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Voices

<p>Fireworks explode in the sky to bring in the New Year around the London Eye and the Elizabeth Tower</p>
John Rentoul

Refurbishing the Palace of Westminster would revive ‘can-do’ Britain

Parliament’s buildings are falling down, but our MPs are too timid to commit to a monumental restoration that could cost £39bn and take more than 60 years to complete… and it’s a national shame, says John Rentoul

    <p>Matthew Goodwin, on the election stump with Reform leader Nigel Farage</p>
    Sean O'Grady

    Is Matthew Goodwin too rabid even for Reform?

    <p>Given the prime minister’s ethics adviser found that Angela Rayner ‘had acted with integrity’, her allies believe that she could, in time, make a Cabinet comeback and win a leadership contest</p>
    Sonia Sodha

    Is Angela Rayner really ready to march on Starmer’s Westminster?

    <p>Sir Elton John is appearing alongside his husband David Furnish in a High Court trial against the Daily Mail’s publisher (Aaron Chown/PA)</p>
    Victoria Richards

    Hopping mad, Sgt Elton John spat bullets in the witness box

    <p>‘Keir Starmer’s defence of his part in the Epstein/Mandelson affair was a weak mix of claimed ignorance and realpolitik’ </p>
    Emily Sheffield

    I’m appalled by how easily powerful men ignore what Epstein did

      The Independent View

      If a miserable Starmer is to survive, he must show leadership

      <p>Georgina Fuller and her son Eddie at Legoland Dubai</p>
      Georgina Fuller

      Why shouldn’t my autistic son ‘skip the queue’ at Alton Towers?

        Kat Brown

        The only thing worse than children in restaurants is other adults

        <p>Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump meet in Alaska, 2025</p>
        Mary Dejevsky

        Don’t panic! The end of New Start won’t trigger a new arms race… yet

        <p>Frieda Hughes’ new car</p>
        Frieda Hughes

        After years of lusting, I can afford my dream car... albeit secondhand

        <p>Prime minister Keir Starmer addresses the Mandelson scandal</p>
        John Rentoul

        What is keeping Keir Starmer in place is the lack of a successor

        <p>Morgan McSweeney, here with Keir Starmer, has a lot to answer for – but so does his boss</p>
        Paul Holden

        If I were Morgan McSweeney, I’d fear being knifed by Starmer

        <p>‘Mandelson via Epstein was serving not the UK, but the other side. Not the Russians, the usual foe, but the banks’</p>
        Chris Blackhurst

        Epstein was in effect a secret member of the British cabinet

        <p>Christine Keeler, the party girl who played a central role in the Profumo affair, outside Marylebone Court, where in 1963 she was tried for perjury and conspiring to obstruct the course of justice</p>
        Anne McElvoy

        Epstein will go down as an even bigger scandal than the Profumo affair

        <p>‘Only a few hours after the release of the latest damning Epstein files, which shared further unsavoury details of his antics, Andrew was photographed on horseback in Windsor, looking as if he owned the place’</p>
        Alexander Larman

        Andrew’s exile to Marsh Farm is the punishment he deserves

        <p>Kemi Badenoch: ‘By channelling her inner Nigerian, Kemi has signalled she wants to win</p>
        Ava Vidal

        At last! Kemi Badenoch has embraced her inner Nigerian…

        <p>Charlotte with her golden retriever, Muggles</p>
        Charlotte Cripps

        I’m sick of outrageous vets fees – it’s time for an ‘NHS for pets’

        <p>The case at the High Court on who could swim at Hampstead Heath ladies’ pond found that trans women should be welcome</p>
        Olivia Petter

        I am thrilled that trans women can swim in Hampstead ladies’ pond

        Explore news for you

        More Voices

        <p>A photograph appearing to show Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor crouched over an unidentified woman which has been released in the latest disclosure of files linked to Jeffrey Epstein</p>
        Voices

        Why do I feel like the only man outraged by the Epstein files?

        Voices

        Why do I feel like the only man outraged by the Epstein files?

