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Voices

<p>Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner called the prime minister ‘a pint-sized loser’ </p>
sketch

Rayner attacking the PM for being short? Ooh… how low can she go?

The deputy Labour leader – standing in for Keir Starmer at Prime Minister’s Questions – was all harmless, knockabout fun… until her final question, when she suddenly pulled out a knuckleduster, says Joe Murphy

The Independent View

Can Britain back up its bold defence pledge to Ukraine?

<p>Gideon Falter was told he looked ‘openly Jewish’ by a Metropolitan Police officer</p>
Mark Honigsbaum

When did being ‘openly Jewish’ become a provocation?

<p>Former Labour minister and cross-bench peer Frank Field has died at the age of 81</p>
Andrew Grice

Farewell Frank Field, an awkward bloody-minded outsider until the end

<p>One streaming service has put a ‘discriminatory language’ alert on ‘Terry and June’ </p>
Ryan Coogan

Trigger warnings turn a harmless old TV show into a Gen Z hate-watch

<p>The focus on so-called ‘kinetic’ warfare is distracting us from the economic war that preceded the missile strikes between Iran and Israel</p>
Mark Almond

Can Iran win an economic war of attrition against Israel?

<p>Metallica’s James Hetfield’s new tattoo is infused with the ashes of Motörhead frontman, Lemmy </p>
Will Gore

Sorry Lemmy and Metallica, but I’m giving cremation tattoos the finger

<p>If Rishi Sunak missed a chance to reach out to young people, Keir Starmer has deliberately thrown one away</p>
The Independent View

Keir Starmer should back the EU youth mobility scheme

<p>To say drinking has been demonised lately is an understatement</p>
Lilly Subbotin

Why I’m not ashamed of being a ‘great drunk’

<p>The openly sexist article, and the lack of retraction from author or publication, reveals just how deeply set the culture of misogyny is </p>
Charlotte Proudman

What the Spectator article about sex workers tells us about men

<p>The answer is to rebalance society so that people here, as in other countries, have a decent standard of living </p>
Letters

Sunak must learn that mean spirits make poor leaders

<p>Bame is a problematic acronym, not least because it’s shorthand for ‘anything but white’ </p>
Ava Vidal

I’m a Black woman, but I still won’t say ‘Bame’

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<p>Without a consistent plan for aid, Kyiv will find itself in a critical position once again </p>
Voices

The US will give $61bn to Ukraine. What does it mean for the war?

Voices

The US will give $61bn to Ukraine. What does it mean for the war?

Olga Tokariuk
<p>Without a consistent plan for aid, Kyiv will find itself in a critical position once again </p>
<p>American comic Arj Barker asked a woman with a baby to leave his show in Melbourne </p>
Voices

Heard the one about the baby kicked out of a comedy club?

<p>One streaming service has put a ‘discriminatory language’ alert on ‘Terry and June’ </p>
Voices

Trigger warnings turn a harmless old TV show into a Gen Z hate-watch

<p>Those fleeing war and persecution will likely only be more incentivised to make the journey, with a safe haven all but promised on the other side</p>
Letters

When it comes to Rwanda, what is Sunak counting as a ‘success’?

<p>Rishi Sunak with soldiers during a tour of the Julius Leber barracks in Berlin</p>
Voices

Announcing a £75bn rise in military spending is the easy bit, Rishi

<p>Rishi Sunak with soldiers during a tour of the Julius Leber barracks in Berlin</p>
Voices

Announcing a £75bn rise in military spending is the easy bit, Rishi

<p>Baroness Kennedy: ‘After 14 years of Conservative government, our justice system is on its knees’ </p>
Voices

Rwanda will be used to dismantle the law protecting your human rights

<p>The Rwanda bill is a dark moment in our country’s history, writes Bishop Guli Francis-Dehqani</p>
Voices

I’ll never accept the Rwanda bill I fought in the Lords

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329 comments

Rayner brands Sunak a ‘pint-sized loser’ at fiery PMQs - live

183 comments

Ryanair boss says he would ‘happily’ fly asylum seekers to Rwanda

159 comments

Spend more on Nato to fight Putin, Sunak tells EU after his £75bn defence boost

104 comments
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<p>Footage from BBC News shows migrants in a small boat at Dunkirk on Tuesday morning after the French coast guard announced five people had died while trying to cross the Channel in a small dinghy</p>
Voices

‘Stop the boats’ is an idle refrain – it is time to stop the boasts…

<p>The Rwanda scheme is expensive and it will not work. It will do nothing to prevent the next tragedy</p>
The Independent View

Let this tragedy in the Channel be the death knell of the Rwanda bill

<p>The Rwandan spectre will not deter those committed to reaching our shores</p>
Letters

The Rwanda bill is nothing more than an elaborate charade

<p>Rishi Sunak’s closest allies appear to be divided over a summer contest</p>
Voices

Will Sunak risk a snap summer election if flights take off for Rwanda?

