Politics
The Things People From Big Families Bring Up In Therapy The Most
As much as being an only child can present with its own list of issues in adulthood, growing up in a big family isn’t always the rosy picture it is sometimes made out to be.
Whether you had lots of siblings or step-siblings, or even cousins or grandparents, living with you, it makes sense: when you’re dealing with lots of different people, things can get complicated.
Either there are tons of different personalities that can clash and overshadow one another, or there’s a really strong family culture that makes it hard to embrace your individuality.
A vast majority of us can benefit from therapy, but when it comes to people who grew up in big families, there’s a specific set of issues that therapists see them bring up in sessions again and again.
We spoke to two psychology experts to find out what these are, how they play out, and how people from big families can work through them.
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1. They may struggle with complex family dynamics
Show us one family that doesn’t have at least some tension come up during big gatherings, please.
“In larger families, you’re dealing with multiple relationships, shifting alliances, and sometimes strained connections between different members,” Saba Harouni Lurie, marriage and family therapist and founder of Take Root Therapy, tells HuffPost. “As adults, this complexity can make family gatherings feel overwhelming or create guilt about being closer to some siblings than others.”
When adults who grew up in large families begin to do self-reflection work, they may find they have some big decisions to make about how to deal with family – and even whether they may need to cut ties with certain (or all) members.
“Part of the work in therapy is learning to accept that you don’t need equal closeness with everyone,” Harouni Lurie said. “We also look at setting boundaries around which events feel manageable and sometimes having direct conversations with family members about what actually works for you.”
2. They may deal with family ‘hierarchies’
Closely related to issues of family dynamics is the issue of “hierarchies” within families, where some people are the loudest and have the most influence over other family members, while others fade into the background.
“For those at the ‘top’ of the hierarchy, this power may be difficult to see, or they may view themselves as a well-meaning or deserved leader,” Candice O’Neil, a counselling psychologist in the U.K. and founder of Ontic Psychology, told HuffPost.
“For those nearer the bottom, it may be experienced as feeling dismissed or diminished; it may lead to their achievements or opinions being seen as less valid or notable than those of individuals nearer the top of the hierarchy.”
The way forward, according to O’Neil, is for each family member, regardless of their position in the food chain, to expand their horizons outside the family unit with friends, peer groups, co-workers, etc.
“This may be uncomfortable for family members near the top of the hierarchy, who may be used to their voice carrying a lot of weight, while for those nearer the bottom it can lead to increased recognition and help them see other ways of being,” O’Neil said.
“In both situations, expanding the family members’ horizons with interactions outside the family unit can help them either listen to less favoured family members more, or help them find ways to convey their opinions to family members further up the hierarchy.”
3. They may crave the attention they didn’t get growing up
It’s only human – the more children parents have, the thinner their attention is spread. It’s not the parents’ fault and it can lead to adult children experiencing difficulties related to not having received the amount of attention they needed as kids.
“When there are many kids competing for limited parental attention, children may develop strategies to stand out,” Harouni Lurie said. “Sometimes it’s through achievement and perfectionism, other times through acting out or risky behaviours. What brings people to therapy isn’t always this core issue, but as we work together, they often realise they’re still operating from that childhood place of trying to be noticed.”
Unfortunately, over time these coping strategies can lead to burnout, a lack of self-esteem, and difficulties in relationships.
“The healing process looks different for everyone, but it usually starts with recognising these patterns and understanding where they came from,” Harouni Lurie said. “Then we work on separating your worth from the need to stand out or perform.”
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4, They may struggle to set boundaries
In large families, it’s not uncommon for boundaries to be incredibly porous. “Everyone’s in everyone else’s business, which creates a strong safety net but can make it really hard to develop your own identity or make choices that differ from family expectations,” Harouni Lurie said.
“There’s often this deep sense of duty and obligation that makes it difficult to prioritise your own needs. Adults from these families may struggle with guilt when making independent decisions or feel suffocated by family expectations.”
In these cases, therapy work will consist in practicing setting gentle boundaries that honour who you are as an individual without feeling super guilty for it.
5. Or they may crave more connection
You know how sometimes it’s loneliest in a crowd? Ditto with large families. “You’d think a big family means automatic connection, but some people grow up feeling isolated within the crowd,” Harouni Lurie said.
