Politics roundup 3

 Hi there, so it has been an eventful time in the news as always so thought I would continue my series of commenting on some stories I either clicked on to read more or thought were interesting for one reason or another. Hope you enjoy it ! 

BBC resignations 

As most of us in the UK rely on the BBC for our news, it was hard to miss the resignation of its Director-General, Tim Davie. His departure follows criticism over an edited version of a Donald Trump speech aired on Panorama in January 2021. The edit misled viewers into thinking Trump encouraged people to “storm the Capitol,” when his speech, in reality, said nothing of the sort. Two separate clips were cut together to make it appear he had said this.

Because of this (frankly huge) blunder, both Tim Davie and the head of news, Deborah Turness, are stepping down.

I wanted to bring attention to this not just because it shakes trust in a news organisation that so many of us rely on, but also because it hits close to home for my future career. I’ve been taking an online journalism course recently, and one of the very first things it covered was the ethics of editing, specifically, the importance of not altering footage in a way that misrepresents what is being said.

Seeing such a major organisation fall foul of that rule is a strong reminder that even small changes can have huge consequences. It’s something I’ll definitely carry with me as I pursue journalism.

US Government Shutdown

It was also hard to avoid coverage of the 43-day government shutdown in the US. It left millions of federal employees unpaid, caused major shortages of food and assistance for low-income families, and led to thousands of flight cancellations across US airports.

So why did it happen? It’s a bit logistical, so bear with me…

In the US, both chambers of Congress have to agree on a spending plan for the upcoming year. Once they do, the President can sign it into law. This time, only the House of Representatives passed the temporary bill, the Senate didn’t, due to Democratic resistance. Seven votes were needed to pass it, and they weren’t met.

So, on 1st October 2025, the US government entered its first shutdown in seven years. The previous one was in 2018, also under Trump, and lasted 34 days.

A new spending bill eventually ended the shutdown, but it may take weeks for services to return to normal.

I wasn’t really aware of the 2018 shutdown at the time, but now that I pay much closer attention to the news, this one caught my eye. Government shutdowns are uniquely American, but it made me wonder: what would happen if something similar occurred in the UK? How would we cope? How would daily life function in the chaos? Definitely food for thought…

Sky Sports Halo

You may have seen it in its brief existence but Sky Sports recently launched Halo on social media accounts aimed at encouraging young women to get more into sport. Unfortunately, it… well, flopped a bit (pardon the Gen Z term).

With memes about matcha, hot-girl walks, and overly “relatable” gifs, the whole thing fell surprisingly flat and worse, came across as patronising. Even the Instagram bio describing the channel as “Sky Sports’ little sister” hinted at the tone.

What was meant to support and boost women’s sport ended up being criticised as sexist and reductive. The channel shut itself down within 48 hours, which has got to hurt.

It was interesting to watch unfold, because I genuinely think the intentions were good. But it’s also a reminder that trying too hard to follow trends or be quirky and “relatable” doesn’t always land, especially when it comes to serious efforts to grow women’s sport.

Poppy Colours

Lastly, I’d love to know your thoughts on this. While sitting around the dinner table the Sunday before 11/11, my family ended up talking about the Remembrance services. My dad mentioned that there are multiple colours of poppies, not just the traditional red one representing the lives lost in WW1. If I am completely honest I didn’t really know there was more than the red poppy. 

For example, there’s a purple poppy to commemorate the animals that served and died, and a black poppy to remember people of colour who contributed to the war effort.

I think it’s lovely that people can choose a poppy that aligns with their personal identity or the part of history they feel most connected to. But on the other hand, does it make things overly complicated? Should the UK have stuck with the traditional red poppy to keep the symbolism unified?

I’m not sure where I stand, but it was an interesting conversation and one that seems to come around each November.

Last thoughts 

This one ended up being a bit longer with the four stories, so if you made it this far I really appreciate it. I hope you enjoyed reading and maybe took something away from it! If you did feel free to comment or message me what you think - would love to hear your thoughts !  I’ve also included the articles I got my information from in case you want to dig deeper, a little bibliography if you will (clearly missing uni).

Thank you for reading,
Rosie x

Articles

BBC
 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3vn25d5dq7o

US Shutdown
 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crrj1znp0pyo

Sky Sports Halo
 https://deadline.com/2025/11/sky-sports-stops-activity-halo-tiktok-channel-lil-sis-1236619955/

Poppy Colours
 https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/45975344

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