Britain must wake up. Follow rigorous reporting on the threats to our democracy. One year for £25. |  | Gordon Rayner Associate Editor | What did Sir Keir Starmer want the 2025 Labour conference to be remembered for?
After a relatively dull and trouble-free three days in Liverpool (despite Andy Burnham’s best efforts), he had the chance to use his leader’s speech to wow his audience and the country with a vision, an idea or even just a soundbite, as Margaret Thatcher did with her “the lady’s not for turning” speech in 1980.
Instead, Sir Keir decided the 2025 conference should be remembered for his obsession with Nigel Farage, and in particular his suggestion that the Reform leader – and by extension his supporters – do not love Britain.
It was a clumsy own goal from a Prime Minister who has repeatedly proved that he does not understand politics.
Instead of showing people who have switched from Labour to Reform that he understands their concerns about immigration, he has effectively branded them all bigots – just as Gordon Brown did in his disastrous hot mic moment in 2010.
Presumably Sir Keir was hoping that his call to “never surrender” the flags of the Union to the far Right would be the defining moment of the conference, but his instruction to his audience to wave the flags they had been given felt more like a stunt than a moment of patriotism.
It did, at least, overshadow some of the other problem moments from the conference’s third day.
Sharon Graham, the leader of the Unite union, told Sir Keir he should sack Ed Miliband as Net Zero Secretary after the announcement of the closure of one of Britain’s last oil refineries.
Wes Streeting, David Lammy and others called for the return of Angela Rayner to the Government, just weeks after she resigned over an admission that she paid too little tax on an £800,000 flat on the south coast.
Meanwhile, the deputy leadership front-runner Lucy Powell suggested current guidance on women-only spaces is “not right” and should be more inclusive for trans people, which risks a fresh battle in the culture wars.
Read Gordon’s full analysis here ➤
Coming up on the last day of the conference:
• 9.40am The final speeches will take place in the main conference hall.
• 11am Member votes take place on a number of policy motions, with the two-child benefit cap expected to be up for debate.
• 12pm Labour deputy leadership hopefuls Bridget Phillipson and Lucy Powell face the party faithful in an hour-long hustings.
• 12.20pm The conference closes with the traditional renditions of The Red Flag and Jerusalem.
Plus, in case you missed it, we sent Jacob Rees-Mogg to Liverpool to challenge Labour supporters on their political beliefs.
Watch the full video here ➤
| The former Tory leader of Commons went behind enemy lines at the Labour conference | |  | Flic Everett | Many years ago I gave up drinking alcohol for a month, and was so impressed with myself that I felt I’d cracked the Da Vinci Code. Of course, once the arbitrary 30 days were up, I returned immediately to my normal pattern of drinking most nights. I didn’t think about it again until a combination of nagging headaches and peri-menopausal facial flushing drove me to stop. I’ve barely had a drink since.
Britain is notoriously a nation of drinkers, with 24 per cent of adults in England and Scotland regularly imbibing more than the Government’s low-risk guidelines, but this month many of us will press pause for “Sober October”. The motivation to go teetotal temporarily is clear, with countless studies showing the link between excessive alcohol consumption and cancers, heart failure, diabetes and other chronic health issues. I spoke to ex-drinkers who said it acted as the beginning of a full reset – and a healthier relationship with alcohol for good. But if I also told you that after two weeks you were likely to see a drop in body weight, eye bags reduced and far less overall bloating around the stomach, as well as clearer skin… could you be tempted to go sober for a month?
Continue reading ➤ | | Annabel Denham Starmer and Reeves must realise that spending does not equal growth – or Britain will be buried under the weight of its crushing debt Continue reading ➤ Philip Johnston
Resisting national ID cards was a noble cause in 1950. It remains so today Continue reading ➤ Eir Nolsøe It’s time for pensioners to start paying their way Continue reading ➤ | Free thinking. Straight talking. Explore more opinion from the nation’s leading comment writers. One year for £25. | | When Sir Tony Blair contemplates the wasteland that Gaza, with its two million desperate Palestinian inhabitants, has become, he does not see a vista of despair. Instead, he sees what he calls “the chance of a brighter and better future”. Now, as the first appointee to the Trump-chaired “Board of Peace”, the former prime minister will once again find himself at the forefront of power politics. David Blair, our Chief Foreign Affairs Commentator, tries to get to the bottom of why the 72-year-old is keen to get back on the world stage. Continue reading ➤ | |  | | It may look like a glamorous lifestyle, but caring for the children of the super-rich on holiday can be exhausting and unpredictable. We spoke to several travel nannies, among them Kathryn Lord, 38, who has worked for families including Russian billionaires. “I was expected to work 20-hour days and wear a uniform,” she says. “[The parents] gave me a credit card and told me never to say ‘no’ to anything [the children] asked for, but they didn’t really want to see their kids.” Sally Howard exposes the reality for those staffing this cosseted world. Continue reading ➤ | | | Why are so many people struggling to get a job? The answer is as long as the list of applicants. People taking a punt at roles they are not suitable for, AI, headhunters and a refusal to come into an office every day are all playing their part, reports MaryLou Costa. Continue reading ➤ | | | Bonnie Blue (real name Tia Billinger), with her mother, Sarah Billinger | | The stratospheric rise of Bonnie Blue, who claims to have had sex with more than 1,000 men in 12 hours, has left many people wondering how her immediate family feel about her escapades. Depressingly, they all appear to be on her payroll. She also has a husband – or at least she had a husband – and there is mounting evidence that Blue’s gargantuan fortune is at the heart of their bitter split. Continue reading ➤ | | | Wim Hof, a world record-breaker with the ability to withstand freezing cold temperatures, has been credited with shaping the wellness scene. “The Iceman” claims to have changed people’s lives using the art of breathwork and ice swimming – and, in doing so, making millions. It’s unclear whether Hof’s methods have any real health benefits, so Jack Rear, our Senior Features Writer, attended one of his sessions. Continue reading ➤ | | | A retro-style Smeg fridge was once a stalwart of the middle-class kitchen. As the Italian appliance brand announces a slump in sales, we take a look at the new kitchen status symbols signifying that you have your finger on the pulse, from the latest gadgets to design details. How does your kitchen measure up? Continue reading ➤ Below are two more helpful articles for you this morning: | | For the average middle-aged man, nothing short of a severed limb or full-blown cardiac arrest would convince them to see the doctor, something that will be highly familiar to concerned wives up and down the country.