Here, “the therapeutic work involves identifying what healthy boundaries look like for you specifically” and it may mean asking for more connection from family members and finding out whether they are willing to meet you there.
“Sometimes people also need space to grieve the family dynamic they wished they had while building the one that’s actually sustainable,” adds Harouni Lurie.
6. They may struggle to form an individual identity
In families that have a strong collective identity and preferred way of doing things, it can be really difficult for individuals to distinguish themselves and find out who they really are – because it could cost them connection.
“It is important for an individual to be clear on what family means to them and to consider how much they want to integrate within the family dynamic,” O’Neil said.
“They may consider if differences can be acknowledged and embraced in a way that feels manageable. Can the family learn to be more accepting of individual differences in the wider social realm due to their own experiences?”
The expert advises individual family members focus on their own interests and relationships outside of the family unit to get a stronger sense of who they are.
Progress within a big family may also mean “being curious about who each family member is as an individual and what makes them unique,” O’Neil continued. “It can help to facilitate discussions where this can be explored, but someone can also share who they are and put boundaries in place and acknowledge their limitations. Constructive communication is key.”
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7. They may present with generational trauma
When there’s been a lot of hurt in previous generations and an unwillingness to go to therapy or do any kind of self-work due to stigma and other factors, this leads to passed-down trauma that accentuates with each new generation.
Generational trauma “is felt deeply by the individual and can manifest in serious emotional and physical consequences that can persist into later life,” O’Neil said.
When multiple family members are affected, they can also trigger one another easily when they interact, deepening the hurt.
“It is important to have compassion, empathy and understanding for each other as individuals, but it is key to gently initiate conversations where boundaries are initiated for future interactions that respect lived experiences and selfhood,” O’Neil said.
“I advocate for individuals to seek professional therapy and practice self-compassion around those painful lived experiences. Journaling is also a great way to express feelings without being inhibited by how something lands with another person involved.”
Labour has been installed as the bookies’ favourites to win the next general election after 18 months out in the cold.
Keir Starmer’s party has been trailing in both the opinion polls and the betting odds for most of the prime minister’s time in office, but it looks like Labour are finally enjoying a stroke of luck.
Star Sports have narrowed Labour’s odds of winning the most seats at the next general election to13/8 from 15/8 last week.
Meanwhile Nigel Farage’s Reform UK has gone the other way as the party’s odds drifted from 13/8 to 15/8.
William Kedjanyi, political betting analyst at Star Sports, said Labour have been going up in the market after ex-Reform MP Rupert Lowe unveiled his rival party: Restore Britain.
The right-wing party appears to have threatened Reform’s success, with 10/1 odds compared to 20/1 last week.
They’re getting closer to the Greens, who sit at 17/2 and the Conservatives at 6/1 as betters try to predict who will be most popular at the next general election.
Kedjanyi said: “It’s been 18 months since we saw Labour as favourites to win most seats at the next General Election, but Keir Starmer’s party have been in the ascendency in the market, shortening into 13/8 from 15/8 in the past week to supplant Reform at the head of the betting.
“That change has largely been driven by the introduction of Restore Britain to the growing number of political parties set to contest the next General Election, and they look likely to eat into the Reform vote.
“As a result, Nigel Farage’s party has drifted out to 15/8 from 13/8 and now have ground to make up on Starmer’s Labour in the betting.”
The odds looking at who might be the next permanent prime minister after Starmer also favour Labour, with former deputy PM Angela Rayner leading with 7/2 odds and health secretary Wes Streeting just behind her on 6/1.
Farage comes in third on 7/1 closely followed by energy secretary Ed Miliband on 8/1.
The bookmakers’ update will come as a relief to Labour, as the party has been struggled to connect with disillusioned voters frustrated with a series of government scandals and Starmer’s policy U-turns.
However, pollsters at YouGov have still put Labour on 19% in the opinion polls, trailing behind Reform who sit comfortably in the lead on 24%.
The Conservatives are snapping at Labour’s heels on 18% while the Greens are on 17% and the Lib Dems are on 13%.
President Donald Trump is really acing it …when it comes to being unpopular.
The president’s disapproval rating is the highest it’s been in five years, according to a Washington Post/ABC News/Ipsos poll. The data, which was published on Sunday, comes just before Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night.
