The government have announced that children under the age of 16 will be banned from buying high-caffeine energy drinks in England from next April. Drinks containing more than 150mg of caffeine per litre, such as Red Bull and Monster, will be affected.

The announced ban is overwhelmingly popular, with 80% of Britons supporting it, including 50% saying they strongly support it. This compares to just 11% saying they are opposed to such a ban.

At least three quarters in all adult age groups (76%) support banning under 16s from buying high-caffeine energy drinks, though just 29% of 18-24 year olds say they are strongly in favour of the ban, relative to 48-54% in older age groups.

The government has nationalised British Steel, having previously taken control of the Chinese-owned company’s operations, saying that bringing it into public hands would protect jobs and safeguard UK steel production. The Chinese government, however, has said the decision has “severely undermined” the confidence of Chinese companies in investing in the UK.

Nonetheless, 59% of Britons support the nationalisation of British Steel, with just 9% opposed.

A majority of voters for all five main parties support the decision, including 70% of 2024 Labour and 58% of Conservatives.

Temperatures in parts of the country have now passed the official threshold for heatwave (27C) for two weeks, with thermometers rising to 30C in some areas for 13 consecutive days, the longest such spell in 20 years.

But even if the heat has fallen from last week’s peak, 61% of Britons are still finding the weather to be too hot, relative to 35% saying they are enjoying the current temperature.

This does, however, represent a shift in feeling from last Thursday, when 76% of Britons were finding things too hot to handle, with just 22% comfortable with the heat.

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