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Tony Blair has said that the NHS is “not serving its purpose” in an exclusive interview with Sky News.

Speaking to Sophy Ridge on Sunday, the former PM didn’t mince his words when addressing the current state of the UK’s health service.

Asked if he thought the NHS was providing a good standard of service, Mr Blair replied: “No, at the moment. In some respects the staff do a great job in difficult circumstances.

“And I think the general experience of people is if you’re in really acute difficulty, then then it still does provide very good care.

“But a lot of the waiting lists are terrible, COVID, of course, has made it a lot worse.

“The truth is, you’re not going to have a lot more money to spend, but you do have to think how do we do things completely differently.”

He went on to say that he felt there should be more private sector involvement in the NHS, saying there should be “complete cooperation between the public and private sector”.

More on Nhs

Mr Blair said: “The problem always with the public sector, and this is what I learned in government, is the tough thing is to get it to innovate.

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“Because in the private sector, if you don’t innovate, you go out of business, but it doesn’t happen in the public sector.”

He added that “private” shouldn’t be considered a “dirty word” and went on to say that the NHS, in its current state, was not serving its purpose, despite employing more people than ever before.

The former prime minister said: “The NHS is a great institution and we should keep its principles. But the truth? I mean, you don’t have to be a genius to look at it and say it’s not, it’s not serving its purpose.”

The full interview with Tony Blair will be on the Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme on Sky News from 8.30am this morning.

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Chancellor Rachel Reeves considering ‘changes’ to ISAs – and says there’s too much focus on ‘risk’ in investing

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Chancellor Rachel Reeves considering 'changes' to ISAs - and says there's too much focus on 'risk' in investing

The chancellor has confirmed she is considering “changes” to ISAs – and said there has been too much focus on “risk” in members of the public investing.

In her second annual Mansion House speech to the financial sector, Rachel Reeves said she recognised “differing views” over the popular tax-free savings accounts, in which savers can currently put up to £20,000 a year.

She was reportedly considering reducing the threshold to as low as £4,000 a year, in a bid to encourage people to put money into stocks and shares instead and boost the economy.

However the chancellor has shelved any immediate planned changes after fierce backlash from building societies and consumer groups.

In her speech to key industry figures on Tuesday evening, Ms Reeves said: “I will continue to consider further changes to ISAs, engaging widely over the coming months and recognising that despite the differing views on the right approach, we are united in wanting better outcomes for both savers and for the UK economy.”

She added: “For too long, we have presented investment in too negative a light, quick to warn people of the risks, without giving proper weight to the benefits.”

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Rachel Reeves’s fiscal dilemma

Ms Reeves’s speech, the first major one since the welfare bill climbdown two weeks ago, appeared to encourage regulators to focus less on risks and more on the benefits of investing in things like the stock market and government bonds (loans issued by states to raise funds with an interest rate paid in return).

She welcomed action by the financial regulator to review risk warning rules and the campaign to promote retail investment, which the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is launching next year.

“Our tangled system of financial advice and guidance has meant that people cannot get the right support to make decisions for themselves”, Ms Reeves told the event in London.

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Building societies protest against proposed ISA reforms
Is there £15bn of wiggle room in Reeves’s fiscal rules?

Last year, Ms Reeves said post-financial crash regulation had “gone too far” and set a course for cutting red tape.

On Tuesday, she said she would announce a package of City changes, including a new competitive framework for a part of the insurance industry and a regulatory regime for asset management.

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Reeves is ‘totally’ up for the job

In response to Ms Reeves’s address, shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride said: “Rachel Reeves should have used her speech this evening to rule out massive tax rises on businesses and working people. The fact that she didn’t should send a shiver down the spine of taxpayers across the country.”

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The governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, also spoke at the Mansion House event and said Donald Trump’s taxes on US imports would slow the economy and trade imbalances should be addressed.

“Increasing tariffs creates the risk of fragmenting the world economy, and thereby reducing activity”, he said.

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Crypto-backed group gathers $141M funding to influence US elections

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Crypto-backed group gathers 1M funding to influence US elections

Crypto-backed group gathers 1M funding to influence US elections

Fairshake reported raising $52 billion from the crypto industry in the first half of 2025, at a time when candidates previously supported by the PAC were providing crucial votes.

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Programmable regulation is the missing key to DeFi’s legal future

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Programmable regulation is the missing key to DeFi’s legal future

Programmable regulation is the missing key to DeFi’s legal future

Programmable regulation could be the solution to legacy regulatory frameworks struggling to keep pace with DeFi’s rapidly evolving ecosystems. Embedding compliance in code can bring legal clarity, reduce risk and foster innovation in DeFi.

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