        Richard Godwin
        <p>A photograph appearing to show Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor crouched over an unidentified woman which has been released in the latest disclosure of files linked to Jeffrey Epstein</p>
        <p>King Charles (Andrew Milligan/PA Wire)</p>
        Voices

        A personal design for life, according to King Charles

        <p>Angela Rayner shocked observers by siding with the Tories</p>
        UK Politics

        ‘Starmer has to go’: Readers on Mandelson files and Labour infighting

        <p>Ofcom has launched new guidance for technology firms on the steps they should take to keep women safe online</p>
        Voices

        I can’t believe what a nasty troll said to me online

        <p>Christine Keeler, the party girl who played a central role in the Profumo affair, outside Marylebone Court, where in 1963 she was tried for perjury and conspiring to obstruct the course of justice</p>
        Voices

        Epstein will go down as an even bigger scandal than the Profumo affair

        <p>Christine Keeler, the party girl who played a central role in the Profumo affair, outside Marylebone Court, where in 1963 she was tried for perjury and conspiring to obstruct the course of justice</p>
        Voices

        Epstein will go down as an even bigger scandal than the Profumo affair

        The Independent View

        Keir Starmer cannot afford to break his promise of transparency

        <p>There has been a rapid adoption of GLP-1 medication</p>
        Health

        ‘Thin isn’t everything’: Readers on living with Ozempic side effects

        Most commented

        Reform by-election candidate suggested people who don’t have kids should pay more tax

        219 comments

        Properties linked to Mandelson searched by police amid Epstein investigation - live

        238 comments

        British socialite ‘put together group of girls’ for Jeffrey Epstein, emails suggest

        161 comments

        Ukraine war live: ‘Catastrophe’ for Russia as troops cut off from Starlink satellites

        316 comments
        Join the Conversation

        More Voices

        <p>‘Bateman’s knee-jerk response of, essentially, “You just haven’t met the right guy yet!” when presented with a grown woman declaring that she’d rather stay child-free, remains frustratingly predictable’</p>
        Voices

        Men! Stop telling childfree women they ‘haven’t found the right guy’

        <p>Peter Mandelson, here announcing his resignation from government in 2004, is implicated in the Epstein files</p>
        Voices

        Mandelson affair shows the UK has become prone to moles and grifters

        <p>The Bear features a chaotic family (PA/Disney)</p>
        Voices

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

        <p>Peter Mandelson has offered an apology to the victims of Jeffrey Epstein</p>
        The Independent View

        Mandelson’s fate now intertwined with that of the Labour government

        <p>Some couples had spent tens of thousands on a single day</p>
        Love & Sex

        ‘No need to waste thousands on one day’: Readers on no-fuss weddings

        <p>Peter Mandelson was brought back in by Keir Starmer as ambassador to Washington, which seemed a gamble even at the time</p>
        Voices

        Epstein’s ‘dog muck’ is a smell that Labour can’t wash off

        <p>Peter Mandelson has offered an apology to the victims of Jeffrey Epstein</p>
        The Independent View

        Mandelson’s fate now intertwined with that of the Labour government

        <p>Some couples had spent tens of thousands on a single day</p>
        Love & Sex

        ‘No need to waste thousands on one day’: Readers on no-fuss weddings

        <p>Peter Mandelson was brought back in by Keir Starmer as ambassador to Washington, which seemed a gamble even at the time</p>
        Voices

        Epstein’s ‘dog muck’ is a smell that Labour can’t wash off

        <p>Peter Mandelson’s instinctive reaction to each of his many downfalls has been: ‘How do I get out of this one?’</p>
        Voices

        Mandelson clearly thinks scandal is for little people

        Voices

        Mandelson clearly thinks scandal is for little people

        Sean O'Grady
        <p>Peter Mandelson’s instinctive reaction to each of his many downfalls has been: ‘How do I get out of this one?’</p>
        <p>The experience of being a doctor in the 1970s is very different to nowadays</p>
        Voices

        I woke up in hospital – now I know why resident doctors are on strike

        <p>Sarah Ferguson with her daughters, Eugenie and Beatrice</p>
        Voices

        Will Fergie’s disgrace now bring down Beatrice and Eugenie?

