Reality pays a visit to the Labour party conference, but it’s the ‘Hope Again’ that kills you
Most MPs are clinging to this year’s Beckettian slogan, but the chancellor brought his own brand of despairIt could be just me, but I’m beginning to find that all this “hope” stuff is getting me down. Everywhere you go at the Labour party conference, you…
Nandy labels Farage ‘master of conspiracy theory’ over Fairford claims
Culture secretary criticises Reform leader after he tried to link suspected bomb plot to small boat crossingsNigel Farage has been described as a “master of the conspiracy theory” by the culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, after he tried to link events at RAF…
How the Manchester City scandal could play out | Letters
Readers respond to the guilty verdict against the football club for breaking the Premier League’s financial fair play rulesThirty six years ago, the team I support, Swindon Town, were severely punished for financial irregularities that pale into…
What if the Seven Up! series started today? | Letter
Gordon McDougall recalls finding the original children to feature in the documentary strand that started in 1964In your editorial on the Up series (20 September), your point is well made that exposing seven‑year-olds on television…
Don’t get your kegs, keks and kex in a twist | Letters
Readers respond to Zahaan Bharmal’s experience of getting to grips with the Yorkshire dialectZahaan Bharmal’s observation on the north-south pronunciation divide (Could we be about to see the end of northern English dialects? My experience – and the…
Labour’s modest reheat of help to buy is worth a try | Nils Pratley
Turning to George Osborne’s playbook may look awkward, but cutting deposits to 2.5% could jolt a housebuilding sector stuck in a funkWhat you need to know about Your First Home schemeThere may be three reasons why the Labour government has hesitated…
Burnham has a battle plan, with social care the flagship. Risks lie ahead, but Labour now travels in hope | Polly Toynbee
Here in Liverpool, the PM’s ambition for the party – and the country – is evident. There should be no complacency, but also no fearHis ambition is big enough to see from space as he promises the “biggest change to Britain in 40 years”. Andy Burnham…
Palestine has become electoral issue in UK for first time, says solidarity campaign chief
Anger over Israel’s war in Gaza is mobilising British voters, according to Aimee ShalanPalestine has become a domestic electoral issue in Britain for the first time, according to the incoming head of the country’s largest Palestinian solidarity…
Gene-edited bananas that don’t go brown could hit UK supermarkets
Scientific breakthrough could reduce food waste and make it easier to add the fruit to prepackaged foodIt is the bane of every fruit bowl: sliced banana that turns brown before it has reached the table. But such woes could soon be a thing of the past,…
‘Are these chemicals in my blood?’ How one community learned the truth about Pfas pollution
People living next to a chemicals plant near Blackpool were tested for ‘forever chemicals’. Last week they received the alarming resultsLast February, I got a call from a woman called Sam Hammond. We had been speaking on and off for a while over her…