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Voices

<p>The Baby Trump blimp, bright orange and full of hot air, made his debut in London in 2018</p>
sean o'grady

How the second Trump state visit could all go horribly wrong

The prime minister has also sensibly opted for the Trump visit to be held during the parliamentary recess – one might almost think it intentional, writes Sean O’Grady

<p>Farah Naz (centre), her niece Zara Aleena (right), and attendees at the vigil three years after Zara’s murder</p>
farah naz

Keir Starmer told me how he’ll halve violence against women and girls

<p>Andrew Bailey has said the Bank of England could cut the base rate if the jobs market continues to slow down off the back of the rise in NICs for employers (Alastair Grant/PA)</p>
JAMES MOORE

If interest rates fall, could the 3 per cent mortgage make a comeback?

<p>Some victims were sent to prison or financially ruined (PA)</p>
JAMES MOORE

Why is Fujitsu getting government contracts after the Horizon scandal?

<p>‘30p Lee’ has declared that in the land of literary giants like Shakespeare and PG Wodehouse, the UK ‘does not need to import poets’. Luke Wright (above) says hogwash to that</p>
LUKE WRIGHT

Of course poets deserve a place on Britain’s list of ‘skilled workers’

<p>I went to a gong bath and it (almost) changed my life<a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/uk/psychic-retreats-uk-wellness-b2692808.html" rel="follow"></a></p>
Victoria Richards

Just when I thought the wellness industry couldn’t get any weirder...

<p>‘One of the show’s strongest couples, Carina and Paul, I’d previously seen as a perfect model of a new relationship – until this happened’</p>
dear vix

Married at First Sight Australia made me realise something terrible

<p>Horizon victim Seema Misra, who says the only reason she didn’t kill herself in prison was the unborn child she was carrying</p>
seema misra

I wanted to kill myself because of the Post Office scandal

<p>‘One of the show’s strongest couples, Carina and Paul, I’d previously seen as a perfect model of a new relationship – until this happened’</p>
dear vix

Married at First Sight Australia made me realise something terrible

<p>‘My lucky 22 that follows me everywhere,’ she captioned the post, referring to the building behind her, with the number 22 on its door</p>
charlotte cripps

I gave up smoking 40 cigarettes a day in 15 minutes – and this is how

<p>Benjamin Netanyahu at a meeting in Washington with Donald Trump</p>
Alon Pinkas

Why any ceasefire in Gaza will not hold

<p>Angela Rayner has been suspended by the Unite union</p>
The Independent View

Labour must stand firm and resist trade union pressure

<p>Gregg Wallace has been sacked as ‘MasterChef’ presenter following an inquiry into his alleged misconduct by production company Banijay, BBC News has reported</p>
VICTORIA RICHARDS

There’s a reason for Gregg Wallace’s behaviour – and it’s not ‘autism’

<p>Five-year-old Benedict Blythe died from food-induced anaphylaxis while at primary school (Family handout/PA)</p>
HANNAH FEARN

I’m scared my child could die when she starts school in September

<p>New research shows that Generation Z are finally embracing alcohol</p>
Rosamund Hall

The real reason Gen-Zers have stopped being ‘sober curious’

Sean O'Grady

Did Jaguar ‘go woke and go broke’? No, it’s more complicated than that

The silly season discourse pinning Jaguar sales figures on a car that didn’t even exist was enough to make the eyes roll, writes Sean O’Grady – they’re simply not making cars, but there’s life in the old cat yet

<p>French president Emmanuel Macron with prime minister Keir Starmer (Suzanne Plunkett/PA)</p>
Andrew Grice

Now, Starmer the statesman needs to up his game at home

<p>The third heatwave of the summer will bring temperatures of up to 33C (Andrew Matthews/PA)</p>
Victoria Richards

Hands down, this is the worst thing to do in a heatwave

Explore news for you

More Voices

<p>NATO head Mark Rutte jokingly called U.S. President Donald Trump ‘daddy’ during their last meeting in June - a month later they were together in ‘daddy’s’ White House. </p>
Voices

