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Voices

<p>Knights of the long knives: Sir Keir Starmer and Sir Ed Davey have agreed an unofficial pact</p>
Inside Westminster

Could Keir Starmer and Ed Davey’s bromance give Labour its landslide?

For Team Starmer, the nightmare scenario is winning the election but with a small Commons majority, allowing a rump of Corbynista MPs to call the shots. But, says Andrew Grice, a growing friendship across party lines has given the opposition leader the confidence to have very public confrontations with his hard left

1 June 2024
The Independent View

In this Biden vs Trump election, democracy itself is now at stake

<p>Prime minister Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer will go head to head in the first televised leaders’ debate of the general election campaign next week (PA)</p>
Voices

Keir Starmer is already the ‘winner’ of next week’s TV election debate

<p>Born to run: Georgia Gould has been selected as the parliamentary candidate in the <a href="/topic/labour">Labour</a> safe seat of Queen’s Park </p>
Claire Cohen

Meet Georgia Gould – the ‘red princess’ who could one day lead Labour

<p>Since the general election was called, nothing has gone right for Rishi Sunak </p>
Asa Bennett

I was with Liz Truss in No 10… here’s how Rishi’s blame game will play out

<p>Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves, on a tour of Stevenage’s Airbus facility as part of Labour’s general election campaign – days after Rishi Sunak made a visit to the constituency</p>
Voices

Why this election will be decided by ‘Stevenage Woman’ like me

31 May 2024
The Independent View

A promise not to raise taxes never fools the voting public

<p>Wyddfa the owl</p>
Frieda Hughes

Am I taking care of my pet owl, or is he taking care of me?

<p>A man waits for a taxi along a street lined with election posters in the Hammanskraal township, Pretoria</p>
Peter Hain

Mandela must be turning in his grave at the state of South Africa

<p>Netflix series ‘The Last Kingdom’ is an example of how Anglo-Saxons have invaded the popular consciousness </p>
History With Hilbert

How in the name of history did ‘Anglo-Saxon’ become a racist slur?

<p>Jeremy Corbyn with Faiza Shaheen, who has been deselected as a Labour candidate</p>
Letters

It’s time for Labour’s hard left to go quietly

<p>Lee Anderson, Reform UK’s candidate for Ashfield, has referred to the upcoming general election as ‘The Immigration Election’ </p>
Ava Vidal

Lee Anderson has a Brown friend? I’ll be his Black friend for a fee…

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More Voices

<p>Up to his neck in... the water crisis: Ed Davey in Lake Windermere this week </p>
Business Comment

How our water crisis could be fixed – without costly nationalisation

Business Comment

How our water crisis could be fixed – without costly nationalisation

Head shot of Chris Blackhurst
Chris Blackhurst
<p>Up to his neck in... the water crisis: Ed Davey in Lake Windermere this week </p>
<p>Keir Starmer, having faced criticism over his party’s handling of Diane Abbott, will be relieved that attention is now on the other side of the Atlantic</p>
Voices

Talk about a lucky general! Trump has come to Keir Starmer’s rescue

<p>After the jury’s guilty verdict, Donald Trump declared the whole process had been engineered by the Biden administration to keep him out of the White House</p>
Voices

Now it’s Donald Trump vs the US justice system – who will win?

<p>Former president Donald Trump has been found guilty of 34 felony charges </p>
Voices

Is this the moment Trump’s popularity bubble bursts? Don’t bet on it…

<p> The Conservatives have learnt the hard way that Rayner is a more formidable opponent than they thought</p>
Voices

Shame of the Tories who tried to smear Angela Rayner as a tax crook

<p> The Conservatives have learnt the hard way that Rayner is a more formidable opponent than they thought</p>
Voices

Shame of the Tories who tried to smear Angela Rayner as a tax crook

<p>‘I strongly believe that what Abbott wrote in her open letter was an out-of-character mistake’ </p>
Letters

