On 9 May, we reported that little-known Labour MP Catherine West was threatening to challenge Keir Starmer for the Labour leadership. Since then, a lot of shit has hit a lot of different fans, with left-leaning politicians warning the proposal could lead to a coup for the Labour right. Among them is Richard Burgon, who has likened West’s plan to a “palace coup”:

Keir Starmer needs to go.

But not through a Cabinet stitch-up or palace coup.

And not through a snap leadership election run under rule changes designed by Morgan McSweeney/Labour Together in order to hand someone like Wes Streeting a coronation.

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My full interview on Sky. pic.twitter.com/qgrc8DrHhJ

— Richard Burgon MP (@RichardBurgon) May 10, 2026

Go West

It was widely predicted that Starmer would face a leadership challenge if Labour performed badly in the local elections. When a challenge failed to materialise, West took matters into her own hands.

In a statement published to X/Twitter, West said:

Across the country yesterday, so many hard working Labour Councillors lost their seats through no fault of their own. I want to thank them for their service and dedication.

I was honoured to serve under Keir Starmer’s leadership, both in opposition and in Government. All of us in the Labour Party are thankful to Keir for the 2024 General Election and the good work since. I personally get on well with Keir.

But his approach is not cutting through, and the results over the past 48 hours are nothing short of disastrous. Unless things change, we risk Nigel Farage becoming Prime Minister.

That’s why, with regret and significant sadness, I firmly believe that Keir should outline his intention to resign as Prime Minister and oversee an orderly transition.

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The Labour Party need the chance to have an honest conversation about how we deliver the change we promised in 2024, and that requires new leadership which understands the urgent and real concerns of people across the UK.

Keir has demonstrated significant leadership on the world stage and is well placed to represent the UK’s national interest while this process takes place and may even continue in an international role in the future but for now I know I speak for more Labour people than just myself in wanting him to step aside as our Leader.

West also threatened to put herself forwards as a ‘stalking horse’ candidate – i.e. a candidate who wants to kick off a leadership race but doesn’t want to become the leader themselves:

Unexpected stalking horse?

Labour MP Catherine West: “I don't have a candidate, and that's part of the problem. But I think there are several people who would like to do it who have been planning for months. But I'm very surprised that none of them has popped up today to say: "I… https://t.co/qdneGERGJw

— Pippa Crerar (@PippaCrerar) May 9, 2026

West would later suggest that maybe she could see herself becoming PM:

Catherine West’s interview round is going down extremely badly with some MPs across the factional divide

People are stunned by this quote: “You know what sometimes happens to stalking horses? They become the candidate”

Which seems to suggest she thinks she could really be PM

— Alex Wickham (@alexwickham) May 9, 2026

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Starmer — The response

As Aubrey Allegretti reported, West’s intervention went down poorly with Starmer’s loyalists:

Bit of a row in the London PLP WhatsApp group chat, as anger builds over losses in the capital.

Catherine West – a former minister – writes: “I have asked Anna Turley as Chair of the Party for a reassurance that she has a plan for an orderly arrangement of change at the top of the party.”

Steve Reed replied, saying that doomscrolling through leaders would be “madness”.

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West wrote back: “It can be orderly or disorderly but it’s happening Steve.”

Steve Reed is the housing minister who Starmer deployed to smear the Greens as antisemites in the local election campaign:

Is Steve Reed implying Zack Polanski is an antisemite??? Really? Say it with your whole chest, coward.

2 years in govt & 6 years running Labour, this all they have. No track record, no ideas, no hope.

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The death throes of an unlawful, vile project; the muscle memory of punching… https://t.co/MKd10B4isc

— The Fraud (@StarmertheFraud) May 5, 2026

Reed’s campaign did not prove to be effective, but Reed is sticking to it, because the only thing the Labour right are good at is attacking the left:

Steve Reed told the BBC this morning that Labour needs to 're-adjust' after its humiliating local election drubbing, only to then keep smearing the Greens

by @skwawkbox https://t.co/HgbOw534hn

— Canary (@TheCanaryUK) May 8, 2026

Steve Reed, a key figure in the political project that seized control of the Labour party & brought it to this point, says yesterdays results are what happens at this point in a 5 year parliamentary cycle.

