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Voices

<p>Keir Starmer’s allies have rounded on health secretary Wes Streeting, accusing him of disloyalty</p>
John Rentoul

Starmer is undermined by his allies saying Streeting is disloyal

The defection of Robert Jenrick from the Conservatives to Reform has triggered another outbreak of Labour infighting, with unnamed cabinet ministers suggesting the PM should copy Kemi Badenoch and sack the health secretary. But, says John Rentoul, these are counterproductive

<p>Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has countered Reform’s argument that Britain is ‘broken’</p>
The Independent View

Good for Kemi Badenoch: no, Britain is not broken

<p>Men are racing to embrace AI, while women are more cautious</p>
Olivia Petter

The men I know love AI and the women don’t – and I understand why

<p>Protesters demonstrate against the proposed new Chinese ‘super-embassy’ (AP Photo/Joanna Chan, File)</p>
Rahima Mahmut

I had to flee China – don’t let them build a ‘super-embassy’ here

<p>Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams in Sky Atlantic’s gay hockey romance, Heated Rivalry</p>
Gary Nunn

As in ‘Heated Rivalry’, I didn’t come out – I was found out

<p>Esme Gordon Craig: ‘I found his profile, messaged him asking for career advice, we went for a coffee – and sparks flew...’</p>
Esme Gordon Craig

I’ve deleted the dating apps – now, I’m looking for love on LinkedIn

<p>A woman fixes her makeshift tent in Zawaida, central Gaza</p>
Nour Abo Aisha

A hundred days of Gaza ceasefire? For us, the war continues

<p>Nigel Farage described Reform mayoral candidate Chris Parry’s comments about David Lammy as ‘over the top’</p>
Calvin Bailey MP

Farage and Reform cannot claim respectability while excusing racism

<p>A protester holds a poster with an image of detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi during demonstrations against the military coup in Yangon on 13 March 2021</p>
Benedict Rogers

Aung San Suu Kyi has spent 20 years imprisoned – will she see freedom?

<p>Hockney is one of art’s true campaigners and intellectuals. And there is no doubting that creative minds can make their causes inspire millions</p>
David Lister

David Hockney’s Bayeux outburst seals his revolutionary status

<p>Robert Jenrick denied personal ambition played a role in his decision to join Reform UK after being sacked from the Conservative shadow cabinet</p>
David Aaronovitch

The ambitions of Robert Jenrick and Nigel Farage spell trouble ahead

<p>‘Despite the UK tax burden being at close to record highs, outcomes keep getting worse – we are spending more and getting less’</p>
Ryan Wain

One thing could improve all public services… and it’s not more money

<p>Aung San Suu Kyi herself has not escaped accusations and blame for the fate of the massacre of the Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine state, many fleeing to neighbouring Bangladesh for their lives and giving first-hand accounts of the mass killings</p>
The Independent View

Aung San Suu Kyi has spent 20 years imprisoned – she must be freed

<p>Donald Trump told Iranians ‘help is on the way’ – so where is it?</p>
Mary Dejevsky

America’s new Iran policy? Keep the ayatollahs guessing

<p>‘You can give me the cutthroat Rachel, or cheeky chappy Stephen any day over a Faithful’</p>
Charlotte Cripps

I’m raising my kids to be little Traitors – lying is a vital skill!

<p>How do I respond to my friend who was rude about my life choices?</p>
Dear Vix

My friend criticised my career – and I’m furious

The Independent’s agony aunt Victoria Richards is here to help. Email dearvix@independent.co.uk for advice on love, work, family and relationships

<p>Carrie Bradshaw in designer shoe heaven in 'Sex and the City' </p>
Glenda Cooper

And just like that, did Carrie Bradshaw kill off Saks?

