In they come, out they go

Liz Truss is the 15th prime minister to have served under Queen Elizabeth II, and her appointment was the 15th time the Queen has overseen a change of prime minister during her reign (Winston Churchill was already PM when she became Queen but Harold Wilson served twice). It would require political turmoil, however, for Elizabeth II to catch up with Queen Victoria on the latter score. While only ten different prime ministers served under Victoria, she oversaw 19 changes of prime minister. On five occasions the PM she appointed lasted less than a year. William Gladstone was appointed for his third spell on 1 February 1886, but six months later, on 20 July, he had to visit the Queen in order to resign.

Speaking terms

What can Boris Johnson earn as an ex-PM on the speaker circuit? Some payments that Theresa May has received:

£160,370 from JP Morgan for two speeches.

£127,200 for one speaking engagement from the Distinguished Speaker Series of Vero Beach, Florida.

£404,800 for six engagements with the Cambridge Speaker Series of Ross, California.

£109,000 for a speech to the Danish Bar and Law Society.

Habit-forming

How have the drinking and drug-taking habits of 11- to 15-year-olds changed since before the pandemic?

6% say they drink once a week or more, the same as in 2018. 40% say they have ever had an alcoholic drink, rising from 13% for 11-year-olds to 65% for 15-year-olds.

1% say they are regular smokers, down from 2% in 2018. 12% say they have ever smoked, down from 16% in 2018.

9% are vapers, up from 6% in 2018.

12% say they have taken illegal drugs in the past year, down from 17% in 2018. 18% say they have ever taken illegal drugs (down from 24% in 2018).

Source: NHS Digital

The big freeze

Proposals to freeze energy bills could cost the taxpayer up to £130 bn. How does that compare with estimated public spending in other areas in the current financial year?

Healthcare £210.9 bn

Pensions £178.5 bn

Welfare £142.0 bn

Education £104.9 bn

Defence £60.2 bn

Transport £46.9 bn

Servicing government debt £88.0 bn

Source: ukpublicspending.co.uk