Diane Abbott is the victim of a sordid stitch-up

<p>Angela Rayner told the lunchtime news: ‘I don’t think there’s any reason why Diane Abbott shouldn’t stand as an MP’ </p>
Voices

Rayner roars back... and could make trouble for Starmer’s ‘new’ Labour

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<p>Labour candidates are being imposed in 22 seats without consulting local members</p>
Voices

What the brutal purge of the Labour left reveals about Sir Keir

<p>The Commons Public Accounts Committee has declared it has ‘little confidence’ in Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda asylum plan</p>
The Independent View

The Rwanda report has turned ‘stop the boats’ into Sunak’s epitaph

<p>Keir Starmer and his shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves should invent a modern non-dom status – a supertax on footloose plutocrats</p>
Voices

Don’t bash the global rich, Keir Starmer – tax them instead

<p>With the Tories’ intrusive forays into her private tax concerns, Angela Rayner has been the victim of class prejudice </p>
Letters

Angela Rayner has proven she is not a woman to be messed with

<p>University challenged: Education secretary Gillian Keegan has promised to ‘outlaw ripoff degree courses’ – but has failed to name any </p>
Voices

I got a Mickey Mouse degree, minister – and what’s wrong with that?

<p>‘When we met up a few weekends ago, one of the things Diane said to me was that her life has been characterised by abuse’ </p>
Voices

My friend Diane Abbott caused offence, but she deserved better

<p>With the Tories’ intrusive forays into her private tax concerns, Angela Rayner has been the victim of class prejudice </p>
Letters

Angela Rayner has proven she is not a woman to be messed with

<p>University challenged: Education secretary Gillian Keegan has promised to ‘outlaw ripoff degree courses’ – but has failed to name any </p>
Voices

I got a Mickey Mouse degree, minister – and what’s wrong with that?

<p>‘When we met up a few weekends ago, one of the things Diane said to me was that her life has been characterised by abuse’ </p>
Voices

My friend Diane Abbott caused offence, but she deserved better

<p>Keir Starmer and his team have treated Diane Abbott appallingly, made enemies needlessly, and created much quiet resentment</p>
Voices

By dishonouring Diane Abbott, Starmer has dishonoured himself

Voices

By dishonouring Diane Abbott, Starmer has dishonoured himself

Sean O'Grady
<p>Keir Starmer and his team have treated Diane Abbott appallingly, made enemies needlessly, and created much quiet resentment</p>
<p>Sappho embraces her fellow poet Erinna in a garden at Mytilene, on the island of Lesbos</p>
Voices

The women who shaped our world are missing from the history books

<p>Rishi Sunak on a visit to RAF Lossiemouth in Moray </p>
Voices

National service would be a hindrance to our depleted Armed Forces

<p>Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves has made the most of an open letter signed by 121 business leaders endorsing Labour’s plans </p>
The Independent View

It is a coup for Labour to position itself as the party for business

<p>Former Post Office boss Paula Vennells adopted a ‘management style driven and obsessed with data and performance targets’</p>
Letters

The ‘Paula Vennells way’ is no way to run an institution

<p>Former Post Office boss Paula Vennells adopted a ‘management style driven and obsessed with data and performance targets’</p>
Letters

The ‘Paula Vennells way’ is no way to run an institution

<p>Four out of 10 private schools could close if Labour implements a 20 per cent tax levy </p>
Voices

Private school saved me from going to a deprived comprehensive

<p>Palestinians put out a fire at the site of an Israeli airstrike on an area designated for displaced people in Rafah </p>
Voices

Netanyahu’s ‘tragic mistake’ in Rafah is an atrocity too far

<p>A leaked report said Pope Francis referred to gay men in Vatican seminaries as ‘frociaggine’ – an offensive homophobic Italian collective noun</p>
Voices

With one slur, the Pope has shown his true colours on homosexuality

<p>Donald Trump sits at the defense table inside a Manhattan courtroom for his hush money trial on May 21</p>
Voices

What it’s really like inside Donald Trump’s hush money trial

<p>Prime minister Rishi Sunak has pledged to upgrade the state pension ‘triple-lock‘ to a ‘triple lock-plus’, by raising the tax-free allowance</p>
Voices

Sunak’s latest tax cut for pensioners is a sign of Tory desperation

<p>Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves delivers a speech during a visit to Rolls-Royce in Derby</p>
Voices

Will Rachel Reeves’ charm offensive with the City work for Labour?