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Conducted between February 12 17 among 2,589 US adults, the poll places Trump’s current approval rating at 39% positive and 60% negative. The Post also highlighted how nearly half of respondents — 47% — said they strongly disapprove. This number trumps those who say they strongly approve, of the president’s performance which was only 19%.
In November 2025, the Post, ABC News and Ipsos released a similar poll that showed 59% of US adults disapproved of Trump’s handling of the presidency, while 41% approved. At the time, this was considered Trump’s highest disapproval rating in his second term.
But the Post reported on Sunday that the last time Trump received a disapproval rating of 60% was in 2021 — shortly after the January 6 Capitol insurrection.
Respondents seemed most annoyed with the way Trump is affecting their pocketbooks.
Inflation got the highest disapproval rating at 65%, with only 32% approving. The next highest disapproval rating was followed by tariffs on imported goods, which received a 64% disapproval rating. Americans also don’t seem particularly pleased with the way the rest of the world is currently viewing them, with U.S. relations with other countries receiving a 62% disapproval rating.
And thanks to the recent nightmare that unfolded in Minneapolis, the majority of respondents also said that Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown is giving them the ick — with 58% of respondents disapproving.
Russia is executing soldiers in Ukraine for refusing orders, according to Vladimir Putin’s own troops.
The servicemen offered up horrifying tales of what life is like for the Russian army as the Ukraine war enters its fifth year, including how the soldiers are forced to kill one another.
Speaking to the BBC’s documentary, The Zero Line: Inside Russia’s War, one man said he saw a soldier killed on the order of his commander who was previously rewarded as a “Hero of Russia” in 2024.
Another said he saw 20 bodies of fellow soldiers lying in a pit after being executed by their own side.
The men have given detailed accounts of how they were tortured for refusing to take part in the offensives which they say amounted to suicide missions.
Troops reportedly call these moves “meat storms”.
One soldier told the BBC he is the only survivor from a group of 79 men whom he was mobilised with.
He claimed he was tortured and urinated on because he refused to go on the frontline, while others would be electrocuted, starved and then forced across the front line unarmed.
One man, named Dima, said: “I have dreams. I see [a] forest full of dead bodies, just smashed people with faces, dirty white mouths full of blood. The smell… it doesn’t smell, it tastes.”
He added: “I’m a criminal, and nobody cares – my crime is just I don’t want to kill.”
Their revelations come after Russia has suffered an estimated 1.2 million casualties – including up to 325,000 troops deaths – between February 2022 and December 2025, according to the UK’s Ministry of Defence.
Putin has continued to force his soldiers forward at a high rate of attrition for minimal gain just in the hope of securing more Ukrainian land.
Russian currently holds around a fifth of Ukraine’s sovereign territory but Putin is determined to seize the last 10% of the Donbas region in the east.
While Donald Trump has attempted trilateral talks between Russia, Ukraine and the US, Putin is sticking to his maximalist goals and refusing to compromise unless he gets the Donbas.
The Kremlin has also suppressed almost all public opposition to the invasion, even as its economy struggles to stay afloat with the rising cost of war.
The Russian government said its armed forces “operate with utmost restraint, as far as possible under the conditions of a high-intensity conflict, treating their personnel with maximum care”.
A spokesperson said information regarding alleged violations and crimes is duly investigated, telling the BBC they have been “unable to independently verify the accuracy or authenticity” of its report.
Putin has long been accused of deploying “meat grinder” tactics on the battlefield.
Previous MoD reports suggest soldiers have struggled with widespread alcohol issues and that Putin is forcing abducted Ukrainian children to fight against fellow Ukrainians on the battlefield.
In a statement issued on Monday night, Robert’s family confirmed that he had taken his own life, following what they described as a “nearly two-decade battle with bipolar disorder”.
Hilary Duff, who played Robert’s on-screen daughter in the Disney show between 2001 and 2004, shared a tribute to her former co-star shortly after the announcement.
“This one hurts,” Hilary wrote on Instagram. “It’s really hard to face this reality about an old friend. There was so much warmth in the McGuire family and I always felt so cared for by my on-screen parents. I’ll be forever grateful for that.
“I’m deeply sad to learn Bobby was suffering. My heart aches for him, his family, and everyone who loved him,” she added, alongside a broken-hearted emoji.
