Readers respond to Polly Toynbee’s article on the government’s plans to overhaul local government Polly Toynbee is correct to point out the foolishness of a massive local government reorganisation, given other priorities (Is No 10 seeking its own destruction? Why else would it botch its council plans and hand a victory to Farage?, 18 February). What she does not mention is that this reorganisation will lead to a large increase in inequality. The district councils that are being abolished are rising from the ashes as town and parish councils and, unlike other councils, they can set their own precept and cannot be capped. The largest town councils have budgets of more than £5m and more than 124 parish councils have budgets of over £1m. These councils tend to be in the wealthier suburban and rural areas, and can protect their residents from austerity, unlike residents of large, disadvantaged urban areas. Continue reading...

Readers respond to Adrian Chiles’s column about needing to keep an eye on the cost of services regularly paid for Re: Adrian Chiles’s column (My breakdown cover was extortionate – and that taught me an important lesson, 18 February). My dad was a member of the AA for 60 years and called them out about once a decade in all that time. When he died last year aged 91, we noticed, like Chiles, that the premiums were very high, and rang to move the account to my mother’s name and see if we could reduce the cost. The answer (without any condolences or recognition of Dad’s loyalty to the brand) was: “No.” Unsurprisingly, we are no longer with the AA. Louisa Clarke Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire • Adrian Chiles has fallen foul, like most of us, to pernicious insurance auto-renewal. Continue reading...

The characteristics include attachments to authoritarian regimes including the one based in the Kremlin, writes Kevin Lloyd; plus a letter from Peter Gray Oliver Eagleton wonders whether we can any longer discern common strands within populism (‘Populism’: we used to know what it meant. Now the defining word of our era has lost its meaning, 18 February). While the left has deep roots in common endeavour and collective struggle, it has tended to act through structures concerned with improving the lives of working people. In contrast, populism is inherently about promoting cultural division and then suborning state institutions for the use of a great leader who alone can hold the nation together. Putting it in far less erudite terms than Eagleton’s article, the common characteristics of populism include self-aggrandising and self-interested demagoguery by pseuds and charlatans, often with a side helping of corruption, a colourful past involving many brushes with the law, strong attachments to some of the world’s worst authoritarian regimes, including the one based in the Kremlin, plus a deep reluctance to be transparent about the sources of their funding, a definition of common sense drawn solely from the wit and wisdom of the pub boor, all coupled with outright racism and membership of a far-right international (often labelled national conservatism) which provides a playbook and funding for their endeavours. Continue reading...

Andrew Hiscock says the Netherlands’ handling of flooding in 1953 has stood it in good stead. Plus letters from John Sergeant and Michael Heaton In the Netherlands, much of which is below sea level, we have not had a single square metre of flooding since 1953 (‘Homes may have to be abandoned’: how climate crisis has reshaped Britain’s flood risk, 31 January). In that year, a storm surge erupted in the North Sea, engulfing much of East Anglia as well as the Dutch province of Zeeland. The Dutch built the Delta Works to fix this; the English did nothing. Years of investment in land reclamation and flood-defence experience were brought into play. The Netherlands handles the delta/distributaries of two of Europe’s greatest rivers – the Rhine (Rijn) and the Meuse (Maas). I live five metres from a major inland waterway and the level does not change. My cousin lives in Somerset (twinned with Atlantis) and is already on his third flooding of 2026. Continue reading...

Chief content officer Kate Phillips tells staff she is ‘so sorry’ only one racial slur by Tourette campaigner was not edited from recorded broadcast Peter Bradshaw: why the dust has not yet settled on the Baftas N-word row A senior BBC executive has apologised to staff for the corporation’s failure to edit a racial slur from Sunday’s Bafta film awards telecast. In a note sent on Tuesday and seen by the Press Association, chief content officer Kate Phillips told staff she was “so sorry that a racial slur was not edited out of our broadcast” and that she understood “how distressing this was”. Tourette syndrome campaigner John Davidson could be heard shouting the N-word as Sinners stars Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo presented the award for special visual effects at the Royal Festival Hall in London. Continue reading...

