“And that means he can get the best of both worlds of the surgical treatment of his aneurysm – the best possible, durable cure for his aneurysm while cutting down on the drawbacks of having surgery including big cuts and scars, big incisions on the head and also the morbidity of going through the brain and retracting the brain – all that is completely taken away by this minimal access surgery.”

Beyond the high drama surrounding the Makerfield by-election and the contest to be the UK prime minister lies a more fundamental battle. It is the struggle between the incremental pragmatism of mainstream politics and the magical thinking of populism.

The great catchword of recent UK politics has been “change”. Brexit, it was said, would change the country’s declining position in the world. Boris Johnson said after his landslide electoral victory in 2019 that he was going to take on “the problems that no government has had the guts to tackle before”.

Labour’s 2024 election manifesto, entitled “Change”, declared that a Starmer-led government would “stop the chaos, turn the page, and start to rebuild our country”.

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But people have different ideas of what change means and how fast it can happen.
In a world full of entrenched, unequal social structures and complex, intractable
global problems, change is inevitably a long-term project. But voters tend not to be in the business of long-term evaluation.

Similarly, they are not impressed by graphs showing that the UK economy is currently the fastest-growing in the G7 or that waiting times for NHS treatment in England are at their lowest level in more than three years.

There are undoubtedly better ways of communicating long-term change and
identifying quick wins than the current government has adopted. However, the real battle is not between rival tellers of the mainstream narrative, but between two completely different conceptions of change. Remembering this will be crucial for Andy Burnham when he takes on Reform UK in the Makerfield by-election in his bid to return to Westminster to challenge Keir Starmer for the leadership of the Labour party and his job as prime minister.

Feelings over facts

Populist leaders are successful not because they have more convincing policies for house-building, ending child poverty or realising energy security. The change they offer appeals to visceral feelings rather than material needs. “Imagine how you will feel on the day that we come to power,” they say. “Think of how shattered all of those people who have ignored you, talked down to you, taken your jobs and pushed ahead of you in the queue for services will feel.”

Populists such as Reform UK (according to current polls the most likely party to win the next UK general election) are less interested in setting out a policy programme than in connecting with voters’ raw nerves.

That is why the most crucial lesson for Labour from the 2026 local elections
was not their devastating defeat, but the unstoppable surge of Reform’s appeal to
voters that threatened to leave them in the margins in the next general election.
Labour’s reflex response was to look at deposing its leader. And possibly at least one of Starmer’s rivals for the job would be more effective at taking on this new form of political opposition.

More important, however, is to be clear what is involved in taking on
populism. A new prime minister will be faced with exactly the same challenges as
the current one and will not be able to deliver transformative change simply by force of an appealing personality.

Europe will still be involved in its longest war since 1945. The US will continue to be an unreliable partner. The climate emergency will go on wreaking havoc. Social care for an ageing population will remain a massive challenge. National debt will still limit the capacity for public investment. Regional disparities and indefensible social inequalities will still exist.

All of these challenges and more will result in sections of the electorate feeling alienated and disappointed – the very sentiments upon which populism depends.

The big question for whoever is going to be prime minister in the next three years is not just about policy and delivery (although it is also very much about that), but about offering an alternative to the psychic appeal of populism. That will entail adopting a three-point strategy.

First, politicians need to acknowledge the depth of disappointment felt by people whose parents and grandparents had once believed that the government was there to look after them in times of need. The prime minister should declare an urgent mission to build an infrastructure of cradle-to-grave care, which exists not to tell people how they should be feeling, but to be democratically accountable to their needs and priorities as individuals and communities.

Second, there is a need for a complete overhaul of political language, led by the prime minister’s example, eschewing the lexicon of technocratic cliche and adopting the conversational tone of speaking with rather than speaking at people.

Third, there is a need for boldness in calling out the ugly sentiments of populism and appealing explicitly to the more generous, positive feelings and beliefs of the majority that are too often excluded from the domain of hardheaded politics.

A new prime minister will need to be imaginative in demonstrating that populists are not the only ones who can appeal to people’s deepest apprehensions and desires. And they will have to show that politics can be more like an inclusive conversation than a PowerPoint presentation. In that case, then perhaps the recent soap opera will not be as inconsequential as many people perceive it to be.

Wes Streeting, who resigned as health secretary last week, signalled he wanted to see Britain return to the EU as he announced on Saturday he would stand in any Labour leadership contest.

Supporters of Andy Burnham are reportedly furious with Mr Streeting, according to the Times, as they believe it is a deliberate attempt to raise the issue of Brexit in leave-voting Makerfield, where the Greater Manchester Mayor hopes to stand as a parliamentary candidate.

Mr Burnham sought to play down his own support for rejoining the trade bloc as he took part in a media blitz across the weekend.

Andy Burnham is seen as a Labour leadership contender (Image: Newsquest)

He insisted there was a “long-term case” for advocating to join the EU, but insisted he was not campaigning on that issue in the by-election.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy rebuked her former colleague, Mr Streeting, for making Europe a centre-point of his campaign to succeed Sir Keir, describing it as “odd”.

