We don’t want to give you more to worry about as we are being smacked in the face with the impacts of climate change this summer but, uh, have you noticed that there are far fewer wasps this year?

Come to think of it, I have seen one. In a train station. Once. I have a busy garden full of flowers and flourishing grass but I’ve not seen a single one of these little guys buzzing around out there this summer.

I’m not imagining it, either. Seirian Sumner, a Professor of Behavioural Ecology at University College London wrote for The Conversation and said: “As a wasp biologist, I’ve noticed it acutely, because my students need wasps for their experiments, and we simply can’t find them.”

Can’t find wasps? In summer? In England?!

Sumner explains that while Spring started well for wasp populations, providing ideal conditions for building nests, laying eggs and foraging, things soon took a turn for the worse, leading to conditions that could have been harmful.

She says: “Spring 2026 was strange: the warm, dry start should have been good. Warm, dry spring weather improves a nest’s chance of survival as it ensures a good nectar supply for the queen to develop her ovaries and good prey populations for her to feed the brood. But we experienced unprecedented heat for the time of year, punctuated by cold, damp days and followed by unexpectedly chilly nights.

“Such weather extremes may have caused queens to abandon their nests or die, reducing the initial spring queen bounty to a more modest population.”

She added that one heatwave after another won’t have helped matters, either.

I’m not the biggest fan of wasps and will admittedly completely freeze if one is near me but there is no doubting how important they are to our environment.

According to the National History Museum: “Without wasps, the world could be overrun with spiders and insects. Each summer, social wasps in the UK capture an estimated 14 million kilograms of insect prey, such as caterpillars and greenfly. Rather than being a pest, these important insects are a gardener’s friend.”

Additionally, scientists at Oregon State University say: “Even though [wasps] don’t collect pollen, they do visit flowers constantly to seek nectar for their own energy.

“As wasps visit these flowers, they inadvertently transfer pollen from plant to plant. Although this is a less efficient form of pollination, it is still quite impactful to our ecosystem.”

Let’s hope they reappear next year.

Labour has overtaken Reform for the first time in nearly 18 months in a poll of polls as the party continues to enjoy a boost in the wake of Andy Burnham becoming prime minister.

Data compiled by Election Maps UK, based on the last 11 polls, puts support for Labour on 25 per cent, with Reform on 24%.

The last time the national polling average put Labour ahead of Reform was in March 2025.

Keir Starmer’s deep unpopularity with the public then saw support for Labour nosedive, and by December last year they were in third place behind both Reform and the Conservatives.

However, Labour support has spiked since Burnham won the Makerfield by-election on June 18, a result which put him on course to becoming the party’s leader and prime minister.

At the same time, backing for Reform has plummeted as Nigel Farage has become engulfed in a row over his personal finances.

Reform support peaked at 31% in October last year, when the party was a full 10 points ahead of Labour.

But they have been falling steadily since May, shortly after it emerged that Farage had failed to declare a £5 million gift he received from Thailand-based crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne shortly before becoming an MP.

A parliamentary standards investigation into the matter is currently on hold after Farage quit as an MP to trigger a “people versus the establishment” by-election in his Clacton seat.

Labour’s resurgence has led to increased speculation that Burnham could call an early general election to secure his own five-year mandate from the public.

But speaking to the BBC last month, the PM said: “There’s no early general election. I don’t think people want it.”

Listen to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.

A former neo-Nazi who was jailed for posting anti-semitic material and harassing a Jewish MP can become a Tory councillor but not an MP, Kemi Badenoch has declared.

The Conservative leader said what Joshua Bonehill-Paine did in the past was “appalling and abhorrent” and he should not be given a “national platform”.

But she said it was fine for him to become a councillor because they only deal with things like “parking and putting out bins”.

Badenoch has come under fire from Jewish groups over her party’s decision to let Bonehill-Paine stand for election to Somerset Council.

He was convicted in 2014 of malicious communications over an anti-Islam hoax that led to death threats against the owners of a pub in Leicester.

Bonehill-Paine – the creator of the online satirical publication the Crewkerne Gazette – was jailed for more than three years in 2015 after posting anti-semitic material online ahead of a planned neo-Nazi rally.

The following year, he was found guilty of racially-aggravated harassment of the Jewish Labour MP Luciana Berger.

He has since recanted his previous anti-semitic views and now works with the Home Office on anti-radicalisation programmes.

Berger, who is now a Labour peer, told HuffPost UK she is “beyond upset and angry” that Badenoch is allowing him to stand for the Tories.

On Radio 4’s Today programme this morning, Badenoch defended her decision.

She said: “I did hear what Luciana had to say and I do understand Lady Berger’s position.

“What he did was appalling and abhorrent.”

She added: “I looked at this case very carefully, this was a judgment call, and this is someone who has served his sentence. But also it is about what he is doing right now.

“This is a man who is talking about how in his late teens and early 20s he was radicalised. He became a racist and an anti-semite.

“What Luciana is talking about is not rehabilitation, but forgiveness. I can understand that she might not want to forgive this man. I might not if I had been his victim.

“But I am not giving him a national platform. He is standing to be a councillor in Somerset. It is a local platform, looking at parking, putting out bins, that’s what councillors do. It’s not a national platform.”

Badenoch said her party “have much higher thresholds” for becoming an MP.

She said: “This man is not standing to be an MP. There’s a huge difference.

“At a local level, where someone is actively working on anti-radicalisation, fighting for Jewish people knowing the harm that he caused – he did a lot of terrible things, I do not minimise that at all.

“This is a judgement call, and I think in this case he should be allowed to stand.”

Listen to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.

Donald Trump is stuck in a “destructive cycle” over the Iran war, according to the BBC’s international editor.

The US president declared on Monday that Tehran was on its “last chance” when it comes to negotiations on opening the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has effectively closed the major oil shipping lane since the US and Israel launched strikes against Tehran back in February.

The global economic impact has left the US scrambling to make a deal to get the waterway up and running again – though Trump insists he still has the upper hand in talks.

As the BBC’s Jeremy Bowen warned on Radio 4’s Today programme, it is Iran who has the “momentum” in these discussions right now.

He pointed out it was the Iranians and the Omanis who are in conversation over a deal to reopen the Strait this week, not the Americans.

Iran would control who goes into the Gulf via a shipping channel near its coast, while Oman would supervise vessels’ exit.

Bowen explained: “Iran has got this weapon of control of the Strait of Hormuz, and they’re not going to give it up. The Strait was open before the war started.

“Second of all, Trump has got no good options right now. Not at all.

“Yes the Americans can still bomb, though they have been weakened by their shortage of interceptors and that’s a factor for their generals.

“They can do a lot of physical damage to Iran, but that doesn’t appear thus far to force the regime to capitulate.

“Doing a deal – which is going to look weak – is something [Trump] is going to hate and he’ll be criticised for.

“Then he’ll think, ‘I’ve got to look strong so I’m going to bomb’. It’s a very destructive cycle.”

Bowen added that if there is a fee structure in the new deal, the Gulf countries “will not like it one little bit” because it was a free waterway prior to the US and Israeli strikes on Iran back in February.

He said: “It’s not at all clear Trump will be happy with this sort of a deal.”

The president laid out his war goals at the start on the conflict five months ago.

He said he wanted regime change, to end the Iran nuclear programme, restrict Iran’s relationship with its proxies and control what it does with its ballistic missiles.

But Bowen noted: “None of this is being talked about right now. It’s just about trying to get the waterway open.”

He said the current situation is one the neighbouring Gulf countries “have been dreading” because they have been left with a “massive mess caused by this rash and reckless decision by Donald Trump to go to war in the hope he could get a quick Venezuela-style victory.”

