Tories accused of prioritising rich voters as Badenoch lays out inheritance tax cut plan 07. October 2026 (19:58) Party hopes to win over affluent middle-class voters as leader rejects calls to ‘unite the right’ in conference speechKemi Badenoch has announced that the Conservatives would abolish inheritance tax on family homes if elected, prompting criticism that she is prioritising cutting taxes for the rich.The Tory leader also said couples would be able to leave an additional tax-free sum of £1m to their families, as the party attempts to shore up its traditional base in southern England. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
British Jewish groups hold London vigil for victims of 7 October attacks 07. October 2026 (19:41) Organisations honour those who died three years ago as Andy Burnham says government stands with British JewsBritish Jewish organisations gathered in central London on Wednesday for a vigil honouring victims of the 7 October attacks in Israel, after a day of tributes from politicians and community leaders.The vigil took place at Richmond Terrace, opposite Downing Street. The Board of Deputies of British Jews said: “Three years ago, Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel, murdering 1,200 men, women and children, injuring thousands and taking 251 people captive. May their memories for ever remain a blessing.” Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Badenoch’s inheritance tax gambit makes no economic sense | Heather Stewart 07. October 2026 (19:16) The Tory leader’s proposal to slash the tax would shovel £6bn of taxpayer money to the already-wealthyKemi Badenoch’s inheritance tax gambit is a Conservative classic. After all, it was George Osborne’s high-profile pledge to “take the family home out of inheritance tax” in 2007 that put Gordon Brown off calling a snap general election.In practice, Osborne’s plan involved a £1m threshold for inheritance tax – and given the global financial crisis had blown a hole in the public finances by the time the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition came to power in 2010, it never came to pass. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
The most shocking part of Trump’s comments is what our reaction says about us 07. October 2026 (19:12) Listening to the president at a rally these days is a mix of deja vu and word salad, but his decade-long project of division remains abnormal and dangerousThis was originally published in This Week in Trumpland. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every WednesdayDonald Trump’s campaign rallies can be repetitive. Very repetitive. He calls himself the “greatest” president leading the “greatest” movement inside the “greatest” economy. He rails against “Dumocrats” for the “transgender mutilization” of children. He lambasts the “fake news” and reheats election lies. He describes illegal immigration as an “invasion” and recites the poem The Snake.If we were all frogs being slowly boiled alive, we’ve now reached the stage of blackened toad. After a decade of this, presidential utterances that would once have caused outrage are met with a shrug. We are no longer shockable. Or so we thought. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
