On Wednesday, British prime minister Rishi Sunak stood in the rain outside 10 Downing Street and called a general election. But why? The Tories are performing poorly in the polls and his party is divided.

Six weeks out from election day on July 4th, the odds of him winning look slim. By Irish standards, the campaign is long, so is there anything he can do in the run up to election day to change the hearts and minds of British voters or has Labour leader Keir Starmer’s time come?

Irish Times London correspondent Mark Paul went to Derby to see Sunak in action on Thursday on his first day of campaigning and he tells In the News about the timing of the election, the disarray in the Tory party and why Sunak is taking the chance of going to the country after less than two years in office.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan and Declan Conlon.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A pair of trainers for the price of a sandwich; a Dyson-dupe hair straightener for a fraction of the real thing – just about everything you can think of buying, and random, bizarre things you couldn’t even imagine exist, are for sale via Temu, the ecommerce app that is taking over the online shopping world. With millions of bargains, it promises buyers can “shop like a billionaire”.

In January 2024, the app recorded nearly 47.8 million downloads worldwide. Once you buy from Temu, the bombardment of emails begins, offering deals and discounts on already rock-bottom prices.

But authorities worldwide have been quick to investigate; to warn for example that some toys and electrical goods on the site do not meet safety standards. And the US State Department has cautioned that the labour conditions in some of the factories that make the goods for the third-party sellers on Boston-headquartered Temu could amount to forced labour.

So while the prices might be attractive, the quality of some of the products and relentless sales techniques are less so according to Irish Times consumer editor Conor Pope who explains Temu’s business model and why it has got such a hold so quickly.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Tuesday, a leaked report revealed the Housing Commission’s criticism that the Government has not resolved the “fundamentally systemic” failures in the State’s housing system.

The report from housing experts also suggests there is an underlying housing deficit in Ireland of up to 256,000 homes.

Irish Times political correspondent Jack Horgan-Jones joins the podcast to discuss the most significant elements of Tuesday’s leak, while architect Mel Reynolds examines the Government’s failure to control the current housing model.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.