He added: “If any party to this has control of the momentum of discussion of events, it’s much more the Iranians than the US.”

Listen to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.

This article contains descriptions of self-harm.

Celebrity blogger Perez Hilton has been taken to hospital following a TikTok live-stream in which he appeared to be self-harming.

On Tuesday night, police were dispatched to the internet personality’s home in Florida, after concerning footage was circulated on social media.

He was then transported to a nearby hospital where he received medical attention, and also received care from mental health professionals at its Crisis Response Unit.

The Miami-Dade County Sheriff’s Office (MDSCO) told CNN that they’d responded to “multiple calls regarding an individual who was live-streaming acts of self-harm on social media”.

A representative for the MDSCO also told People magazine: “In many incidents involving a person experiencing a mental health crisis or actively harming themselves, deputies prioritise de-escalation by creating time, distance, and opportunities for communication.

“Unless there is an immediate threat to others, slowing the situation and utilising crisis intervention techniques can reduce the likelihood of a suicide-by-cop encounter and minimise the risk of injury to the individual, deputies, and the public.”

His management team said (via Variety): “We are aware of the concerning content circulating online involving our client, Perez Hilton. At this time, we have not been able to make direct contact with him, despite our ongoing efforts to reach him.

“Our primary concern is Perez’s health and well being, as well as the well being of his family. Until we have confirmed information, we will not speculate or comment further. We appreciate everyone’s concern and ask that his privacy be respected during this time.”

Perez – whose legal name is Mario Armando Lavandeira – rose to notoriety in the 2000s thanks to his celebrity news blog, where he frequently generated controversy due to his blunt, and often disparaging, commentary on the public figures he wrote about.

In the 2010s, he said he’d be changing the tone of his reporting, telling Ellen Degeneres on her daytime show that he wanted to “be part of the solution and not part of the problem”, after being called out by numerous celebrities.

He told the New York Times two years later: “What’s important for me is not being liked, but it is that people think I am no longer toxic to the world.”

Outside of his blogging career, Perez competed on Celebrity Big Brother in 2015, and is a father to a 13-year-old son and 11-year-old and eight-year-old daughters.

In recent history, Perez has experienced a number of health struggles, having been hospitalised with severe sepsis back in March.

He later shared that he’d been hospitalised for a second time due to deep vein thrombosis.

• 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.

Lee Anderson clashed with Good Morning Britain presenters on Wednesday over the French backlash to Reform UK’s plan to tackle the small boats crisis.

Nigel Farage’s party announced they would use the Royal Navy to intercept the migrant vessels as part of “Operation Fortress” if they got into government.

Reform would supposedly then return the asylum seekers on board to where they came from in “the largest military operation in the English Channel since World War Two”.

But the French government said this week the right-wing party’s plan to turn back migrants crossing the English Channel would be a “violation” of their sovereignty, as well as a breach of maritime and international law.

However, Reform’s chairman Anderson refused to engage with that blunt rejection.

When reminded of Paris’s response to the party’s “Operation Fortress”, the Reform MP told GMB: “Oh it’s illegal to save lives in the English Channel?

“I think we’re not going to agree on this, guys. It’s not been tested yet. It’s not been tried.

“How do you know it won’t work?”

Co-host Charlotte Hawkins said: “It’s not for us to say whether it will work or not. We’re just telling you what the French government are saying and you would not be able to do it without the French government –”

Anderson cut in: “I’m telling you what Reform policy is –”

Hawkins said: “You don’t have the agreement of the French government. It’s not workable.”

“it will work and it will save lives,” the Ashfield MP said.

“Without the agreement of the French government, it won’t work,” Hawkins said, becoming increasingly exasperated.

He repeated that the policy would save “100%” save lives.

Co-host Richard Madeley said: “I don’t think we can go much further on this… It’s not up to us to criticise your policy, it may be a wonderful policy –”

Anderson cut in: “You are criticising it!”

