Our continent cannot afford another failure of deterrence. Unity, resolve, and speed are now the only safeguards of peace.
One in three, and half of ANO supporters, agreed that the Russia-Ukraine conflict had nothing to do with Czechia and they should not be intervening in any way.
I am convinced that, while General Kellogg and President Stubb of Finland still have President Trump’s ear, Ukraine still has real hope.
My latest poll asks what people think of Reform’s plans on illegal migration, what is coming in the November Budget, whether Labour and Conservative defectors are coming back, what they think of flags, and how free they feel to express an opinion
“It feels to me like they don’t think they’re going to be in for a very long time. They don’t give me the impression that ‘we’re going to implement this and it’s going to take this many years’. I don’t feel like they’ve got a long-term plan.”
Putin’s red-carpet welcome in Beijing – the second in as many weeks – confirmed what many feared ahead of the Alaska Summit: that Trump’s efforts to halt the war through diplomacy have only legitimised Russia on the international stage.
Saying things that other parties won’t is also the most attractive feature for those who say they’re glad Reform are around but probably wouldn’t vote for them. Among those who might, the telling preference is for Farage as prime minister over Starmer, Badenoch… and Boris.
People’s recollections of recent political news were dominated by tax rises, crime, U-turns, winter fuel, problems in the NHS and – above all, whatever their voting history – illegal immigration.
We don’t know for sure what was discussed in the meeting, and with Zelenskyy due in Washington on Monday, we may yet see progress. But I fear that this time, Trump miscalculated.
The realignment of many of those countries once locked in Russia’s orbit signals something deeper than wartime assistance. It reflects a structural shift in the region: Russia is losing its grip, and the post-Soviet space is being redrawn by emerging middle powers.
For centuries, Moscow has weaponised systemic corruption across countries in its vicinity, understanding that it’s easier to manipulate a state run by a few blackmail-prone elites than a vibrant, rules-based democracy.
Azov, one of the most effective combat units in the Russo-Ukrainian war since 2014, became a prime target of Russian propaganda. Claims of far-right leanings, even Nazi ideology, were part of a broader hybrid war against Ukraine in order to undermine Western support.
The Labour Government seems unbothered that the UK is losing its biggest taxpayers but capital exodus is contagious and will harm the whole country, including the middle class and the poor.
If we ever were on the brink of a kinetic World War III, it is now – led here by nothing but our collective weakness and self-doubt. The stakes could not be higher. As I have said time and again –Ukraine must not be let down. The future of the world hinges on it.
My focus groups this month were in Sheffield with Labour voters interested in other left parties; Bradford, with Labour voters tempted by Reform; Peterborough, with former Tories who switched to Reform in 2024; and Northampton, with former Tories who switched to Labour.