All posts tagged: gloomy

“High Energy” Rishi Sunak Prepares Pep Talks For Gloomy Tory MPs

“High Energy” Rishi Sunak Prepares Pep Talks For Gloomy Tory MPs

Published by skeptic

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak with Crystal Palace Chairman Steve Parish in south London (Alamy) 2 min read1 hr Rishi Sunak will launch his latest bid to lift the spirits of despondent Conservative MPs this week after a dispiriting set of local elections left them with only one Tory mayor and around half the council seats they started with. Over the next fortnight the Prime Minister will host two sessions with Tory MPs in Downing Street where the Conservative party’s chief elections strategist Isaac Levido will deliver presentations on last week’s results, as well as detail of their strategy going forward. MPs will also be invited to ask questions of their own. The first session will take place tomorrow and the other a week on Wednesday, with Sunak and Tory party chairman Richard Holden also expected to be present. The whole parliamentary Tory party has been invited, but not all are believed to be planning to attend.  Ahead of the first meeting, No 10 was drawing up a spreadsheet of Conservative backbenchers who had RSVP’d …

The Responder series two review: Does primetime TV need to be this exhausting and relentlessly gloomy?

The Responder series two review: Does primetime TV need to be this exhausting and relentlessly gloomy?

Published by Sam

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Watching BBC One’s police drama The Responder, I am reminded of an image captured by freelance photographer Joel Goodman on New Year’s Eve in Manchester a few years back. That photo, which went viral in 2016, seemed to encapsulate the chaos of nightlife in the North East. In it, police officers handcuff a man on the kerb while a woman, dressed to the nines, looks on, and another older gentleman inexplicably lies in the street like Manet’s Olympia. It showed us the madness faced by police as the drink and drug-fuelled afterparty begins – the same madness that returns to our screens this week. Martin Freeman is back as Chris Carson, a Liverpudlian police officer on perpetual night duty. Following the events of The Responder’s first series, Chris has graduated from therapy to group support sessions, but his life is still a nocturnal watch facilitated by cheap energy …

Gloomy UK Economy Forecast Adds To Rishi Sunak’s Woes

Gloomy UK Economy Forecast Adds To Rishi Sunak’s Woes

Published by Sam

The UK is set to be the worst performing economy in the G7 in 2025, according to a forecast from an economic think tank. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) cut its forecast for the UK’s growth outlook for GDP to 0.4% this year down from 0.7%. The think tank predicted the UK’s growth would be the second worst in the group for 2024 – only Germany is expected to have a slower economic growth this year, at 0.2%. The forecaster expects the UK’s fortunes to take a turn for the worst next year, too. It cut predictions for 2025 growth down to 1% from 1.2%, and thinks the UK will become the slowest growing economy in the G7. In fact, in 2025 the UK is set to have the same growth as Russia, despite the heavy sanctions against it and the resource drain of the Ukraine war. The 1% growth is also half of the number predicted by the Treasury’s independent forecaster, the Office for Budget Responsibility. The think tank pinned this …

Prince William’s rarely-pictured third wedding outfit following ‘gloomy’ appearance in red suit

Prince William’s rarely-pictured third wedding outfit following ‘gloomy’ appearance in red suit

Published by skeptic

To this day, Prince William and Princess Kate’s royal wedding remains fresh in the minds of fans across the globe despite thirteen years passing since they said their vows. One of the most memorable parts was the couple’s much-anticipated outfits. As they exchanged vows in Westminster Abbey on 29 April 2011, the Princess of Wales (then Kate Middleton) looked resplendent in a lace corset gown by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen, while her royal groom wore his red Irish Guards uniform to reflect his most senior military position. William’s second wedding outfit © GettyThe Prince of Wales wore his Irish Guards uniform on his wedding day in 2011 While thousands of photos documented the couple’s first ensembles, William didn’t wear the ruby tunic for long. The couple’s latest wedding photo, which they shared on their 13th anniversary, showed newlywed William smiling in his dapper Blues and Royals suit. He rocked his high-neck black wool coat as he placed his hands on the waist of his wife, who was still wearing her first gown. The photo was …

‘It’s pretty gloomy out there’: new NFU chief Tom Bradshaw fights to give food producers a better deal | Food & drink industry

