesday, February 11, Oman v United States
Wednesday, February 12, United States v Nepal
Table
The top three sides advance to the 2022 World Cup Qualifier.
The bottom four sides are relegated to the 2022 World Cup playoff
1 United States 8 6 2 0 0 12 0.412
2 Scotland 8 4 3 0 1 9 0.139
3 Namibia 7 4 3 0 0 8 0.008
4 Oman 6 4 2 0 0 8 -0.139
5 UAE 7 3 3 0 1 7 -0.004
6 Nepal 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
7 PNG 8 0 8 0 0 0 -0.458
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
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Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
AGL AWARDS
Golden Ball - best Emirati player: Khalfan Mubarak (Al Jazira)
Golden Ball - best foreign player: Igor Coronado (Sharjah)
Golden Glove - best goalkeeper: Adel Al Hosani (Sharjah)
Best Coach - the leader: Abdulaziz Al Anbari (Sharjah)
Fans' Player of the Year: Driss Fetouhi (Dibba)
Golden Boy - best young player: Ali Saleh (Al Wasl)
Best Fans of the Year: Sharjah
Goal of the Year: Michael Ortega (Baniyas)
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Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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About Krews
Founder: Ahmed Al Qubaisi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Founded: January 2019
Number of employees: 10
Sector: Technology/Social media
Funding to date: Estimated $300,000 from Hub71 in-kind support