<p>Ruth Wilson and Dominic West in ‘The Affair'</p>
Voices

Dominic West has taken a leaf out of David Beckham’s PR playbook

<p>By George: two-thirds of Britons said they were less proud to be British than they were five years ago</p>
Voices

A day off for St George’s Day? The English don’t deserve it

<p>Rishi Sunak’s closest allies appear to be divided over a summer contest</p>
Voices

Will Sunak risk a snap summer election if flights take off for Rwanda?

<p>Ruth Wilson and Dominic West in ‘The Affair'</p>
Voices

Dominic West has taken a leaf out of David Beckham’s PR playbook

<p>By George: two-thirds of Britons said they were less proud to be British than they were five years ago</p>
Voices

A day off for St George’s Day? The English don’t deserve it

<p>Rishi Sunak during an Illegal Migration Operations Committee meeting at Downing Street </p>
The Independent View

This flawed Rwanda plan brings shame and no gain to the government

The Independent View

This flawed Rwanda plan brings shame and no gain to the government

Editorial
<p>Rishi Sunak during an Illegal Migration Operations Committee meeting at Downing Street </p>
<p>Removing a scheme to help disabled people into jobs, in the middle of a crusade to get Britain working again, is ‘adding injury to injury’ Alamy/PA</p>
Voices

Sunak’s ‘sick note’ mission is bad enough – but there’s worse to come

<p>Trudi Warner, a 69-year-old climate change activist, is facing legal proceedings for allegedly holding up a sign in front of jurors </p>
Voices

The unlikely climate activist making the law look an ass

<p>Campaign Against Antisemitism chief executive Gideon Falter was threatened with arrest near a pro-Palestine demonstration (Campaign Against Antisemitism/PA)</p>
Voices

Two very public apologies: Is this a new low for the Met?

<p>In my view, most of the elections to be held on 2 May are a write-off for the Tories</p>
Voices

Could we be heading for a winter general election?

<p>In my view, most of the elections to be held on 2 May are a write-off for the Tories</p>
Voices

Could we be heading for a winter general election?

<p>At some point, Starmer is going to have to spell out some clear and radical differences between Labour and the Conservatives</p>
Letters

Keir Starmer’s overly cautious approach risks alienating voters

<p>The NHS is a cornerstone of our society, and it is up to those in power to ensure that everyone gets the services they need without suffering</p>
The Independent View

The government must go to great lengths to fix the NHS

<p>Many Conservative MPs seem to think that because Rayner is a stand-out personality, often fearless, and a woman, she needs to be taken down a peg or two</p>
Letters

Angela Rayner is authentic – no wonder the Tories want her gone

<p>In 2007, Angela Rayner bought her Stockport council house under the ‘right-to-buy’ scheme for £79,000</p>
Voices

Could a kitchen renovation come to Angela Rayner’s rescue?

<p>Recent research from Crisis found that nine out of 10 people sleeping on the streets have been victims of violence or abuse</p>
Voices

Here’s how the new Crime Bill could impact rough sleepers like me

<p>A Czech billionaire wants to buy the Royal Mail</p>
Business Comment

Czechs armed with cheques take aim at some of Britain’s top firms

<p>A man walks past a banner depicting missiles on a street in Tehran </p>
The Independent View

Israel and Iran must not let these violent skirmishes turn into war

<p>Men, like everyone, do need advice and guidance once in a while </p>
Voices

I’m a comedian – here’s how I detoxified my masculinity

<p>My view on the M40 – Warwick Services not pictured (unfortunately) </p>
Voices

Welcome break? A motorway service station can be a life-saver…

<p>After his unsuccessful trip to Tel Aviv I can only imagine he is driven by hearing his own voice and seeing his own image regardless of content</p>
Letters

Cameron is proving he’s back not by political talent, but a lack of it

<p>Iranians protest in Tehran after Israel’s ‘limited’ attack on a strategically important military air base in Isfahan</p>
Voices

Iran and Israel won’t stop fighting, but WW3 has been averted… for now

Voices

Iran and Israel won’t stop fighting, but WW3 has been averted… for now

Head shot of Mary Dejevsky
Mary Dejevsky
<p>Iranians protest in Tehran after Israel’s ‘limited’ attack on a strategically important military air base in Isfahan</p>
<p>Rishi Sunak pointed out that the total bill for this part of the welfare budget is now more than we spend on schools</p>
Voices