        <p>Peter Mandelson has resigned from Labour to spare the party ‘further embarrassment’</p>
        The Independent View

        Mandelson must hand in his title and face up to Congress

        <p>A picture from the ‘Epstein Files’ which appears to show Lord Mandelson in his underwear speaking to an unknown person wearing a bathrobe</p>
        Voices

        Of course Peter Mandelson deserves to be thrown out of the Lords

        <p>A picture from the ‘Epstein Files’ which appears to show Lord Mandelson in his underwear speaking to an unknown person wearing a bathrobe</p>
        Voices

        Of course Peter Mandelson deserves to be thrown out of the Lords

        <p>Albert Besnard’s painting Peace and Justice hangs above the door to the Peace Palace in The Hague</p>
        Voices

        If the ICJ fails the Rohingya, international law will be weakened

        <p>‘The women in these photographs are living with permanent consequences. They will never see the justice they deserve’</p>
        Voices

        It is time for Andrew to come clean about everything he knows

        <p>Donald Trump blows a gold whistle to start the 2025 White House Easter Egg Roll</p>
        Voices

        Is Donald Trump wreaking havoc with the price of gold?

        <p>After Scott, left, lost his identical twin Brian, he entered a unique grief ‘focused on loss of the future and my identity’ </p>
        Voices

        I have never known fear and pain like losing my identical twin

        <p>My very first thought when I saw the images, with all of their stark intimacy of detail (the former prince’s bare feet, the casual polo shirt, the hand resting on the stomach of the unknown young woman), is that it feels like a violation</p>
        Voices

        All women will recognise the same thing in the latest Epstein photos

        <p>Federal agents grab a woman and drag her away from her car, days after an ICE agent fatally shot Renee Nicole Good, in Minneapolis</p>
        Voices

        Trump’s ICE crackdown is on pause… but not for long

        <p>Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is standing defiant in Iran<a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/ali-khamenei"></a></p>
        The Independent View

        Trump must proceed with caution on Iran

        <p>Plumber Hannah Spencer, 34, has been selected as the Green Party’s candidate in the Gorton and Denton by-election</p>
        Voices

        The next election could be Reform vs Green… and nothing in between

        <p>Five years of revolutionary struggle have demonstrated that though the junta can massacre whole communities, it will never extinguish a people’s thirst for freedom, justice and dignity</p>
        Voices

        After five years of murder, it is time for a radical rethink on Burma

        <p>Julia Roberts visits an independent bookshop in the film ‘Notting Hill’</p>
        Voices

        Bookshops offer more than books – so why aren’t they prized like pubs?

        <p>Haroon Ahmed's IPP sentence was quashed after judges ruled it was not justified </p>
        The Independent View

        One man’s struggle lights up a wider scandal

        The Independent View

        One man’s struggle lights up a wider scandal

        Editorial
        <p>Haroon Ahmed's IPP sentence was quashed after judges ruled it was not justified </p>
        <p>Keir Starmer on his trip to China</p>
        Voices

        ‘Never Here’ Keir’s trip to China is not the cause of his problems

        <p>Shabana Mahmood’s rush to scrap PCCs, as part of her wider policing overhaul, instead of reforming them, looks less like a quest for efficiency and more like a masterclass in political manoeuvring</p>
        Voices

        Trust me, we’ll miss police and crime commissioners when they’re gone

        <p>President Donald Trump waves as he walks from Marine One after at the White House, Jan 27, 2026</p>
        Voices

        Trump’s a bully – but even he’s running scared of ICE snatch squads

        <p>During an experiment, students preferred an AI article over one written by a human</p>
        Voices

        The author, me vs ChatGPT – why do young people prefer AI’s writing?

        <p>During an experiment, students preferred an AI article over one written by a human</p>
        Voices

        The author, me vs ChatGPT – why do young people prefer AI’s writing?

        <p>Elon Musk at the World Economic Forum in Davos</p>
        Voices

        Musk and Bezos have given Starmer a worrying glimpse of the AI future

        <p>Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage visits Gorton and Denton with candidate Matt Goodwin</p>
        Voices

        Why Matt Goodwin isn’t the Reform winner Farage thinks he is

        <p>The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, pictured in 2019, is part of a ‘massive armada’ that has arrived in the Middle East</p>
        Voices

        As Iranians, we cannot witness these crimes and remain silent

        <p>The prime minister believes he is not returning from China empty-handed</p>
        The Independent View

        Starmer has a fragile China success – now he must handle it with care

        <p>A regime humiliated abroad is striking out at its own people</p>
        Voices

        In Iran, no one can breathe in this atmosphere of fear

        <p>Lloyds constantly tells us it is ‘backing the British economy’ to which the obvious riposte is ‘prove it’</p>
        Voices

        Do Lloyds bank’s rosy figures show the UK is about to boom?

