Lucy Powell calls on Labour not to ‘write off’ May local elections
Labour should not “write off” next May’s elections as a likely moment for big losses but use the budget as a way to seize back voters’ attention, Lucy Powell has said as the battle to be the party’s deputy leadership entered its final period.With voting among party members under way, Bridget Phillipson, Powell’s rival for the post, said if she won she would set up a formal system to reflect the views of members and unions to the cabinet on a regular basis.Powell was sacked from the cabinet in last month’s reshuffle after the departure of Angela Rayner and has become the favourite to win on an outsider platform, promising to present tough truths to Keir Starmer and his team when necessary.Speaking after a series of events with members over the weekend, Powell said there was concern about the possible impact on the party of the elections for the Scottish and Welsh parliaments and councils across England next May, with Labour predicted to see heavy losses, many to Reform UK.Powell, who was leader of the Commons until the reshuffle, said she was “not prepared to write off this hugely important set of elections” as inevitable midterm pushback, calling for a bold budget in response.
“It’s not OK if we are losing good Labour councillors and councils through no fault of their own, because of the missteps we’ve taken nationally,” she said,“We need to reset the agenda so that more communities don’t wake up to Reform and other councils after election day next May,”The 26 November budget should be “a moment to draw a line under our past mistakes, and show the country whose side we are on”, Powell said, saying it should lift the two-child benefit cap and make sure the tax burden was shared more fairly,Speaking on BBC One’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Phillipson, the education secretary, indicated she believed the cap would be lifted,“I am confident that we as a government will do the right thing by children growing up in poverty in our country,” she said.
“We’ve already started that process.There’s more to do.I will make that happen.”Phillipson argued that as a cabinet minister she could make sure members’ concerns were heard directly at the top of government.In a subsequent pledge, her team said she would formally solicit views from members and trade unions every three months to present in this way.
She said: “The Labour party draws its strength from its members,That’s why I want to give them a stronger voice in how the government delivers its agenda, with more avenues for our movement to tell us about their priorities,“Only under my deputy leadership will members have their voices heard loud and clear at the cabinet table,”Electronic voting among party members began last Wednesday and will run until 23 October, with the result announced two days later,
Revealed: Labour-run council using legal loophole to serve families with no-fault evictions
A Labour-run council is using a legal loophole to issue dozens of families with no-fault evictions, despite Keir Starmer’s manifesto pledge to outlaw the practice.Scrapping no-fault evictions “immediately” was one of Labour’s main manifesto pledges before its 2024 election win, but more than a year on, the party’s flagship renters’ rights bill has not been made law.Local authorities cannot normally carry out no-fault evictions – known officially as section 21 evictions – as they apply to tenancies issued by private landlords.However, Lambeth council in south London has been able to start eviction proceedings against 63 households because it created an arm’s-length body to manage some of its housing stock.Five families have already been issued with possession orders via the courts and two of those have had their homes repossessed by bailiffs
Gen Z women in the US: do you identify as liberal?
Gen Z women are the most politically left-leaning group in the US, according to a poll which suggests that women 28 and younger skew substantially more left than the national average on issues such as abortion and gender-affirming care.The 19th News/SurveyMonkey poll found that 17% of gen Z women identify as Republicans, compared with 30% of gen Z men.We would like to hear from younger women in the US about their thoughts on this survey – and whether they identify as “liberal” or not.You can share your thoughts on the poll using this form.Please include as much detail as possible
High street slot machine shops pay staff bonuses linked to how much gamblers lose
High street slot machine shops are paying their staff bonuses linked to how much gamblers lose, the Guardian has learned, prompting condemnation of the “appalling” reward scheme from MPs and campaigners.A network of 1,451 “adult gaming centres” (AGCs), most of which are open 24 hours a day, has spread through the UK in recent years, concentrated in the most economically deprived areas.Amid booming revenues, the German-owned Merkur posted a £15m profit for 2024, while Admiral Slots paid its Austrian owner a £10m dividend last year, according to accounts posted at Companies House this week.It can now be revealed that the growth of at least one of the sector’s leading players has been partly fuelled by incentive schemes that unlock bonuses in return for hitting key targets. At Merkur, these targets include revenues from punters’ losses on highly addictive slot machines
Millions of over-50s have undiagnosed sight and hearing problems, UK study suggests
Millions of people aged 50 or over in the UK have undiagnosed sight or hearing problems, according to research, prompting calls for that age group to have checkups more regularly.Doctors involved in the research said the findings were “deeply concerning” and warned that those affected were at risk of falls, mental ill-health and of leading socially restricted lives.One in four people aged 50 and over – 6.7 million people – cannot see clearly out of one or both eyes, according to a pilot stage of the UK national eye health and hearing study.And three in four older Britons – 20
Female athletes have faster reaction times on day they ovulate, study finds
Female athletes have reaction times 80 milliseconds faster and make fewer mistakes on the day they ovulate, according to research.Researchers at University College London (UCL) studied how different stages of the menstrual cycle and levels of activity affected women’s brain function. They tracked 54 women aged 18 to 40 not using hormone-based contraception and grouped them according to how much exercise they took: inactive (reported not taking part in any form of structured exercise), recreationally active (taking part in at least two hours of structured exercise a week), competing in any sport at club level, and elite (competing in any sport at national or international level).They then completed cognitive tests and reported their mood and symptoms on the first day of menstruation, two days after the end of menstruation (late follicular phase), the first day ovulation was detected, and between ovulation and menstruation (mid-luteal phase).The study, published in Sports Medicine – Open, found that women perform best on cognitive tests when they ovulate, with on average participants reacting about 30 milliseconds faster compared with later in their cycle and making fewer mistakes
Dismay and anger over Labour’s visa plans | Letters
As an immigrant working in the NHS on a health and care visa, I am dismayed, disappointed, angry and terrified by Labour’s immigration reform proposals, due to their potential impact on me, on other immigrants and on all British society (NHS could cease to function under Labour’s new visa rules, say nurses, 6 October).Until the immigration white paper was published, I naively assumed that anti-immigrant sentiment was restricted to the Tories and Reform UK. When Labour came to power, I felt tremendous relief and a budding sense of safety and optimism. I soon learned how naive I was. Betrayed and used, I now fear that I will lose my job and my home
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