Wouldn't bet on it
After Sunak’s closest aide in parliament was forced to apologise
for placing a £100 bet on the date of the General Election last week,
it has now come to light that the Tory campaigns chief Tony Lee, his
wife the Bristol North West Conservative candidate Laura Saunder, and
a member of Rishi Sunak’s personal police protection team are also
being investigated over placing a similar wagers.
To hold or cut
The Bank of England left
interest rates alone at 5.25% for the seventh time in a row, despite
inflation falling, dashing Rishi Sunak’s hopes of a pre-election cut
in the cost of borrowing. It has been reported, however, that cuts are
expected in August, but it's not looking likely that Sunak will be
around to see it.
Landmark ruling
The Supreme Court in London ruled that the climate impact of
burning coal, oil and gas must be taken into account when deciding
whether to approve projects. The landmark judgement sets an important
precedent on whether the “inevitable” future greenhouse gas emissions
of a fossil fuel project should be considered.
Top job
It was announced that Mark Rutte, the outgoing Dutch Prime
Minister, will succeed Norway’s Jens Stoltenberg as the next Nato
secretary-general after the last remaining holdout Romania agreed to
back his candidacy. Rutte will govern over a critical, yet tricky, few
years as the transatlantic alliance balances Russian aggression and
potentially wavering US support in the event of a Trump
presidency.
Meet the voters
After being riled up by an invigorating England performance at the
Euros, the voting public had a chance to direct their energy at the
leaders of the four largest parties in the BBC's Question Time
Leaders' Special. Rishi Sunak channeled his stated anger at the
betting scandal into another tense set of exchanges with the audience,
defending his attacks on the ECHR and hinting at potential sanctions
for young people who avoid national service. Keir Starmer wasn't let
off lightly either though, with the Labour leader being forced to
resume accounting for his support for Jeremy Corbyn at the last
election and justifying policy u-turns on tuition fees and the
nationalisation of energy companies.
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