They'd rather burn the party to the ground than change direction. pic.twitter.com/OiMaUYXIi3

— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) May 8, 2026

Back to the West saga, her plan also proved unpopular with Andy Burnham and his backers. Everyone knows that Burnham wants to challenge Starmer to become PM, but he can’t right now because he isn’t an MP:

UPDATE: Andy Burnham's allies are "desperately trying" to convince Catherine West to abandon her leadership bid as he will not be able to run

[@Tony_Diver] https://t.co/vF6vhuGbwd

— Politics UK (@PolitlcsUK) May 9, 2026

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West herself said:

I’m sorry for people who had a big plan about particular candidates who one day will be, you know, an MP and all that sort of thing… I really like Andy, but he’s not here on the spot, so he can’t really do it

Her point is undeniable. And although Burnham is reportedly scheming to return, we know Starmer would try to block him, just like he did last time. The question is if he could get away with it twice; especially as cabinet members are reportedly willing to use their position to secure the return of the king of the North:

On Andy Burnham:

* Allies say seat has "100%" been lined up

* Private polling they've conducted reassures them he will win any by-election

* Keir Starmer will be told to make statement he can run. If he refuses a leadership challenge, backed by Ministers, will be triggered

— (((Dan Hodges))) (@DPJHodges) May 9, 2026

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Burnham also has support from left-wing Labour MPs like Clive Lewis:

"Keir Starmer is completely out of touch with reality"@labourlewis is backing Andy Burnham as the person to prevent a Reform govt. pic.twitter.com/b9vill7teh

— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) May 10, 2026

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So, key Labour insiders clearly want Burnham as PM. The question is if the other challengers – Wes Streeting and Angela Rayner – can be held back until then.

Challengers approaching

Alex Wickham reported:

— As Bloomberg reported last night the Ed Miliband / Lou Haigh / Tribune faction wants “delay then Andy,” putting off a contest until Burnham is in Parliament. They favour him to Rayner.

— But the big flaw in this plan is it may incentivise Streeting and Rayner to move now before Burnham is in. All eyes are on whether Streeting and Rayner will go over the top in the coming days, perhaps after Keir Starmer’s Monday speech, which will surely never be able to meet the demands of Labour MPs.

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There is particular speculation that the Wes Streeting camp is happy to use West’s stalking horse challenge to get their man into the race:

Senior MP texts to tell me that “everyone sensible” is trying to get Catherine West to withdraw. “It’s completely irresponsible”. MP also says they think Streeting allies will lend votes to West to try trigger race

— Beth Rigby (@BethRigby) May 9, 2026

The fact that West will reportedly have enough support to launch a leadership challenge does suggest that supporters of Streeting or Rayner are willing to get behind her. After all, there isn’t a contingent of West loyalists (not that we know of anyway):

Labour MP says he is "almost certain" Catherine West will have the 81 MPs she needs to trigger a leadership election on Monday. https://t.co/fMaH9km4WL

— Kevin Schofield (@KevinASchofield) May 9, 2026

‘Frustrations’

Richard Burgon of the Labour left, meanwhile, had this to say:

I do understand Catherine West’s deep frustrations. They are shared by a large number of MPs and Labour members who feel we cannot go on like this and that Keir needs to go – as I have also called for.

But I can’t support the proposals she explained on TV this morning.

Catherine’s stated preference is for a Cabinet stitch-up – a kind of palace coup.

That would mean the very people who sat back and allowed terrible decisions like the winter fuel and disability cuts to happen end up deciding the future of the party. That will not be seen by the public as a clean break.

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Catherine says that if there isn’t a Cabinet deal, she will trigger an immediate leadership election. I fear there’s a real danger that, whatever her good intentions, her move will be exploited by people on the right of the party who want a coronation and not a proper democratic contest in the party.

It may even be that those people help secure the 81 nominations needed to kickstart any leadership race.

What we need instead is for Keir to set a date for his departure, followed by a full and proper democratic contest that can look at what went wrong and how we change course to win back trust and support, with a broad range of candidates and viewpoints represented.

And that process has to involve all MPs, not just the Cabinet, as well as trade unions and party members, all of whom must have a democratic voice in choosing Labour’s future direction.

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Keir Starmer Drama

At this point, it seems like anything could happen. Well, anything besides Keir Starmer staying in power, obviously.

As limp as this current incarnation of Labour is, even they can’t be weak enough to allow Starmer to slowly destroy the party – if only because Catherine West won’t let them.

Featured image via Parliament

By Willem Moore

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Nigel Farage‘s Reform UK has appointed the first woman to sit in a cabinet position, as Ella Worthington takes responsibility for ‘civic pride’ on Lancashire County Council.

However, critics have pointed out how there is very little known about the responsibilities of this newly created cabinet role. As a result, people have looked at the billionaire-funded party’s misogynistic and patriarchal rhetoric and raised concerns that this is merely smoke and mirrors.

Former Labour councillor-turned-independent Azhar Ali, and leader of the opposition on the county council told the BBC:

I think this is just a tokenistic gesture, no one knows what the role is or what the job entails.

Worthington won the election last year in the county elections and has since faced criticism for her posts that many have described as hateful and derogatory towards the UK’s Muslim population.

In particular, she slammed news of the first Mosque in the Lake District and implied it was being forced through:

will turn a natural, beautiful place into something it’s not.

Local Election Results 2026 – Old Skelmersdale

Ella Worthington has been elected.

