The other great crisis facing Britain

Dear Reader,
Were it not for the pandemic, we might be discussing that other great crisis facing Britain. The Union is in peril, with the Scottish National Party set to win an outright majority at Holyrood in May and determined to wrench Scotland from the United Kingdom. Might now be the time for dramatic action? Gordon Brown has written a thought-provoking column for The Telegraph to argue that we should become a federal nation or risk becoming “a failed state”.
The UK’s vaccination programme is proceeding at a terrific rate, yet the situation in our hospitals is parlous in the extreme. Our photographer Heathcliff O’Malley spent some time in the Covid wards of Ealing Hospital, talking to staff and patients about the grim state of affairs and photographing events. It’s sobering but essential reading.
Stock in Britain’s politicians during this crisis only seems to have gone in one direction: down. There is one minister, however, who has so far bucked the trend. Rishi Sunak, barely a middle-ranking minister 12 months ago, is now seen as the Conservative Party’s next great hope. Nick Timothy has profiled his rocket-like rise and argues that he is uniquely placed to rejuvenate Britain post-coronavirus.
Finally, the lockdown has made intrepid chefs out of many of us, but the urge to sit down to a lovingly made meal prepared by someone else is unlikely to go away. But what if that meal were prepared by a robot? William Sitwell spent a day with Moley, the world’s first “robotic kitchen” that’s capable, with a few caveats, of preparing any dish you desire. Take a look for yourself.
Chris

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