Author: The Guardian

Speaking against his own government’s renters reform bill last autumn, the Tory grandee Sir Edward Leigh told MPs: “I was able to buy my first house – although it was a bit of a struggle – for £25,000. The opportunities for young people are so difficult now”. Younger people are “overwhelmingly reliant on the rental sector”, Leigh conceded, but the problem as he saw it was one of supply: “We have to build many more houses, and we have to free up the rented sector.”What never seems to occur to Leigh, his parliamentary colleagues, or indeed his entire generation, is…

After Vladimir Putin’s landslide presidential election victory on Sunday, western governments lined up to characterise the win as unfair and undemocratic.The elections underlined the “depth of repression” in Russia, according to British foreign minister David Cameron, while the US state department said the jailing and disqualification of opponents meant the process was “incredibly undemocratic”.The comments from leaders across Europe and the US stood however in sharp contrast to messages of congratulation that flowed from countries across Asia, Africa and Latin America.These contrasting reactions underscore the geopolitical faultlines that have been cleaved wider since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine…

Manu Tuilagi has agreed to end his England career on a two-year contract with Bayonne next summer. The 32-year-old, who made his final appearance as a substitute against France on Saturday, will be ineligible to represent England as he joins the top 14 squad.A number of clubs are interested in Tuilagi’s signature but it is believed the centerpiece visited Bayonne on Monday for a medical following the Six Nations. If he passes all necessary checks, he will join the club in ninth place in the top 14.Skip past newsletter promotionsThe latest rugby league news and analysis, plus a recap of…

The full membership list of the men-only Garrick Club reveals its central position as a bulwark of the British establishment, featuring scores of leading lawyers, heads of publicly funded arts institutions, the chief of MI6, the head of the civil service, and King Charles.Members also include the deputy prime minister, the secretary of state for levelling up, the chief executive of the Royal Opera House as well as Richard Moore, the head of the Secret Intelligence Service, and Simon Case, who as cabinet secretary is the prime minister’s most senior policy adviser and the leader of nearly half a million…

Donald Trump has renewed calls for his most prominent Republican critic, Liz Cheney, to be jailed over her role in the 2021 investigation of the January 6 Capitol attack by his supporters His behavior is bound to cause further concern. If the president is re-elected to the White House, he may persecute his political opponents.Trump posted on his truth social platform on Sunday that other members of the congressional committee that investigated the Capitol attack – and concluded that he conspired to overturn his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden – Should be imprisoned.The statements follow Trump’s previous remarks that…

Nottingham Forest have received a four-point deduction for breaching the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules, dropping them into the relegation zone, one point from the last safe spot.An announcement from the Premier League is expected on Monday and Forest are likely to appeal. Luton, with whom Forest drew 1-1 on Saturday, have been lifted out of the bottom three by the punishment.Forest admitted the breach but their defence was based around extenuating circumstances in relation to the sale of Brennan Johnson. The club received a £30m offer from Brentford early last summer but the forward was unwilling to move…

Laura Trott met her mentor and inspiration Sir Bradley Wiggins in 2004 when she was 12 years old. She won the British Junior Championship in 2009 and 2010 and her first world title in 2011 in the team pursuit. Photo: Stewart News/Shutterstock Source link

My pyjama trousers must have been on the small side at the time – not unusual for a nine-year-old going through a mini-growth spurt. However, the reason I know that the trouser legs were hanging above my ankles is that when Tiggy took a swipe at them that morning, she managed to draw blood.To be fair, she had given me due warning. On the previous occasion I was slow to feed the cat, she had growled with such naked menace that had she been human, the message could not have been more explicit: next time I’ll cut you.She always was…

AAt first glance, not much has changed during this year’s Men’s Six Nations Championship. As in 2023, Ireland and France occupy the top two spots on the table, with Wales and Italy in the bottom two and England and Scotland once again the meat in the club sandwich. Ireland had their worst defense for the third year running and oddly only winless Wells had more shots on goal than last year.However, if this is not by all accounts an old-fashioned Six Nations tournament, the ancient tournament is undergoing a refreshing renaissance. Competition is fierce at the moment, with 10 of…

Louise* thought she had been open and clear with her two children about the dangers of the internet. But last year there was a knock on her door at 6am. It was the police looking for her 17-year-old son.“There were five or six police coming up my stairs,” she says. “When they said they were looking for my son because of indecent images I thought I was going to pass out.“I was saying, ‘Oh my God he’s autistic – has he been groomed?’ They bagged up all his devices and took him away. I was so petrified for him I…