While the use of the N-word may not have been intentional, some with the condition agree that doesn’t make it acceptable It was an incident that sparked a furore: during Sunday’s Bafta ceremony Tourette syndrome (TS) activist John Davidson made several outbursts, including shouting the N-word as actors Delroy Lindo and Michael B Jordan were presenting a prize on stage. Among others to comment on the incident were actors including Oscar winner Jamie Foxx and Wendell Pierce, who starred alongside Jordan in The Wire. Continue reading...

Super 8s: England, 166-8, bt Pakistan, 164-9, by 2 wickets Captain Brook hits 100 to set up final-over win For all their faults and frailties, their fluffs and fumbles, England are also the first team to secure a place in the World Cup semi-finals, their spot secured by victory over Pakistan and by the sensational Harry Brook century that drove them towards it. After coming in just one ball into England’s innings and watching the rest of England’s top five fluff their lines, England’s captain took centre stage and transformed a crisis into what, for all that a couple of late wickets got the nerves jangling, became something approaching a cruise. Brook fell to the last ball of the 17th over, the first after he had completed his century off his 50th delivery. Several Pakistan players ran towards him to shake his hand as he left the field, and soon they were shaking hands again: having come to the crease before England had even taken a nibble into their target of 165, Brook departed with them needing 10 off 18. Though Will Jacks and Jamie Overton both fell in the penultimate over to give Pakistan the faintest sniff of renewed hope, they got there with five balls remaining to win by two wickets. Continue reading...

When Sammy Azdoufal found he had access to data from robot vacuum cleaners around the world, he told a tech publication. But the implications could be mind-boggling Name: The accidental hacker. Age: It doesn’t matter how old Sammy Azdoufal is. What he did is what’s important here, and what he did is very much of the age. Continue reading...

Leicester and Nottingham officers accept they missed opportunities to act on earlier warrant Two police forces have apologised to bereaved families and survivors of the Nottingham attacks for failing to act on an arrest warrant for Valdo Calocane that was issued 10 months before he killed three people, a public inquiry has heard. NHS England and the NHS trust that cared for Calocane, who has paranoid schizophrenia, also apologised to the families over missed opportunities. “The NHS and the system as a whole failed you with devastating consequences,” the lawyer representing NHS England said. Continue reading...

Former US president’s part in ending the Troubles threatened by fallout from Epstein’s scandal, which has tainted his former envoy, George Mitchell When Bill Clinton testifies later this week at a congressional investigation into Jeffrey Epstein there is unlikely to be any reference to his most precious foreign policy achievement – helping to bring peace to Northern Ireland. Whether Clinton is linked to Epstein’s predations or turns the tables on his inquisitors, his legacy in Northern Ireland might appear to stand apart, a jewel of his presidency that is immutable, enshrined in history. Continue reading...

Mexico’s president says there is ‘no risk’ for those visiting for Fifa games after military killed drug lord ‘El Mencho’ Violence in Mexico after military kills notorious drug cartel boss – a visual guide Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has said that there is “no risk” for visitors coming to Fifa World Cup games scheduled to be held in the country, after the death of a top cartel boss triggered a wave of retaliatory violence from gunmen who blocked roads and attacked security forces across the country. The Mexican military attempted to detain “El Mencho”, the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, in a dawn raid on Sunday, leading to a firefight in which he was fatally wounded, before dying while being airlifted to hospital. Continue reading...

Former US ambassador Peter Mandelson has been released on bail after his arrest over claims he committed misconduct in public office during his friendship with the convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Police have been investigating allegations that he leaked Downing Street emails and market-sensitive information to the disgraced US financier during his time as business secretary. Mandelson has denied any wrongdoing. Lucy Hough speaks to the Guardian’s head of national news, Archie Bland – watch on YouTube Continue reading...

Government ignores pleas for a grace period before new rules come into force on Wednesday British citizens with a second nationality risk being blocked from entering the UK from Wednesday, the Home Office has confirmed. The government has decided to ignore pleas from families, the Liberal Democrats and the former Conservative cabinet minister David Davies for a grace period to allow British dual nationals to adapt to the new rules they face. Continue reading...

