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👋 Good morning! It’s Saturday 2 May 2026. I’m Neil McIntosh, editor of The Early Line, and it’s great to have you here.
📣 You’re reading the weekend edition of The Early Line. Sorry it’s a little later than normal this Saturday: it’s been a busy week!
Paying subscribers get the full version, with six talking points and film, TV and sporting recommendations for the weekend.
They also have my huge thanks for making the whole newsletter possible, six days a week. If you’d like to join their ranks - thankyou! - you can upgrade here.
And if that’s not for you, no problem: see you on Monday when the free Early Line is back at 7am.
Have a wonderful (long) weekend, all!
🌧️ The weekend’s weather: It’s such a lovely start to the day it’s hard to believe… but we’re set for a wet day, and a classically wet bank holiday weekend for Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Inverness and London. The rain might stop tomorrow in some places, but if you’ve got sun now, enjoy it while you can. (Here’s the UK forecast).
SIX THINGS TO TALK ABOUT
Are we going to get on holiday this summer? | After the race for Holyrood… the race for Number 10| Knee surgery knocked | The “Temu Range Rover” everyone’s buying | Blackberry lives! | The $400 million US home
🍸 Are we going to get away this summer? The fuel crisis being caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has us all glancing anxiously at our holiday bookings, wondering if we’ll be hit by surcharges or even cancellations before we’re due to set off.
In the main, airlines and holiday companies are making reassuring noises - there are alternative supplies of fuel, and it’s not like we’re going to run out entirely. But, behind the scenes, there’s a frantic bidding war for fuel in what experts are calling a “global stress test” for the airline industry. The casualties are starting to emerge, with the sickly carriers first to go.
Spirit Airlines in the US has begun winding down its operations this morning, after a proposed rescue bid led by the White House fell through. There will likely be others for whom rising prices are the final blow.
The Independent is running a helpful list of those airlines cancelling flights and adding extra charges (they’ve yet to update with the Spirit news). Money Saving Expert has a comprehensive guide to your rights, and tips on how to dodge the worst of the higher costs of travel.
Upgrade to read the full Party Line, including:
Challengers to Keir Starmer are preparing their campaigns (and already making mistakes)
Meet the “Temu Range Rover” that’s suddenly Britain’s top-selling car.
Why knee surgery is falling out of fashion.
And the stunning Bel Air estate that could become the most expensive residential sale in US history.
PLUS: find top TV, film and sporting picks for the weekend - including reviews of The Devil Wears Prada 2, a brilliant new horror comedy to enjoy on TV, and a tense weekend of televised sport.
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