Cllr Nic Wells ن 🔰🇪🇺🔶

Did baby boomers eat all the pies? John Lanchester on the truth about the generation gap It’s a grim time to be in your 20s, no doubt, but don’t blame it all on older people: being chopped up into ever smaller rivalries only serves the market

www.theguardian.com/inequality/2...

Proportional representation is true rule by the people | Letters Letters: Readers respond to Gaby Hinsliff’s defence of first past the post, and Polly Toynbee’s call for electoral reform

"Hinsliff warns PR risks making disproportionately powerful kingmakers of tiny fringe parties … or making junior partners renege on their promises. Yet Britain has experienced both: the Liberal Democrats’ broken promises in 2010 and the kingmaker DUP MPs in 2017."
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Starmer vows to avoid ‘mistakes of Iraq’ that have haunted Labour for decades Prime minister does not believe US has a plan beyond ‘shock and awe’ stage, as some MPs dread what lies ahead

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Tale of two nations: Andrew’s UK arrest highlights US passivity on Epstein files In Britain, the establishment has been shaken to the core by the files. In the US, however, ‘the Epstein class’ has faced little legal or political reckoning

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Even the Davos elites have woken up, but they need more than just speeches to survive the end of the old order | Nesrine Malik Mark Carney and other custodians of the order are right to contemplate its death, but are they really willing to unpick the the entire system?, says Guardian columnist Nesrine Malik

Helpful description of the rules based order that is in danger
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

If Reform ever wins power in Westminster, it will be because of Labour’s cowardice | George Monbiot Starmer could improve our unfair electoral system to stop the hard right, but he won’t. All the party has left are threats about ‘splitting the vote’, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot

Monbiot on the curse of FPTP
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

We have entered a new age of political rhetoric – and that’s bad news for Keir Starmer | Andy Beckett Pre-2008, voters with prosperous and improving lives didn’t mind being excluded from the conversation. Those days are over, writes Guardian columnist Andy Beckett

“Walking stiffly towards the camera, making too many clenched- rather than open-hand gestures, he concluded with a repetitive sentence that suggested he didn’t quite trust himself to be clear, or clearly understood"
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Are UK buy-to-let landlords dying out – and should we care? Higher taxes and tougher regulations have led to the disappearance of tens of thousands of rental properties

“In percentage terms, the proportion of first-time buyers has pretty much doubled from about 12% to 15% of all homes a decade ago to 33% today. So I think having a little bit less competition from investors has helped some first-time buyers.”
www.theguardian.com/money/2026/j...

Male bonds develop one way, female friendships another. Should we stop trying to make men more like women? | Gaby Hinsliff The strong and silent masculine image is often derided, but why? Perhaps companionship via trains, golf or a quiet drink is enough, says Guardian columnist Gaby Hinsliff

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Key figures in creation of Milton Keynes criticise England’s new towns plan Exclusive: Planners behind postwar new towns hit out at government over lack of ambition and commitment to social housing

www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Trump and Putin share a craving for status. That’s why they both want to destroy Europe | Henry Farrell and Sergey Radchenko Liberal democracies view Putin’s Russia as a bully – and Trump’s US as an angry drunk with a bazooka. The response is pure venom, say Henry Farrell and Sergey Radchenko of Johns Hopkins

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Faith and Reform: is the religious right on the rise in UK politics? Powerful Christian figures are emerging in Britain but there are important differences from the US, where evangelicals have fuelled Trump

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Britain is stuck with a failed Brexit that neither citizens nor leaders want. Here are three ways to fix that | Stella Creasy While those who defend the status quo and those who say ‘simply rejoin’ the EU are both wrong, there is a new mood and a clear opportunity, says Stella Creasy MP, chair of the Labour Movement for Euro...