Rishi Sunak is right to face up to the rise of long-term sickness

<p>Oceans of ink have already been spilt in pursuit of whatever Rayner did or didn’t pay, in terms of capital gains tax or otherwise, on a modest property in Stockport</p>
Voices

No wonder the Tories (and 12 detectives) are out to get Angela Rayner

<p>Fans have pinned “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived” on Swift’s shortlived romance with The 1975 frontman Matty Healy</p>
Voices

Taylor Swift is doing what all women would love to do to their exes

19 April 2024
The Independent View

The Tories are at their lowest point – but things can still get worse

19 April 2024
The Independent View

The Tories are at their lowest point – but things can still get worse

UK Politics

Do you back Rishi Sunak’s smoking ban? Join The Independent Debate

<p>In short supply: equipment for treating diabetes is becoming dangerously hard to come by </p>
Voices

What’s really to blame for Britain’s life-threatening drug shortage

<p>Schools ought to remember that learning does not only happen inside the classroom</p>
Letters

Where are the ‘brave defenders’ of free speech now?

<p>Headteacher, Katherine Birbalsingh – ‘Britain’s strictest headmistress’ – hailed the result as a ‘victory for all schools’ </p>
Voices

No school should have the right to ban prayer

<p>In many ways, the life of Harry and Meghan resembles that enjoyed – or endured – by the post-abdication Edward VIII and his American wife, Wallis Warfield Simpson</p>
Voices

The Americanisation of Prince Harry is almost complete

<p>The UK financial sector is ‘waging war’ on the sex trade by de-banking those working in it </p>
Voices

Banks are closing sex workers’ accounts, making it a riskier business

18 April 2024
The Independent View

Sunak’s stubbornness on Rwanda shows how unfocused No 10 has become

<p>Our prime minister relied on Labour votes to see off opponents on his own benches</p>
Letters

The charge of the light-up brigade could spell trouble for Sunak

<p>To deter visitors to Barcelona’s Parc Güell, the 116 bus route has been ‘hidden’ from tourist maps </p>
Voices

Has Barcelona gone loco in its battle against tourists?

<p>A big drop in inflation is still on the cards for April – less so, interest rates </p>
Voices

Has a stubborn inflation rate killed off a cut in interest rates?

<p>Smoking is another small pleasure that we’re being denied by people who’ve decided they know better than we do</p>
Voices

A ban on cigarettes is the last thing we need right now

Voices

A ban on cigarettes is the last thing we need right now

Ryan Coogan
<p>Smoking is another small pleasure that we’re being denied by people who’ve decided they know better than we do</p>
<p>Rishi Sunak offered his MPs a free vote in an attempt to dilute the impact of the Tory rebellion, but his ploy didn’t work</p>
Voices

Congrats on the smoking ban, Rishi, but it won’t do you any favours

<p>Like Rishi Sunak, Cameron has been guilty of overclaiming </p>
Voices

Smooth Cameron returned to bolster Britain abroad – it hasn’t worked

<p>Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, is ‘simply one of those vivid characters who are more newsworthy whatever they do’ </p>
Voices

The hounding of Angela Rayner is a declaration of class war

<p>The Kennedy family has more or less disowned everything to do with RFK Jr’s campaign </p>
Voices

The Kennedy who could be a kingmaker in the presidential race

<p>The Kennedy family has more or less disowned everything to do with RFK Jr’s campaign </p>
Voices

The Kennedy who could be a kingmaker in the presidential race

<p>We believe it to be wrong in principle that adults should be prevented by law from engaging in activities that are not harmful to others</p>
The Independent View

Smoking ban: On balance, this illiberal measure deserves to fail

<p>Liz Truss says Rishi Sunak’s anti-smoking bill was designed for ‘finger-wagging, nannying control freaks’ </p>
Voices

Bashing Rishi is a nasty habit that could get Liz hooked

<p>Getting Britain’s economically inactive back into work should be a government priority</p>
Voices

Unemployment is up… but Britain’s sickly workforce is a bigger problem

<p>President Biden reaffirmed the USA's ‘iron-clad’ support for Israel after it came under missile attack from Iran </p>
Letters

What Israel must do to retain the ‘iron-clad’ support of its allies

<p>Meta’s Facebook Marketplace is currently the biggest driver when it comes to fraud in social media spaces </p>
Voices

How TSB has been protecting fraud victims

<p>Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu after the Iranian missile attacks on Israel </p>
Voices

Israel faces a Shakespearean dilemma: To retaliate or not to retaliate

<p>A St Albans’ pub sign, posted on social media, has sparked a debate about clientele </p>
Voices

No pub should be ‘child free’

<p>Young men are enthralled by the wisdom that their 36-year old guru from Luton is dishing out</p>
Voices

This is why young men are still listening to Andrew Tate

<p>The M3 smart motorway (Steve Parsons/PA)</p>
News & Advice

How can motorways be made safer? Join The Independent Debate

<p>Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system – which repelled Tehran’s onslaught on Saturday – intercepts a rocket</p>
The Independent View

To ‘take the win’, Israel must now use its head and its heart

<p>Israel’s anti-missile system responds to the approach of drones and missiles launched by Iran </p>
Letters

If Israel retaliates, will we step in to protect innocent Iranians?