Madeley laughed in disbelief while Hawkins said they were pointing out a major flaw which stops it from operating.

“That’s criticism! That’s criticism. It’s not a fact. It’s not a fact, it’s not been tried yet,” the Reform chair insisted.

Anderson said it was a “violation of our sovereignty” for migrants to cross the English Channel and then commit “awful crimes” in the UK.

“Things need to be done, but if the French won’t agree to it, then unfortunately it’s not a workable policy,” Hawkins hit back.

Reform’s plans to address the English Channel crossings have also been described as a “crock of shit” by former Royal Navy officer John Foreman.

Former Navy commander Tom Sharpe had a similar view, telling the BBC: “A billion pound warship that’s configured for anti-air warfare or anti-submarine warfare, which are both threats to the UK, is not best used ferrying people around.

“You’re better off using an actual ferry.”

Listen to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.

You’ve probably heard that 10,000 steps a day is best for your health. Not only was this figure a marketing tool at first, however, but some research has found that the true sweet spot is around 7,000 steps daily.

That distance has been linked to a lower likelihood of all-cause mortality, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and even dementia.

Other studies have found different, and generally positive, results for other step counts, too.

Alzheimer’s Society has said that people who remain physically active throughout their lives may be 20% less likely to develop dementia overall. A lack of exercise, they wrote, is “one of the main factors where the evidence is strong enough to show that it increases a person’s risk of developing dementia”.

That comes from a swell of studies that showed a link between moving more and experiencing less dementia (these only showed a link and not a cause, however).

Here are the dementia risk changes associated with different step counts:

In a 2022 JAMA Neurology paper, researchers found that walking 3,800 steps a day was linked to 50% of the best dementia-risk-dowering result.

That meant that even though it wasn’t the optimal distance, the figure – which translates to about 2.85km – was still associated with a 25% lower likelihood of going on to develop the condition.

Another 2025 paper split almost 300 participants into two groups: one with higher levels of amyloid-beta plaques in their brain, and another without. The people involved were aged between 50 and 90, and were followed for nin years.

Amyloid plaques are sticky bundles of abnormal protein fragments, while tau tangles are made up of stringy proteins. Combined, this pair has been compared to the “trigger and bullet” in dementia formation; therefore, those in the higher amyloid group were expected to see higher dementia rates, faster.

After tracking participants’ daily step counts and comparing them to dementia incidence rates, the results suggested that the slowing of cognitive decline among those already more likely to develop dementia “plateaued” at a “moderate” level of activity (5,000-7,500 steps a day).

And the 7,000 steps study we mentioned earlier also found that among all of its healthy participants, the distance was linked to a 38% lower risk of dementia.

Still, to some extent, more does seem to be better. The JAMA Neurology research found that “accumulating more steps per day just under the popular threshold of 10,000 steps per day… may be associated with lower risk of dementia onset.”

Walking 9,800 steps daily was linked to a roughly 50% lower risk of dementia in this study.

It’s not just how far you walk – the speed of your stroll might matter too.

The JAMA paper said “performing steps at higher intensity may be associated with lower risk of dementia”; the Alzheimer’s Society named “brisk” walks in their list of suitable exercises.

2016 research found that “slow or decreased walking pace is significantly associated with elevated risk of cognitive decline and dementia in elderly populations”.

Brisk walking has also been linked to a 20% reduction in premature death compared to 4% for slower walkers.

Speaking to the Science Media Centre about the 2025 paper we discussed above, Professor Andrew Doig, a Professor in Biochemistry at the University of Manchester, said: “While the exact mechanism that links exercise to dementia is uncertain, this work convincingly shows that a straightforward way to slow down the progression of [Alzheimer’s] is to take exercise.

“This does not have to be onerous. Even something as simple as taking a short walk every day shows real benefits. What’s good for the heart is also good for the head.”

A former neo-Nazi has quit as a Tory candidate following an angry backlash.

Joshua Bonehill-Paine was due to stand for election to Somerset council.