Ignoring early symptoms can lead to much worse outcomes, so it’s important to know the red flags.
From skin tags to shortness of breath, here are eight symptoms men in their 40s, 50s and 60s should look out for, and when to visit the GP.
Read the full list here ➤ | Kentish correspondence Every weekday, Orlando Bird, our loyal Reader Correspondent, shares an off-piste topic that has brought out the best of your opinions and stories. Orlando writes...
Ah, the Garden of England. I love Kent, and not just because it helps keep the Letters desk in business. (We really do receive a lot of correspondence from Tunbridge Wells.) My wife comes from there, so I’ve had a chance to get to know it well. It’s got everything: bustling towns, beautiful countryside, glorious beaches and... whatever Dungeness is (that isn’t a slight – it’s an extraordinary, beguiling place).
It’s also home to an embarrassment of picture-perfect villages, and our article ranking the prettiest has got readers talking (here, I feel duty-bound to put in a word for Sissinghurst).
Patrick Murphey was pleased to see Chilham triumph: “One of my strongest childhood memories is of going there in the mid-1970s and watching the falconry display and jousting. What a splendid place, and I think you could probably walk into Canterbury in an afternoon.”
Will Stephens felt that “Penshurst should be up there – water meadows, Penshurst Place, nice pubs, great village shop, old church”.
Another reader referred to a bit of local lore that I remember hearing on an early visit: “A few years ago, looking to move, we visited a house in Pluckley. Approaching the village, we saw a “Caution: horses” sign, with a horse and rider – but the rider’s head had been painted out, so as to appear headless. I later found out that Pluckley is reputed to be the most haunted village in Britain.”
Well, it’s no less pretty for that. Fan of Kent? Let me know here, or head to our Your Say page on the Telegraph app. PS – We’ve had some excellent responses to yesterday’s section on shortening names. I wrote that I’ve worked my way through several diminutives, none of which has stuck. But it’s hardly been the nomenclatural rollercoaster described by Norman Burrell: ‘‘I was christened Norman. This was chosen by my older twin brothers because they had been given Norman bicycles for their birthday. My Irish grandmother had previously insisted on choosing her grandchildren’s names, favouring anglicised versions of Irish Christian names. This annoyed my mum, a Cockney, and she wanted something English for me. When she struggled to think of a name, my brothers intervened. At least Norman was non-Irish.
“Growing up, I hated it. People in the public eye called Norman always seemed to be comedians, but I never met anyone with the name. When my pals started calling me Norm, I switched to my middle name, Stuart. This was a bad idea, as people changed it immediately to Stu. I went back to using Norman, but told friends not to shorten it. All that happened was that they started calling me Buzz, based on my surname. In my late teens, Buzz Aldrin came to fame, so that was acceptable.
“For a time during my career I was called Nostro, because I had an annoying ability to guess what was going to happen in the company.
“Today, people who know me use my full Christian name. I believe I have earned that respect. If other folks shorten it, I don’t tend to acknowledge them. I don’t really mind if it is affectionate, but shortening a Christian name can be extremely rude.” | Plan your day with the telegraph | Set your alarm to catch up with journalists on the Your Say page and listen to their analysis on our latest podcasts.
| | Find as many words as you can in today’s Panagram, including the nine-letter solution. Visit Telegraph Puzzles to play a range of head-scratching games, including PlusWord, Sorted, and Quick, Mini or Cryptic Crosswords.
The solution to yesterday’s clue was ACQUIRING. Come back tomorrow for the answer to today’s puzzle. | | Thank you for reading. Have a fulfilling day and I hope to see you tomorrow. Chris Evans, Editor
P.S. I’d love to hear what you think of this newsletter. You can email me your feedback here. | |
.png){kind=icon}
.jpg)
.jpg )
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire