Will Wale

The debate: Should the tricolour be replaced in a united Ireland? irishtimes.com/opinion/2026/0…

Belgium’s PM Bart de Wever: “We must normalise relations with Russia and regain access to cheap energy. That is common sense. [...] We must end the conflict in the interest of Europe, without being naïve towards Putin.” ft.com/content/4ce019…

If per person spending on the elderly goes up and the elderly share of the population also goes up, everything else gets squeezed and everyone is mad. But it’s what the voters say they want. slowboring.com/p/the-demonic-…

@Labanb Trial by jury isn't being ended. Just stops applying to trials that would result in sentences of under 3 years. There is no need to exaggerate what is being proposed.

.@TheIFS have modelled an idea I have to make Plan 2 student loans fairer. It would cut the repayment rate from 9% to 5%, at minimal cost to the Treasury. Let’s be honest: there is no perfect solution here. When I tabled my own Student Finance Bill on 6 January, I described Plan 2 as a “Frankenstein’s monster.” An entire generation has been let down by the Conservatives on austerity, Brexit, and beyond. Young people are sick to the back teeth of the Tories: they just want to believe their future can be better, and that they can get on and enjoy their lives. The reality is that Labour inherited public finances in a mess, alongside a dog’s dinner of a student loan system comprising many broken parts. But fairness is in Labour’s DNA, as is standing up for young people. We have boosted wages, restored targeted maintenance grants, and just this week the PM has committed to looking at ways to make the student finance system fairer. My proposal increases the term length but eases pressure here and now without significantly raising overall costs. It is the most progressive and egalitarian option available. It would directly put hundreds of pounds a year into graduates’ pockets. Higher-earning graduates could always make voluntary extra payments to shorten the time it takes them to pay the loan back. The proposed Conservative policy on interest rates does nothing for lower-earning graduates who are dealing with the cost of monthly repayments. I first raised this issue long before the Tories shamelessly jumped on the bandwagon because I want to fix it. I came into politics to change lives and make this country fairer. I will do everything I can to support this Labour Government, and the Prime Minister, in considering ways to make Plan 2 fairer for the generation that has had to shoulder so much under 14 years of Tory incompetence. Read more here: ifs.org.uk/publications/o…

"It's close to £90,000..." Labour MP Rosie Wrighting, who is on a Plan Two student loan, tells @vicderbyshire about her current repayment debt. #Newsnight

@GBNEWS If LSE grads can’t get jobs then no wonder the young are emigrating.