Marius Borg Høiby is on trial accused of 38 crimes including four rapes and assaults The former partner of Marius Borg Høiby, the son of Norway’s crown princess, has told a court he punched her in the face during their relationship and “often” grabbed her by the throat. Høiby, 29, Mette-Marit’s son from a relationship before her marriage to Crown Prince Haakon, is on trial accused of 38 crimes, including four rapes and assaults. Continue reading...

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Former US ambassador Peter Mandelson has been released on bail after his arrest over claims he committed misconduct in public office during his friendship with the convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Police have been investigating allegations that he leaked Downing Street emails and market-sensitive information to the disgraced US financier during his time as business secretary. Mandelson has denied any wrongdoing. Lucy Hough speaks to the Guardian’s head of national news Archie Bland – watch on YouTube Continue reading...

Campus clashes provide uneasy backdrop to third round of talks on nuclear programme in Geneva Plainclothes police and security forces, many of them armed, have tried to flood Iran’s remaining open universities in an attempt to crush a fourth day of student protests against the supreme leader, Ali Khamenei. Running battles were reported on some campuses, with videos showing fistfights between the Basji state-backed militia and students at the University of Science and Technology in Tehran. Pick-up trucks with machine-guns were photographed parked outside the University of Tehran, with demonstrations also in Mashhad. Continue reading...

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now! It’s not been the best time for Turkish football in recent months, what with the suspension of 149 match officials and more than 1,000 players relating to a betting scandal. Ouch. But events in a seventh-tier match at the weekend brought some much-needed moral goodness back to the game there when a player revived a seagull that had been struck down by a flying ball. Yep, you read that right. Let’s start at the beginning shall we. Istanbul Yurdum Spor goalkeeper Muhammed Uyanik picked the ball up in the 22nd minute of a fierce battle with Mevlanakapi Guzelhisar, with the winner taking home the league title. Seeing no short options available, he went route one, pinging the ball high into the air only to see his clearance thud against a low-flying gull that spiralled in the air like a downed fighter-jet before dropping to the floor with a sickening thud. Sorry it’s a bit late, but have been away for a week and just caught Ken Muir’s letter regarding Invergordon FC and their league win possibly relating to a close distillery (Football Daily letters, 17 February). It reminded me instantly of a summer long ago when I and fellow members of Thames Ditton Wanderers CC undertook a tour of Yorkshire. Our first game was against Tadcaster and their captain invited us for a pre-match lunch and tour of the Sam Smiths Brewery. Our team of various waifs and strays from around the commonwealth accepted the hospitality provided in the tap room. Needless to say the home side enjoyed a comfortable win. Has this tactic ever been more successful at a higher sporting level?” – Mark Bennett. Not wishing to turn this into an English language pedants column [bit late for that – Football Daily Ed], but … in yesterday’s letters, Charles Antaki responded to David Bolam’s criticism of the phrase ‘centred around’. Just below, David Livesy used tautology when describing himself as an ‘unmarried bachelor’. This may be diverting the column from being centred around/on football but felt a compelling urge to point this out” – James Harvey. Yikes! If Barry Glendenning included himself in the ‘universal admiration and [liking of]’ James Milner, then his views on players less difficult-to-hate must be borderline unprintable. It can’t be easy being paid millions to play five minutes of football once or twice a week, Barry” – Rowan Sweeney. Continue reading...

No single organisation can deliver the change that socialists want. As Nigel Farage has shown, politics has to be ruthlessly tactical For the long-marginalised British left, parliamentary byelections aren’t usually cause for much excitement. But Gorton and Denton is different. Polls, bookmakers and tactical-voting websites name the Greens as the close-run favourites, and thousands of activists have been knocking on doors for “Hannah the plumber”, a popular local councillor and proud owner of four beautiful greyhounds. What is particularly interesting about this week’s byelection is that it represents a politics of competing populisms that bypasses the classic Labour-Tory duopoly, with the Greens and Reform UK thrashing it out to be the rising force to take on the political establishment. It is also the first time the Greens have looked like a majoritarian political project. Hannah Spencer didn’t go to university and isn’t part of the professional classes. She defies the typical image of a Green candidate and has the potential to reach beyond their usual voters. As left parties across Europe struggle to attract non-graduates, and politics becomes more polarised, running candidates such as Spencer – who in many ways conforms to Reform’s idealised image of Britain – is a powerful move. If the Green party leader Zack Polanski is serious about taking on Reform and replacing Labour as the left-of-centre party, he will need to contend with an electoral system that privileges small-town and rural seats. Running more Spencers must be part of the plan. Continue reading...

