So about *The Queue*….my father was in the queue yesterday. He’s a 75-year former Coldstream Guards and Parachute Regiment officer but spent most of his career in the City.

New: US intel agencies have recently assessed that Iran can effectively turn the Strait of Hormuz on & off -- at will -- going forward, meaning it has acquired a powerful new ability to hurt the global economy as a result of Trump/Israel starting the war, sources tell me & @NatashaBertrand. “We have now handed Iran de facto control over the strait – a weapon more powerful than any nuke,” 1 of the sources said.

The sheer level of illiberalism from the government is galling - on teens, on protest, on speech, on immigration, on private business. It’s like they did securonomics but forgot the economics bit.

Spot on from @em_john about the weird Puritanism that has descended on Ben Stokes this week. Listening to some of the cricket podcasts this week is like listening to a temperance meeting. Stokes is an England legend and we should stop the hand wringing. theguardian.com/sport/2026/j…

Britain spent a decade choosing to be smaller in the world. Right now the rules on communications, energy and trade are being rewritten. By China. By Russia. By countries that take their own security seriously. We need to be at that table. That's a choice we must make. Strong countries get cheap energy. Weak countries pay whatever the strong ones decide.

There are some brutal briefings about Keir Starmer in the wake of John Healey’s resignation today This one - from a Treasury official - stands out in our splash “As always with the prime minister, he is unable to make sound political and timely decisions “Funding the defence investment plan requires cuts to elements of government spending vital to growth - a key issue obviously this country needs to work on “This was flagged to No 10 in May and as usual he is a rabbit in the headlights and does not make a decision “Prioritise growth funding or defence spending - take a decision” thetimes.com/article/ed817bc…

Announce the end of the triple lock, approval of new N Sea oil and gas licences, and bridge the inevitable financing gap until these savings/ revenues come in with IHT-exempt War Bond issuance (which would probably be hugely oversubscribed and push down the average cost of borrowing). To govern is to choose.

🚨 NEW: A Treasury source attacks John Healey for resigning as Defence Secretary "Let's be clear on what John is asking for: cuts to schools and hospitals" h/t @e_casalicchio

TREASURY source hits back to say Chancellor "will always do what is right and needed to keep this country safe... Let's be clear on what John is asking for: cuts to schools and hospitals."

NEW: Andy Burnham has hinted at a new multibillion-pound spending commitment if he becomes PM, saying that more than 3.5mn women “deserve” compensation over what he regards as a pension scandal Earlier I attended a Makerfield hustings event hosted by @MENnewsdesk, in which Burnham said: “I stick by campaigners that I support. I stuck by the Hillsborough families, I’ll stick by the Waspi women because they deserve some recompense for the unfairness.” Stressing he wouldn’t ditch his longterm support for Waspi women, he said he felt “uncomfortable” that some politicians threw their support behind a cause but then went into government and “didn’t do anything” ft.com/content/1021ae5f-aab3…

Burnham faces Labour backlash over support for Waspi women ft.trib.al/0rrgzjG

New - Andy Burnham says 3.5m Waspi women "deserve" compensation...deplores politicians who campaign for something then don't do anything when they get into power. Price tag of their claim? Up to £10.5bn. With @LOS_Fisher and @PickardJE ft.com/content/1021ae5f-aab3…

It’s hard to see how Ben Stokes retains his authority to lead England after this - not after everything that happened over the winter dailymail.com/sport/cricket/…