<p>Trump has spent the majority of his time as a criminal defendant sitting nearly motionless, for hours, leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed</p>
Voices

It’s crunch time for Trump – but will he go to jail or be a free man?

<p>Opinion polls show a steady but inexorable decline in the public’s perceptions of Rishi Sunak </p>
The Independent View

This election must not be allowed to descend into personal abuse

<p>Former deputy prime minister Michael Heseltine during the campaign for a ‘Brexit ratification’ referendum in 2020 </p>
Letters

Lord Heseltine remains a Conservative worth listening to

<p>Out of 193 UN member states, more than 140 recognise the state of Palestine</p>
Voices

It’s time the UK recognised the state of Palestine

<p>Postcards were once a signifier of status – as long as they came from abroad </p>
Voices

There’s a good reason no one sends postcards any more

Voices

There’s a good reason no one sends postcards any more

Head shot of Flic Everett
Flic Everett
<p>Postcards were once a signifier of status – as long as they came from abroad </p>
<p>Renee Zellweger as Bridget Jones, one-time poster girl for thirtysomething singletons</p>
Voices

I’m single at 30 and loving it… honestly!

<p>Rishi Sunak proposed the introduction of national service for 18-year-olds</p>
The Independent View

National service plan is a host of contradictions

<p>Fearing either rejection at the polls, or the lack of power that serving in the opposition entails, hordes of Conservative MPs are leaping like lemmings over a cliff</p>
Letters

The rats are fleeing – but we have to clean up the mess

<p>Ryan Gosling in ‘The Fall Guy’, Universal’s surprise flop</p>
Voices

Sick of franchise movies? We only have ourselves to blame

<p>Ryan Gosling in ‘The Fall Guy’, Universal’s surprise flop</p>
Voices

Sick of franchise movies? We only have ourselves to blame

<p>‘I think you’re entering the realms of fantasy there, prime minister’ </p>
Voices

Compulsory national service? Who do you think you’re kidding Mr Sunak?

<p>Will the tournament give Rishi Sunak a boost come July? </p>
Voices

Can Euro 2024 really give Rishi Sunak a football bounce in the polls?

<p>I am fascinated by ‘nolo’ – a category used to describe drinks with no or low levels of alcohol</p>
Voices

How de-alcoholised wine is bad for you – and the planet

<p>What we need is a mature reassessment of our relationships, within the UK, internationally, and just as vitally with Europe, says former deputy PM Michael Heseltine</p>
Voices

Why are our party leaders refusing to talk about Europe?

<p>Keir Starmer has already ruled out rejoining the EU – but in office he would ‘lead from the front in transforming the post-Brexit relationship’ </p>
Voices

The secret EU agenda Starmer’s keeping quiet to avoid upsetting voters

<p>On the NHS, the Labour Party needs boldness, and Streeting is the right person to offer it </p>
The Independent View

The NHS needs boldness – and blunt truths – to truly reform

<p>For many voters, TV debates will be the first time they have paid attention to the choice between Sunak and Starmer as prime minister </p>
Voices

Will the TV debates help change Rishi Sunak’s fortunes?

