Weekly Rundown

[12/02/23-18/02/23]

The news is fast and ever-changing and excites me greatly, but in the fast-paced world we live in it’s hard to always keep up with what’s happening. I thought for my own sake and for others too that I would write a weekly rundown of the week’s top stories from around the world. Every week I’ll be uploading a summary available in more than one language. Let’s see what happened this week…

1.     Double By-Election Blow

The results from local by-elections held in Wellingborough and Kingswood revealed a double blow for Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party. The Labour Party successfully overturned majorities of 11,220 and 18,540 in the constituencies that were previously considered safe Tory seats. Labour candidates Ms Kitchen and Mr Egan had much to celebrate as figures highlighted a 28% swing to Labour in Wellingborough, the second biggest overturn since the Second World War.

Mr Sunak commented that “mid-term by-elections are always difficult” and assured the general public that this loss doesn’t reflect how the Tory party will do in the next general election. The Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer disagreed on this point and claimed that the labour success of these by-elections stood as testament that “people are crying out for change”. Despite this success he recognised that there is “still more work to do” for the Labour Party.

2.     The Death of Alexei Navalny

According to Russian authorities the Russian opposition Alexei Navalny has died in prison after reportedly feeling “unwell” and falling unconscious on Friday. His death is yet to be confirmed with his spokesperson Kira Yarmysh writing on X (formerly Twitter) that “The Federal Penitentiary Service…is disseminating news about the death on Alexei Navalny”. Despite this, there has been an outpour of condolences online from European politicians, Foreign Ministers and even French President Emmanuel Macron who shared both his sorrow and anger in a post on X that said “free spirits are…condemned to death. My thoughts go out to his family, loved ones and to the Russian people”.

Alexei Navalny was one of Putin’s most outspoken critics. He exposed the corruption of Russian power for more than a decade through his video investigations online that gained tens of millions of views. He was a charismatic campaigner and was nominated to run for president in 2018 after setting up a network of regional campaign offices but was barred from the vote after leading protests against Putin in Russia. In 2020 Navalny was poisoned by a nerve agent and was treated abroad before returning to his arrest in Russia where he remained jailed.

The UN has called for an independent investigation into his death after repeatedly raising concerns about his imprisonment which “appeared to be arbitrary”. The only way they can confirm his death and the circumstances around it are through an “impartial, thorough and transparent investigation”.

3.     Prince Harry Hopes King’s Illness Will Bring Family Closer

After King Charles II was diagnosed with cancer The Duke of Sussex “jumped on a plane and went to go see him as soon as I could”. Harry visited the King at Clarence House only one night after the news of his diagnosis was made public. The duke said he was “grateful” for the time he spent with his father during his brief visit. When asked if the King’s illness would reunite the family together Harry said, “I think any illness, any sickness brings families together…and that makes me happy.”

The King has paused all public-facing duties while he receives treatment with other senior royals taking on his duties for some events. As for Prince Harry he plans to return to the UK soon to see more of his family “as much as I can”.

4.     UK Economy now in Recession

Official figures show that the UK economy has fallen into a recession after people cut

spending, doctors’ strikes and a fall in school attendance. The Office for National Statistics revealed that GDP had fallen by a larger than expected 0.3% between October and December 2023, following an unrevised fall of 0.1% in the previous quarter. These figures question the pledge that Rishi Sunak made last January to grow the economy as by the end of last year, the economy experienced a reversal.

The economic challenges are not exclusive to the UK; the EU narrowly escaped recession in the latter part of 2023, and Japan acknowledged a second consecutive quarter of economic contraction.

In economic terms, whether the UK economy contracted or showed slight growth towards the close of 2023 is nearly inconsequential. The critical issue lies in the fact that the UK economy has been persistently operating at a suboptimal level for an extended period. Reflecting on the past, living standards have seen minimal improvement over the past 15 years. These are the challenges that require attention from our political leaders. Furthermore, when consulting economists, a considerable number express uncertainty about whether the Labour party possesses the solutions needed to address these issues.