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Voices

<p>Prime minister Keir Starmer has pledged reforms to the welfare system</p>
Sean O'Grady

The welfare U-turn means Starmer no longer leads but follows his party

As Labour backbenchers discover the latent power that rests in their hands, Keir Starmer risks being in office but not in power, says Sean O’Grady

<p>Bob Vylan performing on the West Holts Stage during the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset</p>
Mark Beaumont

Glastonbury wouldn’t be Glastonbury without a political protest

<p>Entry-level jobs are down due to AI in the workplace, according to a report by Adzuna </p>
James Moore

If AI kills off entry-level jobs, can the City survive?

<p>Education secretary Bridget Phillipson suggests people have more kids to counter falling fertility and birth rates</p>
Victoria Richards

‘Have more children’ – but who can afford to start a family, minister?

<p>Wonder Woman is a queer icon and yet she is omitted from the DC Comics Pride Anthology</p>
Peter Tatchell

Why it’s time Wonder Woman was allowed to live her bisexual truth

<p>Anna Wintour with the late Queen Elizabeth at London Fashion Week in 2018: As my mother put it, ‘There’s ‘Country Life’ for the life you want, ‘Hello!’ to gawp at other people’s lives and ‘Private Eye’ for the truth behind the lives’</p>
Rowan Pelling

Farewell, Anna Wintour – Queen of editors with a nuclear-force power

<p>Police have again raised concerns about the size of the crowds that attend Notting Hill Carnival, amid questions over whether organisers can secure funding for more stewards</p>
Ava Vidal

Notting Hill Carnival belongs in the streets, now more than ever

<p>Universal healthcare free at the point of need is a noble idea but it desperately needs Labour’s reforms to work if it is to survive</p>
The Independent View

This 10-year plan may be the last chance to save the NHS

<p>If every time I picked up the wine bottle to top up my glass – over a healthy dinner! So civilised! – it reminded me that I was increasing my risk of cancer, I suspect I might put it back down</p>
Flic Everett

Putting cancer warnings on alcohol would help me drink less

<p>This week, Rosamund Hall selects her favourite Australian chardonnay </p>
The Wine Down

In defence of the most hated white wine in the world

<p>‘Mad heatwave shopping is not about sensible things like portable air con or linen clothing’</p>
Kat Brown

Help… I can’t stop ‘heatwave shopping’ at night!

<p>The Prince of Wales has been criticised for breeding his cocker spaniel</p>
Charlotte Cripps

I’m with Prince William – there’s a reason people want pure-breed dogs

<p></p>
The Independent View

Delaying welfare reform is better than bad welfare reform

<p>Keir Starmer has described the spraying of paint on military planes at RAF Brize Norton as ‘vandalism’ and ‘disgraceful’</p>
Alan Rusbridger

Starmer used to defend the kinds of protesters he now calls terrorists

<p>It is incomprehensible that the government was proposing cuts to disability benefits without concluding their consultations with groups representing disabled people</p>
The Independent View

The prime minister’s welfare U-turn is to be welcomed

<p>Rachel Charlton-Dailey receives £558 a month in PIP – which she expects will be lost under Labour’s welfare cuts</p>
Rachel Charlton-Dailey

If Labour cuts my PIP, I lose everything I have worked for

<p>Prime minister Keir Starmer at the G7 leaders’ summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada</p>
Andrew Grice

Has Starmer finally mastered the art of the U-turn?

<p>‘While some locals may well be fed up with the fuss surrounding the Bezos/Sanchos wedding, it could be argued that 200 extra people is neither here nor there in a city that welcomes some 30 million tourists each year’</p>
Angelina Villa-Clarke

Sorry, Mr Bezos, it’s no wonder you’re not welcome in Venice in June

Explore news for you

More Voices

<p>Keir Starmer has much to be proud of as he marks his first year in office</p>
The Independent View

Even after the welfare rebellion, it is too soon to write off Starmer

The Independent View

Even after the welfare rebellion, it is too soon to write off Starmer

Editorial
<p>Keir Starmer has much to be proud of as he marks his first year in office</p>
<p>The Bob Vylan performer led crowds on the Glastonbury Festival’s West Holts stage in chants of “death, death to the IDF”</p>
Voices