<p>I appreciate that Starmer is keen not to alienate Leave voters, but a lot of time has passed since the referendum </p>
Letters

Starmer shouldn’t shy away from another EU referendum

<p>Manchester City will take on Manchester United in the FA Cup final</p>
Voices

How I beat the bookies for the FA Cup this weekend... using maths

<p>Jenny Nicholson’s YouTube video essay ‘The Spectacular Failure of the Star Wars Hotel’ became the talk of Twitter this week</p>
Voices

Why a four-hour YouTube video about a failed hotel has gripped Gen Z

<p>Doctor Who is back, and it is queerer than ever</p>
Voices

Doctor Who is a lifeline for queer people like me

Voices

Doctor Who is a lifeline for queer people like me

Max Wallis
<p>Doctor Who is back, and it is queerer than ever</p>
<p>Sinking feeling: Rishi Sunak visited the Belfast shipyard that helped build the Titanic, on day two of his election campaign </p>
The Independent View

Sunak is fighting a defensive war – and is desperately short of troops

<p>Oh, Jeremy Corbyn: ‘No one – least of all Theresa May – thought Jezza much of a campaigner, but it turned out mixing with the public was the only thing he was good at’ </p>
Voices

Is there room for an independent Jeremy Corbyn in British politics?

<p>The latest ONS figures show that 900,000 young people aged between 16 and 24 are classified as ‘NEET’ – not in education, employment or training </p>
Voices

Are porn and video games responsible for our joblessness epidemic?

<p>Campaigners have expressed disappointment at the reported shelving of the Renters (Reform) Bill ahead of the general election </p>
Letters

This should be the top priority for the next government

<p>Campaigners have expressed disappointment at the reported shelving of the Renters (Reform) Bill ahead of the general election </p>
Letters

This should be the top priority for the next government

<p>Australian tennis ace Nick Kyrgios admitted assaulting an ex-girlfriend, but avoided a criminal conviction</p>
Voices

Why is a man who assaulted his girlfriend presenting Wimbledon?

<p>And then, out of the blue / Of the unpredictable, towelled in the arms of a friend, / Arrives the Moon-in-a-Box I’d bought from her art show</p>
Voices

Why are we so bewitched by the full moon?

<p>The betting is with Keir Starmer just like the polls </p>
Voices

What can the bookies tell us about who might win the general election?

<p>Ebrahim Raisi, 63, died alongside Iran’s foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and two senior local officials on board the helicopter</p>
Voices

What will happen in Iran now Raisi is dead – and who will succeed him?

<p>The Independent disagrees with the Rwanda policy</p>
The Independent View

Rishi Sunak’s empty boasts about Rwanda will be his legacy

<p>Rishi Sunak looked somewhat beleaguered and washed out in the rain at the Downing Street podium – an irresistible metaphor for the serial incompetence his administration has suffered</p>
The Independent View

Rishi Sunak’s biggest opponent this election will be the public

<p>Cabinet secretary Simon Case giving evidence at Covid-19 Inquiry</p>
Voices

Was this the most excruciating day in the Covid Inquiry so far?

<p>When my dog Muggles had a cancer scare, it wasn’t long before it dawned on me that the vet bills were going to be astronomical </p>
Voices

I nearly took out a second mortgage to pay my dog’s cancer treatment

<p>Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives to his Likud party faction meeting at the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, after the ICC motion was made public </p>
Voices

What does Netanyahu’s arrest warrant mean for international law?

<p>Now Sunak has certainty and can plan for his future</p>
Letters

In announcing a general election, Rishi Sunak has had the last laugh

<p>Rather than contest a seat at the UK general election, Nigel Farage says he will help Donald Trump with his latest White House run</p>
Voices

Farage the British bulldog? He’d rather be Trump’s US poodle

Voices

Farage the British bulldog? He’d rather be Trump’s US poodle

Head shot of Paul Clements
Paul Clements
<p>Rather than contest a seat at the UK general election, Nigel Farage says he will help Donald Trump with his latest White House run</p>
<p>Rishi Sunak in Downing Street after giving a statement about inflation </p>
Voices

Is the economy really going ‘gangbusters’, as Rishi Sunak hopes?

<p>The prime minister has announced that the general election will take place on 4 July </p>
Voices

All the ways the election will be like nothing we’ve seen before

<p>Rishi Sunak in his rain-soaked announcement of the election </p>
Voices

What have the Conservatives ever really done for us?