<p>‘Backup mobile batteries failed to find invisible networks while the broadband was elsewhere in a place beyond helplines’</p>
Frieda Hughes

My outdated landline saved me from a power cut

Explore news for you

More Voices

<p>Prime Minister Keir Starmer can no longer sit on the fence following Trump’s threats of tariffs over Greenland takeover</p>
The Independent View

Starmer must choose between Trump and Europe after Greenland tariffs

The Independent View

Starmer must choose between Trump and Europe after Greenland tariffs

Editorial
<p>Prime Minister Keir Starmer can no longer sit on the fence following Trump’s threats of tariffs over Greenland takeover</p>
<p>In academic circles in the US, there is an active debate going on about whether the word ‘fascist’ should now be applied to Donald Trump</p>
Voices

Trump is an authoritarian who believes in his divine right to rule

<p>Why readers say electric won’t replace fuel any time soon</p>
Electric Vehicles

Why readers say electric won’t replace fuel any time soon

<p>One partnership was sternly criticised in the fallout from the Post Office Horizon scandal</p>
Voices

Top law firms are doing very nicely by behaving badly

<p>Something of the night?: Robert Jenrick may suffer the same ignominious fate as another aspiring right-wing prime minister, Michael Howard</p>
Voices

Robert Jenrick has a fatal ‘something of the night’ image problem

<p>Something of the night?: Robert Jenrick may suffer the same ignominious fate as another aspiring right-wing prime minister, Michael Howard</p>
Voices

Robert Jenrick has a fatal ‘something of the night’ image problem

<p>A standard British adult passport costs £94.50, but ordering one overseas may cost more</p>
News & Advice

‘Money-spinner:’ Readers slam new UK passport rules for dual citizens

<p>Past defectors have spoken about the loneliness of losing a network of friends and the difficulty of gaining acceptance in their new party</p>
Voices

Robert Jenrick’s great betrayal: ‘Treachery with a scowl on its face’

Most commented

Trump-Greenland live: EU ‘prepares €93bn tariffs’ after US president’s threats

1166 comments

Reform UK’s London mayoral candidate condemned over ‘dangerous’ burqa comments

368 comments

Trump ‘to ask countries in Gaza Board of Peace to pay $1bn to keep membership’

251 comments

Ukraine-Russia war live: Drone strikes cut power to 200,000 homes in occupied region

599 comments
Join the Conversation

More Voices

<p>Robert Jenrick was depicted as a Traitors character by the Liberal Democrats</p>
Voices

Party ‘Faithfuls’? Kemi’s ‘TraiTories’ must face a tricky round table

<p>Jenrick’s star has been falling and Badenoch’s rising for some months</p>
The Independent View

Badenoch and Starmer are the winners in Robert Jenrick’s Tory betrayal

<p>Green shoots?: ‘There may well be a reason for Britain’s beleaguered chancellor to smile, or perhaps to breathe a sigh of relief’</p>
Voices

Whisper it, but we might have reasons to be cheerful about the economy

<p>Labour’s membership has shrunk by almost 200,000 since its peak in 2019</p>
Voices

Labour forgets the first rule of politics: let the people have a say

<p>Hockney said movement of the tapestry could cause ‘irreversible damage’</p>
Home News

Why readers say the Bayeux Tapestry should stay in France

<p>Upgrades to the Northern Powerhouse Rail network won’t be completed until the 2040s (Danny Lawson/PA)</p>
Voices

£45bn for Northern Powerhouse Rail? There’s a better way to spend it

<p>Labour’s membership has shrunk by almost 200,000 since its peak in 2019</p>
Voices

Labour forgets the first rule of politics: let the people have a say

<p>Hockney said movement of the tapestry could cause ‘irreversible damage’</p>
Home News

Why readers say the Bayeux Tapestry should stay in France

<p>Upgrades to the Northern Powerhouse Rail network won’t be completed until the 2040s (Danny Lawson/PA)</p>
Voices

£45bn for Northern Powerhouse Rail? There’s a better way to spend it

<p>‘The Starmer administration has changed its mind on everything from trans rights to child benefits to the fiscal rules. Some of the reversals have been disastrous’</p>
The Independent View

Never mind the barnacles, HMS Labour is lost at sea

The Independent View

Never mind the barnacles, HMS Labour is lost at sea

Editorial
<p>‘The Starmer administration has changed its mind on everything from trans rights to child benefits to the fiscal rules. Some of the reversals have been disastrous’</p>
<p>‘Over a million Rohingya languish in refugee camps in Bangladesh, robbed of their dignity as international aid dwindles, many without hope, waiting to die’</p>
Voices

The Myanmar trial is a test case for international justice credibility

<p>YouTube’s Hot Wings and BBC One’s Happy Valley: ‘YouTube can play far more roles than TV ever did’</p>
Voices

YouTube feels like TV should – no wonder people choose it over the BBC

<p>The PM is undermining his credibility within the group he needs the most: the parliamentary Labour Party</p>
Voices

Do Starmer’s U-turns really matter if he ends up in the right place?

