Oliver Wright

United Kingdom

Policy Editor at The Times

Policy Editor of The Times

Articles

EU 'reset' could put back Britain's ability to develop GM crops

22 hours ago | thetimes.com | Oliver Wright |Bruno Waterfield

Ministers could be forced to scrap plans that would allow farmers to grow new drought and disease-resistant crops as the price of the government's reset with the European Union. Sir Keir Starmer will next week agree to realign the UK's food safety rules with those of the European Union in return for Brussels easing checks on British food and agricultural produce sold in Europe.
Keir Starmer ends Labour's love affair with immigration

2 days ago | thetimes.com | Oliver Wright |Steven Swinford

The rhetoric from Starmer appears designed to close any gap with Reform and the Tories. Britain, he said, risks becoming an " island of strangers ". The current migration system has lost public trust to such an extent that it risks "pulling the country apart". His Downing Street speech could have easily been given by Nigel Farage.
British troops could join EU forces under new security pact

3 days ago | thetimes.com | Bruno Waterfield |Oliver Wright
Keir Starmer can't bask in trade deal glow. He faces battles at home

5 days ago | thetimes.com | Steven Swinford |Max Kendix |Oliver Wright |Chris Smyth
The terms and key demands explained

5 days ago | thetimes.com | Chris Smyth |Oliver Wright
Keir Starmer's team were losing when Trump rang to say he'd won a deal

5 days ago | thetimes.com | Steven Swinford |Oliver Wright |Chris Smyth |Aubrey Allegretti
Sewage monitoring at airports urged to track diseases

6 days ago | thetimes.com | Oliver Wright |Chris Smyth

Sewage from Heathrow and other airports would be routinely tested for emerging pandemic threats under proposals backed by Sir Tony Blair and Lord Hague of Richmond. The two former leaders have warned in a report that Britain faces growing risks from natural viruses and manmade biological weapons. They said that protection against such threats must become a “central aspect of our country’s efforts on science and technology”.
UK-US trade deal is ‘jobs saved, not job done’, Keir Starmer says

6 days ago | thetimes.com | Steven Swinford |Oliver Wright |Chris Smyth

Sir Keir Starmer has secured the first deal with President Trump since he embarked on his global trade war, sealing cuts to tariffs on car and steel exports that threatened thousands of jobs. Under an agreement unveiled in the Oval Office, tariffs on steel and aluminium will be reduced from 25 per cent to zero and levies on British car exports lowered from 27.5 per cent to 10 per cent. However, a blanket 10 per cent tariff will still apply to most goods.
What is in UK-US trade deal? The terms and key demands explained

6 days ago | thetimes.com | Chris Smyth |Oliver Wright

President Trump called it a “great deal for both countries”, while Sir Keir Starmer said it was “a significant step in the right direction”. In reality, it was a limited deal necessitated on the UK side by the urgent needs of the car industry. Starmer has made concessions to Trump’s agricultural base, offering big cuts on tariffs on beef and ethanol in return for the easing of tariffs on UK car and steel exports. Both sides said they wanted to go further in future negotiations.
Ministers update secret war plans as international tension rises

1 week ago | thetimes.com | Oliver Wright

Ministers have ordered officials to update secret plans in the event of an attack on Britain, reflecting concerns that the country is not sufficiently prepared. Amid continuing tensions with Russia, the Cabinet Office’s resilience directorate is looking again at contingency plans — last refreshed in 2005 — that set out how the government would respond to an attack or declaration of war.