He was jailed for more than three years in 2015 after posting anti-semitic material online ahead of a planned neo-Nazi rally.

The following year, he was found guilty of racially-aggravated harassment of the Jewish Labour MP Luciana Berger.

Bonehill-Paine, creator of the satirical Crewkerne Gazette, has since recanted his previous anti-semitic views and now works with the Home Office on anti-radicalisation programmes.

His decision to stand down is a blow for Kemi Badenoch, who stood by him despite criticism from Jewish groups and her political opponents.

In a post on X, Bonehill-Paine said: “The last 24 hours have shown that a lot of people do not understand how terrible I feel about the things I did when I was much younger.

“I know that my previous actions continue to cause pain in the Jewish community. I had thought that getting involved in my local council and working hard for my community was a good way to show how much I have changed and that I want to give something back.

“I realise now that the fight against anti-semitism is something that I actually need to do more of, I need to show the Jewish community how much I regret my previous actions and how hard I will work to fight to help destroy anti-semitism and rebuild trust.”

He added: “While I cannot change my past, I can warn others away from the same destructive path. I know how this ideology works because I lived inside it.

“I also know that if I stand as a council candidate, other political parties will spend all their time focusing on my past rather than the work I’m doing today, or even fighting anti-semitism in their own midst.

“Rather than standing as a local council candidate, I believe that my experience is better used supporting Kemi Badenoch in her ongoing mission to combat the anti-semitism and extremism that is dividing our nation.

“I have therefore informed the party of my decision to withdraw from next year’s council election.”

Bonehill-Paine said he had instead accepted an offer from Badenoch to become an adviser to the Conservatives’ Culture and Integration Commission.

Badenoch said: “If we are going to stop extremism and anti-semitism we are going to need help from those people who were part of the problem, but have now changed and are being part of the solution.

“Piling on them and trying to get them cancelled may be sport for other parties, but this is a different Conservative Party.

“Sometimes there will be difficult judgement calls, but right now I know that we are the only party actively working to unite the country rather than one particular faction or other.”

Listen to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.

The moment that Ted Lasso fans have been waiting more than three years for is finally here: the hit sports comedy returns to Apple TV+ with the first episode of season four on Wednesday morning.

And whether or not the new season has been worth the wait depends on which critic you ask.

Jason Sudeikis and his co-stars are mostly all present and correct in Ted Lasso’s fourth outing, which sees the titular coach returning to Richmond to oversee the club’s resident women’s team.

Overall, reviews for Ted Lasso’s new run of episodes have been decidedly mixed, with some criticising the fact that so much emphasis is placed on existing characters – some of whom feel shoehorned in – rather than the newer additions (although Tanya Reynolds’ work as assistant coach Alice has already received widespread praise).

Meanwhile, others were more impressed with the new episodes, claiming that they’ve been able to capture what made Ted Lasso such a success in its early years.

Plenty have also encouraged fans to persevere with the season, despite a somewhat underwhelming opening episode.

Here’s a quick guide to what critics are saying about Ted Lasso season four so far…

“Americans don’t truly understand football, sure, but they do understand narrative storytelling. Ted Lasso is an all-American sporting hero in the mould of Rocky Balboa or Air Bud. The show was about bringing some of that touchy-feely shmaltz and exposing it to the rough winds of Premier League football. Can you be an eternal optimist on a cold, rainy night in Stoke? Having answered that question, the show has nowhere to go but limp on like an ageing striker whose powers are fading before their eyes.”

“For all its irritatingly ersatz qualities, the appeal of Ted Lasso is as clear as ever: the signposted comic beats, the predictable gestures towards kindness and reconciliation, the bright colours, the clean lines. A sense of quality entertainment still hangs about the whole well-oiled endeavour. Think of it as the TV equivalent of Taylor Swift: ruthlessly efficient, reassuringly dorky, blatantly basic and as monocultural as any Apple TV offering is going to get […] Ted Lasso is still saccharine business as usual and, no doubt, still a lot of people’s cup of tea.”