“If rejoining the EU is the answer, then essentially what we’re saying to people is, ‘life was fine in 2015, we just need to go back there’,” added Ms Nandy, who is seen as an ally to the Greater Manchester Mayor.

Reform UK, which is the second-placed party in Makerfield, plans to make hay out of Mr Burnham’s previous support for rejoining the EU as it knocks on doors in the constituency.

Several media outlets reported that Nigel Farage branded the Greater Manchester Mayor “open borders Burnham”, indicating the Reform leader plans to campaign on the impact future EU membership could have on inward migration to the UK.

“Andy Burnham’s position raises serious questions.

“At a time when millions of voters are demanding control of our borders, he continues to advocate re-joining a European project built around the free movement of 500 million people,” Mr Farage told the Daily Express.

Sir Keir Starmer, who reportedly spent the weekend at his Chequers country estate, is said to be privately considering whether he will contest challenges to his leadership, despite having publicly insisted he will fight them.

Ms Nandy appeared to veer away from the government line that Sir Keir would stand against his rivals as she spoke to broadcasters on Sunday morning, telling the BBC: “It’s a very personal decision for him.”

She later added: “So, I wouldn’t write off the Prime Minister, but I would just say that this is a very personal decision.

“He’s got to make that decision himself.”

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Former Los Angeles police detective Mark Fuhrman, who was convicted of lying during testimony at the OJ Simpson murder trial, has died. He was 74.

Fuhrman was one of the first two police detectives sent to investigate the 1994 killings of Simpson’s ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ronald Goldman, in Los Angeles. He reported finding a bloody glove at Simpson’s home but his credibility came under attack during the trial as the defense raised the prospect of racial bias.

Under cross-examination, Fuhrman testified that he had never made anti-Black racial slurs in the past decade, but a recording made by an aspiring screenwriter showed he had done so repeatedly.

Lynn Acebedo, the chief deputy coroner in Kootenai County, Idaho, said that Fuhrman died May 12. The county does not release the cause of death as a rule.

Fuhrman retired from the Los Angeles Police Department after Simpson’s 1995 acquittal. He subsequently moved to Idaho with his wife Caroline and their young daughter and son and set up a 20-acre (eight-hectare) farm, raising chickens, goats, sheep and llamas.

In 1996, Fuhrman was charged with perjury and pleaded no contest. He later became a TV and radio commentator and wrote the book “Murder in Brentwood” about the killings.

A criminal-court jury found Simpson not guilty of murder in 1995, but a separate civil trial jury found him liable in 1997 for the deaths and ordered him to pay $33.5 million to relatives of Brown and Goldman. He served nine years in prison on unrelated charges and died in Las Vegas of prostate cancer in 2024 at the age of 76.

____

Golden reported from Seattle.

The incident happened in Walmgate at 12.15am on Sunday (April 26).

North Yorkshire Police say four people received minor injuries and one required hospital treatment for concussion.

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A force spokesperson said: “A man was trying the car doors of a white vehicle parked in Walmgate.

“The man then assaulted and verbally abused people who have gone on to challenge him.”

A man in his 20s was arrested in connection with the incident but has since been bailed while police enquiries continue.

Officers have released images of the man they would like to speak to about the incident.

A force spokesperson added: “Please email nicola.russell@northyorkshire.police.uk if you recognise the man pictured, or have any information that could help our investigation.

“Alternatively, you can call North Yorkshire Police on 101.

“If you would prefer to remain anonymous, you can contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or make an online report.

“Please quote reference 12260074715 when passing on information.”

The new Discover the Magic show skates into NI this December

Disney On Ice returns to Belfast with a brand-new magical adventure this festive season.

Discover the Magic will bring unforgettable memories to guests through dynamic moments on the ice and in the air, delivering compelling storytelling through multi-levelled production numbers.

Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and friends from the Disney Kingdom come together to bring timeless tales to life from Thursday, December 3 to Sunday, December 6 at The SSE Arena.

The first phase release of tickets will go on sale this Friday, May 22 from Ticketmaster.

A spokesperson said: “Join Mickey Mouse and his friends at Disney On Ice presents Discover the Magic, an adventure filled with world-class skating, high-flying acrobatics and unexpected stunts!

“Look for clues in the search for Tinker Bell through immersive, fantastic worlds. Explore the colorful spirit realm of Coco, sail away with Moana as she bravely saves her island, see Belle in the sky as the enchanted chandelier comes to life, and sing along with Elsa in the icy world of Frozen. Watch Stitch crash the action with mischievous surprises.

“Make memories during Aladdin, Toy Story and The Little Mermaid as the search party becomes an all-out celebration!

“The production will skate into Belfast from Thursday 3rd December to Sunday 6th December 2026.”

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our What’s On newsletter here

The Islamic Center of San Diego will be closed until further notice, calling the shooting “an extremely painful and traumatic day for our congregation, students, staff, and the broader San Diego community.”

It asked the public to keep victims in their prayers, avoid speculation, and rely on authorities to sort out what happened and why.

“Places of worship are meant to be spaces of peace, prayer, reflection, and community,” the statement said.

“Violence and hatred have no place in our society.”

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