Meanwhile, Jake Thomas, who played Lizzie’s little brother Matt, wrote on his Instagram: “I was fortunate to know Bobby for most of my life. And he was one of the coolest guys you could ever meet. Funny, pragmatic, sometimes cranky, always a little eccentric. He was a talented actor, musician and director. But more than anything, he was family.
“I have many fond memories of being with him and his family throughout my life. Good moments, challenging moments and lots of laughs in between.”
He continued: “I looked up to him growing up. And later, I came to realise he thought I was pretty neat, too. So I guess I was doing something right.”
Alongside playing Sam McGuire, Robert appeared in the 1984 cult classic Revenge Of The Nerds, as well as Escape From LA, The Long Riders and Django Unchained.
His most recent on-screen credit was in the 2024 Western thriller The Night They Came Home, although the actor has three films currently in production, which are set to be released posthumously.
Per Deadline, Robert is survived by “his children, grandchildren, brothers, nieces, nephews and anyone who had the honour of having him in their life”.
Help and support:
- Mind, open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm on 0300 123 3393.
- Samaritans offers a listening service which is open 24 hours a day, on 116 123 (UK and ROI – this number is FREE to call and will not appear on your phone bill).
- CALM (the Campaign Against Living Miserably) offer a helpline open 5pm-midnight, 365 days a year, on 0800 58 58 58, and a webchat service.
- The Mix is a free support service for people under 25. Call 0808 808 4994 or email help@themix.org.uk
- Rethink Mental Illness offers practical help through its advice line which can be reached on 0808 801 0525 (Monday to Friday 10am-4pm). More info can be found on rethink.org.
Nick Robinson skewered Ed Davey over his past praise for the “excellent job” the then Prince Andrew was doing as the UK’s trade envoy.
The Lib Dem leader was left embarrassed during an excruciating grilling on Radio 4′s Today programme.
Davey is forcing a vote in the House of Commons today which could force the government to publish all documents relating to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s appointment and performance as trade envoy.
He said: “I think we’ve seen too often in the past that people, because of their title or their friends or whatever, have not been properly held to account.
“The rules of the House of Commons have prevented, and Speakers have overseen this over the centuries, prevented MPs from criticising members of the Royal Family and sometimes even mentioning them, and that really seems old fashioned and is the wrong thing to do.”
But Robinson told him: “It’s what you did when you were a minister though, isn’t it?”
Davey then admitted praising the job the then Prince Andrew did as UK trade envoy during a Commons debate in 2011, when he was business minister in the Tory-Lib Dem coalition government.
“I regret doing that,” he said.
Robinson said: “You said the Duke of York’s done ‘an excellent job’. You said he’s been ‘a longstanding success in the role’, you said he’s ‘a real asset for our country, supporting UK business’.
“And concerns being raised by a Labour backbencher, Paul Flynn, at the time, echoing the concerns of human rights groups about Prince Andrew, you dismissed as ‘innuendo’.”
The Lib Dem leader replied: “First of all, can I apologise to all those victims of Epstein who may have read those words and been upset by them. I really regret them.
“I was taking over a debate from another minister and wasn’t really over the brief.”
Robinson went on to remind Davey that he had criticised Flynn for bringing the debate, saying his “timing is particularly inappropriate as it comes four days after the Royal wedding [between William and Kate], when I believe the whole country showed the support that they give to the Royal Family”.
“It’s quite embarrassingly at odds with what you’re now saying, isn’t it,” Robinson asked him.
Davey said: “Yes. I didn’t know what we now know back then and it’s interesting to note that the prime minister at the time ensured that Prince Andrew stood down from the role two months later.
“So clearly someone in government did know there were huge problems with the way he was conducting his role.”
He added: “I’m pretty angry, to be honest, that I was put in that position.”
But Robinson then asked: “Shouldn’t you have learned that people in power should not merely read out words provided for them criticising others who raise questions, and not go back to their office and say ‘how do we know this is actually true’?”
The Lib Dem leader said: “I wish I hadn’t said those words, and I think we are all learning that the need to make sure that whatever position of power is held by an individual, they are accountable for that.”
PinkPantheress has become the first woman in history to be awarded the Producer Of The Year title at the Brit Awards.
Ahead of this year’s ceremony, which is due to take place on Saturday night, PinkPantheress has been unveiled as the latest recipient of the prestigious title, previously awarded to the likes of Brian Eno, Paul Epworth, Calvin Harris and A.G. Cook.