<p>Ava Vidal on Mock the Week</p>
Voices

Appearing on Mock the Week was a nightmare I won’t repeat

<p>Ava Vidal on Mock the Week</p>
Voices

Appearing on Mock the Week was a nightmare I won’t repeat

<p>Protesters in Iran are risking everything for freedom</p>
Voices

Stop calling Iranian protesters ‘foreign‑backed’ – they’re not puppets

<p>‘Apple is planning to call upon Google’s Gemini models for the next generation of Siri and Apple Foundation Models, despite the gazillions it has been pouring into AI itself’</p>
Voices

Elon Musk is right about Apple and Google deal – that should worry us

<p>‘Trump is of an age when he can well remember what happened to President Jimmy Carter when a daring rescue raid to release Americans held hostage in the US embassy in Tehran failed so humiliatingly back in 1980’</p>
Voices

Trump has stumbled on a proper target for his ugly tariff war

<p>‘Such has been the ferocity of the violence ordered by the supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, that some people may be too frightened to take to the streets, with the high risk of immediate death attached’</p>
The Independent View

The eyes of the world are on Iran – and Donald Trump

<p>‘Musk is likely betting that a UK ban on X would be politically explosive and diplomatically fraught with the US, making it hard for either the UK government or Ofcom to stand up firmly to him’</p>
Voices

The knight vs the edgelord – can Keir Starmer stand up to Elon Musk?

<p>People protest outside the proposed site of the new Chinese embassy in London</p>
Voices

Don’t say we weren’t warned about China’s ‘super-embassy’ plans

<p>Nigel Farage said he would simply “break” any such deal</p>
Brexit

Why readers say EU is right to futureproof any Brexit reset deal

<p>Home secretary Shabana Mahmood</p>
Voices

Gimmicks get in the way of Shabana Mahmood’s migrant arrest record

<p>The anonymity of people using Grok and X to make and publish such images is to be removed</p>
The Independent View

Elon Musk’s inhuman AI is stripping women of their most basic rights

<p>Hamptons estimated that in 2025, almost 15 per cent of sellers in London sold their home for less than they had paid</p>
Voices

Negative equity is back – is this the reason you can’t sell up?

<p>An autistic Barbie doll has been created</p>
Voices

Sorry, trolls, Mattel’s autistic Barbie is its best doll yet

Voices

Sorry, trolls, Mattel’s autistic Barbie is its best doll yet

Victoria Richards
<p>An autistic Barbie doll has been created</p>
<p>Iran’s UN ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani, listens at an emergency meeting in the United Nations Security Council chamber</p>
Voices

If Iran falls, the United Nations will be first to feel the shockwaves

<p>US president Donald Trump has turned his sights on Jerome Powell, who was his nominee to become chair of the US Federal Reserve</p>
Voices

Why Trump is gunning for the Fed’s Jerome Powell

<p>US president Donald Trump has is discussing options for acquiring Greenland</p>
Voices

What if Trump’s not bluffing about invading Greenland?

<p>Rubina Aminian, the 23-year-old fashion student, was shot dead in Tehran by Iran’s security forces</p>
Voices

When Tehran falls, it will be due to brave women like Rubina Aminian

<p>Rubina Aminian, the 23-year-old fashion student, was shot dead in Tehran by Iran’s security forces</p>
Voices

When Tehran falls, it will be due to brave women like Rubina Aminian

<p>For many long-term partnerships, the earliest signs of trouble are everyday moments of emotional withdrawal that go unnoticed</p>
Love & Sex

‘Unhappy do us part’: Readers reflect on marriages that didn’t last

<p>Iranians gather while blocking a street during a protest in Tehran, Iran</p>
The Independent View

Trump’s military threats risk sabotaging Iran’s moment of change

<p>US President Donald Trump vowed to end America’s wars</p>
Voices

Trump promised to end wars, yet the US acts like a rogue superpower

<p>David Carrick, who received 37 life sentences, was able to join the Met Police despite a history of allegations</p>
Voices

Message to the Met: predators still serve on your force, lying low

<p>‘Nit Blitz’: Laura (Emily Lloyd-Sani) helping to stop the spread of nits as it sweeps the school in BBC’s ‘Motherland’ in 2021</p>
Voices

Am I being scammed by Big Nits?

