Review of February 2025.

February 2025 in the United Kingdom was the kind of month that made you wonder whether the country was being run by a committee of mildly confused otters. Not malicious otters just the sort who keep dropping important documents into a river and saying, “Oops, sorry, that was probably important.”

Let’s begin with the big political news, because February delivered politics the way Britain delivers weather: constantly, unexpectedly, and usually damp. First, MPs got a pay rise. This was controversial, because MPs getting a pay rise is always controversial. You could announce that MPs were being given a free biscuit and half the country would shout, “OUTRAGEOUS!” while the other half would demand to know why it wasn’t a chocolate biscuit. But a pay rise? In February? During a cost‑of‑living squeeze? That’s like announcing you’re raising the price of umbrellas during a monsoon.

Then we had Labour politicians being suspended for various internal party misbehaviours. At this point, British politics has so many suspensions it’s starting to resemble a school where the headteacher has completely lost control. You half‑expect to see MPs standing outside Parliament holding “I WILL NOT BREACH PARTY RULES” written 200 times on a chalkboard.

Meanwhile, the leader of Reform Wales was charged with bribery, which is the sort of headline that makes you sigh deeply, put the kettle on, and say, “Well, that’s February for you.” British politics has reached a stage where scandals don’t even shock people anymore. They’re more like seasonal events. “Oh look, the bribery allegations are blooming early this year.”

And just to round things off, the UK government cut foreign aid. Because nothing says “global leadership” like rummaging through the national budget and saying, “Let’s start by trimming the bit where we help people.”

But politics wasn’t the only thing happening. Oh no. February also brought us school hoax threats in West Norfolk, where emails warned of “heinous attacks” before police confirmed it was all nonsense. Parents were understandably alarmed, because when you get an email saying “heinous attacks,” your first thought is not, “Ah yes, probably a prank.” Fortunately, the police stepped in and basically said, “Everybody calm down, this is the digital equivalent of a kid pulling the fire alarm because they didn’t study for maths.”

In the same region, people were furious about delays to the rebuild of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn. The rebuild had already been pushed back to a potential completion date of 2033, which is so far away that by the time the hospital is finished, half the patients will have forgotten why they needed it. The Health Secretary announced more delays, prompting local campaigners to say, “This is dangerous,” which is British for “We are extremely annoyed but still too polite to shout.”

Meanwhile, the weather continued to behave like a toddler who had eaten too much sugar. February didn’t bring the dramatic floods of January, but it did bring the usual assortment of rain, wind, and general meteorological sulking. British weather in February is like a moody teenager: it doesn’t want to talk about it, it doesn’t want to go outside, and it definitely doesn’t want you to enjoy yourself.

Culturally, the UK spent February doing what it does best: arguing about things online. The Week UK’s archive for the month was full of stories about CEOs panicking about Trump, Japanese residents unable to watch an Oscar‑nominated documentary, and Mexico extraditing cartel figures none of which had anything to do with Britain, but Brits still argued about them anyway, because that’s what the internet is for.

There were also articles about forever chemicals, posthumous publishing, eco‑friendly Maldives resorts, and houses by the sea. February is the month when British media tries to distract you from the grim weather by saying things like, “Here’s a lovely cottage you can’t afford,” or “Here’s a holiday you won’t be taking,” or “Here’s a scientific problem you definitely can’t solve.”

And through all of this, the country soldiered on in that uniquely British way: stoically, sarcastically, and with a cup of tea permanently attached to one hand. February 2025 didn’t bring joy, exactly, but it did bring plenty to talk about political chaos, school hoaxes, hospital delays, and the usual national pastime of complaining about everything.

In other words: a perfectly normal British February.