“Tanya Reynolds of Sex Education is a welcome addition as Alice Chilton, a coach whose constant scowl and clipped severity make her a well-suited foil for Ted’s sunny optimism until she inevitably warms to it. But, at least in the five episodes provided to critics out of an eventual 10, she’s pretty much the only new character who feels fully established, because Ted Lasso refuses to make room in the ensemble by sidelining (or is it touchlining?) old ones.”

“It’s one thing to label a thing important. It’s another to make it interesting. Ted Lasso succeeds at the former, but falters at the latter. In keeping the players and fans at arm’s length, at least for now, the show misses a shot to make the stakes feel personal […] Mostly, the series’ focus remains on its core cast. But rather than use the in-universe three-year gap to flip to a new chapter in the characters’ lives, it simply returns them to a familiar status quo.”

“Season four takes co-creator Jason Sudeikis’ Ted, who became a nurturing father figure to the surrogate family that was AFC Richmond, back across the Atlantic to shepherd the club’s new women’s team. It doesn’t quite work […] Although there are plenty of women writing and directing in season four, Alice – the highlight of the series’ second act so far – is the only substantial character who doesn’t feel filtered through the male gaze.”

“Given the mediocrity of series four, it’s a wonder that Jason Sudeikis’s football coach made it to the World Cup half-time show […] Previously, Sudeikis confirmed that there would be no season four, the implication being that three servings of Lasso were enough both for him and the audience. He was probably right. But then with television, as with football, comes the whistle for extra time.”

“Season four stumbles out of the gate with a tepid season premiere. When it finds its footing, it’s the best “Ted Lasso” has been since season one […] Season four is Ted Lasso at its best, offering team-building, sincerity, an emphasis on everyone trying their best, all undercut with enough dry British humour to keep the whole thing from feeling too cloyingly sweet.”

“I loved the show, but its absence has not been a painful one. Anyway, it’s back, beginning Wednesday on Apple TV, and I am glad enough. […] By the end of [episode four], there will have been enough sweet, celebratory moments to have rewarded your investment. (I gauge this scientifically by how often I choke up.) Where the story is going in any substantial way, other than, you know, win games, maybe get Roy and Keeley back together, do something interesting with Henry and/or Michelle, it’s too soon to tell. I assume it’s going somewhere, but we’ll find that out together.”

“With a runtime of roughly 45 minutes, there are stretches where the premiere feels like unnecessary table-setting […] Episode 2 is considerably stronger, recapturing the feel-good vibes that defined Season 1 […] As it stands, “Ted Lasso” Season 4 is already a marked improvement over Season 3. And if it continues to recapture even some of the magic of the show’s first two seasons? Well, that’d just be barbecue sauce.”

“It’s nice to see Alice’s dynamic with Ted turn into one of Season 4’s strongest additions, the first four episodes suggest the series’ greatest achievement won’t come from recapturing the magic of what came before. Instead, Ted Lasso successfully builds something new — and manages to move forward without losing what made it special.”

“The first half of season four confirmed the show has plenty more wisdom, warmth, and laughs to share. But [like the Lady Greyhounds], Ted Lasso also has a lot to prove in those final five episodes. Only time will tell if Season 4 is victorious. Until then, you’d better BELIEVE I’ll be rooting for it.”

“As the show pulls focus away from Ted and onto the Lady Greyhounds, Alice is primed to be a great new co-lead. That shift is proof of Ted Lasso‘s welcome evolution in Season 4, which so far seems to be avoiding Season 3’s biggest pitfalls. As someone who was skeptical of the show’s return in the first place, its embrace of women’s sports, like Ted coaxing Rebecca with his divine shortbread, has won me over.”

The first episode of Ted Lasso season four is now streaming on Apple TV+, with new instalments coming every Wednesday.