<p>Sunak stood helpless at the podium on what should have been the most electrifying moment of his life looking increasingly soggy and foolish </p>
Voices

For Rishi Sunak, things can only get wetter

<p>Sunak stood helpless at the podium on what should have been the most electrifying moment of his life looking increasingly soggy and foolish </p>
Voices

For Rishi Sunak, things can only get wetter

<p>Labour leader Keir Starmer announced his general election campaign, saying: ‘Together, we can stop the chaos – and start to rebuild Britain’ </p>
Voices

Is Labour ready for a general election – and for power?

<p>We must follow the lead of Norway, Spain and, in particular, Ireland</p>
Letters

It is the UK’s responsibility to recognise the State of Palestine

<p>Out on a high: Rishi Sunak has judged that things aren’t going to get radically better any time soon – and may actually get worse</p>
Voices

Rishi has done the right thing calling an election… but he’s toast

<p>Sunak’s pitch to the electorate will be that the economy is back on the up under the Conservatives and ‘don’t let Labour wreck it’ </p>
Voices

Why has Rishi Sunak called a snap election?

<p>Prime minister Rishi Sunak welcomed the fall in inflation</p>
Voices

Inflation is down – but good news for homeowners will have to wait

<p>‘By being cancelled, “Rein” may end up making a bolder statement about sexuality and freedom of expression than it ever could have had it been performed’</p>
Voices

Why shouldn’t public money be spent on art shows featuring ‘real sex’?

<p>Chair of the Infected Blood Inquiry Brian Langstaff with victims and campaigners outside Central Hall in Westminster, London</p>
Voices

Is the NHS behind the slow response to the infected blood scandal?

<p>Protesters gather in Parliament Square ahead of a pro-Palestine march in central London</p>
The Independent View

Pay-as-you-go protest is not the way forward for freedom of speech

<p>‘By being cancelled, “Rein” may end up making a bolder statement about sexuality and freedom of expression than it ever could have had it been performed’</p>
Voices

Why shouldn’t public money be spent on art shows featuring ‘real sex’?

<p>Chair of the Infected Blood Inquiry Brian Langstaff with victims and campaigners outside Central Hall in Westminster, London</p>
Voices

Is the NHS behind the slow response to the infected blood scandal?

<p>Protesters gather in Parliament Square ahead of a pro-Palestine march in central London</p>
The Independent View

Pay-as-you-go protest is not the way forward for freedom of speech

<p>Recent scandals defy belief, with ordinary, innocent citizens having had their lives totally devastated by neglect, malice and self-serving cover-ups</p>
Letters

The infected blood cover-up has exposed the corruption in our country

<p>This atrocity was far beyond any context, justification or resistance</p>
Letters

We should be united in our condemnation of Hamas and Israel

<p>Arrest warrants could be issued for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defence minister, Yoav Gallant</p>
Voices

Netanyahu has brought these war crime allegations on himself

<p>Scarlett Johansson said she was ‘shocked and angered’ by OpenAI’s decision to use a voice similar to her own, even after she’d turned down the opportunity to work with them </p>
Voices

What ChatGPT has done to Scarlett Johansson should scare us all

<p>Andy Burnham has led the way in calling for corporate manslaughter charges to be brought against Whitehall departments </p>
Voices

Burnham wants the best for infected blood victims – but it won’t work

<p>Rishi Sunak discussing his flagship idea for tackling illegal migration with Austrian chancellor, Karl Nehammer</p>
Voices

Will any European country really adopt Rishi’s Rwanda plan?

<p>Arthur Hughes as the title character in ‘Shardlake’ </p>
Voices

Finally, Disney has delivered the show disabled people need

<p>The Israeli prime minister and his supporters will no doubt be enraged by the actions of the International Criminal Court</p>
The Independent View

Netanyahu must go for any hope of peace between Israel and Palestine

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