Reform UK gain. #WestLancsElects #LocalElections pic.twitter.com/oUU0d7NtNZ

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— West Lancashire Borough Council (@Westlancsbc) May 8, 2026

Reform — 33% turnout

Worthington won the local election on May 7, which saw a 33% turnout and just shy of 43% of the votes going to this Reform councillor. Reform UK has typically framed this as a gain, unsurprisingly, and some argue that point may carry weight, given that Reform councillors often defect, face suspension, or come under investigation for various forms of misconduct. Few of its councillors secure re-election.

Possibly a perk of being a misogynised woman, and not a misogynistic man with a shady and abusive past like David Barker.

Nevertheless, this councillor has been more than comfortable to inflame divisions pushing racial abuse through her social media.

For instance, she attempted to whip up hate — and succeeded as this Mosque has faced attacks from the far-right meant to intimidate Muslims — with this post on X last year:

Reform UK Lancashire County Councillor and Scrutiny Deputy Chair Ella Worthington sharing an old post by the Leader of UKIP.

The mosque site in question has been target by the far right because of posts like this.@LancashireCC, this is one to investigate. @reformparty_uk do… pic.twitter.com/VamJS1ZQ0m

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— Reform Party UK Exposed (@reformexposed) August 13, 2025

Now she is responsible for ‘civic pride’, it isn’t hard to recognise whose ‘pride’ this position is there to represent – that of racist white supremacists. As a result, it is essential that this councillor face scrutiny herself – something she should hardly oppose given her prior role as deputy chair for scrutiny of the county council.

Worthington defended the new role, telling the BBC:

It’s all about civic pride across Lancashire, giving people a voice, giving them pride in where they live, helping institutions and business move forward, giving people civic pride and the love of the area that they live in.

It’s not about religion, it’s about white supremacy

However, Muslim people and other minoritised groups also live within the ward, raising questions over whether this will lead to an increase in race-baiting in the northwest ward. In regard to the population breakdown, migrants from the EU far outnumber any other group with only 118 living in the area with a religion other than Christianity.

Nevertheless, it is worth noting that Christianity and the teachings of Jesus tend to talk about welcoming strangers and being kind to our neighbours, as opposed to setting out to increase local divisions.

But let’s not pretend that Britain’s ‘Christian values’ have anything to do with Reform UK, as this post underscores:

Reform has no answers over Farage photo with church attackershttps://t.co/ZH9vkbn4Hs

— Reform Party UK Exposed (@reformexposed) May 7, 2026

Reform’s Worthington has the ‘right skills’ for what exactly?

Reform UK took control of the council last year, and many expressed surprise at the complete lack of female representation on its cabinet. At the time, leader of the council Stephen Atkinson said:

I’m sure that some of the ladies of the group will be useful in the future at the cabinet level, but when the skills are the right skills.

Like many, we are a bit unsure what skills women lack to be able to work in a cabinet in local council — especially when every other party has had no trouble in putting women in these positions in the past and currently. This surely can only highlight what we have all been saying — or shouting into an apparent void — that Reform are just the amalgamation of toxic masculinity, patriarchy and frankly, a bunch of women-hating men often found to have pretty abusive histories. 

Atkinson has spoken since her appointment, saying:

I’m delighted to have Ella on board to deliver this initiative, she works incredibly hard and is passionate about delivering for our communities across Lancashire.

Given Worthington’s clear Islamophobic tendencies, it isn’t hard to identify the skills which have ‘qualified’ her for a cabinet position:

Reform MP openly downplays racist colleague's comments pic.twitter.com/9fRfR2gTIl

— Canary (@TheCanaryUK) May 10, 2026

Racists are ripping off councils — first flags, now ‘civic pride’

Funnily enough, cabinet posts add a tidy £23,597 over and above the basic councillor allowance of £14,301. However, this ‘civic pride’ role is brand new and precious little is known about what it is intended to do.

According to the BBC, opposition leader Ali would have preferred that money go to people who actually do ‘proper jobs’ and finally address significant issues in their community affecting people’s quality of life:

It’s all smoke and mirrors, what we need is real people doing some proper jobs and making sure roads are fit for a purpose, weeding, gullies emptied and the basic things that residents want.

Therefore, is this not simply another example of Reform wasting public money as it conducts an inciteful and incendiary campaign that blames ordinary people for the public’s woes, instead of the super-rich who fleece them every day and now lead political parties to preserve the status quo?

Once again, ordinary people will face higher costs at a local level while a small minority of millionaires and billionaires benefit, leaving everyone else with harder lives and, potentially, more divided and violent communities.

Featured image via Facebook

By Maddison Wheeldon

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Sunday evening marked the most prestigious night in British telly, as some of the biggest performers from the UK and beyond gathered for the annual TV Baftas.

Hosted for the first time by comedian Greg Davies, the night recognised achievement in drama, comedy, reality TV and more, as awards were handed out for the biggest shows of the last 12 months.

