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Voices

<p>Keir Starmer on his trip to China</p>
John Rentoul

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

If things were going well at home, no one would object to the prime minister’s foreign trips, says John Rentoul

<p>King Charles (Andrew Milligan/PA Wire)</p>
Richard Dunne

A personal design for life, according to King Charles

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

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

<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>
Festus Akinbusoye

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

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

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

<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>Julianne Moore in ‘Still Alice’</p>
Dear Vix

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

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

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

<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>‘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>
James Moore

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

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

If ‘Melania’ flops, Donald Trump gets the blame

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

Is Iran heading for its ‘Venezuela moment’?

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

Where my old car’s concerned, familiarity breeds contentment

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

As Iranians, we cannot witness these crimes and remain silent

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

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

If, as seems possible, the Green candidate Hannah Spencer wins next month’s by-election, she could pave the way for Zack Polanski’s party to overtake Labour nationally, says John Rentoul

<p>Installing solar panels in the UK for an average home costs between £5,000 and £8,000 on average</p>
James Moore

Solar panels ruined my home – now my electric car is being penalised

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

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

Explore news for you

More Voices

<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

Voices

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

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

Most commented

Inside the city of fear under siege from Trump’s ICE agents

163 comments

Epstein files live updates: Trump mentioned thousands of times in huge new release

166 comments

Melania Trump is a scowling void of pure nothingness in her ghastly film – review

203 comments

Ukraine war live: Chernobyl loses power while mass blackouts continue across Ukraine

450 comments
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More Voices

<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>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>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

Voices

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

Sebastien Lai
<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>
<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

<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>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>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

Voices

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

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

<p>’How many national leaders will be tempted to ask themselves why, if the US can mount such unilateral action against a sovereign country in pursuit of what it may justify in terms of its own national security, they should not do the same?’</p>
Voices

How the capture of Nicolas Maduro will upend the global order

<p>US President Donald Trump speaks during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland</p>
Voices

Trump has chickened out again. And I think I know why…

<p>Donald Trump can try to push him around all he likes, but Keir Starmer will do anything rather than get out of the way</p>
Voices

Donald Trump’s ambition is up against Keir Starmer, diplomatic bollard

<p>Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer needs to communicate Labour’s message better</p>
The Independent View

Starmer needs to focus on Labour’s message to stop in-fighting

<p>A supporter of the National Citizen Party, formed in the wake of the youth-led 2024 uprising</p>
Voices

As Bangladesh heads to the polls, human rights must come first

<p>Andy Burnham has been blocked from contesting the Gorton and Denton by-election by Labour’s NEC (James Manning/PA)</p>
Voices

Andy Burnham blocked: Keir Starmer is ruthless but right

<p>Dogs can now be found in places once reserved for humans only</p>
Voices

Britain has replaced children with dogs – and it’s not healthy

Voices

Britain has replaced children with dogs – and it’s not healthy

Jack Burke
<p>Dogs can now be found in places once reserved for humans only</p>
<p>‘A temporary divorce from sex helped repair cracks in my sexual foundation and broadened my worldview</p>
Voices

I had a ‘sex divorce’ for a year – it fixed my libido and my life

<p>Andy Burnham challenging Keir Starmer would not help Labour’s government</p>
The Independent View

Now is not the time to undermine the prime minister

Voices

Starmer must block Burnham’s return if he wants to remain PM

<p>Much of social media is accessed through phones</p>
Voices

Don’t clobber under-16s with a clumsy social media blanket ban

<p>Much of social media is accessed through phones</p>
Voices

Don’t clobber under-16s with a clumsy social media blanket ban

<p>A fired-up Prince Harry arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice with a point to prove </p>
Voices

In hacked-off Harry, the press has created its own worst nightmare

<p>What is under consideration, at the behest of a clutch of small businesses and some US states, is the legality of Donald Trump’s ‘<a href="/independentpremium/voices/gavin-newsom-donald-trump-davos-europe-politics-b2904584.html" title="The Gavin Newsom I know isn’t just a slick salesman – he’s ready to take on ‘T-rex’ Trump"></a>emergency’ tariffs </p>
Voices

Why Trump is panicking about the Supreme Court and tariffs

The Independent View

Donald Trump has insulted and humiliated America’s closest allies

<p>Starmer must now contend with his predecessor – the most successful Labour leader in generations, with an agenda and ideas of his own – having a direct line to Trump </p>
Voices

Trump’s ‘board of peace’ puts Blair on a collision course with the PM

<p>Andy Burnham, carpetbagger?</p>
Voices

Who the hell does Andy Burnham think he is…

<p>Andy Burnham could make a return to Westminster</p>
UK Politics

‘Burnham could save Labour’: Readers back potential Westminster return

<p>Trump has made the false claim that British and Nato troops avoided front line action in Afghanistan</p>
Voices

Trump’s slur against British troops is a new low for the US president

<p>Perhaps next time Donald Trump questions whether Britain and other Nato countries would shed ‘blood, sweat and tears’ for the US, perhaps he should be sent a list of the names of those who gave their lives in Afghanistan</p>
Voices

You’re wrong, Mr Trump, Nato DID stand by America in its hour of need

<p>‘Trump’s passing reference to Denmark’s short-lived resistance to the Nazis shows that such ingrained historical truth outweighs the more recent Danish losses in the US-led intervention in Afghanistan – especially, but perhaps not exclusively, to Americans of Trump’s generation’</p>
Voices

Donald Trump is set to get exactly what he really wanted all along

<p>The artist and poet Frieda Hughes stands in front of some of her paintings</p>
Voices

I’m not vain about ageing, but these veins in my legs have got to go

<p>Glaringly absent from the board –other than women –were Palestinians and Arab-speakers</p>
Voices

Can anyone else spot the glaring thing wrong with this photo?

