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Josiah Mortimer

Parting Gifts

Keir Starmer got a lot done in his last few weeks. Not that anyone noticed, amid the circus surrounding Nigel Farage and his Clacton battle with a bin.

A few highlights.

Dangerous cladding will be removed from lower-rise buildings with serious fire safety risks, after new funding was released to speed up remediation works in the most dangerous buildings. The money for buildings under 11 metres high will help end the scandal of leaseholders facing huge bills to fix safety problems they did not cause.

The cost of school uniforms in England will be capped from September, under new guidance against costly branded items. And 1,400 more free breakfast clubs have been confirmed, saving families up to £450 a year. More than 2,700 clubs will be live by the start of the next school year.

Peter Oborne portrait, by Alex Chamberlain

Peter Oborne's Diary – Pol Roger and Islamophobia

The Spectator boasts that its summer party is the “most sought-after social ticket of the Westminster summer season, bringing together the most senior politicians, journalists, and political aides, alongside the crème de la crème of the arts and media world”.
Peter Oborne

David Hencke: The Journalist Who Made Us All Better

Byline Times tips its hat with love and gratitude to our acclaimed investigative reporter who died aged 79 of liver cancer in June. His colleague and friend Mark Conrad remembers his generous gift for reporting
Mark Conrad