With so many A-listers gathered under one roof, you can imagine that it was quite a jam-packed evening, with more going on than most of us could keep up with.

So, in that spirit, we’ve rounded up 17 must-see moments from the 2026 TV Baftas…

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Let’s start with the red carpet, shall we? Adolescence stars Stephen Graham and Owen Cooper were reunited on their way into the TV Baftas, and it’s fair to say the height difference between them has become a bit more stark in the year since the show’s Netflix premiere

Stuart C. Wilson via Getty Images

Speaking of on-screen fathers-and-sons, Matt Smith and Rafael Mathé also posed together on their way into the event

Anthony Harvey/Shutterstock

Real-life dad-and-daughter Danny and Dani Dyer also attended the 2026 TV Baftas together

NEIL HALLNEIL HALL/EPA/Shutterstock

Claudia Winkleman took a break from shooting Celebrity Traitors to bring back pedal-pushers on the red carpet

Anthony Harvey/Shutterstock

Reigning Traitors champions Rachel and Stephen had their own low-key reunion on the red carpet…

Anthony Harvey/Shutterstock

Alan West/Hogan Media/Shutterstock

David Fisher/Shutterstock

During the main event, Seth Rogen beat some stiff competition in the Best International Programme category, and dedicated his win to his The Studio co-star Catherine O’Hara

Alan West/Hogan Media/Shutterstock

After winning the Memorable Moment prize for his Celebrity Traitors win, Alan Carr shouted out his ‘thick’ co-stars, ribbed Celia Imrie for the fart heard around the nation and once again bigged up Paloma Faith, who he infamously ‘murdered’ on their first night in the castle

The creators of Gaza: Doctors Under Attack had a defiant message to the BBC during their acceptance speech, expressing solidarity with Palestine after calling out the broadcaster for axing their documentary (leading to it being picked up by Channel 4), finally asking: ’Given you dropped our film, will you drop us from the Bafta screening later tonight?

Aurora delivered a beautiful performance during the In Memoriam tributes section

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As he made his way onto the stage to collect his Special Award, Martin Lewis was met with a standing ovation

He then delivered a stirring acceptance speech, dedicating his win to his late mother

Alan West/Hogan Media/Shutterstock

Mary Berry received this year’s Bafta fellowship and made it clear she’s still looking to the future

Elsewhere, after an awards season that’s largely celebrated Owen Cooper and Stephen Graham (who, of course, also picked up awards during the TV Baftas), it was amazing to see Adolescence’s Christine Tremarco get her moment to shine too

Unsurprisingly, Adolescence was the night’s top winner – setting a new record for the most TV Baftas received by a single show in the space of one night

David Fisher/Shutterstock

And finally, we can’t stop watching this red carpet montage of Alan Carr before the ceremony

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Reform — The idea that media outlets can be free from bias is obviously ridiculous. All media organisations are biased in some fashion or another; the question is whether they’re honest with you about that, or whether they try to present themselves as impartial.

In the case of Politics UK, the impression given is that this is run-of-the-mill British news site. What you wouldn’t expect, then, is that the site’s founder is now a councillor for Reform UK:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by UK Fact Check Politics (@ukfactcheckpolitics)

Reform’s Bailey Nash-Gardner

UK Fact Check reported the above, noting that councillor Bailey Nash-Gardner:

has been active in Conservative politics since at least 2017, previously served as campaign manager and parliamentary assistant to the then Conservative MP Andrew Rosindell between 2023 and 2026.

In a more detailed write-up, they add:

Despite repeatedly presenting Politics UK as politically neutral, critics have pointed to the platform’s coverage and language choices as evidence of apparent bias. In a post published on election day, the account referred to a group of independent candidates as “the Muslim independents,” despite not applying similar religious or ethnic labels to other independent candidates. Critics accused the post of singling out Muslim candidates in a way that risked fuelling division.

This is precisely the sort of subtle bias that sites like Politics UK are suited to spreading. Many people won’t go near outlets like the Mail or the Sun because they recognise they’re openly hostile and divisive. They might feel comfortable with Politics UK, however, and they won’t necessarily pick up that the site is quietly guiding them to see Muslims as ‘others’.

Impartiality

UK Fact Check added:

Nash-Gardner’s election to Havering Council means that one of the country’s most prominent political social media platforms — one that describes itself as offering “impartial coverage” — is now owned by a sitting councillor representing a party that critics say receives favourable coverage on the platform.

And this is what it comes down to, isn’t it? Politics UK describe themselves as follows:

The Home of UK Political News. Follow & turn on notifications for impartial coverage first.

It’s fine to be partial; the Canary certainly is, and in ways that we openly broadcast. What’s not fine is the growing merger between UK politics and UK media. And once again, it’s Reform which is leading the charge on that front – namely by having multiple politicians who work (or have worked) for GB News, including Nigel Farage, Lee Anderson, and Matt Goodwin.

