2 months ago
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PULSE POINTS:
❓What Happened: Recorded knife crime offences in England and Wales are now on the rise following a decrease during the COVID-19 pandemic.
👥 Who’s Involved: Police forces across England and Wales, with London’s Metropolitan Police recording the highest number of cases.
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📍 Where & When: The data pertains to England and Wales in the year 2024, annual figures released by the government’s Office for National Statistics (ONS).
💬 Key Quote: Policing minister Dame Diana Johnson claims the leftist Labour government “will not tolerate the criminality blighting our communities.”
⚠️ Impact: The crime rise may impact the fortunes of Labour and the formerly governing Conservatives in May’s local elections, with Nigel Farage’s Reform Party already outpolling them regularly.
IN FULL:
Knife crime is rising in England and Wales. In 2024, an estimated 54,587 knife crime incidents were reported, an increase of two percent from the previous year’s 53,413 cases. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) released the new stats this week.
Robberies with knives or sharp objects rose by five percent, reaching 23,305 cases, an increase from 2023’s number of 22,189. Threats to kill using knives saw a modest increase, rising three percent from 5,797 in 2023 to 5,979 in 2024. The offences categorized as “possession of an article with a blade or point” have also shown a rise, with 28,150 reported in 2024 compared to the previous year’s 27,892, significantly higher than the pre-pandemic count of 23,264 in 2019/20.
A regional breakdown of the data shows London‘s Metropolitan Police accounted for 31 percent of the total offenses, with a rate of 188 per 100,000 individuals. West Midlands Police followed with a nine percent share, Greater Manchester Police at six percent, and West Yorkshire Police at four percent.
Personal thefts also substantially increased in England and Wales in 2024, up 22 percent compared to 2023. The survey highlighted a 50 percent rise in theft from the person, including mobile phone thefts, and a 19 percent rise in theft from outside residences.
Policing minister Dame Diana Johnson has reacted to the increases in crime, claiming the leftist Labour government “will not tolerate the criminality blighting our communities.”
PULSE POINTS:
❓What Happened: WarRoom host and former White House chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon contends Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) need to open the agency’s books for public scrutiny after the billionaire tech mogul drastically reduced its spending cut targets. Bannon reiterated his continued support for President Donald J. Trump’s Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
👥 Who’s Involved: Stephen K. Bannon, Elon Musk, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and President Donald J. Trump.
Your free, daily feed from The National Pulse.
📍 Where & When: Remarks were made at the World Economy Summit in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, April 23.
💬 Key Quote: Bannon stated that DOGE is a “blunt force instrument” meant to “deconstruct this choking administrative state,” but emphasized the need for accountability and transparency.
⚠️ Impact: Bannon’s comments may increase scrutiny of Musk, reflecting ongoing disputes over governmental roles and policies since Trump’s return to office.
IN FULL:
Former Trump White House chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon is arguing that the American people need to be given a closer look at the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) books, and guarantees that all of the data it has accessed and created will remain with the Trump administration. Bannon’s remarks were made Wednesday at the World Economy Summit in Washington, D.C., and come as DOGE’s chief advisor, billionaire technology mogul Elon Musk, says he will reduce his role with the agency significantly in May.
Notably, Musk has dramatically reduced the spending cuts targeted by DOGE, from $2 trillion in late 2024 to $1 trillion earlier this year, with his latest claim being that the agency is on track to achieve a comparatively modest $150 billion in reductions.
“He’s questioning the integrity of the system. We need to have a very specific accounting of what he found, as far as fraud goes, and waste… None of this makes sense. The cuts you’ve seen that have been announced are programmatic,” Bannon said on Wednesday, arguing that DOGE is a “blunt force instrument” but necessary to “deconstruct this choking administrative state.”
“Also, I think we have to have a letter of certification that not one data set or piece of data of the United States government or citizens of this country are held by anybody except for the Trump administration,” Bannon continued, before shifting to address the increasing role and importance of President Donald J. Trump’s Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
“President Trump’s a very sophisticated businessman, but Scott is a safe pair of hands that understands capital markets deeply,” the WarRoom host said, adding: “He’s done this for 30 years. He has a very strong sense of what markets need to hear as far as information goes.”
Bannon has been a staunch advocate for Bessent, who is seen as a leading economic mind and someone deeply knowledgeable on monetary policy and macroeconomic analysis. In contrast, Musk was part of a camp that pushed for current Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to serve as Treasury Secretary.
“I’ll be blunt: if Howard Lutnick had been Secretary of the Treasury, it would have been an unmitigated disaster,” the former White House chief strategist said. Bannon added: “This is about people putting their own interests first, like Elon, versus putting the nation’s interest first.”
WATCH:
Steve Bannon tells @semaforben he views Scott Bessent as “a safe pair of hands,” but believes Howard Lutnick would have been an “unmitigated disaster” as Treasury Secretary #WorldEconomySummit pic.twitter.com/7dXWs7xJJV
— Semafor (@semafor) April 23, 2025
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