In addition to being the first woman to be given the prize since it was first awarded in 1977, PinkPantheress is also its youngest ever recipient.
She told BBC News: “I guess it’s bittersweet that I’m the first one, the first woman, to get it.
“As young as I am, it feels almost a bit crazy. Like, I’m not really legendary enough to be receiving it – but you know, I will definitely take it!”
Last year, PinkPantheress received huge acclaim for her second mixtape Fancy That, which spawned the chart hits Illegal, Tonight and Stateside.
Following the success of the release, she’s also in the running for British Artist Of The Year and Best Dance Act at Saturday night’s ceremony, having also been nominated for two awards at the Grammys earlier this year.
The 2026 Brits will take place in Manchester for the first time, with Lola Young and Olivia Dean both leading the way with five nominations each, ahead of Sam Fender’s four nods.
Performers on the night will include Harry Styles; Album Of The Year nominees Wolf Alice; Rosalía; and Mark Ronson, who is being awarded the prestigious Outstanding Contribution award.
Meanwhile, Noel Gallagher has been awarded Songwriter Of The Year, a somewhat controversial decision given the Oasis musician didn’t actually release any new music in 2025.
The Brit Awards 2026, hosted by Jack Whitehall for the sixth time, will air live on ITV1 on Saturday 28 February from 8.15pm.
Illustration by Tracy Worrall
4 min read
Lessons in political science. This week: recycling
You are unlikely to have heard of the Maresfield recycling centre, although you may have correctly surmised that it is a recycling centre based in Maresfield. Just down the road from me, it is to recycling centres what The Moon Under Water pub was for George Orwell. Helpful staff. Well-run. Easy to use. Takes almost anything. With – and this bit is key for what follows – rarely any queues. A bit busy at weekends, but even then, I’ve never waited for long.
So, imagine my surprise when the council launched a consultation about introducing a booking system, arguing that it would reduce waiting times.
I was even more surprised when the consultation questions arrived. They included this zinger: “Do you want less queuing at our sites?” The response options were yes or no. There was no question asking: is queuing a problem? It is now stored in the folder I use for teaching, full of examples of dodgy polling, dubious graphs and similar; the folder is entitled ‘Only The Lib Dems Can Win Here’.
The cynic in me had therefore begun to wonder whether the consultation was quite as genuine as it purported to be. But I did my civic duty and responded, as did almost 6,000 other people – a record for the council; of those responses, 91 per cent were negative.
Given the overwhelming weight of views against the proposal, the council did the only thing possible and nixed it.
I made that last bit up. What happened – and let’s face it, this doesn’t come as a surprise to you – is that the council pushed ahead regardless.
It seems invidious to name the council involved (although for the record it is East Sussex county council), because it’s not a one-off. I’ve taken part in three consultations like this, and in each case it was pretty obvious that the consultation was merely providing cover for what had already been decided.
Now, I know that consultations are not referenda; they aren’t just about weighing the responses. We don’t know whether respondents are representative of the wider population. And some views may – for perfectly good reason – carry more weight than others. There may well be valid justifications for this policy; the council claim it will save money. And, in the end, this is a political decision for which councillors are accountable at the ballot box. All true.
Still, I do wonder about the effect that these Potemkin consultations have on the public – and their sense of political trust and efficacy.
This is normally the point in the article at which, like some second-rate psephological magician, I whip out from the hat a piece of research demonstrating either the obvious (this stuff damages public trust in politics) or – and the editor prefers this – the counter-intuitive: you might think
But this time, I can’t. This is partly a comment on how nationally focused so much research is; local government is too often the Untermensch of political science, despite its importance to voters. No one even seems to know how many of these damned things there are each year – yet Sussex alone seems to have had over 70 – let alone looked into their effect. Somebody should.
But I am reminded of a fascinating piece of work from a few years ago on the public petitions process in Scotland, which found that what the author called “process evaluations” were much more important than “outcome evaluations” on levels of political trust. Those who saw a process as fair and meaningful were far more likely to accept the outcome (even if they did not “win”) than those who saw it as unfair and meaningless (even if they did “win”).
Folk didn’t mind not getting their way, as long as they felt they had been dealt with fairly. It’s not obvious to me that many local consultations clear that bar.
Further reading: C Carman, The Process is the Reality: Perceptions of Procedural Fairness and Participatory Democracy, Political Studies (2010)
Robert De Niro has made no secret about what he thinks of Donald Trump, but he got very emotional about the state of the US under the presidentduring an interview with MS NOW’s Nicolle Wallace on Monday.
“The story is our country, and Trump is destroying it, and who knows what his reasons are, but it’s sick, it’s fucked up,” De Niro said. “We have to save this country.”
Toward the end of the interview, De Niro seemed on the verge of tears when Wallace asked him why he makes a point of thanking the people who work for him at awards shows.
“You have to — you have to lift people up,” the actor said, with his voice starting to crack, before explaining, “You have to bring them together. You can’t divide people, you can’t win that way.”
Things got emotional as De Niro pivoted back to discussing Trump’s divisive presidency.
“It’s a no-win situation, and look what we have, look who we have there, it’s almost like a destiny to have this thing there, destroying… attempting to destroy this country and maybe not even understanding why. So it’s up to us to protect the country,” he said.
“You weren’t supposed to make me cry,” Wallace told De Niro before she noted that the US seems to be facing a moment where things could go “one way or the other” — a seeming reference to whether the country’s democratic traditions continue. She asked point-blank: “You think it’s going the other way?”
De Niro admitted he didn’t know for sure.
“All I know is people have to have to resist, resist, resist,” he said. “There’s no easy way. It’s not going to come to you easy. You know, there’s a time when you know in your own life and your own survival, you better do this. You better jump and run through the fire because if you don’t run through the fire, you’re not getting out, and that’s what we have to do.”
De Niro has been a big critic of Trump over the years, and explained why in an interview last May.
“The man is a bully, and you can’t let bullies win. If a bully comes for your lunch money on Monday, he’s going to ask for more on Tuesday. You have to stand up. And I wouldn’t want to look at myself if I didn’t,” he told The Guardian.
Mandelson released after arrest over suspicion of sharing information with Epstein
“Lord Mandelson has been released on bail after he was arrested for allegedly passing secret government information to the paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. He was pictured letting himself back into his London home in the early hours of Tuesday morning. A police statement said: “A 72-year-old man arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office has been released on bail pending further investigation”. The former ambassador to the US was taken into custody by the Metropolitan Police on Monday afternoon as part of their criminal investigation into claims that he leaked market-sensitive government documents and insider information during his time as business secretary. He has been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office, an offence that carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. He has previously denied any wrongdoing and said that he did not act for financial gain. Sir Keir Starmer faces questions about his political judgment in appointing Mandelson as ambassador despite knowing about Mandelson’s links to Epstein. The prime minister has said that Mandelson misled him about the extent of their friendship. Mandelson was arrested only days before a by-election in Gorton & Denton, in Manchester, that is considered crucial for Labour.” – The Times
- Mandelson released from custody after being arrested – Daily Telegraph
- Peter Mandelson arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office – FT
- Peter Mandelson arrested by Met Police – Spectator
- Mandelson is released on bail after being quizzed by Scotland Yard’s elite ‘Celeb Squad’: Questions over what prompted ‘unusual’ 4.30pm arrest at disgraced Lord’s £7m home 17 days after his properties were searched over links to Epstein – Daily Mail
- No special favours for Lord Mandelson in police custody – Daily Telegraph
- Peter Mandelson arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office – Guardian
- Labour’s Peter Mandelson released on bail after sensational arrest – Daily Express
- Mandy Released. Peter Mandelson released on bail and arrives home at 2am after being held by Met cops for 9 hours over Epstein files – The Sun
- ‘Dear Gordon’ email was in Epstein’s inbox 38 minutes after reaching PM – Daily Telegraph
- Mystery over Mandelson arrest 17 days after his homes were searched as ex-cop asks ‘what made Met change their mind?’ – Sun
COMMENT
- Mandelson’s downfall leaves New Labour in the dock – Ben Riley-Smith, Daily Telegraph
- Mandelson’s downfall is one of fastest ever seen in British public life – Matthew Weaver, The Guardian
- Why was Peter Mandelson arrested? Epstein files reveal key theories – Steven Swinford, Oliver Wright, The Times
Embattled Starmer goes to Gorton and Denton for last minute by-election push