This is all especially concerning when you consider GB News’s output:

GB News Scandal: The dossier

Twenty journalists analysed 15 hours of television – none of which complied with Ofcom’s regulations. These are their findingshttps://t.co/ikwfIVrC2P

— Reform Party UK Exposed (@reformexposed) March 18, 2026

The New World today revealed that GB News has become the official propaganda channel for Reform UK, with not a single hour of programming complying with broadcasting law. Ofcom is doing nothing about it.#ReformWatch #GBNews #Ofcom pic.twitter.com/5y4bwtE3hL

— Jack Dart (@JackWDart) March 18, 2026

Consolidation

The Tories have traditionally enjoyed an easier time than Labour in the media. There’s a very simple reason for this, and it’s because many media owners are aligned with the Conservative Party. Now, it seems clear that Reform is seeking to do something similar with new media outlets like GB News and Politics UK.

On the one hand, you can’t really fault the party for pursuing a winning strategy. On the other, we’re obviously going to call it out any time Politics UK forgets its supposed ‘impartiality’.

Featured image via UK Politics

By Willem Moore

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The Iranian Football Federation has confirmed that the Iranian national team will participate in the 2026 World Cup finals, despite political tensions and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, whilst stressing the need for the tournament’s host nations — the United States, Canada and Mexico — to take “Tehran’s concerns” into account.

The Iranian Federation’s stance came after Canadian authorities refused last month to grant Federation President Mehdi Taj a visa to attend the FIFA Congress, on the grounds that he has links to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, which Ottawa has classified as a “terrorist organisation” since 2024.

In a statement published on its official website, the Iranian Football Federation confirmed that the national team would “definitely” participate in the 2026 World Cup, but called on the host nations to take Iran’s concerns into account and ensure respect for the “beliefs, culture and convictions” of the Iranian delegation during the tournament.

The participation of Iran in the World Cup, scheduled to take place between 11 June and 19 July 2026, has been the subject of speculation since the outbreak of war following the US-Israeli attack on Iran on 28 February.

Iran’s conditions for participating in the 2026 World Cup

Iran’s demands included the granting of visas to all national team players and coaching staff without any obstacles or exceptions, as well as ensuring that the delegation is not subjected to any interrogations or exceptional procedures after the visas have been issued.

Iran also demanded that entry be facilitated for Iranian journalists and fans into the host countries, and that the Iranian flag be respected inside stadiums during tournament matches, in addition to ensuring that the national anthem is played in full and without interruption.

The conditions also included providing a high level of security protection for the national team’s delegation at airports, hotels and stadiums, and ensuring the team’s transport between their accommodation and the match venues in an organised and safe manner.

Tehran also emphasised the need to respect the national team’s technical and administrative staff during the tournament, and to limit questions at press conferences to technical matters only, without delving into political issues.

The demands concluded by emphasising that there should be no discrimination against any member of the Iranian delegation, including players who have completed their military service in official capacities, with a strong emphasis on ensuring they are treated normally throughout the tournament.

Iran is expected to base its training camp in Tucson during the tournament, where it will compete in Group G alongside Egypt, Belgium and New Zealand, kicking off its campaign against New Zealand in Los Angeles on 15 June.

Featured image via LeMonde

By Alaa Shamali

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When you have a baby, everyone and their mom (literally) has an opinion on how you raise them. From screen time to feedings to sleeping habits, new parents hear it all, such as, “Wake them up from their nap, they won’t sleep tonight” – or the opposing, “Don’t wake them up from their nap!”

It’s hard to know what you should do when it comes to caring for a tiny human, and it’s common for new parents to reach out to their parents for support, guidance and for some much-needed grandparent babysitting breaks. And while both parents and grandparents want what’s best for the baby, their views on what exactly is best can really differ.

Parenting guidance and baby safety regulations are continually changing to account for new research and innovation, but it can be hard for grandparents to let go of how they raised their own kids decades ago for many reasons.

“We all, as humans, have some degree of survivorship bias and perhaps some defensiveness related to making specific parenting choices that we now recommend against,” Dr. Krupa Playforth, a paediatrician, founder of The Paediatrician Mom and author of Eyes, Knees, Boundaries, Please!, told HuffPost via email. “I think that all of us are sensitive to the idea of our parenting choices being judged, and there’s an implicit judgment when grandparents are told that the way they did things is now considered unsafe.”

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Even still, some of what was done in 1990 and even 2000 is now not the safest way to care for a baby. Below, doctors and paediatricians correct the incorrect baby health beliefs they hear over and over from now-grandparents:

Babies should not sleep on their stomachs

Years ago, it was thought that putting a baby on their stomach to sleep was healthiest and safest, but research now shows that this kind of sleeping actually raises the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or SIDS, said Dr. Beth Oller, a family medicine physician in Kansas.