Despite the Bob Vylan furore, Glastonbury still belongs at the BBC

<p>‘Competition is a good thing, but in a time of tight budgets, it is better to work in collaboration with other willing partners. The Earth’s climate does not recognise national boundaries’</p>
Voices

Earth doesn’t recognise boundaries – we must collaborate for Net Zero

<p>‘If Sir Keir cannot turn things round after his difficult first year as prime minister, the fear of many voters that mainstream parties are “all the same” will be justified’</p>
The Independent View

This is the last chance for Labour and the Tories to stay relevant

<p>‘Both parts of his confession to Baldwin were unwise in the extreme. It was unwise to admit that he doesn’t always read his speeches before he delivers them – or that he doesn’t always read them “properly”, which is the same thing’</p>
Voices

I thought I knew what Keir Starmer believed – now, it’s anyone’s guess

<p>‘Both parts of his confession to Baldwin were unwise in the extreme. It was unwise to admit that he doesn’t always read his speeches before he delivers them – or that he doesn’t always read them “properly”, which is the same thing’</p>
Voices

I thought I knew what Keir Starmer believed – now, it’s anyone’s guess

<p>‘Not only did I feel lighter, but, for the first time since my son’s death, I felt hope that things might actually change’</p>
Voices

Wes Streeting is right to listen to bereaved parents – and I am one

<p>Sir Keir Starmer has U-turned in the face of a massive Labour rebellion over welfare cuts</p>
Voices

Starmer’s authority isn’t the only thing dented by his benefits U-turn

Most commented

Ukraine war live: Kyiv claims advances in Sumy region ahead of counteroffensive

1115 comments

BBC admits it should have pulled coverage of ‘death to the IDF’ Glastonbury chant

261 comments

Rebels threatening to reject bill as Kendall says U-turn will cost £2.5bn: Latest

335 comments

Starmer: BBC must explain how ‘appalling IDF hate speech’ was aired at Glastonbury

835 comments
Join the Conversation

More Voices

<p>Countries around the world need help</p>
Voices

Why it is time for a new era for global aid and development

<p></p>
Business Comment

There is one statistic that should worry Reeves and Starmer the most

<p>The chancellor claims the UK economy has ‘turned a corner’ – the Bank of England’s governor, meanwhile, suggests the opposite is true</p>
Voices

When it’s Rachel Reeves vs Andrew Bailey, I know who my money’s on

<p>Aid help in Kenya</p>
Voices

Global aid is about more than money and charity – it helps us all

<p>‘It feels as if Keir Starmer is now more likely than not to cease being prime minister before the end of this parliament’</p>
Voices

Starmer’s welfare humiliation is a turning point for his government

<p>Freida Hughes has lived in the same house for 21 years, cultivating the garden in that time</p>
Voices

I opened up my garden to strangers – here’s how it went

<p>Aid help in Kenya</p>
Voices

Global aid is about more than money and charity – it helps us all

<p>‘It feels as if Keir Starmer is now more likely than not to cease being prime minister before the end of this parliament’</p>
Voices

Starmer’s welfare humiliation is a turning point for his government

<p>Freida Hughes has lived in the same house for 21 years, cultivating the garden in that time</p>
Voices

I opened up my garden to strangers – here’s how it went

<p>Sir Keir Starmer departs 10 Downing Street to attend Prime Minister’s Questions</p>
UK Politics

Have your say: Has Starmer been weakened by Labour’s welfare revolt?

UK Politics

Have your say: Has Starmer been weakened by Labour’s welfare revolt?

Independent
<p>Sir Keir Starmer departs 10 Downing Street to attend Prime Minister’s Questions</p>
<p>‘While some locals may well be fed up with the fuss surrounding the Bezos/Sanchos wedding, it could be argued that 200 extra people is neither here nor there in a city that welcomes some 30 million tourists each year’</p>
Voices

Sorry, Mr Bezos, it’s no wonder you’re not welcome in Venice in June

<p>‘I know politics is said to have sped up, but we have reached that stage five years earlier with Starmer, and the big difference is that most people expect Labour to lose its majority at the next election’</p>
Voices

Don’t blame Morgan McSweeney – this welfare mess is Starmer’s fault

<p>Readers have called for better ventilation, face masks and vaccines</p>
Health

‘We haven’t learned’: Readers despair over UK’s Covid response

<p>Fed chair Jerome Powell has refused Trump’s demand for lower US interest rates</p>
Voices

Who will Trump pick to replace his ‘terrible’ and ‘stupid’ Fed boss?

<p>Fed chair Jerome Powell has refused Trump’s demand for lower US interest rates</p>
Voices

Who will Trump pick to replace his ‘terrible’ and ‘stupid’ Fed boss?

<p>‘Even some cabinet ministers think privately that Starmer will have to back down, or at the very least postpone next week’s vote to avoid a humiliating defeat’</p>
Voices

Facing defeat on welfare cuts, Keir Starmer only has one option

<p>‘Working people don’t care who flips the table – Trump or Mamdani – as long as someone does’</p>
Voices

Zohran Mamdani’s surprise win in New York shows voter hunger for hope

<p>Boys playing football</p>
The Independent View

Rather than weight-loss jabs, encourage us to be fitter and healthier

<p>New York City comptroller Brad Lander was placed under arrest by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and FBI agents outside federal immigration court on 17 June</p>
Voices

Political violence is becoming the new normal of Trump’s America

<p></p>
Voices

The Islamic Republic’s authority is a casualty of its war with Israel

<p>Daniel Hannan predicted that, nine years after the Brexit vote, ‘fuel bills have tumbled’ and there’s ‘shale oil and gas on tap’ </p>
Voices

Dan Hannan, have any of your predictions for Brexit Britain come true?

<p>The purported self-driving capabilities of Tesla vehicles have been called into question by regulators as well as crash victims</p>
Voices

As Tesla’s sales slump, is it time for Elon Musk to step aside?

<p></p>
Voices

Trump’s refusal to accept unwelcome reality is his greatest weakness

<p>Labour’s controversial welfare cuts face a significant hurdle at a crunch Commons vote</p>
UK Politics

Poll: Do you support Keir Starmer’s welfare reform plans?

<p>The current first-past-the-post electoral system is in question</p>
Voices

Why are Tories suddenly in favour of proportional representation?

<p>US president Donald Trump is unhappy with both Iran and Israel, accusing both countries of ceasefire violations</p>
The Independent View

Trump’s shaky ceasefire is not the lasting legacy he had in mind

The Independent View

Trump’s shaky ceasefire is not the lasting legacy he had in mind

Editorial
<p>US president Donald Trump is unhappy with both Iran and Israel, accusing both countries of ceasefire violations</p>
<p>The Competition & Markets Authority is suggesting a ‘choice screen’ for users, asking whether they want to use Google or an alternative, such as Bing</p>
Voices

It’s time you got off Google and used a different search engine

<p>Keir Starmer and Donald Trump</p>
Voices

Why can’t Starmer say if Trump was right or wrong to bomb Iran?

<p>Joan Collins took to Instagram to bemoan the Lime bikes blocking her path in Kensington, west London</p>
Voices

Robert Jenrick’s next crusade should be against Lime bikes

<p>Entrepreneur Dr Ann Kaplan Mulholland at her home at Lympne Castle, a grade I-listed medieval manor in Kent, dating back to the 12th century</p>
Voices

I’m leaving the UK because of how non-doms have been treated… ciao!

<p>Entrepreneur Dr Ann Kaplan Mulholland at her home at Lympne Castle, a grade I-listed medieval manor in Kent, dating back to the 12th century</p>
Voices

I’m leaving the UK because of how non-doms have been treated… ciao!

<p>Should HS2 be finished in full or scaled back?</p>
Rail Travel

‘It’s always been the wrong way round’: Readers split on future of HS2

<p>Congo is one of the countries that needs aid funding</p>
Voices

The stakes could not be higher in this global aid crisis

<p>Iran's Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, US president Donald Trump and Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu</p>
The Independent View

As Iran teeters, Donald Trump should be careful what he now wishes for

<p>Prime minister Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves launch the government’s Industrial Strategy at Horiba Mira in Nuneaton</p>
Voices

Is Labour’s industrial strategy the moment Britain turned a corner?