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Gen Z know the social contract is broken. It’ll take more than youth clubs and StarmerTok to reach them | Gaby Hinsliff Labour’s £500m national youth strategy has some positives, but real change must start by tackling the root causes of unhappiness, says Guardian columnist Gaby Hinsliff

"A report this week from rightwing thinktank the Centre for Social Justice, authored by former Tory MP Miriam Cates, argued for scrapping the pension lock that has been boosting pensioner incomes ever since her party introduced it back in 2011 "
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

What will be the cost of Keir Starmer’s new medicines deal with Donald Trump? British lives | Aditya Chakrabortty More than £3bn that could have been used for UK patients will go to big pharma for its branded products, says Guardian columnist Aditya Chakrabortty

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Trump appears not to know the difference between making a deal and making peace US president’s efforts under harsh spotlight as Rwanda-DRC deal and Thailand-Cambodia mediations waver

" there is a fundamental difference between dealmaking and peacemaking. "
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Net migration is plummeting. Why can’t Labour say so? | Heather Stewart An honest debate is needed on this polarising topic as sectors such as social care struggle with recruitment

www.theguardian.com/business/202...

My guide to populist-proofing your democracy – before it’s too late | Timothy Garton Ash From public service broadcasting to an independent judiciary, these are the things that we must fight to keep, says Guardian columnist Timothy Garton Ash

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Rachel Reeves has many problems. She’s realising that her Brexit bind may be the biggest of all | Rafael Behr Brutal economic realities are prompting a shift in Labour’s tone on Europe. But will it dare tell the whole truth about Britain’s predicament, asks Guardian columnist Rafael Behr

"(Brexit) satisfied every demand of the radical leavers, making its failure a refutation of the whole edifice of Eurosceptic argument that had been assembled over decades."
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Rachel Reeves is studiously ignoring the cause of Britain’s woes: the Brexit-shaped hole in its roof | Jonathan Freedland The autumn budget will mop up some damage, but the true source of the economic crisis is clear. The government should now fix it – tragically, it won’t, says Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

People are right to ask ‘what is the point of Labour?’ when it can’t agree on anything | Martin Kettle Who knows where this government’s credibility will be after next week’s exceptionally difficult budget, says Guardian columnist Martin Kettle

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The Guardian view on Labour’s asylum plans: ministers cannot out-Farage the far right and should stop trying | Editorial Editorial: Shabana Mahmood’s asylum overhaul burdens an overstretched system and hands political advantage to her opponents

"40% of hotel residents come from five countries – Sudan, Eritrea, Iran, Afghanistan and Syria – from where between 60% and 98% are granted asylum. A one-off scheme to give permission to stay for a limited period, … , would empty hotels rapidly. "
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Starmer’s backers never meant him to be prime minister – his leadership was doomed from the start | Neal Lawson His alliance with the party’s anti-Corbyn faction was a shotgun marriage that totally lacked vision. Now Labour is paying the price, says Neal Lawson of the cross-party campaign organisation Compass

"the Tory meltdown and the split vote on the right with Reform meant victory was already in the bag. They didn’t need to make the “cast iron pledges” on tax that are now coming back to haunt them."
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Europeans recognize Zohran Mamdani’s supposedly radical policies as ‘normal’ Critics of New York City’s mayor-elect have said his pledges of free bus service and universal childcare are unrealistic, but in Europe it’s a given

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

My verdict on the 'woke' review of England's school curriculum? It isn't radical enough | Simon Jenkins When I heard it was dumbing down education, my heart sank. In fact, it’s outspoken about the chaos of Michael Gove’s reforms and the changes needed, says Guardian columnist Simon Jenkins

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Opinion | Are We Losing Our Democracy? Donald Trump has wielded power as no previous president has.

Are We Losing Our Democracy? www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Dutch voters have been seduced by positivity – liberals elsewhere, take note | Simon van Teutem By selling hope alongside progressive patriotism, the centrist D66 party widened its appeal and beat the far right, says Dutch journalist Simon van Teutem

Libdems please note!
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Benefits of a four-day week are ever clearer, despite Steve Reed’s stance Housing secretary’s criticism of trial in South Cambridgeshire council ignores its many positives

“Criticism appears to be based on the assumption that working more hours automatically achieves better results, a premise not supported by the growing body of scientific evidence.”
www.theguardian.com/business/202...

Dear Donald Trump, here’s how you can win that Nobel peace prize | Mehdi Hasan Make Israel release Marwan Barghouti, the ‘Palestinian Mandela’. The future of peace in the region depends on it

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The crimewave sweeping Britain? Illegal houses in multiple occupation | Aditya Chakrabortty With private-sector villainy and public-sector complicity, what makes this HMO scandal so characteristic of modern Britain is how far the guilt spreads, says Guardian columnist Aditya Chakrabortty

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...