        <p>Farage’s recruits may have frontline experience, but they are giving Reform an image problem and confusing their supporters</p>
        Voices

        Welcome to Reform, Nigel Farage’s crumbling care home for old Tories

        <p>‘It still accelerates faster than a cougar’</p>
        Voices

        Where my old car’s concerned, familiarity breeds contentment

        <p>Readers are increasingly turning their backs on dreams of US travel</p>
        Americas

        ‘I won’t go near Trump’s America’: Why tourists are ditching US trips

        <p>‘Just after Keir Starmer’s first King’s Speech, YouGov found that support for nationalising water had risen to 82 per cent from 59 per cent in 2017, more even than backing nationalising the rail or energy sectors’</p>
        Voices

        Think January’s bad for bills? Just wait until ‘awful’ April ...

        <p>Donald Trump has said ‘a massive armada’ led by the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln is heading to Iran</p>
        Voices

        Is Iran heading for its ‘Venezuela moment’?

        Voices

        Is Iran heading for its ‘Venezuela moment’?

        Mary Dejevsky
        <p>Donald Trump has said ‘a massive armada’ led by the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln is heading to Iran</p>
        <p>In opposition, Labour gave the Waspi women the impression that they would be helped</p>
        The Independent View

        Yet another stinging betrayal for the Waspi women

        <p>Harry Styles fans have criticised the cost of tickets for his latest tour</p>
        Music

        ‘A week’s wages for a ticket’: Readers fume over soaring tour prices

        <p>Martin Lewis, Britain’s auxiliary chancellor of the Exchequer, was right to give Rachel Reeves both barrels</p>
        Voices

        Everyone can see student loans are unfair. Except the chancellor

        <p>Starmer knew last summer that he was already fighting for his political life</p>
        Voices

        Keir Starmer is too cowardly to do the right thing on welfare

        <p>Starmer knew last summer that he was already fighting for his political life</p>
        Voices

        Keir Starmer is too cowardly to do the right thing on welfare

        <p>Julianne Moore in ‘Still Alice’</p>
        Voices

        Dear Vix: I want to go and see my dying mum – but my dad won’t let me

        <p>‘China will at some point become the world’s biggest economy. Not engaging would be a case of Britain cutting off its nose to spite its face, one of those rare fields in which it leads the world’</p>
        Voices

        From Cool Britannia to Cringe: Starmer shows what he’s selling China

        <p>Donald Trump with his ‘steely-eyed Slovenian-born glamazon’, Melania</p>
        Voices

        If ‘Melania’ flops, Donald Trump will get the blame

        <p>Vera Baird, chair of the Criminal Cases Review Commission</p>
        The Independent View

        At last, a turning point in the bid to end indefinite detentions

        <p>More than 6,000 people have been killed in Iran’s crackdown on nationwide protests </p>
        Voices

        Iran’s dead pile up in the streets – so why has the West been silent?

        <p>‘Starmer can hardly be criticised for following the King of Spain, the President of France and the Prime Minister of Finland on the path of homage to Beijing. The German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will not be far behind’</p>
        Voices

        Starmer must juggle China’s ‘red emperor’ with America’s orange one

        <p>Sir Keir Starmer, as seen on the screen of a smartphone that’s made in China (PA)</p>
        Voices

        The PM is right – supporting British business in China is a smart move

        <p>‘You have never met my father, but if he were with you now, he would tell you that silence in the face of injustice is a form of complicity’</p>
        Voices

        My message to Sir Keir: Free my father Jimmy Lai before it is too late

        <p>Pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai was found guilty in Hong Kong of collusion with foreign forces, as well as conspiracy to print and distribute seditious publications</p>
        Voices

        My father Jimmy Lai’s imprisonment isn’t justice – Britain must act

        <p>Liverpool’s waterfront, including the Liver Building </p>
        Lifestyle

        ‘Liverpool is wonderful’: Readers on swapping London for other cities

        <p>Keir Starmer and Xi Jinping at G20 in 2024, as the two leaders prepare to meet again this week</p>
        The Independent View

        The perils and promise of Sir Keir’s visit to China

        The Independent View

        The perils and promise of Sir Keir’s visit to China

        Editorial
        <p>Keir Starmer and Xi Jinping at G20 in 2024, as the two leaders prepare to meet again this week</p>
        <p>Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham was blocked from standing in the Gorton and Denton by-election</p>
        Voices

        I have not seen Labour turn on itself like this since the 1970s

        <p>The RAF F-35B Lightning jet, on the flight deck of the HMS Queen Elizabeth, is part of an ageing defence system</p>
        Voices

        America is the unreliable partner the UK really needs to worry about

        <p>Bruising on the president’s hand has been subject to frenzied debate</p>
        Voices

        Saying Trump may have Alzheimer’s is no way to bring him down

        <p>Suella Braverman told the crowd that Nigel Farage was the only man in UK politics who has been ‘courageously consistent’ </p>
        UK Politics

        ‘It’s chaos’: Readers on Britain’s broken political system

        <p>Suella Braverman told the crowd that Nigel Farage was the only man in UK politics who has been ‘courageously consistent’ </p>
        UK Politics

        ‘It’s chaos’: Readers on Britain’s broken political system

        <p>US Border Control Commander Gregory Bovino during a protest against ICE in Minneapolis</p>
        Voices

        Trump’s enforcers have unleashed a fascist fairytale on America

        <p>Home secretary Shabana Mahmood has announced plans for a major overhaul of policing in England and Wales </p>
        The Independent View

        Shabana Mahmood’s policing shake-up will be felt in our neighbourhoods

        <p>Nigella Lawson will bring a ‘mouthwatering charm’ to ‘Bake Off’... pity she has to content with ‘stale’ co-stars like Paul Hollywood</p>
        Voices

        Nigella Lawson cannot save Bake Off from its real problem... its men

        <p>At least Suella Braverman and Nigel Farage seem to be having fun</p>
        Voices

        Reform UK is filling up nicely with all the ‘wrong’ Tories

        <p>Approval for Trump’s signature policy has plummeted even among those who voted for it – so why is an appetite growing elsewhere?</p>
        Voices

        What’s happening with ICE in America could happen in Britain, too

        <p>Readers say Sir Keir Starmer’s plan to make Brexit the central election issue gives Labour a huge opportunity</p>
        UK Politics

        ‘Open goal’: Why readers think Brexit should define the next election

        <p>Catherine, Princess of Wales, wears Russell & Bromley during a tour of Jaguar Land Rover in Birmingham in 2017</p>
        Voices

        What does Russell & Bromley’s fate mean for the ‘Kate effect’?

        <p>Prime minister Keir Starmer blocked Andy Burnham’s bid to stand in the Gorton and Denton by-election</p>
        Voices

        ‘Burned out’ Burnham was never the answer to Labour’s problems

        <p>Readers say Sir Keir Starmer’s plan to make Brexit the central election issue gives Labour a huge opportunity</p>
        UK Politics

        ‘Open goal’: Why readers think Brexit should define the next election

        <p>Catherine, Princess of Wales, wears Russell & Bromley during a tour of Jaguar Land Rover in Birmingham in 2017</p>
        Voices

        What does Russell & Bromley’s fate mean for the ‘Kate effect’?

        <p>Prime minister Keir Starmer blocked Andy Burnham’s bid to stand in the Gorton and Denton by-election</p>
        Voices

        ‘Burned out’ Burnham was never the answer to Labour’s problems

        <p>Women-only carriages would not make public transport safer</p>
        Voices

        Sorry, but women-only carriages will only make things worse

        <p>Trump has developed a close friendship –some would say unhealthily so – relationship with head of Fifa Gianni Infantino</p>
        Voices

        Could a US World Cup boycott over Trump’s Greenland threat work?

        <p>The legacy of the Covid 19 vaccine should not be squandered</p>
        Voices

        5 years ago UK unis gave us a Covid jab – let’s keep the legacy alive

        <p>‘Trump is a T-rex,’ said Newsom. ‘You mate with him or he devours you’</p>
        Voices

        The Gavin Newsom I know is ready to take on ‘T-rex’ Trump

        <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>At the Reform UK conference on Thursday, Farage said, following Jenrick’s defection: ‘This is a big day in the realignment of the genuine centre-right of this country’</p>
        Voices

        Why would anyone vote for a dumping ground for disappointed Tories?

        <p>Reform UK leader Nigel Farage unveils Nadhim Zahawi as the latest Tory defector</p>
        Voices

        Why Farage may live to regret welcoming ‘loyal’ Zahawi into the fold

        <p>Tying Trump’s hands won’t be easy – but a growing number of Republicans are eager to try</p>
        Voices

        It’s time for Washington to step up and stop Trump

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