Voices

Can anyone else spot the glaring thing wrong with this photo?

Kat Brown
<p>Glaringly absent from the board –other than women –were Palestinians and Arab-speakers</p>
<p>Keir Starmer has stood firm on Greenland and faced down the White House tariff threats</p>
The Independent View

Starmer’s success in bringing Trump’s U-turn shows his strength as PM

<p>‘It was, as one EU veteran foreign minister put it, “like being locked in an abusive relationship, in which you end up being grateful that you escaped a beating”.’</p>
Voices

I was there to see Trump crumple – but the madness isn’t over yet

<p>‘I don’t usually advocate petty revenge, but in Robot Baldrick’s case, I’m prepared to make an exception’</p>
Voices

You’re not fooling anyone by getting Kemi’s surname wrong, Mr Jenrick

<p>The Sussexes – and the Peltz Beckhams</p>
Voices

Brooklyn Beckham’s caught in the Harry trap – but was he pushed?

<p>The Sussexes – and the Peltz Beckhams</p>
Voices

Brooklyn Beckham’s caught in the Harry trap – but was he pushed?

<p>There has been much debate about second homes in St Ives</p>
Property

Are additional taxes on second homes fair? Join The Independent Debate

<p>The actions of US president Donald Trump mean that the US can no longer be treated as a dependable ally</p>
Voices

Without the United States, Nato must be Europeanised

<p>Sir Keir Starmer said he ‘will not yield’ to President Trump in his stance on Greenland</p>
Voices

‘I will not yield’: at last, Keir Starmer has stood up to Donald Trump

<p>US TV series ‘Gossip Girl’ was iconic for its relationships (and its rows)</p>
Voices

Help! My teenage daughter has an evil ‘frenemy’

The Independent View

Abandon your Greenland fantasies, Mr President, and remember Ukraine

<p>Kemi Badenoch dramatically fired of Robert Jenrick</p>
UK Politics

‘Farage effect fading’: Readers say Reform slump helps Badenoch

<p>Ryanair Group CEO Michael O'Leary in front of his ‘big “idiot” sale’ press conference screen showing a cartoon Musk and O’Leary</p>
Voices

Starlink’s Musk vs Ryanair’s O’Leary: Guess who’s come out on top...

<p>Did Nigel Farage persuade Donald Trump to scupper the Chagos Islands treaty?</p>
Voices

Farage despises Davos. So what on earth is he doing there?

<p>Kemi Badenoch dramatically fired of Robert Jenrick</p>
UK Politics

‘Farage effect fading’: Readers say Reform slump helps Badenoch

<p>Ryanair Group CEO Michael O'Leary in front of his ‘big “idiot” sale’ press conference screen showing a cartoon Musk and O’Leary</p>
Voices

Starlink’s Musk vs Ryanair’s O’Leary: Guess who’s come out on top...

<p>Did Nigel Farage persuade Donald Trump to scupper the Chagos Islands treaty?</p>
Voices

Farage despises Davos. So what on earth is he doing there?

<p>After 20 years of warnings and now research on what social media might be doing to our brains, naturally, the biggest human concern is for the youngest generations – Gen A and Gen Z</p>
Voices

Why those calling for a teen social media ban need to check privilege

<p>US president Donald Trump is due to speak at the 2026 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday</p>
Voices

Is ‘toddler’ Trump on the brink of completely losing it?

<p>Donald Trump’s fury keeps spilling over as he insults allies, leaks confidential conversations, and ridicules nations</p>
The Independent View

After an irascible first year, Trump is more dangerous than ever

<p>The chancellor is taking every opportunity at Davos to stress that Britain has kept its head while all around are losing theirs</p>
Voices

At Davos, Rachel Reeves has finally had a sensible idea

<p>US president Donald Trump is threatening tariffs on the UK and other Nato countries as part of his efforts to seize control of Greenland</p>
Voices

Trump is xenophobic and paranoid – and he’s too old to change his mind

<p>Brooklyn Beckham, pictured with his wife Nicola Peltz Beckham, has launched an astonishing attack on his parents, David and Victoria Beckham</p>
Voices

The Beckham family feud is every mother’s worst nightmare

<p>The High Court has deemed the use of Pava spray in youth offenders’ institutions to be lawful </p>
Voices

Using pepper spray in youth prisons is not a solution – it’s a failure

<p>Only politicians who really matter get booed – and it turns out that Robert Jenrick did not </p>
Voices

Robert Jenrick was heckled at his own rally? At least someone cares

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