Letters

If Israel retaliates, will we step in to protect innocent Iranians?

<p>Israel’s anti-missile system responds to the approach of drones and missiles launched by Iran </p>
<p>AfD’s regional leader Björn Höcke, a charismatic 52-year-old former history teacher, is on course to be the next governor of Thuringia </p>
Voices

Could the far right come to power again in Germany?

<p>Todd became Britain’s first fully qualified scaffolder with Down’s Syndrome, finding part-time employment with Coles Scaffolding</p>
Voices

The government is in no position to advise employers about disability

<p>There <em>is</em> a dangerous ideology behind the attacks, writes Dr Jessica Taylor: hatred of women </p>
Voices

What’s really to blame for the Sydney stabbings

<p>There are many reasons / For nations to come together, / Form an informal family</p>
Voices

Ben Okri: Transcending History

<p>There are many reasons / For nations to come together, / Form an informal family</p>
Voices

Ben Okri: Transcending History

<p>Iran says ‘the matter can be deemed concluded’ but the ball is now in Israel’s court</p>
The Independent View

Israel cannot afford to risk alienating its allies over Iran

<p>These horrible events make the public fear all people with mental health issues </p>
Letters

Better mental health support could help avoid tragedies like Sydney

<p>‘I was adamant that the option to have a third gender marked in my passport was about individual choice’ </p>
Voices

I’m non-binary and proud… but I don’t want an ‘X’ on my passport

<p>The attack was unprecedented not just in its scale, but in being, for the most part, launched directly from Iran</p>
Voices

The three urgent questions that arise from Iran’s assault on Israel

<p>Taxation based purely on a sliding scale doesn’t take into account the nuances of real winemaking</p>
Voices

Is a new alcohol prohibition on its way?

<p>In a real family holiday, a child tells their parents he or she hates them and subsequently doesn’t speak for three days</p>
Voices

There’s one big problem with Race Across the World

<p>This would seem to be a classic example of central government adding to the responsibilities of local government while further reducing the resources available </p>
The Independent View

The Homes for Ukraine scheme is bold and right but must be better run

<p>Are we really buying it that teenagers are going to listen to government ministers? </p>
Letters

We need to fix TikTok – but our MPs aren’t the ones to do it

<p>In a real family holiday, a child tells their parents he or she hates them and subsequently doesn’t speak for three days</p>
Voices

There’s one big problem with Race Across the World

<p>This would seem to be a classic example of central government adding to the responsibilities of local government while further reducing the resources available </p>
The Independent View

The Homes for Ukraine scheme is bold and right but must be better run

<p>Are we really buying it that teenagers are going to listen to government ministers? </p>
Letters

We need to fix TikTok – but our MPs aren’t the ones to do it

<p>The former PM has released her memoir, ‘Ten Years to Save the West’ </p>
Voices

Truss’s memoir exposes one fatal flaw on the path to becoming PM

<p>Stuck around 24 points in the polls, Rishi Sunak’s party is struggling to escape the adverse political consequences of Liz Truss’s brief tenure in Downing Street </p>
Voices

Why the prime minister needs Liz Truss to keep quiet

<p>You learn something from every relationship, sure – but not necessarily from every partner</p>
Voices

How to teach your man to be a ‘good boyfriend’

<p>Racing’s spin doctors can say they look after horses all they like – but the beings they actually look after are the greedy bosses of the gambling industry </p>
Voices

It’s time to end the Grand National once and for all

<p>Donald Trump speaks to reporters on the campaign trail this week </p>
Voices

How Trump’s ‘woman problem’ has become an election nightmare

<p>JK Rowling photographed with Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint at a ‘Harry Potter’ premiere in 2010</p>
Voices

JK Rowling’s King Lear-like dispute with her ‘children’ is tragic

<p>‘Where there is division…’: Margaret Thatcher gives her first speech in Downing Street after her 1979 general election win </p>
Voices

Why Keir Starmer should emulate Margaret Thatcher, not Tony Blair

<p>What sort of person would be thrilled to hear that a woman was going to jail while eight weeks pregnant?</p>
Letters

Post Office apologies are too little, too late

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