All posts tagged: Article

Politics Home Article | Vote Green To Push Labour Left, Says Zack Polanski

Politics Home Article | Vote Green To Push Labour Left, Says Zack Polanski

Published by Sam Flores

Zack Polanski delivered his speech to Green Party conference on Friday (Alamy) 3 min read3 hr Zack Polanski has urged people to keep voting for the Greens to force Labour into more left-wing positions. “Vote Green and watch Labour move,” the party leader said in his conference speech in Brighton on Friday. Polanski is hoping to defeat Labour in the by-election to succeed former prime minister Keir Starmer in the London constituency of Holborn and St Pancras next week. The Greens have performed well in the capital in recent months after enjoying a surge in popularity when Polanski first took over last year. However, Labour sources are confident that their candidate Sagal Abdi-Wali will win on Thursday. Polanski is facing questions about how he will combat Labour now that it is under the leadership of Prime Minister Andy Burnham. Labour’s polling has improved significantly since Burnham replaced Starmer in No 10 this summer, while the ratings of both Polanski and the Greens have dipped. Polanski used his speech to urge Green members to keep the pressure on Labour, arguing …

Politics Home Article | The Risks Of Burnham’s EU Push

Politics Home Article | The Risks Of Burnham’s EU Push

Published by Sam Flores

Andy Burnham spoke about the UK’s future with the EU in his speech on Tuesday (Alamy) 4 min read2 hr Andy Burnham opening the door to rejoining the European Union has been well-received by large parts of the Labour Party. But starting a new debate about Brexit is not without risk. Addressing Labour Party conference on Tuesday, the Prime Minister said he would return from a UK-EU summit later this year with a series of options for Britain’s long-term relationship with the bloc that he would then present to the public in a bid to find consensus. He later confirmed in interviews that the options could include rejoining. The announcement was one of the stand-out elements of Burnham’s speech. PoliticsHome understands that a previous draft was more explicit, specifically questioning the government’s long-standing red lines of staying out of the Single Market or Customs Union. No 10 is now asking think tanks and pollsters for evidence on public opinion about the UK’s EU relationship, as reported by The Guardian. The Institute for Public Policy Research think tank, influential in Labour …

The House Article | How Zack Polanski’s Greens Are Dealing With Their Andy Burnham Problem

The House Article | How Zack Polanski’s Greens Are Dealing With Their Andy Burnham Problem

Published by Sam Flores

Green Party leader Zack Polanski with supporters in Holborn and St Pancras, 20 September 2026 (Ron Fassbender/Alamy Live News) 9 min read3 hr Zack Polanski reshaped the Greens into a populist left party, which worked well against Keir Starmer. Andy Burnham is now threatening to take that argument away. Sienna Rodgers reports The Green Party has a problem: it may be a victim of its own success. In raising the salience of issues like Gaza and pushing radical cost of living policies, while getting cut-through thanks to a sharp social media strategy and the ability to speak human, Zack Polanski may have done himself a serious disservice. Among Greens, there is a widespread view that the governing party would never have made the bold move of ousting its leader just two years after a landslide victory without pressure from the left. Perhaps, then, Polanski did too well too early. Now there’s a new Labour leader who can communicate in an engaging – even deeply moving – way, while moving leftwards, all …

Politics Home Article | Starmer Loyalists Keep Their Heads Down At Calm Party Conference

Politics Home Article | Starmer Loyalists Keep Their Heads Down At Calm Party Conference

Published by Sam Flores

Andy Burnham was spared the usual round of conference back-biting as many potential critics avoided the event in Liverpool altogether (Alamy) 3 min read2 hr Party conferences are often a forum for rows and plotting, but Labour’s event in Liverpool passed by with barely a whiff of rancour, as allies of Keir Starmer stayed away or kept their powder dry for battles ahead. Those in attendance in Merseyside remarked not just on the positivity in the air, but on the sense of calm.  In his conference speech, Andy Burnham paid tribute to his predecessor, thanking Starmer “for the historic victory he achieved for us” at the 2024 general election. A year ago, allies of the then-prime minister were mocking Burnham after his major intervention on the eve of the 2025 conference was widely seen to have backfired, seemingly dealing a blow to his ambitions of moving from Greater Manchester to Downing Street. Twelve months on, with Burnham in No 10 and at the peak of his political powers, Starmer loyalists angry with how the former PM …

Meghan Markle, Kate Middleton, Princess Anne, more

Meghan Markle, Kate Middleton, Princess Anne, more

Published by Daniella Wilson

Royal ladies manage to look positively glowing when pregnant, stepping out for important engagements with glamorous flowing locks, radiant skin and the chicest maternity outfits.  We’ve taken a look back at some of the most beautiful pictures of royals when they were expecting, including snaps of the Princess of Wales, Meghan Markle and the late Princess Diana. Take a trip down memory lane below… The Duchess of Sussex Meghan and Harry’s shared this personal photograph with the world on Valentine’s Day 2021, taken by photographer and friend of the couple, Misan Harriman. “With the tree of life behind them and the garden representing fertility, life and moving forward, they didn’t need any direction, because they are, and always have been, waltzing through life together as absolute soulmates,” Misan revealed. Meghan wore a long dress by Carolina Herrera for the picture, which she also wore during her pregnancy with her firstborn child Archie. Duchess Meghan looked equally radiant during her first pregnancy with son Archie at the London Fashion Awards in 2018. The annual event at The …