“Sir Keir Starmer has staked his personal credibility on Labour winning a pivotal by-election by making his first visit to the constituency days before voters go to the polls. The prime minister warned that a Reform UK victory would cause the seat of Gorton & Denton to “descend into hostility” with a rise in community tensions. He had refused to say whether he would visit the seat and some senior Labour figures raised concerns that he could do more harm than good by doing so. However, Labour is increasingly optimistic that it will win the by-election by convincing undecided voters to back Labour rather than the Greens in a bid to stop Reform UK. While the seat is a three-way battle between Labour, Reform and the Greens, the prime minister is attempting to depict it as a “straight fight” between Labour and Reform.Starmer said: “The battle here is that basic battle between a party that wants to bring our communities together to make sure that everybody in this constituency has their voice heard in parliament through their brilliant Labour candidate, or a party that couldn’t really care less where the constituency is, just wants to use it as a platform for hatred and division and tearing people apart.” – The Times
- Gorton will descend into hostility if Reform wins, claims Starmer – Daily Telegraph
- The letter that reveals Starmer knows his leadership is under threat – The i
- Now loony Greens call for free-for-all on prostitution and porn as by-election nears – Daily Mail
- Fresh nightmare for Keir Starmer as Labour minister faces ethics probe – Daily Express
- Sleazy does it. Labour minister is probed by No10 ethics chief for ‘ordering dirty dossier on journalists’ – The Sun
- Watch: Labour MP’s ‘dark shit’ jibe – Spectator
- Police calls and ‘dodgy’ leaflets: inside the ‘toxic’ Gorton and Denton by-election – The i
Comment
- Labour’s by-election panic has triggered a full-blown identity crisis – Tom Harris, Daily Telegraph
‘Let me explain!’ Badenoch tells Lewis, who later apologises for ‘talking over her’ in fiery clash over student loans
“Kemi Badenoch slammed Martin Lewis for talking over her during a fiery clash over student loans. The Tory leader had been discussing repayment plans on Good Morning Britain when the interview was gate-crashed by the money expert. Ms Badenoch was initially being quizzed by hosts Ed Balls and Suzanna Reid over her party’s plans to reform the repayment system this morning. But the trio were visibly taken aback when Mr Lewis unexpectedly stormed onto set to grill the opposition leader over the policy. The TV star interrupted the interview, calling on Ms Badenoch to focus on increasing the salary threshold at which repayments start. During the fiery debate, she found herself involved in a shouting match with former Labour minister Mr Balls and the money expert. Ms Badenoch snapped: “If you want us to have a debate I’m very happy for us to have a debate. “I think people need to know what it is I am talking about, you’re both talking over me, excuse me, let me explain what my policy is.” Mr Balls then apologised to the Tory leader, before she continued to defend the policy and even offered to discuss options with Mr Lewis. She added: ‘I want to make sure that those young people who are paying and paying and their debt is not going down get a relief.” “If you think there is a better offer, let’s look at it. “The whole student loan system is not working properly and someone has to do something.” Viewers were quick to slam the “ambush” on ITV‘s flagship breakfast show” – The Sun
- Martin Lewis apologises for ambushing Kemi Badenoch live on air – Daily Telegraph
- Finance hero in debt to Badenoch after gatecrashing her interview – The Times
Editorial
- The student loans debt young people face is unjust and unsustainable – Daily Telegraph
Philipson unveils SEND policy and ‘four tier’ reforms for supporting kids as critics say the sums don’t add up
“All SEND pupils will be able to get support in school even if they have not been officially classed as requiring extra help, the Government will promise as it unveils a long-awaited shake-up of the system. Reform of the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) regime in England is designed to end the status quo where an increasing number of children have been given a legal right to extra support beyond the help available in mainstream schools. It will cut the number of costly education, health and care plans (EHCPs) by requiring pupils on a plan to be reassessed when they move from primary to secondary school, and create a four-tier system with differing levels of intervention.” – The i
- Schools white paper: the key Send policies, winners and losers – The Times
- More than £430million spent by just ten councils to transport SEND children to schools last year – how much has your local authority spent? – Daily Mail
- SEND promise. More than a million kids with SEND to get more help under sweeping school reforms – The Sun
Comment
- Labour’s Send proposals offer little reassurance for families – Jessie Hewitson, The Times
- Labour’s Send revolution is a high-stakes experiment. It also threatens precious parental rights – John Harris, Guardian
