EDITION 969
15 MAY 2023

There is no escaping it: too much news is bad for you. It should come with a government health warning: “This intellectual diet is fine taken in small doses, and preferably in weekly instalments, via a well-balanced newsletter, such as 10 things from William Montgomery."

So, as another week slips by, here are 10 things which caught my attention and may have escaped yours. Please feel free to share on social media and forward to your colleagues and friends so they can also subscribe, learn and engage. I would be very grateful if you did.

William Montgomery
Editor and CEO of TEN

1. How to improve your reading skills. The smartest people I have met love to learn. They thrive on new ideas and read many books and articles that change and challenge their thinking. When you have strong reading abilities, you can interpret and find meaning in all that you read, and when you continue to improve these skills, you can effectively communicate through writing. Having a good understanding of literacy is a crucial skill to possess, both in your personal and professional lives. In support of #2 below, herewith some tips to help you reap more from reading. READ MORE >>

2. Student tutors help pupils to double scores in English. A pilot scheme in which university students tutored children who were struggling to write basic sentences has led to a doubling in their literacy scores. Set up by academics at Exeter University, the project involved undergraduates (who had been given a week’s training) being assigned three pupils who were in year 8 (aged 12 and 13) at local secondary schools. Each week, they gave the children an hour-long lesson. After just one term, the children’s literary scores had doubled from an average of 10.9 out of 30 to 21 out of 30. The Times

3. Sunak ‘loses control of his party’. Rishi Sunak is “losing control of an increasingly anarchic Tory party” as former cabinet ministers “openly” criticised policy under his leadership and dozens of backbench MPs “plotted a new rebellion over Brexit”. “Recriminations” over heavy losses in recent council elections, and anger among pro-Brexit MPs that Sunak is dropping plans to drop more than 4,000 EU laws, mean discipline is at risk of “completely disintegrating on the right of the party”. However, Jacob Rees-Mogg has warned that the Tory party will look “absurd” if Sunak is ousted as leader. The Observer        

4. The expected hike in interest rates. The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee raised interest rates to 4.5% – the highest level since 2008 – with inflation still running more than  10%. The US Fed and European Central Bank both hiked rates by a quarter-point. US inflation fell below 5% for the first time in two years. The pound hit its highest level in over a year, trading close to $1.27. Investment banks are betting the recovery will continue, boosted by encouraging UK data, falling gas prices and the weak US dollar. Forbes

5. Poll finds gender ambition. The majority of teenagers know someone at their school who wants to change gender, a report has found. A study carried out in March of almost 1,200 teenagers aged between 16 and 18 in England found that 10% said they wanted to change their gender or have already done so, while a further 54% said they knew someone at their school who either wanted to change their gender or had already done so. The report, by the Civitas think tank, also found that most parents want the legal right to see all sex education materials used in school lessons. The Daily Telegraph

6. Migration set to rise again. Migration levels could reach twice the numbers seen before Brexit, experts have said. Net migration – the number entering the UK minus those leaving – could reach a record high of 675,000, double the pre-Brexit peak of 331,000 eight years ago. The figure will “pile pressure on the government”, added the newspaper, over its 2019 election manifesto pledge to bring down net migration, a promise repeated by Rishi Sunak and Suella Braverman. A Home Office spokesperson said “we remain committed to reducing net migration over time”. The Daily Telegraph

7. Lower energy bills in six weeks. Energy bills should fall within six weeks, said the energy secretary, Grant Shapps. Appearing on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, he acknowledged that wholesale prices are falling. “Now people haven’t seen all that benefit, much of it, or even any of it yet, but about another six weeks, the summer, that should start to feed into people’s electricity bills,” he said. Meanwhile, the head of the National Farmers’ Union has warned that higher food prices are here for the foreseeable future. BBC

8. Millions of Brits have long Covid. Two million Britons have been left with symptoms after contracting Covid-19, and 400,000 need specialist care, according to new research. The paper quotes one long Covid victim as saying Covid-19 “has completely changed my life”. Data shows that long Covid sufferers face a range of symptoms from severe fatigue to brain fog. Many have stopped work as “even standing up leaves them gasping for breath”, said the paper. What causes Long Covid “remains a mystery”. The Mirror

9. Poll finds backing for political King. King Charles should speak out on political issues, said 38% of Britons in a poll. The British public is “narrowly divided” over whether the King should be more vocal on political issues that he believes in. Some 46% of adults said they felt he should remain politically neutral and keep his personal views to himself, but 38% would like the King to speak out publicly on the “burning issues that matter to him”, said the paper. As the Prince of Wales, Charles was “no stranger to voicing his opinions”. i Newspaper

10. The bottom line. A place at Cookham Wood, a young offender institution near Rochester, Kent, costs £275,000 per year. A place at Eton costs £46,000 per year. The Daily Telegraph