Underestimated for too long, Wylie is now wanted by galleries worldwide and her giant, wild, witty paintings – of Hollywood stars, soccer greats, black swans and flying bombs – fetch huge sums. We visit her relaxed studio in Kent The Royal Academy is billing Rose Wylie as a “rebel artist” for her forthcoming show and at 92, she finds there’s still a lot to rebel against. An establishment that has long underrated women’s work, for one: astonishingly, hers is the first solo show by a British woman to occupy all the academy’s main galleries. Being pigeonholed is another: her giant canvases – with their bold colours, painted texts and wild juxtapositions (Nicole Kidman meets ancient Egypt at a Kent community centre) – have been compared to the work of Jean-Michel Basquiat and Philip Guston. But she does not identify with any one movement and dislikes art that is “up your arse”. For more than 60 years now, Wylie has lived in her low-slung, 17th-century house in Sittingbourne, Kent, where she rebels against conventional domesticity. Jasmine grows in a tangle through the kitchen ceiling and bouquets of dead flowers crowd another room. A ceramic horse given to her by the actor James Norton, a collector, lies by the windowsill. Next to the sink, two plates of petrified cakes are fuzzy with cobwebs. “I bought that biscuit in Costa two years ago,” says Sara, who works at Wylie’s London gallery, pointing to one of them. She thinks there’s a Battenberg buried somewhere upstairs in the studio. Continue reading...

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The US men’s and women’s teams claimed titles at the Winter Games this past week. The warm fuzzy feelings didn’t last long Keeping politics at arm’s length for the US men’s hockey team’s gold-medal matchup with Canada was always going to be difficult. The game fell on the 46th anniversary of the Miracle on Ice, when an underdog group of US college players upset the mighty Soviet Union team against the backdrop of the cold war. But the US team who took the ice on Sunday were no plucky band of amateurs making a stand for democracy against authoritarianism – a point underscored when the US and Canada met last year in the 4 Nations Face-Off. Canadian fans booed the Star-Spangled Banner and the US players, either unaware of, or unsympathetic to, Canadian desires to be neither the 51st US state nor the USA’s opponent in a scorched-earth trade war, dropped the gloves to fight their opponents as soon as the game commenced. Continue reading...

Nancy Guthrie has been missing for three weeks and officials believe she was kidnapped from her Arizona home Savannah Guthrie’s family has offered up to $1m for information leading to the return of her 84-year-old mother, Nancy, who has been missing since 1 February. The NBC Today show host posted the offer in a video on Instagram Tuesday, more than three weeks after Nancy’s disappearance. “Someone out there knows something that can bring her home,” Guthrie says in the clip. “We are begging you to please come forward now. Continue reading...

Changes to planning rules would limit scope of English councils and prevent them pursuing improvements to low-carbon homes The government has been accused of bowing to lobbying by housebuilders, in proposals that would prevent English local authorities from pursuing improvements to low-carbon homes standards. Under a consultation on planning rules, councils would be issued with guidance that would effectively limit their scope to demand builders construct new homes within their areas to the highest possible standards. Continue reading...

Courtois: ‘This a moment for football to end these things’ Real Madrid meet Benfica in second leg on Wednesday Alvaro Arbeloa and Thibaut Courtois have called on Uefa to take a genuine stand against racism and change football following the alleged racist abuse of Vinícius Júnior by Gianluca Prestianni during Real Madrid’s Champions League playoff first leg at Benfica last week, with Arbeloa imploring the governing body to go beyond “just slogans” as the two teams prepare to meet again. Courtois, meanwhile, also expressed his disappointment with José Mourinho for linking the incident to Vinícius’s celebration of the only goal of the game in Lisbon and insisted suggestions that Prestianni’s defence might be that he instead used a homophobic slur would be “just as bad”. Continue reading...