In a deeply weird NATO presser, Daddy Trump says he has a new favorite

Voices

In a deeply weird NATO presser, Daddy Trump says he has a new favorite

Holly Baxter
<p>NATO head Mark Rutte jokingly called U.S. President Donald Trump ‘daddy’ during their last meeting in June - a month later they were together in ‘daddy’s’ White House. </p>
<p>Junior doctors and members of the British Medical Association protest on the picket line outside Cheltenham General Hospital </p>
The Independent View

Striking doctors have badly misjudged the mood of the nation

<p>The Parthenon Sculptures, or Elgin Marbles, pictured at the British Museum </p>
Home News

Who owns the past? Bayeux Tapestry loan reignites Elgin Marbles debate

<p>Has Brexit delivered on its promises? </p>
UK Politics

Readers say UK must fully commit to rejoin EU – including the euro

<p>Alex Chalk served as justice secretary in the previous Conservative government</p>
The Independent View

It’s beyond time to end the scandal of IPP

<p>Alex Chalk served as justice secretary in the previous Conservative government</p>
The Independent View

It’s beyond time to end the scandal of IPP

<p>Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron announced the small boats deal on Thursday (Leon Neal/PA)</p>
Voices

Keir Starmer has achieved the first half of his impossible mission

<p>The Wolseley is known far beyond London</p>
Business

Opening doors: iconic London restaurant aims to be global hotel brand

Most commented

Ukraine war latest: Trump says fighting ‘has got to stop’ and threatens 100% tariffs

1863 comments

Donald Trump crashes Chelsea’s trophy lift after winning the Club World Cup final

119 comments

Labour minister hints at tax hikes for middle class and wealthy

352 comments

Most people in top EU countries want UK to reverse Brexit, poll finds

624 comments
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More Voices

<p>Starmer believes the battle for the next general election must start now – and be between a progressive Labour Party and the right-wing populists of Reform</p>
Voices

How Keir Starmer has changed his strategy to combat Reform UK

The Independent View

Rachel Reeves’s growth mission is struggling to get off the ground

<p>‘Hereditary peers in the House of Lords have somehow defied various attempts at reform’</p>
Voices

Hereditary peers are yet another sign of how broken Britain is

<p>‘There before me was a matt green Aston Martin’</p>
Voices

Amid the Shropshire countryside, I came across unexpected beauty

<p>The UK economy has shrunk for the second month in a row</p>
Voices

The economy has shrunk yet again – but it’s not all doom and gloom...

<p>Starmer and Macron have struck a one in, one out migration deal</p>
UK Politics

‘Labour’s version of Rwanda’: Readers divided over migration deal

<p>‘There before me was a matt green Aston Martin’</p>
Voices

Amid the Shropshire countryside, I came across unexpected beauty

<p>The UK economy has shrunk for the second month in a row</p>
Voices

The economy has shrunk yet again – but it’s not all doom and gloom...

<p>Starmer and Macron have struck a one in, one out migration deal</p>
UK Politics

‘Labour’s version of Rwanda’: Readers divided over migration deal

<p>Readers have been debating the rise of AI</p>
Tech

‘We’re now dealing with thinking robots’: Readers on the rise of AI

Tech

‘We’re now dealing with thinking robots’: Readers on the rise of AI

Independent
<p>Readers have been debating the rise of AI</p>
<p>Resident doctors have voted in favour of strike action which could last for months</p>
Voices

What happened to striking doctors’ pledges to ‘do no harm?’

<p>Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron</p>
The Independent View

Starmer’s migrant deal with Macron is a promising start

<p>Ceremonial Britain, for its part, pulled out all the stops for the state visit of the French president</p>
Voices

Deal or no deal, Macron and Starmer still won’t stop the boats

<p>Junior doctors have staged a series of strikes</p>
Health

‘Those outside the NHS won’t understand’: Doctors defend strike action

<p>Junior doctors have staged a series of strikes</p>
Health

‘Those outside the NHS won’t understand’: Doctors defend strike action

<p>Christian Horner has left Red Bull Racing after 20 years at the helm</p>
Voices

Good riddance to Christian Horner – he should have gone ages ago

<p>Doctors announce five-day strike over pay dispute</p>
Health

‘Who do they think they are?’ Readers clash over NHS doctor strikes

<p>Resident doctor is the new term for junior doctor and refers to more than 50,000 qualified doctors working in GP practices and hospitals</p>
The Independent View

Doctors need to work with the NHS, not against it

<p>A woman poses with bags of Shein merchandise </p>
Voices

Can London really afford to shun Shein’s £50bn float?

