June 12, 2024 - 6:00pm

→ British support for migration falls steeply

As the election draws nearer, Britain’s borders remain a hotly contested issue. Now, a new survey from the National Centre for Social Research shows how sceptical Britons have become of the benefits of immigration. It found that as recently as 2022, 51% of respondents believed that immigration had a positive impact on the economy. But now this figure now stands at 39%.

Still, it is worth noting that the UK is far more pro-immigration than it was a decade ago: in 2013, just 22% of BSA respondents answered that migration had boosted the economy. Will the downward trend of the last couple of years continue?

→ Trump lead widens amid Biden age questions

Team Biden’s relentless optimism about November is becoming less believable by the day. Donald Trump now holds a commanding lead against the White House incumbent, according to new analysis from the Economist. The report shows Biden trailing in all six swing states; and of those states, the two in which he’s performing best have seen Democrats underperform compared to polling predictions for the past two elections. The odds of Biden winning currently stand at 34% — so it’s likelier than being struck by lightning, but less probable than an 81-year-old dying in the next half-decade.

Add to this a new report in a major paper questioning the President’s mental competence, not to mention a string of felony convictions for his son, and the needle is unlikely to move in his direction. Yet the White House remains optimistic in public, downplaying concerns as partisan attacks. Biden 2024: hope or cope? 

→ German town votes to eliminate pigeon population

Germany’s authoritarian turn may be worse than any of us feared. The town of Limburg an der Lahn, in the Western state of Hesse, has just voted to exterminate its population of 700 pigeons. The referendum took place on Sunday, and so was perhaps overshadowed by another vote which attracted national attention.

It was at least close, with 53% of residents electing to kill the pigeons. “The citizens have made use of their right and decided that the animals should be reduced by a falconer,” mayor Marius Hahn ominously told the press. Once the pigeons have been lured into a trap, the falconer will — and animal-loving readers are advised to look away now — hit them over the head with a stick to stun them, and then break their necks. The AfD will be relieved that there are some new villains in town…