<p>Demonstrators in Tehran, protesting against Israel’s bombing of nuclear, military, and energy facilities</p>
Voices

This is a good moment for Israel to stop the war with Iran

<p>Vice president JD Vance and president Donald Trump on Saturday evening as the US Air Force bombed nuclear sites in Iran</p>
Voices

When the US talks regime change, we must be careful what they wish for

<p>Russian president Vladimir Putin and Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi attend a meeting in Moscow</p>
Voices

Trump’s gamble in Iran is bad news for the ‘axis of autocracies’

<p>Around 220,000 people with the ‘greatest need’ are expected to receive Mounjaro through the NHS over the next three years </p>
Health

Poll: Should weight loss drugs be widely available on the NHS?

<p>Keir Starmer and Donald Trump at the G7 summit in Canada</p>
The Independent View

The prime minister must refrain from following Donald Trump’s lead

<p>English wine is having a moment – but it faces challenges, too</p>
Voices

English wine is having a moment… so which ones should you try first?

<p>Banks are huge bureaucracies that can be horribly difficult to deal with</p>
Voices

I’m a business journalist – but I’ll never activate my debit card

Voices

I’m a business journalist – but I’ll never activate my debit card

James Moore
<p>Banks are huge bureaucracies that can be horribly difficult to deal with</p>
<p>Would you throw your dog a birthday party?</p>
Lifestyle

‘Worth every penny’ – or a waste? Readers on expensive dog parties

<p>The Church of England has yet to announce a replacement for Justin Welby</p>
Voices

Do we actually need a new Archbishop of Canterbury?

<p>Donald Trump and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House in April</p>
Voices

Why allegations of BBC bias on Israel are becoming hard to reconcile

<p>Doomscrolling can be addictive – and pose serious health risks if done while sitting endlessly on the toilet</p>
Voices

My doctor ordered me to stop doomscrolling for medical reasons

<p>Doomscrolling can be addictive – and pose serious health risks if done while sitting endlessly on the toilet</p>
Voices

My doctor ordered me to stop doomscrolling for medical reasons

<p>A prison guard walks through a cell area at HMP Berwyn</p>
The Independent View

Keir Starmer must end the injustice of indefinite sentences today

<p>Keir Starmer at the G7 summit in Alberta, Canada, where he was interviewed by Sky News’s Beth Rigby</p>
Voices

Keir Starmer accidentally admits his first year has been a failure

<p>Protesters from a pro-choice group gather outside parliament last week for the vote on decriminalising abortion after 24 weeks</p>
Voices

We still need to have difficult conversations about abortion

<p>Renters have been struggling with a lack of supply </p>
Voices

Could Rayner’s squeeze on landlords actually end up hurting renters?

<p>Would you vote to rejoin the EU in another referendum?</p>
UK Politics

Readers on reversing Brexit: From rejoining ‘tomorrow’ to ‘pipe dream’

<p>Keir Starmer in the Downing Street garden</p>
Voices

Whitehall isn’t working – here’s how the PM can fix it

<p>US president Donald Trump speaks to the press at the White House on Wednesday</p>
Voices

The most dangerous battle facing Trump isn’t in Iran

<p>Right-to-die campaigners celebrate a historic vote outside parliament</p>
The Independent View

MPs voting to legalise assisted dying is a momentous day for choice

<p>The EU/UK delegation of foreign secretaries in Geneva: from left, France's Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot, Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Germany's Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul and European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kalla </p>
Voices

What’s the point of the UK talking to Tehran? More than you think…

<p>Kim Leadbeater MP in the Commons on Friday at the third reading of her assisted dying bill</p>
Voices

My husband wanted to go to Dignitas… a right to die wouldn’t stop him

<p>Poll of the day: Do you support the assisted dying bill?</p>
UK Politics

Poll: Do you support the assisted dying bill?

UK Politics

Poll: Do you support the assisted dying bill?

