Hello from The National.
Here are this week’s most compelling and exclusive stories from the UK and Europe.
BIG PICTURE
Tax cuts here
One thing that a general election can't change is that the UK is a pervasively taxed country.
No manifesto can overturn that, not even the Conservative one launched yesterday, that ran to 76 pages.
As it happens the Conservative manifesto found the party in classic tax cutter mojo with payroll cuts, pensions savings protected from taxes and a finish-the-job message on welfare reforms that would boost the numbers in work while slashing spending.
With an eye on Labour's manifesto release on Thursday, the party is also ruling out road pricing for cars. This is where the system of taxing vehicles is modernised to raise revenue from electric models. “A Conservative government will not introduce pay-per-mile road pricing and will ban mayors and local councils from doing so,” it says.
This is a glimpse of the sort of election we could have had if the gap in the polls was not 20 per cent plus. Divisions writ large over economic matters, which obviously really matter, should be magnified not diminished by the five-week campaigning frenzy.
The Conservative document sets out the party’s position on Israel, stating the country has a right to defend itself. It equally states it is ready to recognise a Palestinian state “at a time that is most conducive to the peace process”. On the other side, Labour is expected to say later this week it would recognise Palestine “at the right time”.
The Conservatives further promised closer ties with its partners in the Gulf “based on an appreciation of regional perspectives and shared interests” and said it intends to complete a free-trade agreement with the GCC.
Drastically lower immigration is at the heart of the Conservative Party'spromise to introduce a “binding, legal cap on migration” at a level that “explicitly takes into account the costs and the benefits of migration”.
The cap would fall every year and parliament would be given an annual vote on its level.
It also promised to work with other countries “to rewrite asylum treaties”.
As I write a Chinook helicopter is flying overhead, part of the daily routine that keeps London safe. Labour has promised a defence review if it takes power on July 4. There is a chorus of calls for an updated grand strategy out of London.
There is a new reminder out from the Tony Blair Institute that war is closer than our every day lived experience would suggest.
In the foreword, Michele Flournoy, the former US undersecretary for defence, advises increased collaboration with allies is even more important given how “quickly and substantially the way future wars will be fought (or prevented) are evolving. Virtually every operation will be conducted in alliance or coalition with other like-minded states”.
Alexander George, senior director at TBI’s Middle East practice, added that the UK should take its reforms overseas and work with allies in the region. “The points raised in this report are important not just for the UK but for other countries looking to adjust to an increasingly complex global security environment,” he told The National. “Strengthening capabilities, particularly in new technologies like AI, and working more closely with partners will be crucial.”
For more global news that matters to you, join our Telegram channel.
Labour's costs
Just a day to wait until the Labour master plan which we are told will serve as a baseline for government, not the full playbook.
Labour has gone out of its way to court the City and large companies, assuring them they have little to fear. While Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves have done a good job in wooing the capitalists on the so-called prawn cocktail circuit, last-minute nerves have surfaced. Transatlantic trade association BritishAmerican Business boss Duncan Edwards was heard warning its members are afraid of rising costs if Labour reaches Downing Street. “There’s concern about a potential rise in the cost of doing business in the UK,” he said.
His organisation represents more than 400 companies doing business in both the UK and US – among them Amazon, McKinsey and Delta Air Lines. Another member is Microsoft, which has already discovered how it’s not only taxes that can hurt.
Last year, Microsoft felt the opposition of the UK competition regulator when the watchdog unexpectedly blocked the computer giant’s $75 billion takeover of games creator Activision. The deal only went ahead after Microsoft amended its bid.
The episode resonated around the corporate world, the implied message being that if you’re foreign you can expect tougher treatment in the UK.
Palestine recognition
Some trailblazing Palestiniancompanies travelled to London Technology Week to increase representation of the Arab world's people and places across AI-based products.
“We noticed that generative AI tools were lacking the resonance from the Arab world due to a lack of data, so we decided to start providing Arab image data sets,” Mohammad Alnobani, the co-founder and chief executive of The Middle Frame, told The National.
His venture is at London Tech Week looking for more AI companies to partner with from within the 45,000-strong crowd at the conference.
Another is Kanz, a specialist in connecting financial institutions such as banks with customers through an AI platform. And from Ramallah, Dragon Solutions products help their clients with marketing automation that helps customer interactions in the world of fintech.
 |
Space spa
Microgravity affects the immune system, putting astronauts at risk of infections and skin conditions, but does that have implications for how the body ages?
Scientific theory about why those changes occur has developed in recent years, although how these could be prevented or reversed has been elusive.
Now, using artificial intelligence to study more than two million interactions between genes, drugs and foods, the researchers have identified a plant pigment called quercetin that could protect immune system cells.
The compound, which is often found in red onions, grapes, berries, apples and citrus fruits, among others, is known to have antioxidant properties.
It is a discovery that has “huge implications” for our understanding of ageing.
OTHER STORIES THIS WEEK