<p>The Bayeux Tapestry depicting King Harold struck in the eye by an arrow</p>
Voices

There’s more to the Bayeux Tapestry loan deal than meets the eye…

<p>Margaret Thatcher applauds Norman Tebbit after his speech at the opening of the annual Tory conference at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool in 1985</p>
Voices

Norman Tebbit’s ‘true-blue’ politics have now been embraced by Farage

<p>More than 20,000 people have crossed the Channel in small boats this year, putting 2025 on course to be a record year</p>
The Independent View

A small-boats deal with France would be a game-changer for Starmer

<p>The line judges have been a regular fixture at the tournament for 147 years</p>
Tennis

Poll: After AI blunders, should Wimbledon bring back line judges?

<p>Phil White, a British millionaire poses with a placard reading: “Tax the rich"</p>
UK Politics

Wealth tax: ‘Only counterbalance’ or ‘utterly counter-productive’?

<p>When it comes to policing football matches, the Met’s Mark Rowley is demanding the clubs foot the bill in a ‘polluter pays’ approach</p>
Voices

It’s time football clubs paid the price of policing matches

<p>Sudanese women sell fruits and vegetables in a refugee camp in Adre, Chad</p>
Voices

The UK has to build peace through aid as it prepares for war

Voices

The UK has to build peace through aid as it prepares for war

Alex Ballinger
<p>Sudanese women sell fruits and vegetables in a refugee camp in Adre, Chad</p>
<p>Health Secretary Wes Streeting</p>
Health

‘Lofty ambition, little detail’: Readers react to Labour’s NHS plan

<p>Is it time for airline cabin baggage rules to be standardised across the industry?</p>
News & Advice

Poll of the day: Should airline baggage rules be standardised?

<p>BP’s sponsorship of Tate galleries was ended after protests by climate change activists at Tate Britain</p>
Voices

We banned cigarette ads for public health – fossil fuels must be next

<p>Elon Musk and Donald Trump in the Oval Office</p>
Voices

Elon Musk’s latest Trump spat could end the Maga saga for good

<p>Elon Musk and Donald Trump in the Oval Office</p>
Voices

Elon Musk’s latest Trump spat could end the Maga saga for good

<p>Harry Potter author JK Rowling, with the original cast of her films </p>
Voices

I learned the power of books from my grandad – now I’m passing it on

<p>Former Labour leader Lord Kinnock has suggested that Keir Starmer should now consider imposing a wealth tax</p>
Voices

The bottom line? Britain can’t afford to impose a wealth tax

<p>Education secretary Bridget Phillipson has said that England’s special needs system has not delivered</p>
The Independent View

Before a rethink of special educational needs, lessons must be learnt

<p>Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has refused to rule out scrapping EHCPs</p>
Voices

Why, as a special needs parent, changes to my child’s support scare me

<p>Prime minister Keir Starmer and his deputy Angela Rayner have pledged 300,000 new social and affordable homes</p>
Voices

Building affordable homes would generate growth for Britain

<p>‘For all its eccentricities, the tradition of the Dalai Lama and Tibetan Buddhism is an important example of cultural freedom’</p>
Voices

The Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday puts Tibet back in Xi’s firing line

<p>‘His only workable argument – and it is admittedly a powerful one at the level of simplistic slogans – is: “How could we do worse?”’</p>
Voices

Could Nigel Farage do worse as prime minister? You better believe it

<p>We are a year into the new government, and it is hard to detect that tolerance for drugs in prison is any closer to zero than it was before</p>
The Independent View