Lauren MacDougall
<p>Poll of the day: Do you support the assisted dying bill?</p>
<p>Chancellor Rachel Reeves and deputy prime minister Angela Rayner with Rob Perrins, new chair of Berkeley Group, during their visit to the Oval Village project in London</p>
Business Comment

Angela Rayner must learn lessons from housebuilders to succeed

<p>More than 10 million of us were signed off work last year due to illness – depression or anxiety was a factor in half of those cases</p>
Voices

I know what it’s like to have anxiety – it’s anything but ‘ordinary’

<p>Plumbers ummed and ahhed over the issue</p>
Voices

Of course my water stopped working during a heatwave

<p>Donald Trump and Keir Starmer at the G7 summit</p>
The Independent View

Keir Starmer must refuse to follow Donald Trump into war on Iran

<p>Donald Trump and Keir Starmer at the G7 summit</p>
The Independent View

Keir Starmer must refuse to follow Donald Trump into war on Iran

<p>Donald Trump and Keir Starmer at the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada </p>
Voices

Can Starmer afford to join Trump in an open-ended war?

<p>Chancelllor of the exchequer Rachel Reeves</p>
Voices

Don’t panic, chancellor – there’s still hope for interest rate cuts

<p>A stray dog in Essaouira, Morocco</p>
Voices

Why I’ll never pet stray dogs on holiday again

<p>Stuart Feather, in drag, is pushed into a police van during a 1971 protest by the Gay Liberation Front</p>
Voices

It’s time every police force atoned for its homophobic witch hunts 

<p>Work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall will spearhead changes to the UK’s welfare system </p>
Home News

The human cost of disability cuts: ‘I feel like an expensive pet’

<p>‘It doesn’t matter how efficient your grocer is, or how aggressively they reduce the costs they can cut; that number is simply too big for them to absorb’</p>
Voices

Who’s to blame for food price hikes – supermarkets or Rachel Reeves?

<p>A Professional Standards Authority report has found that the Nursing and Midwifery Council allowed 350 underqualified or fraudulently qualified nurses to work in the UK</p>
The Independent View

Repeated failings by the nursing regulator demand a new approach

<p>Protesters from pro-choice group Abortion Rights outside parliament, where MPs were given a free vote on the decriminalisation of abortion</p>
Voices

The new abortion law reforms are welcome – but don’t go far enough

<p>‘It doesn’t matter how efficient your grocer is, or how aggressively they reduce the costs they can cut; that number is simply too big for them to absorb’</p>
Voices

Who’s to blame for food price hikes – supermarkets or Rachel Reeves?

<p>A Professional Standards Authority report has found that the Nursing and Midwifery Council allowed 350 underqualified or fraudulently qualified nurses to work in the UK</p>
The Independent View

Repeated failings by the nursing regulator demand a new approach

<p>Protesters from pro-choice group Abortion Rights outside parliament, where MPs were given a free vote on the decriminalisation of abortion</p>
Voices

The new abortion law reforms are welcome – but don’t go far enough

<p>Chancellor Rachel Reeves at a meeting of top City bankers</p>
Voices

Rachel Reeves cannot afford to lose any more non-doms

<p>Should HS2 be finished in full or scaled back?</p>
Rail Travel

Is HS2 worth completing, or just a £66bn mistake?

<p>Baroness Casey 'fairly sure' that grooming gangs are 'still happening today'</p>
Voices

Class-based prejudice allowed grooming gangs to get away with it

<p>The NHS advises people who think they have Covid to stay at home</p>
Health

Have your say: Did we learn the right lessons from the Covid pandemic?

<p>Deputy prime minister and housing secretary Angela Rayner is fronting the government’s plans for 1.5 million new homes by 2029</p>
Voices

Can I fix the housing crisis? Yes, I can…

<p>US president Donald Trump departed the G7 conference in Canada a day early for ‘big stuff’</p>
The Independent View

Instead of ending wars, ‘America First’ is being dragged into them

<p>Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, has argued that human rights laws could block the removal of sex offenders from the UK</p>
Voices

The tide has turned against the European Convention on Human Rights

<p>New Rightmove data shows asking prices in London and the South East are being slashed</p>
Voices

What do you have to do to sell your home in a property downturn?

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