- Labour’s special educational needs reforms don’t add up – Joanna Williams, Spectator
UK unemployment to ‘rise above pandemic high within months’
“Unemployment will surge to 5.5pc within months as the jobless rate climbs above the worst months of the pandemic, a Wall Street bank has warned. Economists at JP Morgan said unemployment will hit two million in the first half of the year as businesses hold off hiring in the wake of Rachel Reeves’s £25bn raid on employers’ National Insurance contributions (NICs), which kicked in last April. The 5.5pc prediction compares to a peak of 5.3pc – equating to 1.8 million people – in December 2020. “Over a year has passed since the tax hike and the jobs market is still stagnating,” said Allan Monks, the chief UK economist at JP Morgan. The bank said the advance of artificial intelligence is also suppressing hiring. “Sectors which may be more exposed to AI adoption (eg business services and finance) continue to look relatively weak,” Mr Monks said. He expects employers to regain their confidence and start taking on staff once more later this year.” – Daily Telegraph
News in brief
- ‘I will never forgive myself for losing top-secret documents on a train’ – Larisa Brown, The Times
- How WM Police became a tool of the anti-Jewish mob – Brendan O’Neil, Spectator
- The amnesiocracy governing Britain – Mary Harrington, Unherd
- Who will save Britain’s lost generation? – Lawrence Newport, CapX
President Donald Trump is facing criticism after he joked with the Olympic podium-topping US men’s ice hockey team about having to invite the gold medal-winning American women’s squad to the White House as well.
In a congratulatory phone call with the US men, who took gold at the Winter Olympics for the first time in 46 years, Trump suggested using military aircraft to fly the team out to his State of the Union address on Tuesday before sharing a “very cool” pitch for the team to visit the White House the following day.
“And we have to — I must tell you — we’re going to have to bring the women’s team,” said Trump, who went on to chuckle as the American men burst into laughter in a clip circulating on social media.
He added, “[If I don’t] do that, I do believe I probably would be impeached, OK?”
The clip shows FBI Director Kash Patel, who is facing backlash of his own for guzzling beers with the US men on a reportedly taxpayer-funded trip to Italy, holding the phone as Trump speaks to the team and telling the president in a slurred voice that he can arrange such a visit.
Both the US men and women went undefeated in group stage play at the Winter Olympics and made it through the playoffs before securing gold by defeating the rival Canadians in overtime, by the same score (2-1).
The win for the American women marked their third gold since the Olympic sport’s introduction back in 1998.
A spokesperson for Team USA told NBC News that the White House invited the women’s team to the State Of The Union address and, while they are “sincerely grateful” for the invitation, the players are unable to attend “due to the timing and previously scheduled academic and professional commitments.”
It remains unclear whether members of the men’s squad will make it out to the SOTU address on Tuesday, and if members of either team have committed to visiting the White House the next day or in the future.
HuffPost has reached out to the White House and USA Hockey for comment.
EyesWideOpen via Getty Images
Social media users slammed Trump over his joke, including activist Shannon Watts, who denounced the president on X for “begrudgingly” extending the invite to the gold medal-winning women. She slammed the men’s team for laughing along.
Critics on X called the men in the video “spineless” and characterised the clip as “dispiriting” and “inexcusable.”
One top comment on Reddit described the joke as “absolutely shameful.”
“I wish I was surprised… but god it still turns my stomach knowing I was cheering for them just yesterday,” the commenter wrote of the men’s team.
Petr David Josek via Associated Press
Others in the Reddit thread expressed their disappointment with brothers Quinn and Jack Hughes, the latter of whom scored the golden goal for the US men on Sunday, for appearing to laugh at the joke.
The siblings’ mother, Ellen Weinberg-Hughes, played for the US women’s team in the early ’90s and worked as a player development consultant for the squad in Milan.
Trump’s proposed date for Team USA’s White House visit — Wednesday — notably conflicts with the date that the National Hockey League season is set to resume play following an extended break due to the Winter Olympics.
Professional Women’s Hockey League players are also set to return to the ice on Thursday.
House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters on Monday he was looking into the logistics of a potential DC visit by the teams.
NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told The Athletic that it’s up to the men’s players to decide whether they’d accept such invitations on an individual basis and, thereafter, their teams would have to sign off on such a visit.
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