Eradicating drugs from prisons is unrealistic – but should be the goal

<p>‘At their best, our universities are not echo chambers or political tools: they are places where ideas are tested, debated, challenged and refined’</p>
Voices

The man who wants to lead Cambridge and the day he feared for his life

<p>If Rachel Reeves does have to break manifesto promises, she needs to persuade people that the alternatives are worse</p>
The Independent View

Rachel Reeves should be as open as possible about tax rises

<p></p>
Voices

The big risk to Trump from his big beautiful bill won’t come from Musk

Voices

The big risk to Trump from his big beautiful bill won’t come from Musk

Jon Sopel
<p></p>
<p>Lord Tony Woodley said the IPP jail term is 'not right and not fair'</p>
Voices

IPP sentencing is still bring shame upon our legal system

<p>Lynx were driven to extinction in the UK hundreds of years ago</p>
Voices

Releasing lynx into the wild would be disastrous for Britain’s farmers

<p>‘I had the misfortune of stumbling across Lynx’s ad for its “lower body spray” for teenage boys’</p>
Voices

A ‘lower body spray’ for boys? What fresh hell is this?

<p>Vehicles drive past a banner showing portraits of the Iranian armed forces commanders and nuclear scientists who were killed in the Israeli strike</p>
Voices

The destruction of Iran’s nuclear programmes means a better future

<p>Vehicles drive past a banner showing portraits of the Iranian armed forces commanders and nuclear scientists who were killed in the Israeli strike</p>
Voices

The destruction of Iran’s nuclear programmes means a better future

<p></p>
Business Comment

The markets don’t do sympathy – but they want Reeves to stay (for now)

<p>Keir Starmer being interviewed by Nick Robinson</p>
The Independent View

It’s time to show us things are going to get better, prime minister

<p>‘Starmer has had the worst first year of any prime minister since 1945’</p>
Voices

One year on, is Starmer still the best man Labour has for the job?

<p>The amount of money raised by new companies in London has slumped</p>
Voices

Is London’s stock market in crisis?

<p>Trump Immigration</p>
Voices

Right now, Trump can do no wrong – except in Washington DC

<p>None of the achievements of the 1945 Labour government would have been possible without the leadership of Clement Attlee</p>
Voices

After Labour’s first year, Starmer could learn from ‘one-term Attlee’

<p>Jeremy Corbyn has yet to confirm the news, but it doesn’t look good for the PM (Jonathan Brady/PA)</p>
Voices

Will Corbyn’s new party prove to be Starmer’s mission impossible?

<p>The injustice of the IPP system has been widely recognised</p>
Voices

It is time to release prisoners trapped by inhuman endless jail terms

<p>‘The socials are whittling you away as you watch TikTok and Instagram’</p>
Voices

Youth is wasted on the young – and recent reports prove it

<p>‘I was going to say, “We’re all human,” but, giving as good as Badenoch does, there are times one wonders if she is’</p>
Voices

Badenoch’s lack of empathy over Reeves will come back to haunt her

<p>Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves (second left), prime minister Sir Keir Starmer (right) and health secretary Wes Streeting (second right) at the launch of the government’s 10-year health plan during a visit to the Sir Ludwig Guttman Health & Wellbeing Centre in east London</p>
The Independent View

The success of this government now rests in Wes Streeting’s hands

The Independent View

The success of this government now rests in Wes Streeting’s hands

Editorial
<p>Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves (second left), prime minister Sir Keir Starmer (right) and health secretary Wes Streeting (second right) at the launch of the government’s 10-year health plan during a visit to the Sir Ludwig Guttman Health & Wellbeing Centre in east London</p>
<p>Rachel Reeves with Keir Starmer at the launch of the NHS 10-year plan</p>
Voices

The markets have spoken – they, not the PM, have saved Rachel Reeves

<p>‘Starmer, Reeves and Wes Streeting launched the 10-year NHS plan today to sell the message that the pain of tax rises will be worth it if the health service can be made to work again. A functioning NHS is Labour’s equivalent of 1982’s economic recovery’</p>
Voices

Are you ready for the ‘politics of pain’ about to hit us?

