This chapter examines attempts by the political opposition to ZANU-PF to modify politics in the diamond sector, particularly during the GNU government from 2009 to 2013. Many studies have focused on the failures of the main opposition, the MDC party, now CCC, to provide an effective alternative to ZANU-PF. Common arguments have been that the party has been undermined by infighting, has often been viewed as being backed by foreign governments, and has had some issues with corruption. This chapter argues that a major reason why the political opposition in Zimbabwe has been unable to make inroads politically is that the diamond sector has been wholly out of its control, even during the GNU government. Thus, this has allowed factions within ZANU-PF to gain the upper hand and has increased an already tilted playing field. Other attempts to provide critical oversight for the diamond sector from NGOs, the Kimberley Process, and foreign governments have also had difficulty. While these groups have shaped some of the policies readily available to factions within ZANU-PF and have sometimes changed their behavior, the diamond sector has remained mainly in ZANU-PF control.

As the UK, and the world, enters another decade of climate-anguished debate, the record of the Conservatives’ policy and actions between 2010 and 2024 is under scrutiny. Dieter Helm analyses the extent to which the natural environment improved, how housebuilding interacted with pressures to protect the environment, the legacy of privatised industries, comparisons to what a Labour government’s actions in office may have been and to what extent a sustainable path to net zero was achieved by the Conservative Party.