Starmer Appoints New Strategy Adviser as Labour Trails in Polls
Former think tank director Tom Kibasi is set to join Number 10, working closely with Chief of Staff Morgan McSweeney on strategy, according to people familiar with the appointment. A longstanding ally of McSweeney, Kibasi has been asked to undertake a specific strategy project for several months, one of the people said, rather than a permanent role.
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Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- Yahoo
UK independent space agency scrapped to cut costs
The UK Space Agency will cease to exist as an independent entity to cut the cost of bureaucracy, the government said on Wednesday. It will be absorbed by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) in April 2026. The government says this will save money, cut duplication and ensure ministerial oversight. But one leading space scientist said the move would lead to disruption in the short term and the UK losing ground to its international competitors over the long run. Dr Simeon Barber of the Open University feared that scrapping UKSA would lead to Britain's space sector "losing focus". "Around the world countries have been recognising the importance of space by setting up national space agencies, and for the government to be scrapping ours seems like a backward step," he said. UKSA was created 2010 in response to the growing importance of the sector to the economy. The development of small spacecraft, satellites and space instrumentation is a field that the UK excels at, thanks in part due to the agency. Its role is to develop the country's space strategy, coordinate research and commercial activities and liaise with international partners. During its tenure UKSA saw a UK astronaut, Tim Peake launched into space to work on the International Space Station and the development of Britain's own capability to launch small satellites and other small payloads into space from Scotland. The space sector generates an estimated £18.6bn a year and employs 55,000 people across the country. The agency, its budget and activities will now be absorbed into DSIT. It follows a commitment from Prime Minister Keir Starmer to reduce costs and cut the number of arms length government bodies, known as quangos (quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisations), starting with the abolition of NHS England announced in March. Space minister Sir Chris Bryant said: "Bringing things in house means we can bring much greater integration and focus to everything we are doing while maintaining the scientific expertise and the immense ambition of the sector." The merger will see the agency become a unit within DSIT, staffed by experts from both organisations and retaining the UKSA name. But supporters of the space agency, such as Dr Barber fear that this will mean a loss of the agency's dynamic, proactive approach which has proved to be so successful for the UK's space science and its space industry. He said there was a danger of moving to more bureaucratic, less incentivised ways of working, which he said were more typical of government departments, and were the reason the agency was created in the first place. "It feels like we're going to get stuck in the mud again," he told BBC News.
Fox News
43 minutes ago
- Fox News
‘Star Wars' actor Mark Hamill reveals he considered leaving the US when Trump won reelection
"Star Wars" actor Mark Hamill revealed to a UK newspaper that President Donald Trump's election nearly convinced him to leave America, telling his wife their options were moving to London or Ireland. Hamill is known for playing Luke Skywalker in the "Star Wars" films and for voicing the Joker in many "Batman" adaptations. He is also one of Hollywood's most outspoken liberal actors — a fact The Times' contributing editor Matt Rudd observed amid his lengthy interview. "Today he fights not with a lightsaber but with a keyboard," Rudd wrote. "Having left Facebook because he was mad at Zuckerberg and Twitter because he was mad at Musk, he now expresses his horror at the state of America via Bluesky." The writer noted further, "I avoid mentioning Trump until the end of our conversation because it's a subject that risks hijacking an entire afternoon. Sure enough, my late request for Hamill's state of the union results in a lengthy monologue." During the extensive interview with the British daily newspaper, Hamill was candid about the struggles he endured after Trump won the election in November. He was an outspoken supporter of then-President Joe Biden and also supported former Vice President Kamala Harris as Biden's appointed successor for the Democratic Party's nomination. The reality of the Trump administration, he says, is only something he can cope with by imagining it as a political thriller. "The bullying, the incompetence, the people in place… The only way I can deal with it without going crazy and wanting to open my veins in a warm tub is to look at it like a thick, sprawling political novel," the 'Star Wars' actor said. "It's entertaining in a way because this could actually be the end. Our status in the world has been crippled and that will reverberate for decades. Making Canada a 51st state? Do you know how offensive that is? And then taking over Greenland and renaming the Gulf of Mexico. The distractions are hilarious." "I still believe there are more honest, decent people than there are the Maga crowd," he says. "If I didn't, I'd move back to England," Hamill added. The actor noted that he indeed considered moving elsewhere in the English-speaking world as other famous liberal actors have done. The Times noted that "when Trump was re-elected, [Hamill] gave his wife a choice: London or Ireland." "She's very clever," Hamill said, recalling the conversation. "She didn't respond right away but a week later she said, 'I'm surprised you would allow him to force you out of your own country.' That son of a b----, I thought. I'm not leaving." Fox News Digital reached out to the White House, and a spokeswoman blasted the actor."Since Mark has decided to stay in the United States, he will get to enjoy the many wins President Trump is securing for the American people — and really, who can blame him for seconding guessing a plan to move to the same place as Rosie O'Donnell…" the White House spokeswoman replied.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Japan's exports fall more than expected in July on US tariff pressures
By Makiko Yamazaki TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's exports dropped for a third straight month in July, government data showed on Wednesday, as U.S. tariffs continued to weigh on manufacturers, raising concerns about the outlook for the country's export-reliant economy. The outcome follows unexpectedly strong growth in gross domestic product (GDP) in the April-June quarter, separate data showed last week, fuelled by surprisingly resilient exports and capital expenditure. Total exports from the world's fourth-largest economy dropped 2.6% year-on-year in July in value terms, more than a median market forecast for a 2.1% decrease and following a 0.5% drop in June. Exports to the United States in July fell 10.1% from a year earlier, while those to China were down 3.5%, the data showed. Imports in July dropped 7.5% from a year earlier, compared with market forecasts for a 10.4% fall. As a result, Japan ran a deficit of 117.5 billion yen ($795.4 million) in July, compared with a forecast of a 196.2 billion yen surplus. The United States imposed 25% tariffs on automobiles and auto parts in April and threatened 25% levies on most of Japan's other goods. It later struck a trade deal on July 23 that lowered tariffs to 15% in exchange for a U.S.-bound $550 billion Japanese investment package. The agreed tariff rate on automobiles, Japan's largest export sector, is still far higher than the original 2.5%, exerting pressure on major automakers and parts suppliers. Japanese automakers have mostly absorbed additional tariff costs by cutting prices to protect shipment volumes. But economists expect them to eventually pass on costs to U.S. consumers, which could hamper their sales in the U.S. market. ($1 = 147.7200 yen) Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
