Adam Smith

When Orioles pitcher Ryan O'Rourke was starting out, he found baseball recruiting to be inefficient and old fashioned.

Adam Smith We don't yet know what an Andy Burnham government is going to do but we do know that his overall policy instincts point in one direction and that is for more government spending

The revolving door describes one route through the system. There is another. Between 2013 and 2023, 68 of the 284 peers nominated by party leaders were political donors, giving a combined £58 million. Fifteen of sixteen Conservative Party treasurers received peerages after donating £3 million or more. A political donor is 200 times more likely to receive a peerage than an ordinary party member, and 20,000 times more likely than the average voter. Money does not formally buy a seat in the Lords, but the correlation between donation and appointment is strong enough that it is not a coincidence. On the patronage figures alone, wealthy donors are the single most over-represented group in the chamber that scrutinises legislation. A seat in the Lords is not just an honour. It is a position inside the architecture, with access to committees, appointment processes, and the fast-track channels through which public money flows. There is of course nothing inherently wrong with appointing donors to public roles. Active citizens contributing to causes they support is how democracy works, and people who have been politically engaged often bring relevant experience to the institutions they are appointed to. The problem is when the process for screening those appointments breaks down.

England face Argentina in a World Cup semi-final on Wednesday; Lionel Messi and Jude Bellingham lead the cast but width, set-pieces, midfield control, defensive discipline and late goals could decide whether Thomas Tuchel's side reach the final

England face Argentina in a World Cup semi-final on Wednesday; Lionel Messi and Jude Bellingham lead the cast but width, set-pieces, midfield control, defensive discipline and late goals could decide whether Thomas Tuchel’s side reach the final

The lawsuit alleges the company failed to protect customer's data, impacting almost 7 million people across the country and over 200,000 Washingtonians.

Plans to transform historic buildings in Stoke-on-Trent into apartments have...