The House Opinion Article | The Choices Facing Burnham’s Government On Water

The House Opinion Article | The Choices Facing Burnham’s Government On Water

Published by Sam Flores

Illustration by Tracy Worrall 8 min read3 hr Campaigning in Makerfield, Andy Burnham threatened Thames Water with public ownership – but has not so far followed through. Ben Gartside reports on a decision that will define his approach to privately owned suppliers of public goods. What, exactly, does the word ‘control’ mean when applied to those entities that supply vital public goods? Does it mean full nationalisation, with every decision in the hands of ministers and officials in Whitehall? Or does it rather mean that customers exercise a measure of control over their operation through ownership of a portion of equity? Or some other variant in which locally elected representatives take a golden share in the companies that serve their region? These are not theoretical questions but are coming sharply into focus as Andy Burnham wrestles with what to do about Thames Water. As of today, Thames Water supplies 16 million customers, owes more than £20bn and has been in breach of its licence for two years. A large portion of the Labour …

Politics Home Article | John Healey Pledges “Fiscal Discipline” And Hints At Welfare Reform

Politics Home Article | John Healey Pledges “Fiscal Discipline” And Hints At Welfare Reform

Published by Sam Flores

Healey hinted at welfare reform in Liverpool on Monday (Alamy) 2 min read4 hr The Chancellor has pledged “fiscal discipline” and hinted at future welfare reform, arguing it is “not progressive to allow a bigger and bigger benefits bill”. Speaking from Liverpool on the second day of Labour Party conference, Healey said that the “core” of the budget he will deliver next month will be “fiscal discipline”. It comes after Healey inherited a difficult economic landscape from his predecessor, with growing concerns around the costs of government borrowing and an enduring war in Iran.  Healey told conference that the “hope” that Labour wants to bring to the country would be “earned through fiscal discipline, through good work, and through strong industries,” and he said he and the Prime Minister are “in lockstep that we will meet the fiscal rules, that we will maintain control of Britain’s finances”. Elsewhere in the speech, Healey said: “I will bring fresh hope to build from the rock of fiscal discipline, built on a growing economy with good work and jobs in more places, …

The House Article | Neal Lawson: “The Most Naive Person In Left-Wing Politics”

The House Article | Neal Lawson: “The Most Naive Person In Left-Wing Politics”

Published by Sam Flores

(© David Levene/Guardian/eyevine) 13 min read9 min Reformed Blairite, longtime director of pressure group Compass and co-founder of new Labour group Mainstream Neal Lawson talks to Sienna Rodgers about his role in Andy Burnham’s rise and the political journey that brought him to this point Neal Lawson was working for Gordon Brown when he first met Andy Burnham, then a 20-something Blairite advising Tessa Jowell. It was the 90s and they were fellow members of Demon Eyes, the amateur football team set up by young Labour advisers and named after the famous Tory poster portraying a devilish Tony Blair. The squad included future Cabinet ministers Ed Balls and David Miliband, as well as journalists and backroom staff well-known in political circles – Tim Allan, Dan Corry, Liam Halligan, Phil Collins, David Goodhart and James Purnell, today Burnham’s chief of staff. Though Lawson and Burnham got on well, they were not especially close; it was from a distance that Lawson watched the subsequent adventures of his ex-teammate with interest, through his campaigning …

Will Viral Lesbian Bar Article From Boston Globe Become a TV Show?

Will Viral Lesbian Bar Article From Boston Globe Become a TV Show?

Published by Daniella Wilson

In the early 2000s, The Boston Globe published a series of bombshell articles that exposed the cover-up of abuse within the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston. The series was one of the more consequential pieces of journalism this century, winning a Pulitzer Prize and inspiring Spotlight, the 2015 film that won a best picture Oscar. Now, a very different Boston Globe piece has captured the zeitgeist — and Hollywood’s attention. The article in question is titled “A Western Mass. lesbian bar required KN-95 masks. When it changed the rules, all hell broke loose.” The Sept. 22 article by Annalisa Quinn was all over social media feeds this week and quickly became one of the most read stories in Globe history. Now, insiders tell THR that UTA, which represents the Globe, has been fielding inquiries about potential adaptations for the article — both in the scripted space and the documentary sphere. Indeed, the article has several ready-made characters, from a besieged bar owner drowning in debt to former patrons furious that the bar has killed its mask …

The House Article | Ed Miliband: “Andy Has Given Us The Permission To Be Heard Again”

The House Article | Ed Miliband: “Andy Has Given Us The Permission To Be Heard Again”

Published by Sam Flores

Ed Miliband (Photography by Louise Haywood-Schiefer) 14 min read1 hr Ed Miliband has landed a Great Office of State – not as Chancellor but as the new Foreign Secretary. He talks to Sienna Rodgers about why Keir Starmer had to go, how Andy Burnham is resetting the culture in government and his approach of ‘resilient idealism’ to the new job The Foreign Secretary wants you to know that he really loves his new job. Nobody expected Ed Miliband to land here: the chancellorship was what he wanted, and if he couldn’t secure No 11, it was rumoured he could be headed to the Department for Business. Before Andy Burnham’s ascent became inevitable, he was even thought to have half an eye on 10 Downing Street itself. Alas for Miliband, Burnham chose the ‘safe’ option of John Healey – but the new Foreign Secretary seeks to radiate contentment. “I think you can probably tell, I really love this job,” he tells The House, dialling in from New York, where he is attending …