Trouble dipper

WITH wearying predictability, news of Britain slipping into a technical recession was met with glee by the BBC and their Remainer chums.

Never mind that some economists say the term is “over-dramatic” and later revisions to the data may see the UK escape a small dip altogether.

But whether the economy was in negative growth for consecutive quarters is neither here nor there.

The real issue is how we are going to grow the economy enough to pay soaring bills in the future — either to care for our ageing population or to build hundreds of thousands of new houses for our kids.

Record immigration is also placing a huge strain on our services.

The only way out of this doom loop is to cut taxes and boost business, while at the same time ending the current shocking waste of public money.

Can we really afford to spend £13million on diversity roles in the NHS?

And spend billions overseas on foreign aid while cutting our military to the bone?

Labour is yet to come up with any kind of plan for the future — last week junking the one big policy it did have.

The Tories, meanwhile, desperately need to make next month’s Budget count.

Judge & fury

DOWNING Street was right to say the case of district judge Tan Ikram is “deeply troubling”.

Ikram’s sentencing remarks on three women who wore pictures of paragliders at a pro-Palestinian rally appeared contradictory.

Having found them guilty of a Terrorism Act offence, he then also ruled them blameless in glorifying Hamas.

Was his “liking” of a social media post declaring Israel a terrorist state, as he insists, an accident?

Or did it reveal a possible lack of impartiality?

With the Attorney General ruling out a full investigation on a technicality, worrying questions remain.

Shame on union

FOR a union obsessed with improving working conditions, failing to publish a report it compiled into claims of rape, sexual assault and groping of female workers is shameful.

According to its own damning survey, there is a “boys club” mentality at Aslef where women are too frightened to speak out.

Many said they felt they wouldn’t be believed if they did.

This is a rail union which — while inflicting misery on the public — professes to care deeply about protecting its members.

General Secretary Mick Whelan must urgently set out what he is doing to fix such a toxic culture.