Rishi Sunak faces grilling from MPs over economy, global issues and strategy – UK politics live

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Q: Is there more we can do to protect children from the dangers of mobile phones?

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Sunak says, as a parent, he is particularly interested in this. He says the government has published guidance on this.

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The Online Safety Act is law, but it needs to be implemented, he says. He says it should make a difference.

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He says he is thinking more broadly about this question. People have made suggestions. He has spoken to parents like Molly Russell’s father and Brianna Ghey’s mother and is reflecting on what they have said, he says.

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Clive Betts (Lab), chair of the levelling up committee, goes next.

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Q: Since you were local government minister, things have got worse. Isn’t there a fundamental crisis in local government finance?

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Sunak says councils are the backbone of local communities. He says as local government minister he saw the value of what they did.

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They have had “significant” extra funding, he says.

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Q: But that came after a 30% cut in spending power over the past 14 years. A council leader said to us, with adult social care costs going up 90%, costs of children with complex needs up 23%, and income up just 5%, you don’t need to be a genius to see there’s a gap.

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Sunak does not accept that.

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The grant in cash terms for councils has more than doubled in this parliament, he says.

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Q: 20% of councils face the threat of bankruptcy in the next few years?

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Sunak repeats the point about the grant being doubled in cash terms.

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Q: DLUHC [the Department for Levelling UP, Housing and Communities] is not a protected government. Is it really sustainable that councils could get no extra money for four years, without having to cut services?

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Sunak says he won’t write the next spending review now.

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Overall public spending is forecast to grow over the next spending review period, he says.

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It has not been divided up yet. But that is what spending reviews are for.

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And overall spending is rising, not just in cash terms, but in real terms too, he says.

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He says MPs asking for more spending for one department should say which other budgets should be cut, or what taxes might go up to pay for it.

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He repeats the point about councils getting more funding, and says social care is being prioritised.

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Q: But debt is still rising, and rising for the next few years? Under no scenario is it forecast to fall to pre-pandemic levels. Could it do so?

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Sunak says: “I would like to believe so.”

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He says debt starts falling next year.

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Baldwin does not accept that. She says the OBR shows it going up until 2028.

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Sunak says the debt picture is better than it was at previous budgets.

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At the lobby briefing the prime minister’s spokesperson also played down suggestions that the government is close to officially designating China a “threat” to the UK.

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Asked about the prospect of this happening, the spokesperson replied:

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There isn’t a mechanism under UK law or indeed in our G7 or Five Eyes countries that has a designation process like that.

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Asked whether ministers are planning to update the integrated review of defence and foreign policy, which describes China as “an epoch-defining challenge”, the spokesperson replied:

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The integrated review has already set out the UK’s position in relation to China being a state-based threat to our economic security. And it set out a clear strategy to deal with the challenge that China presents.

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Rishi Sunak is giving evidence to the liaison committee at 1pm. The committee comprises the chairs of all the Commons committees, and it takes evidence from the PM usually three times a year, under an arrangement started by Tony Blair to address complaints that (until then) select committees never got the chance to interrogate the one minister with most influence over the issues they covered.

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The committee has set out a list of what themes it will cover today, and who will ask the questions in each section. Here it is.

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Scrutiny of strategic thinking in government:

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Philip Dunne MP

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Sir Bernard Jenkin MP

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William Wragg MP

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Economy and public services:

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Harriett Baldwin MP

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Clive Betts MP

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Steve Brine MP

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Liam Byrne MP

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Stephen Crabb MP

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Dame Diana Johnson MP

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Sir Bob Neill MP

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Robin Walker MP

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Global issues:

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Joanna Cherry MP

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Sir Jeremy Quin MP

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Cat Smith MP

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The Office for National Statistics has published figures this morning showing that healthy life expectancy – the amount of time people can expect to live in good or very good health (based on how people perceive their own health) – has fallen in England and Wales over the past decade.

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It has also fallen in Northern Ireland over the past decade, but only for women.

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The ONS says it does not yet have data for Scotland.

