Rise of Chris Philp tests the limits of the Peter principle

If Chris Philp didn’t exist, would it be possible to create him? Is such a feat of imagination even possible? Consider the complexities – the absurdity, the halfwittedness. The unfailing ability to jump on the wrong bandwagon. And yet … To have succeeded to the limits of the Peter principle. To be the embodiment of the Dunning-Kruger effect. The apotheosis of mediocrity

China’s top diplomat to visit UK in February for talks with David Lammy

China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, is due to visit the UK next month for talks with the British foreign secretary, David Lammy, the Guardian has learned.The Foreign Office (FCDO) is drawing up plans to host the Chinese foreign minister in mid-February, according to three people briefed on the plans. The FCDO declined to comment.One source said the purpose of Wang’s visit was to hold a UK-China strategic dialogue for the first time since 2018.He is to attend the Munich security conference between 14 and 16 February, so his visit to the UK is likely to take place either before or after that

MPs in new freebie row after accepting darts hospitality from betting firm

Two MPs received VIP tickets for the sold-out World Darts Championships courtesy of a betting company – weeks after a national outcry over politicians accepting freebies.Labour MP James Frith, who has campaigned for safer gambling, and Conservative MP Caroline Nokes, the deputy speaker of the House of Commons, were gifted “platinum” hospitality tickets by Paddy Power worth up to £1,000 each.Platinum packages typically include Michelin-star meals, alcohol, prime seats and table service. At face value, standard entry tickets cost up to £95.Frith’s ticket, worth £1,000, covered his attendance at the 3 January final at Alexandra Palace in north London, won by 17-year-old Luke Littler, while Nokes received two tickets, each worth £700, for her and a plus one to attend an earlier round event on 23 December

‘I sense Brussels is ready to be bold and ambitious’: hope mixes with anger on Brexit’s fifth anniversary

The union jack was lowered in Brussels this week in 2020. Today, despite the problems caused by leaving, a yearning for ‘Breturn’ flowersAndrew Moss despairs, even now, when he thinks back to the end of January 2020. It was a painful, traumatic time for anyone building an export business in the UK.On 30 January, the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a public health emergency of ­international concern. The ­following day, the UK finally exited the European Union

Animal spirits: Labour want to unleash them – but what do they actually mean?

‘We’re all sick of Britain being in the slow lane … we want to see a revival of those animal spirits so that we can grow the economy and bring investment here,” said Rachel Reeves on her return from Davos last week. Plainly a memo has gone round: in a radio interview this morning, business secretary Jonathan Reynolds claimed Labour’s willingness to take bold decisions “unleashes the animal spirit, the sense of something exciting happening”. When Reeves set out her plan for growth this afternoon, she reprised many of her Davos themes. She’s on a strange crusade against newts and bats, holding wildlife concerns responsible for Britain’s anti-growth mindset; she thinks bringing down net migration and fearlessly growing the economy are compatible and equal priorities; she’s putting a hell of a lot of faith in extra airport runways. But at least this time she wasn’t saying we should be more like Trump

Ex-Tory Brexit minister Lord Frost rejects party’s claims over Europe-wide customs scheme – as it happened

Last week, when Maroš Šefčovič, the European Commission vice president, floated the prospect of the UK joining the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean Convention (PEM), a Europe-wide customs scheme, Priti Patel, the shadow foreign secretary, denounced this idea as a “betrayal” that would “shackle us to the EU”.But this means that the Conservative leadership is now taking an even more hardline approach than some of the most prominent Brexiters in the party.In an interview in the Times today, Lord Frost, the former Brexit minister who negotiated the post-Brexit trade deal with the EU, said that joining PEM would not threaten any of Britain’s Brexit freedoms. He said, when he was in government, he considered the case for joining. He explained:We didn’t see it as raising any issue of principle, but we equally didn’t consider it to be particularly in UK interests