“That kind of prompted the ‘Back to Sleep campaign,’” said Dr. Michael Glazier, the chief medical officer for Bluebird Kids Health. The Back to Sleep campaign promoted back sleeping as the safest way for babies to sleep.

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“The Back To Sleep campaign, first released in 1994, reduced the risk of SIDS in infants by 50% in just the first few years,” Dr. Lauren Hughes, a paediatrician, owner of Bloom Paediatrics in Kansas, US, and a medical communicator on social media, told HuffPost via email. “All paediatricians recommend infants be put on their back to sleep because it’s safer.”

It’s also common for the grandparent generation to put items in the crib (stuffed animals, bumpers, a pillow) with the baby, “and our recommendations now, on the safety front is, please don’t overcrowd that crib,” said Glazier. “They just need a firm mattress, and that’s it.”

Kids are resilient and learn to sleep on their backs, Glazier noted.

Rice cereal does not need to go in the baby’s bottle

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It’s also common for grandparents to encourage new parents to add rice cereal to the baby’s bottle, according to Oller. This was a common practice when the now-grandparents were raising their own kids decades ago, but is no longer recommended.

Many grandparents think this will help the baby sleep better, but Oller said that isn’t true. “What drives babies in those first especially four to six months to wake up at night is their need for calories,” Oller said.

Babies wake up in the middle of the night because they’re hungry and craving calories, but there are virtually no calories in rice cereal, Oller said. “So it’s not going to keep them sleeping longer.”

“The other thing is, when you’re doing rice cereal, if you’re doing that in a formula, you’re having to use a bottle that has a much bigger hole in the nipple,” Oller explained.

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This will lead to a faster flow and could be a potential choking hazard. “So not only does it not keep them full or help them sleep through the night, but it also can be a negative thing,” said Oller.

Tony Anderson via Getty Images

Babies also don’t need fever-reducing medication before vaccine appointments

Parents used to be told to give babies fever-reducing medication like Tylenol before bringing them in for their vaccine appointments as a way to keep kids from feeling lousy after shots, but that is no longer the recommended guidance, said Dr. Leslie Treece, a paediatrician in Tennessee.

New research emerged that found that giving a baby fever-reducers before vaccines can actually blunt the immune response to the shot, “meaning, [the shots] might not work as well,” Oller explained.

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“It’s not like, if you did [give your baby a fever-reducing medication], we cannot vaccinate or shouldn’t vaccinate your kids today, that’s not it at all,” said Oller. “But it used to just go without saying that if your kiddo was going to a vaccine appointment, you pre-medicated them so that they didn’t have any side effects afterward.”

“It’s not current guidance anymore, and it was when this generation of adults were children, and so grandparents often tell them, ‘Give [babies] Tylenol before their shots,’” Treece said, stressing that it’s best not to.

Toddlers don’t need shoes to learn to walk

“I think the one that always is first and foremost for me that grandparents bring up is the idea that toddlers need shoes to learn how to walk,” Glazier said. “Once upon a time, I think, driven by the shoe industry, primarily, there was this conception that they need a shoe that provides structure to be able to help kids learn to walk. … Kids in all walks of life in all countries across the world learn to walk, regardless of shoes or not.”

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Shoes are an accessory for kids when they’re learning to walk, not a necessity. Glazier said he tends to only recommend certain shoes for certain situations, such as soft-soled shoes or socks when kids are learning to walk, and are outside or at a playground where they could step on a sharp stick or rock.

“But inside at home, barefoot’s great,” Glazier noted.

You can’t ‘spoil’ a baby by holding them ‘too much’

“I think another one you hear is, ‘Don’t pick your baby up all the time. Don’t hold them all the time. You’re going to spoil them,’” Oller said. “There’s no such thing as spoiling a baby with too much love or attention,.”

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Crying is the only way babies can communicate with people, “and they need emotional security. They need the trust,” Oller said. “But I think the thought used to be a baby is going to be ‘more demanding’ if you respond to its needs immediately, and if you pick a baby up — but so, so not true.”

Babies less than 12 months old should not have honey as a cough medicine

It’s common and recommended for parents to give children 1 and older honey as a cough medication, but this isn’t true for younger babies.

“The truth is, honey for older age kids is a good cough medicine, but we don’t recommend honey in the first 12 months of life because there is a fear that honey can have botulism spores in it, and since infant immune systems are still developing, they are more susceptible to that than older kids who are easily able to fight it off,” Glazier explained.

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These spores can grow in a baby’s digestive system and lead to infant botulism, which causes weakness, constipation, choking and, in rare cases, death.

They also should not wear jackets in car seats

The grandparent generation commonly leaves a baby’s coat on when putting them in their car seat, but newer guidance shows that it’s safer to take off a baby’s coat before putting them in their car seat, Treece said.

“Coats compress,” Treece explained. While the car seat straps may seem tight enough over a jacket, if the coat compresses, it leaves room for the baby to move around in the car seat and even slip out from the straps if there is a car crash.