<p>How do we teach critical thinking to young children who dismiss history as fake?</p>
Voices

What ‘AI slop’ is really doing to distrusting Gen Alpha kids

<p>Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei</p>
Voices

This Iranian uprising could be as pivotal as the French Revolution

<p>Wayne Williams, Leroy Douglas, Abdullahi Suleman, Shaun Anton Lloyd and Joshua McRae are just some of those given IPP sentences</p>
The Independent View

Life in prison for stealing a phone? End this outrage, prime minister

<p>The prime minister’s plan to ease the ‘cost of living’ is a familiar policy </p>
Voices

Keir Starmer’s plan for 2026 looks familiar – and risky

<p>A poster mourning Renee Nicole Good is pasted to a light pole near the scene of her shooting in Minneapolis, Minnesota</p>
Voices

Poets are dreamers and idealists: It’s what makes them so dangerous

<p>A collage of prisoners jailed using IPP</p>
Voices

Indefinite jail terms are indefensible – why are thousands trapped?

Voices

Indefinite jail terms are indefensible – why are thousands trapped?

Lord Thomas
<p>A collage of prisoners jailed using IPP</p>
<p>Women are leaving the social media platform X due to deepfake sexualisation of their pictures</p>
Voices

If women quit X over Grok deepfakes, predators win – so I’m staying

<p>Donald Trump demonstrated last weekend, in the new world order, that ‘international law is for chumps’</p>
Voices

Trump has ushered in a new era of chaos and mindless militarism

<p>Vladimir Putin</p>
Voices

Russia’s shadow war with us is just starting – be ready for trouble

<p>Iranian forces use teargas to disperse anti-government protesters in the Tehran bazaar</p>
The Independent View

Regime change in Iran would be welcome

<p>Iranian forces use teargas to disperse anti-government protesters in the Tehran bazaar</p>
The Independent View

Regime change in Iran would be welcome

<p>Ed Davey, Liberal Democrat leader and our preferred coalition PM (PA)</p>
Voices

The surprise winner of the ‘least unpopular’ PM prize? Ed Davey!

<p>Many of us will have done our best to erase the memory of her ill-fated 49 days in No 10</p>
Voices

The Liz Truss Show is deeply odd – but prompts this serious question

<p>The City of London prefers greater flexibility over closer ties with the EU</p>
Voices

The City’s message to Starmer: we move faster without the EU

<p>US president Donald Trump said the only constraint to his powers is ‘my own morality, my own mind […] I don’t need international law’</p>
Voices

If the only thing stopping him is his own mind, how far will Trump go?

<p>A domestic owl tests the idea of tundra and returns to the warmth of the kitchen </p>
Voices

The snowy owl who chose the Rayburn

<p>Volodymyr Zelensky, Emmanuel Macron and Sir Keir Starmer pictured at the summit </p>
Home News

Have your say: How ready is the UK to send troops to Ukraine?

<p>Sudanese families displaced from El-Fasher reach out as aid workers distribute food supplies</p>
Voices

The world cannot look away from the horror unfolding in Sudan

<p>Voters must wonder what happened to judicious policymaking that Labour once promised</p>
The Independent View

Rachel Reeves’s pub reprieve is nothing for Labour to cheer about

<p>America the undutiful: ‘Donald Trump’s mass withdrawal from a broad swathe of global diplomacy might be seen as the international counterpart to the Department of Government Efficiency’</p>
Voices

America rarely feels it should abide by international rules

<p>Elon Musk is under fire after his AI tool Grok was used to ‘digital undress’ photographs of women</p>
Voices

Grok digitally undressed me on X – it’s time Elon Musk was accountable

<p>Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE officer in Minneapolis</p>
Voices

ICE killing takes America a step closer to George Orwell’s nightmare

Voices

ICE killing takes America a step closer to George Orwell’s nightmare

Sean O'Grady
<p>Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE officer in Minneapolis</p>
<p>A housing development in Oxfordshire - we need more of these </p>
Voices

