The UK’s green energy initiatives are failing just at the moment when we hold the leadership of Cop26Britain’s electricity generation went through an unfortunate phase last year. According to the UK-based website Carbon Brief, it got dirtier for the fi…
The Observer view on UK politics in 2022 | Observer editorial
It’s too early to write off Boris Johnson, but the prime minister is definitely on the ropesThe contrast between the upbeat tone of the prime minister’s new year message and the political cloud hanging over him as he goes into 2022 could not be starker…
The Observer view on benefit cuts | Observer editorial
The goverment’s erosion of financial support for low-paid parents consigns their children to a life of povertyThe government enacted the biggest ever overnight benefit cut last week. In one fell swoop, low-paid parents and unpaid carers of disabled peo…
The Observer view on Anglo-French relations | Observer editorial
The exclusion of France from the Aukus pact leaves the UK at risk of further isolation after BrexitFrance’s extraordinary decision to recall its ambassadors to the US and Australia reflects deep anger over its exclusion from the secretly negotiated Auk…
The Observer view on the government’s flawed winter plan for Covid | Observer editorial
Measures taken now, such as mask wearing and better ventilation in schools, would help the NHS avoid further costly delays to non-Covid treatmentA small room, with the windows shut, packed tightly with more than 30 people, none wearing masks. This is t…
The Observer view on the pros and cons of deep-sea mining | Observer editorial
There may be merits to mining the seabed, but investing in alternative green technologies on land should be the priorityDeep-sea mining has become one of our planet’s most divisive problems. By stripping the ocean floor of its vast mineral wealth, prop…
The Observer view on the resurgence of the Taliban | Observer editorial
Afghanistan has humbled the US and empowered its enemies. Now the west must engage with its new rulers to avert an even bigger threatAfghanistan is a tragedy, a parable and a cautionary tale for our age. As the last, desperate evacuees scramble aboard …
The Observer view on the fall of Afghanistan | Observer editorial
The Taliban’s rapid advance is chilling but a united response can still avert catastropheThe fall of Afghanistan to fundamentalist Taliban forces is a disaster foretold. Although the capital, Kabul, remains in government hands, the scale and speed of t…
The Observer view on the Royal Navy’s operation in the South China Sea | Observer editorial
Sailing into imperial delusions is no way to run foreign policyWhat would Jack Aubrey have made of it? When Patrick O’Brian’s fictitious Royal Navy hero sailed HMS Surprise to the far side of the world, the enemy was the USS Norfolk, a lone American fr…
The Observer view on the plight facing children post-Covid | Observer editorial
This is quickly becoming no country for young peopleThe prime minister has touted “levelling up” as the overarching theme of his domestic policy agenda. But in no area is the hollowness of this commitment revealed more than in relation to children and …