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“It just creates an unsafe experience because they need for those straps to be well-fitted,” Treece added.

It’s a better idea to put a blanket on top of the car seats straps once the baby is buckled in.

If you need help, your paediatrician can help you establish boundaries with grandparents

Grandparents who repeatedly tell you to let your baby sleep with their favourite stuffy or that you’re “spoiling” them by holding them too much aren’t trying to do harm. They also want to raise a happy, healthy child – but sometimes, it’s necessary to set boundaries to ensure your child is safe.

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“Remember that you are the parent, and at the end of the day, your role is to advocate for your kid,” Playforth said. “It’s OK to push back against what the grandparents are saying, and you may have to let go of having their approval.”

Approaching these tough conversations from a compassionate standpoint, and recognising that everyone caring for the baby wants to raise a thriving and healthy child is a more helpful than being combative, she said.

If your parent just won’t listen and insists on putting your baby in their car seat with their winter jacket, for example, lean on the pros and tell them your paediatrician said it’s unsafe.

“Let your paediatrician be the bad guy if you need to,” Playforth said. “We don’t mind. If you’re getting a lot of push back from grandparents around boundaries guidelines ― especially safety-related guidelines ― you can always say, ‘This is what the paediatrician recommended, and we trust them. This is the way we are doing things.’”

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Raising a healthy and happy kid, and a responsible and caring adult isn’t about obsessing over the latest fad on social media or comparing your newborn’s growth compared to your neighbour’s baby, but is instead about all of the emotional and physical health basics that doctors recommend.

“For physical health, it’s the boring unsexy basics: eating a balanced diet, getting adequate sleep, washing your hands, moving your body daily, and staying up-to-date on routine checkups and vaccines,” Hughes said.

“For emotional and mental health, the biggest and best predictor is having a parent who is themselves emotionally and mentally healthy. So, taking care of yourself as a parent is one of the best things you can do for your child,” added Hughes.

And, let your kids be kids, Hughes said. Meaning, let them play, explore and get dirty.

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Hezbollah’s cheap First-Person View (FPV) drones are penetrating Israel’s billion-dollar Iron Dome system.

BIG: Hezbollah FPV drone strikes target Israeli Iron Dome launchers and its crews at the Jal al-Allam site on the border area. pic.twitter.com/VLbTGxLq3a

— Clash Report (@clashreport) May 10, 2026

The drones, guided by a physical fibre optic cable, are immune to electronic jamming and pretty much invisible to radar systems, meaning Israel has no effective defence against them.

According to Al Jazeera:

Unlike traditional drones that rely on radio frequencies or satellite signals, these modified aircraft are tethered directly to the operator’s control station by a fibre optic thread. The cable can extend between 10–30km [6.2 to 18.6 miles], allowing the drone to reach distant targets.

Because there is no wireless signal to intercept, the drones are immune to Israel’s sophisticated electronic warfare (EW) jamming systems. Furthermore, the aircraft are constructed from lightweight fibreglass, meaning they emit almost no thermal or radar signature.

This means that Hezbollah can manually steer the drones toward specific targets, such as tanks, aided by high-resolution optical cameras that transmit uncompressed video via the cable.

This video shared recently by Hezbollah shows how relaxed the operator is while choosing the target and monitoring the scene for a second attack pic.twitter.com/DfrdUivFAY

— Ali Rida Sbeity (@AliRida_SB) May 3, 2026

Israel has admitted that there is not much it can do about the FPV drones, except “shoot at them”.

FPV bypassing the Iron Dome

Israel first deployed the Iron Dome in 2011. It is supposedly:

one of the most effective, battle-tested air defence systems in service today.

Except when it comes to Hezbollah’s drones.

CCTV in northern Israel captured a Hezbollah fibre-optic FPV drone flying past a building. Marks the first known use of FPV drones on targets outside IDF-occupied southern Lebanon. pic.twitter.com/gTIQ92izg8

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) May 10, 2026

The system is expensive, so it must be heartbreaking for Israel that cheap FPV drones can bypass it.

According to RMZ:

a complete system, including the radar, computer and three to four launchers – each containing up to 20 interceptors – costs around US$100 million to produce.

Israel has 10 such systems in operation, taking the estimated cost to $1bn.

Armed resistance

A United Nations General Assembly resolution states:

The General Assembly,

Reaffirms the legitimacy of the struggle of peoples for independence, territorial integrity, national unity and liberation from colonial domination, apartheid and foreign occupation by all available means, including armed struggle;

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Hezbollah’s resistance to Israeli occupation was instrumental in the IOF leaving Lebanon in 2000, after 18 years.

Since then, Israel has continued to illegally occupy both Gaza and the Syrian Golan Heights. Here’s what the UN says about it. Recently, Israel has also invaded Lebanon once again.

