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Voices

<p>Women and equalities minister Kemi Badenoch (Stefan Rousseau/PA)</p>
robin moira white

Why should it be up to Kemi Badenoch to decide if I’m a woman or not?

The latest move by the Tory party to end ‘confusion’ over sexual identity only signals one thing: the continued demonisation of trans people like me in the name of ‘culture wars’, writes barrister Robin Moira White

<p>Sir Keir Starmer holds a card detailing his policy priorities at the launch of the Labour Party election campaign battlebus in Uxbridge</p>
The Independent View

The truth of Labour’s plan to cut net migration will come with action

<p>Vox pops might seem like a good way to include diverse voices – but they’re often anything but </p>
professor tim bale

Election vox pops may entertain – but they won’t tell you who’s won...

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

Doctor Who is a lifeline for queer people like me

<p>Few things compete with the feeling of validation you receive when you discover somebody you’re attracted to is also attracted to you</p>
Olivia Petter

Can you really be ‘addicted’ to dating apps?

<p>What could be more harmless than the Hay Festival, held each year in the sheep-dappled Welsh countryside?</p>
Alan Rusbridger

Are those intimidating the Hay Festival doing more harm than good?

<p>It was not Diane Abbott who persuaded the Labour leader to back down but Angela Rayner</p>
John Rentoul

Rayner’s Abbott comments highlight a key problem for Starmer

<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>
John Rentoul

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

<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?

<p>Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer (left) and shadow health secretary Wes Streeting </p>
Ammad Butt

Trust me, I’m a doctor – Labour’s plan to fix the NHS needs a rethink

<p>Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves has said that the local election results did not point to a hung parliament</p>
Letters

The UK needs the type of change that a hung parliament cannot deliver

<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

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More Voices

<p>Sight for sore eyes: a fly-tipping site near Erith in Kent</p>
Voices

Rishi is finally cracking down on fly-tippers – who’s next?

Voices

Rishi is finally cracking down on fly-tippers – who’s next?

Head shot of Will Gore
Will Gore
<p>Sight for sore eyes: a fly-tipping site near Erith in Kent</p>
<p>A balloon believed to have been sent by North Korea to South Korea, carrying various objects including what appeared to be excrement</p>
Voices

Mea culpa: ‘By land, by sea, by dirigible’

<p>Tony Blair went three for three and Neil Kinnock (inset) lost out in 1997, both faced challenges along the way as Starmer will too, no matter how inevitable things may seem </p>
Politics

Jack Straw: Starmer is carrying a ‘victory vase’ over a slippery floor

<p>‘Indefinite war in pursuit of an unidentified notion of total victory will only bog down Israel in Gaza,’ President Biden said </p>
The Independent View

Negotiation is the only way forward to end the war in Gaza

<p>The worst Trump will probably face is house arrest in Mar-a-Lago for two weeks</p>
Letters

Trump’s conviction will only make him more popular

<p>The worst Trump will probably face is house arrest in Mar-a-Lago for two weeks</p>
Letters

Trump’s conviction will only make him more popular

<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

1 June 2024
The Independent View

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

Most commented

General election latest: Keir Starmer ‘infuriated’ by secret Diane Abbott briefing

333 comments

Tommy Robinson marchers lead anti-Muslim chant in London demo

518 comments

Trump reveals Melania’s reaction to hush money trial verdict: Latest updates

183 comments

Piers Morgan ridiculed over reaction to Trump’s guilty verdict

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More Voices

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

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

<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>Wyddfa the owl</p>
Voices

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

<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>Wyddfa the owl</p>
Voices

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

<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

Voices

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

Head shot of John Rentoul
John Rentoul
<p> The Conservatives have learnt the hard way that Rayner is a more formidable opponent than they thought</p>
31 May 2024
The Independent View

A promise not to raise taxes never fools the voting public

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

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

<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

<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

<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’

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

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

<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

<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

Voices

National service would be a hindrance to our depleted Armed Forces

Head shot of Lord West
Lord West
<p>Rishi Sunak on a visit to RAF Lossiemouth in Moray </p>
<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>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>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

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

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

Voices

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

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

Voices

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

Head shot of Sean O'Grady
Sean O'Grady
<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>
<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>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>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>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

<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>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

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