<p>Tim Davie, director general of the BBC, has been criticised this week after its coverage of the performance of Bob Vylan</p>
Voices

There’s a conflict of interest at the heart of the BBC over Gaza

<p>Major new NHS plan vows to end ‘8am scramble’ for GP appointment</p>
Health

Have your say: Can Labour’s 10-year plan finally fix the NHS?

<p>Major new NHS plan vows to end ‘8am scramble’ for GP appointment</p>
Health

Have your say: Can Labour’s 10-year plan finally fix the NHS?

<p>Rachel Reeves appeared openly upset at PMQs</p>
Voices

Watching Rachel Reeves crying in the Commons was quietly devastating

<p>Rachel Reeves (right) appears to wipe away tears as Keir Starmer responds at the despatch box during PMQs </p>
Voices

It’s hard to see how Rachel Reeves can survive

<p>In the most extreme cases, hoarding can be a presentation of a distinct psychological disorder and has been linked to OCD</p>
Voices

My messy bedroom is out of control. Am I a hoarder?

<p>3 July 2025</p>
The Independent View

Welfare reform has been postponed, but it isn’t going away

<p>‘Instead of analysing why the system run by the Department for Work and Pensions is putting so many people on PIP, they simply decreed that less should be spent on it’</p>
Voices

Only Angela Rayner has emerged with her reputation intact

<p>Casandra Ventura spent years in a romantic relationship with Sean "Diddy" Combs — but her bravery in holding him accountable in a courtroom shows how hard it is for women to get justice</p>
Voices

The Diddy trial verdict was difficult to watch

<p>(L-R) Billy Strachan, Simon Weston, Dorothy Lawrence, Sir Nicholas Winton and Douglas Bader: ‘It’s people who use banknotes. The people I’ve suggested should be celebrated’</p>
Voices

The Bank of England wants new banknotes: let’s start with war heroes

<p>‘Knockout blows are about as common as someone scoring in the Eton Wall Game – about one per decade. Badenoch didn’t just score, she smashed the ball through the back of the net’</p>
Voices

Has Badenoch shown the killer instinct to save her as Tory leader?

<p>Casandra Ventura spent years in a romantic relationship with Sean "Diddy" Combs — but her bravery in holding him accountable in a courtroom shows how hard it is for women to get justice</p>
Voices

The Diddy trial verdict was difficult to watch

<p>(L-R) Billy Strachan, Simon Weston, Dorothy Lawrence, Sir Nicholas Winton and Douglas Bader: ‘It’s people who use banknotes. The people I’ve suggested should be celebrated’</p>
Voices

The Bank of England wants new banknotes: let’s start with war heroes

<p>‘Knockout blows are about as common as someone scoring in the Eton Wall Game – about one per decade. Badenoch didn’t just score, she smashed the ball through the back of the net’</p>
Voices

Has Badenoch shown the killer instinct to save her as Tory leader?

<p>Donald Trump visits ‘Alligator Alcatraz’, a new secure facility to house 5,000 migrants in Florida</p>
Voices

Alligator Alcatraz will get the thumbs up from Trump’s Maga supporters

<p>Prime minister Keir Starmer</p>
Voices

Starmer has been given two black eyes – here’s how he can fight back

<p>Wildlife experts have said lynx could be the answer to managing the UK’s deer population</p>
Home News

Poll: Should lynx be reintroduced to the British countryside?

<p>Keir Starmer has defended his government’s record as he faces a major revolt on welfare reforms</p>
The Independent View

Keir Starmer must now take the road to political recovery

<p>‘Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves’ absence rather underlined the loneliness of Liz Kendall’s task’</p>
Voices

There is one winner in the welfare debate… and it isn’t Liz Kendall

<p>How long can a party function in permanent opposition to itself?</p>
Voices

MPs have weakened Starmer – but the greatest damage is to themselves

<p>Karishma Patel, former BBC newsreader</p>
Voices

I quit the BBC over Gaza – Glastonbury proves I was right to do it

<p>Welfare revolt splits readers over Starmer's leadership</p>
UK Politics

‘Strong leader’ or ‘out of touch’? Welfare revolt splits readers

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