Of course, Israel and the West have labelled Hezbollah as a ‘terrorist group’ and called for their disarmament, when they’re only defending the land they are native to.

The West only proscribed Hezbollah because of intense pressure from the Israel Lobby.

The entire Jewish supremacist ethnostate literally runs and was founded on terrorism, yet we will never find any of its blood-thirsty components proscribed — not the IOF, not the Mossad, none of the trigger-happy, child-killing, rapist colonisers will be labeled as terrorists.

The IOF booby-trapped pagers, killing 42 and injuring thousands. If that isn’t an act of ‘terrorism’, I don’t know what is. On the contrary, we shield them and enable their crimes by proscribing everyone resisting them as terrorists.

Was it not us who gave Palestinian land to “zionist aspirations”?

Fuck around and find out.

So if Israel is going to keep fucking around, it’s going to keep finding out.

Hezbollah has published footage of multiple FPV strikes on the Iron Dome battery and its crew. https://t.co/wE6ukXbnPx pic.twitter.com/8ZOKmYrFik

— barry with the NED (@bonzerbarry) May 10, 2026

Hezbollah even managed to transform one drone into a suppository for one IOF soldier.

Hezbollah continues hunting down Israeli troops with its simple FPV drones.

Although the soldiers run away from them, the drones precisely hit them.

Just remembered when they were having fun sniping and hunting terrified, emaciated Gaza’s children. pic.twitter.com/IHnsD3zG6D

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— Abubaker Abed (@AbubakerAbedW) May 9, 2026

At the end of the day, you can’t run from what was promised to you 3,000 years ago. And just maybe, that was a drone up the ass.

Feature image via X

By The Canary

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Prime Minister Keir Starmer will deliver a key speech tomorrow as he fights for his political survival amid growing calls from Labour MPs for his resignation. (Alamy)

3 min read17 min

Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to deliver a key speech tomorrow which he is widely expected to use as an attempt to push back against calls for his resignation from a growing number of Labour MPs.

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Starmer, in what is likely to be one of the most important speeches of his political career, is expected to say “people need hope” – and that his government “will face up to the big challenges” and “will make the big arguments”, conceding “incremental change won’t cut it”. 

At the heart of the speech will be Starmer’s bid to reset relations with the European Union, “by putting Britain at the heart of Europe” so that the UK is “stronger on the economy, on trade, on defence”. 

Starmer is also expected to say a closer relationship with the EU will mean “standing shoulder to shoulder with the countries that most share our interests, our values and our enemies”. 

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However, despite Starmer’s hope for a better future on Monday, as well as his expected focus on “Labour values and Labour policies” to reconnect with the public, the speech will inevitably see the Prime Minister talk as much to his own party as to the public as he fights for his own political survival. 

A devastating set of local election results for Labour, which saw the party lose the Senedd in Wales for the first time, as well as around 1,500 seats,  means his speech will be delivered at the start of a challenging week – after a weekend which saw a growing number of Labour MPs express their desire for the Prime Minister to stand down. 

Backbench Labour MP Catherine West on Saturday said she would challenge the Prime Minister on Monday if a cabinet minister did not do so, warning she had 10 MPs that would back her to do so. 

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“My preferred option is for the cabinet to do a reshuffle within itself, where there’s plenty of talent, and for Keir to be given a different role, which he might enjoy, perhaps an international role,” she told BBC Radio 4.

Labour MP Josh Simons, former boss of Labour Together, former Treasury minister and influential backbench MP also called on the Prime Minister to resign – writing in The Times on Sunday that Starmer “lost the country” and  did not believe “the prime minister can rise to this moment”. 

Meanwhile, former deputy prime minister and Labour deputy leader, Labour MP Angela Rayner stopped short of calling for Starmer to resign on Sunday – but criticised the direction of Labour’s government, warning what Labour had done so far “isn’t working” and that it may be the party’s “last chance” with the public.

Rayner said the party blocking Labour leadership hopeful Andy Burnham from standing as an MP “was a mistake”, alongside appointing Peter Mandelson as US ambassador and the party’s early attempt in government to cut Winter Fuel Allowance. 

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In his speech on Monday, Starmer is also expected to say the party will need to give a “bigger response than we anticipated in 2024 because these are not ordinary times”, as he attempts to persuade Labour MPs that Labour election losses were not a signal of terminal decline. 

“Strength through fairness. It’s a core Labour argument,” Starmer will say. 

“And you will see those values writ large in the King’s Speech. And you will see hope, urgency and exactly whose side we are on.”

The speech will also come after Starmer announced the appointment of former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown as a special envoy, as well as senior Labour peer Harriet Harman as an adviser against tackling women and girls in the aftermath of Thursday’s election results.

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The move, like Starmer’s expected speech on Monday, has been widely recieved as an attempt to signal to mutinous Labour MPs the government is taking a change of direction. 

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