‘It’s pretty gloomy out there’: new NFU chief Tom Bradshaw fights to give food producers a better deal | Food & drink industry

Published by skeptic

‘This is the first time I’ve had my lawn cut by somebody else,” says Tom Bradshaw, the new president of the National Farmers’ Union. Just over a month after being voted into the role, he admits life has become “hectic”. He is standing outside the idyllic farmhouse in rural Essex where he has lived since he was six, and the garden is all perfect flower beds and newly manicured grass. Nothing here looks hectic, but Bradshaw really is a busy man. As well as his NFU duties, he grows wheat, barley and oats on the family farm near Colchester, and also owns an equestrian centre and a contracting business that manages four nearby farms – although he admits he has stepped back from day-to-day tasks in recent years. He also has two children, aged six and five. Easter saw him juggling holiday childcare while tussling with the government over flooding support. Just days after ministers announced a flood recovery plan for those hit by January’s Storm Henk, the NFU publicly attacked the decision to limit …

UK weather maps: Britain to be battered by snow in April as charts make gloomy prediction | Weather | News

UK weather maps: Britain to be battered by snow in April as charts make gloomy prediction | Weather | News

Published by skeptic

Freezing weather conditions will continue to hover around Britain as the latest maps show parts of the UK battered with snow in April. Maps from WXCharts make a gloomy prediction as they turn purple suggesting snow showers for areas ranging from Wick to Edinburgh on April 4. The cold snap will stay inside the country for almost 36 hours bringing in more frost and rain. The brutal weather conditions will begin to mark its entry at around 6 am on April 4, maps suggest. The 257-mile wall of snow will leave the topmost areas of Scotland covered with snow as the temperature level plummets to -1C. The icy conditions will move around the parts of Scotland on April 4 leaving areas such as Inverness, Wick, Portree, Fort William, and Edinburgh peppered with snow. However, by the morning of April 5, the purple blobs on the weather maps representing snow slid further southwards leaving areas like Newcastle covered with snow and ice. A possibility of 2cm of snow per hour is likely in these areas, maps …

Eurozone ‘in recession’ as gloomy report paints ‘bleak picture’ for monetary union | Politics | News

Eurozone ‘in recession’ as gloomy report paints ‘bleak picture’ for monetary union | Politics | News

Published by skeptic

Dramatically reduced manufacturing output has left the Eurozone in recession, a new report has warned – with France at its lowest ebb for more than three years. Dr Cyrus de la Rubia, Chief Economist at Hamburg Commercial Bank (HCOB), said what he called a “relentless slump” spells a “bleak picture”. And he suggested the monetary union slid into recession in the third quarter of last year. The HCOB Eurozone Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) survey indicates the sector “remained ”stuck in contraction” at the end of 2023, with output continuing to fall and factory job losses extending into a seventh successive month. The monthly analysis, compiled by S&P Global, is based on responses to questionnaires sent to survey panels of manufacturers in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Austria, Ireland and Greece, totalling around 3,000 private sector companies. Responses are used to calculate performance on a scale of one to 100, the higher the better. Greece’s figure of 51.3 is the highest in four months, but every other country (Ireland 48.9, Spain 46, Italy 45.3, …

Pentagon leaks paint gloomy picture of long war that can’t be won but must not be lost

Pentagon leaks paint gloomy picture of long war that can’t be won but must not be lost

Published by skeptic

Classified Pentagon documents leaked last week paint a grim picture of the trajectory of the war in Ukraine. While it may well be the most significant national security breach since the Snowden leaks of US National Security Agency material a decade ago, the fact that the leak occurred is almost certainly more significant than what was revealed about Ukraine. The leak reveals how apparently easy it was for a low-level employee on a US military base to obtain and then share highly sensitive US government information. By comparison, the contents of the documents on Ukraine leaked are far less explosive in nature – they mostly confirm existing battlefield assessments that cast doubt, in the eyes of US intelligence officials, on any major breakthroughs in a widely expected Ukrainian spring offensive. The key shortfalls on the Ukrainian side – artillery pieces and munitions, as well as air defences – have been well known for some time. What has also been obvious for some time, and was reconfirmed in some of the leaked documents, is that Ukraine …