Severely disabled young people should get fast-track access to benefits, Milburn says
Alan Milburn said 16- to 24-year-olds with most complex needs should not have to keep proving they cannot workYoung people whose complex disabilities mean they have little prospect of getting a paid job should get fast-track access to disability…
Three-quarters of UK’s popular plug-in hybrid cars unable to use rapid chargers
Only 26% of PHEVs sold across top 20 models can use chargers with power of 50kW or more, analysis findsThree-quarters of the 20 top-selling plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) in the UK cannot use rapid chargers, research has found, amid concerns…
Amazon’s Ring wants to replace local WhatsApp groups. It’s a recipe for curtain-twitching disaster | Imogen West-Knights
Do we really want a slick digital message board overseen by Amazon? It’s the neighbourhood nonsense we treasureRing, the Amazon subsidiary of camera-enabled doorbells fame, wants to be an even bigger part of your neighbourhood. Next month in the UK, it…
Happy birthday! What deals and discounts does your age unlock?
From a getting part-time job at 14 to receiving a letter from the king at 100, some milestone ages hold advantages in BritainHave you just unwrapped some presents? Been sitting in a soft play centre and watched a toddler blow out some candles?…
Of course you can be English if you’re not white. So why can’t the right leave the question alone? | Jason Okundaye
Even Jacob Rees-Mogg pushes back on defining Englishness in exclusively ethnic terms. But the endurance of this discourse is still deeply troubling Can you be English and non-white? It’s a question that keeps stubbornly resurfacing in our political…
Country diary: I’m virtually living in the woods now. Wildlife is everywhere | Kate Bradbury
Lewes, East Sussex: Owls, bats, badgers and countless birds are my new neighbours, but I’ve been particularly taken by a mystery tree – and its resident treecreeperI have made the woods my home, moving from Brighton to the outskirts of Lewes, where the…
‘Society needs children’: Alan Johnson calls for better-paid UK paternity leave
Exclusive: Former Labour minister says working-class fathers are being shortchanged and budget should correct itParliament was in recess when Tony Blair called Alan Johnson up to his flat above No 11. The former prime minister was relaxed, padding around…
How Labour can reform Britain’s pensions triple lock | Letters
Readers offer solutions to the thorny problem facing the government, in response to an article by Gaby HinsliffGaby Hinsliff (Britain needs cash and everyone knows we should break the pensions triple lock. Where is the courage?, 22 September) is right…
New map projections don’t make the Mercator wrong | Letter
The transverse Mercator projection was created for European sailors – and it worked for their world, writes Paul HarwoodThe subject of projections is incredibly complicated and you did a good job of navigating the discussion (‘A map is never neutral’:…
Why Ed Miliband has embraced his ‘awkward dad’ image in viral TikTok video
About 1.5 million people have watched footage of foreign secretary that capitalises on social media’s love of a cringe momentIt sparked delight among the diehard Milifans and a begrudging smile from those less keen on the foreign secretary, but a viral…