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It says:

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Healthy life expectancy (HLE) at birth, in 2020 to 2022, was highest in England (62.4 years for males, 62.7 years for females) and lowest in Wales (61.1 years for males, 60.3 years for females).

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In both England and Wales, HLE at birth in 2020 to 2022 decreased for both males and females compared with 2011 to 2013, when our time series began; in Northern Ireland, it increased for males, but decreased for females.

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In England, Northern Ireland and Wales in 2020 to 2022, females at birth are expected to live in ”good health” for a smaller proportion of life (by 1.2, 1.5 and 1.9 percentage points for each country, respectively), compared with 2011 to 2013; for males, changes were smaller than 1 percentage point.

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life expectancy figures","caption":"Healthy life expectancy figures","credit":"Photograph: ONS"}},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

The ONS report published today does not give a full explanation as to why healthy life expectancy has fallen, but it points out that ONS figures published in January said the period between 2020 to 2022 saw the largest decrease in life expectancy at birth for men and women since this data set started in 1980. Falling life expectancy “affects health state life expectancies”, the ONS says.

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A government report published last year said “chronic health conditions and multimorbidity” were main reasons for people saying they are not in good health. And it said people with chronic musculoskeletal system conditions are three times as likely to say they are in poor health as people without them.

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Labour will carry out a full audit of UK-China relations if it wins the election, Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow Cabinet Office minister, said this morning. Asked about the measures announced by the government yesterday, Ashworth told GB News:

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We welcome the action that was taken yesterday. We continue to believe these matters must be kept under review.

\n

We will do a full audit of UK-China relations should we get elected and I think the position that the UK adopted, say ten years ago, of announcing a new golden era of relations, I think that perhaps looks naive now in retrospect.

\n

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In interviews this morning Gillian Keegan, the education secretary, admitted that special educational needs provision was in crisis, Ben Quinn reports.

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Universities in England could be told to terminate their arrangements with foreign countries if freedom of speech and academic freedom is undermined, the government’s free speech tsar has said. As PA Media reports, Prof Arif Ahmed, director for freedom of speech and academic freedom at the Office for Students (OfS), said many universities and colleges in England have “international arrangements” – including admitting overseas students on scholarships and hosting institutes partly funded by foreign governments. PA says:

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\n

The higher education regulator launched a consultation on guidance about freedom of speech, ahead of universities, colleges and student unions taking on new free speech duties.

\n

The guidance includes examples to illustrate what higher education institutions may have to do to fulfil their new duties – due to come into effect in August – to secure freedom of speech within the law.

\n

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The guidance gives a list of examples of how the new rules could affect universities. Here is one hypothetical case.

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\n

University A accepts international students on visiting scholarships funded by the government of country B. Scholars must accept the principles of the ruling party of country B, and direction from country B’s government via consular staff. Depending on the circumstances, these arrangements may undermine free speech and academic freedom at University A. If so, that university is likely to have to terminate or amend the scholarship agreement.

\n

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In a briefing for journalists, Ahmed said the new rules – implemented under the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 – could force universities to rethink their relationships with foreign countries. He said:

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\n

If it means that there are people who are employed by an institute who are preventing legitimate protests or shutting down lecturers from covering certain kinds of content regarding that country for instance, or that country’s foreign policy … If that behaviour amounts to a restriction of freedom of speech within the law, and someone brings a complaint to us, then we may find that the complaint is justified and then we make recommendations …

\n

If there are problems, universities will have to do everything they can to act compatibly with their freedom–of–speech duties. Insofar as that means a rethinking of their relationship with other countries, obviously that’s something that would be a good idea for them to start thinking about now.

\n

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A new body to improve business and educational links across the UK, which was created under the deal that restored powersharing in Northern Ireland, will meet for the first time, PA Media reports. PA says:

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\n

Michael Gove, the levelling up secretary, will chair the inaugural session of the East-West Council in Dover House in London.

\n

The establishment of the forum was pledged in the UK government’s Safeguarding the Union command paper.

\n

Published in late January, the paper was the product of months of negotiations between the government and the DUP that ultimately convinced the region’s largest unionist party to end its two-year blockade of powersharing at Stormont.

\n

Sinn Fein first minister Michelle O’Neill and her DUP counterpart and deputy first minister Emma Little-Pengelly will attend the council meeting, as will Northern Ireland secretary Chris Heaton-Harris and a number of other ministers from the Stormont Executive.

\n

The Safeguarding the Union command paper said the council would seek to harness “significant potential” to strengthen cooperation between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK to “address shared challenges and to grasp shared opportunities”.

\n

It will comprise representatives from the political, business and education sectors.

\n

The council’s priorities include tackling economic inactivity; improving east-west trade flows; increasing international investment to Northern Ireland; and bolstering institutional connectivity and enhancing professional development by leveraging academic and skills expertise across NI and GB.

\n

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Gove.","caption":"Michael Gove.","credit":"Photograph: Thomas Krych/ZUMA Press Wire/REX/Shutterstock"}}],"attributes":{"pinned":false,"keyEvent":true,"summary":false},"blockCreatedOn":1711450390000,"blockCreatedOnDisplay":"06.53 EDT","blockLastUpdated":1711450611000,"blockLastUpdatedDisplay":"06.56 EDT","blockFirstPublished":1711450611000,"blockFirstPublishedDisplay":"06.56 EDT","blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone":"06.56","title":"Gove to chair first session of East-West Council to strengthen links between Northern Ireland and Great Britain","contributors":[],"primaryDateLine":"Tue 26 Mar 2024 09.30 EDT","secondaryDateLine":"First published on Tue 26 Mar 2024 05.34 EDT"},{"id":"6602a7068f08b23cc2c3cd60","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

The minister for veterans’ affairs, Johnny Mercer, has been given 10 days to reveal the source of allegations British troops engaged in war crimes in Afghanistan, or face a potential prison sentence, Ben Quinn reports.

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And here is Mercer’s witness statement to the inquiry in which he explains why what he was told led him to believe that there was a “culture of omerta” within special forces and why allegations about the SAS being involved in unlawful killings were not properly investigated.

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Gillian Keegan, the education secretary, was doing an interview round this morning to promote a government plan to create more special needs places in schools in England. In its press release, the Department for Education says it is creating 60,000 more places – although it says this figure also includes school places being created by a free schools programme. It says:

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\n

A record annual investment of £850m is going to councils to create new places for young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and in Alternative Provision (AP) in mainstream and special schools, and to improve the accessibility of existing buildings.

\n

This will provide specialist support for children with autism, learning difficulties, mobility difficulties and more to meet their extra needs, including extra encouragement in their learning, help communicating with other children and support with physical or personal care difficulties, such as using the toilet or getting around the school safely.

\n

The government is sticking to the plan to ensure every child can receive the education they need to succeed, where hard work is rewarded and aspiration is celebrated. The funding is part of the £2.6bn investment between 2022 and 2025 – more than tripling the previous levels of investment – to help to put an end to families having to fight for the right support for their children.

\n

When combined with the places already being created by the special free schools programme, this funding is creating over 60,000 new places across the country.

\n

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In a statement included in the news release, Keegan says parents of special needs children too often have to “fight to get the right support”. She says:

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All too often I hear from parents with children who have special educational needs having to fight to get the right support. That’s why this government has a plan to deliver 60,000 more places that meet the needs of these pupils and their families.

\n

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Keegan arriving for media interviews this morning.","caption":"Gillian Keegan arriving for media interviews this morning.","credit":"Photograph: Tayfun Salcı/ZUMA Press Wire/REX/Shutterstock"}}],"attributes":{"pinned":false,"keyEvent":true,"summary":false},"blockCreatedOn":1711448978000,"blockCreatedOnDisplay":"06.29 EDT","blockLastUpdated":1711451091000,"blockLastUpdatedDisplay":"07.04 EDT","blockFirstPublished":1711449332000,"blockFirstPublishedDisplay":"06.35 EDT","blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone":"06.35","title":"Keegan says parents of children with special educational needs too often have to ‘fight to get right support’","contributors":[],"primaryDateLine":"Tue 26 Mar 2024 09.30 EDT","secondaryDateLine":"First published on Tue 26 Mar 2024 05.34 EDT"},{"id":"660299408f0847b46e27827f","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

Gillian Keegan, the education secretary, said this morning that China was “obviously a security threat” to the UK.

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Speaking to Times Radio, she said:

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As I’ve said before, I’m not in the diplomatic service or the Foreign Office but it is obviously a security threat.

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We take all security threats seriously, whether that’s cyber security or other security threats.

\n

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This is significant because the government has been criticised for not formally describing China as a threat in security policy statements. That’s why Keegan stressed that she was not speaking on behalf of the Foreign Office; she was just giving a personal assessment.

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Good morning. The Commons rises for the Easter recess at the end of today, but before that happens Rishi Sunak has meetings with two of Westminster’s more high-profile bodies: cabinet, and the Commons liaison committee. Cabinet is no threat to Sunak, because the Tory MPs working hardest to force him out of of his job are on the backbenchers (which was not always the case with this predecessors. In theory the liasion committee – best thought of as 35 MPs who think they should be in cabinet – ought to pose more of a threat, and the 90-minute session at lunchtime is the best news prospect of the day. But this liaison committee is less ferocious than it has been in previous parliaments, and Sunak normally gets through it without being seriously rattled.

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Sunak has been told that today’s hearing will include questioning on three topics – scrutiny of strategic thinking in government, economy and public services, and global issues – which in practice could mean more or less anything.

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Ahead of the hearing the Labour party has sent out a list of 15 questions it thinks Sunak should answer. The most important was probably this one:

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The chancellor told Conservative party members he plans to scrap national insurance in the next parliament. How does the government plan to pay for this projected cost of £46bn?

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Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow Cabinet Office minister, was doing the the media round for Labour today and he said this was a question Sunak had to address. On Sky News he suggested that Sunak’s plan could lead to the state pension being means tested, as a means of allowing the Tories to find the £46bn cost. He said:

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[Sunak has] committed his party to a £46bn [tax cut] which either means more borrowing, putting up mortgages, or it means a new tax rise on pensioners. Or it severs the link between contribution and the state pension, it is threatens the state pension in the future. Silver Voices, an organisation who campaigns for pensioners, in the Daily Express a couple of weeks ago said this could mean to the means testing of the state pension. Rishi Sunak has got to answer questions on his £46bn bombshell.

\n

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It’s not often that you hear a Labour frontbencher quoting the Daily Express approvingly, but Ashworth was referring to this article, and this quote.

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Silver Voices director Dennis Reed said that although state pensions are not reliant on the amount of NICs collected by the government, abolishing it could lead to problems.

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He said: “When national insurance was set up, it was intended to fund the state pension and benefits.

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“It has become muddled up over successive governments.

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“But if there is no national insurance at all it opens up the doors to means testing of the state pension in future.

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“If everything comes from the taxman it becomes a benefit rather than the deferred payment it is.”

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Here is the agenda for the day.

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Morning: Rishi Sunak chairs cabinet.

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11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.

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1pm: Rishi Sunak gives evidence to the Commons liaison committee.

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3pm: Sadiq Khan, the London mayor, and Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, are due to make an announcement about crime policy.

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3.15pm: Grant Shapps, the defence secretary, gives evidence to the Commons defence committee.

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If you want to contact me, do use the “send us a message” feature. You’ll see it just below the byline – on the left of the screen, if you are reading on a laptop or a desktop. This is for people who want to message me directly. I find it very useful when people message to point out errors (even typos – no mistake is too small to correct). Often I find your questions very interesting, too. I can’t promise to reply to them all, but I will try to reply to as many as I can, either in the comments below the line; privately (if you leave an email address and that seems more appropriate); or in the main blog, if I think it is a topic of wide interest.

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The Guardian