Skip to main content

It was a time for niceties in the Commons. Kemi doesn’t do niceties | John Crace

The G20? Cop29? Totally pointless, said the Tory leader. World leaders getting up themselves and a load of virtue-signalling

It had been shaping up to be another sleepy Thursday in Westminster. A day when hostilities were put on hold after the exertions earlier in the week. A time for MPs to be a little more playful with one another. To even, occasionally, agree with one another.

And that’s very much how proceedings began. First, there were outpourings of sympathy from members of all parties for the family of John Prescott, who had died the day before. Tributes for a life well lived. Then the main business: a statement from Keir Starmer on Cop29 and the G20.

Taking the Lead by John Crace is published by Little, Brown (£18.99). To support the Guardian and Observer, order your copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply.

Continue reading...

from The Guardian https://ift.tt/hjRduKI

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

England booed off after failing against Iceland once more in Euros warm-up

It was a long way from being the triumphant Euro 2024 send-off for Gareth Southgate and his England players at a sold-out and increasingly fretful Wembley. Never mind the result because it was not the main thing, however much it stirred memories of you-know-when against Iceland. It was the performance that raised the difficult questions, the worst one for quite some time and at exactly the wrong time. The home fans, thousands of whom made for the exits before the end, were forced to watch the second half – from about minute 55 onwards – through the gaps between their fingers. And it had not been great before that. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/4ndfQL0

How can I tell if there’s methanol in my drink?

It looks, smells and tastes like regular alcohol – so how can we protect ourselves after several people died after likely consuming methanol in Laos this week? Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The risks of methanol poisoning are in sharp focus this week after the tragic deaths of several young people in Laos, including Melbourne teens Holly Bowles and Bianca Jones . According to Doctors Without Borders, thousands of people are poisoned by methanol every year , with outbreaks killing 20% to 40% of victims. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/AakldXE

The danger in saying yes to Pascal Soriot’s pay rise at AstraZeneca | Nils Prately

Despite rebellion, approval of £18.7m package opens door to likelihood of US-style executive pay elsewhere Is Pascal Soriot, the chief executive of AstraZeneca, “massively underpaid”, as the chief investment officer of Florida-based GQG Partners, one of the company’s big shareholders, argued this week? Well, of course he’s not. Soriot has been paid £120m over the past decade, which is a helluva sum even for someone who has been brilliantly successful in leading what is now – but wasn’t when he arrived – the UK’s second-largest listed company. The history-turning moment in 2014, when AZ and Soriot managed to see off a bid from Pfizer’s grim number-crunchers, has probably been worth many multiples of £120m to the UK economy. But such a sum for a single employee in an organisation of 90,000 still looks absurd: Soriot doesn’t do all the work himself. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/V2FnCkM