Labour’s going to build 1.5 million homes? In their dreams…

<p>Nigel Farage with Reform’s candidate for the 2028 London mayoral race, Laila Cunningham</p>
Voices

Sadiq Khan – and Labour – must see that Reform is no longer a bad joke

<p>Teetotal? Independent readers have been debating plans to lower the alcohol limit for driving</p>
Motoring News

‘Road safety is more than drink-driving’: Readers debate lower limit

<p>Alfonso Ribeiro, Will Smith and Daphne Reid in ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel Air' played a dysfunctional family</p>
Voices

A friend has dropped me because of an argument between our kids

<p>Alfonso Ribeiro, Will Smith and Daphne Reid in ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel Air' played a dysfunctional family</p>
Voices

A friend has dropped me because of an argument between our kids

The Independent View

Megaphone diplomacy with Trump only makes things worse for Greenland

<p>Young people not in employment, education or training are paying the price for the national wage increase</p>
Voices

I’ve always backed the minimum wage – but not anymore

<p>Keir pressure: ‘Yvette Cooper and Rachel Reeves, on either side of the prime minister, looked as if they were wondering whether to resign’</p>
Voices

Badenoch had Starmer on the ropes – so why no knock-out blow?

<p>We are still a long way from ‘reversing Brexit’, insists Keir Starmer</p>
Brexit

‘Benefits for everybody but us’: Readers on UK’s post-Brexit struggle

<p>According to research, when drinks units are made slightly smaller, people end up consuming less (Yui Mok/PA)</p>
Voices

If a pint puts drivers over the limit, it’s time for smaller measures

<p>Polls suggest Kemi Badenoch’s Tories – not Starmer’s Labour – are now best placed to dent Reform </p>
Voices

Are the Conservatives now the official opposition to Farage’s Reform?

<p>Iranian authorities have used tear gas to quell the anti-regime protests that continue to grip the entire country</p>
Voices

I had to flee Iran – now my country is on the brink of freedom

<p>Jonathan Carley, 65, has been fined £500 after admitting to dressing as a navy admiral without permission</p>
Voices

I’m troubled by the Fake Admiral’s excuses for dressing as a war hero

<p>Polls suggest Kemi Badenoch’s Tories – not Starmer’s Labour – are now best placed to dent Reform </p>
Voices

Are the Conservatives now the official opposition to Farage’s Reform?

<p>Iranian authorities have used tear gas to quell the anti-regime protests that continue to grip the entire country</p>
Voices

I had to flee Iran – now my country is on the brink of freedom

<p>Jonathan Carley, 65, has been fined £500 after admitting to dressing as a navy admiral without permission</p>
Voices

I’m troubled by the Fake Admiral’s excuses for dressing as a war hero

<p>French president Emmanuel Macron and prime minister Keir Starmer at the so-called ‘coalition of the willing’ summit</p>
The Independent View

A divided coalition of the willing is no use to anyone

<p>Health secretary Wes Streeting has hailed the rollout of new NHS online hospitals as ‘everyone wins’</p>
Voices

NHS online hospitals are a good idea – but they can’t save Starmer

<p>The UK’s FTSE 100 has risen above 10,000 points (John Stillwell/PA)</p>
Voices

Does the FTSE 100 breaking the 10,000 barrier mean a prosperous 2026?

<p>The American-born Pope Leo XIV has been a vocal critic of his country’s president, Donald Trump</p>
Voices

The only person who can stop Donald Trump now is Pope Leo

<p>Readers broadly agreed that weight loss is not complicated in theory</p>
Fitness and wellbeing

‘Ban empty calories’: Readers on the UK’s weight loss problem

<p>China’s president Xi Jinping and Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro arriving at the Great Hall of the People, in Beijing, China 2023</p>
China

From Caracas to Taiwan: How Venezuela has changed China’s calculations

<p>Keir Starmer is one of the Western leaders who manages to command Donald Trump’s respect and attention</p>
The Independent View

Even after Venezuela, the West must speak softly to Donald Trump

<p>President Nicolas Maduro was captured by Donald Trump’s US Delta Force in his compound in Caracas and extradited to New York on Saturday</p>
Voices

Venezuelans like me are too busy celebrating to worry about Maduro

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