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Peter Franklin is an Associate Editor of UnHerd.

With all eyes on Labour and the Makerfield by-election, the state of the Conservative Party has been all but ignored by the mainstream media.

That suits Kemi Badenoch, because this could have been a tricky time for her. I hate to bring it up, but earlier this month we suffered a net loss of 563 councillors and six councils – including Badenoch’s home turf of Essex. In the Welsh Senedd elections the Conservative group dropped from second to fourth place and in the Scottish Parliament from third to fifth. Yes, there were bright spots too, but disregard the bluster — this was a bad night for us.

But to Reform UK’s evident frustration, these setbacks haven’t provoked a renewed crisis of confidence in the Tory ranks — nor in the Tory leader. Obviously the news agenda is a tad distracting right now, but that’s not the only reason why so little blame is attaching to Badenoch.

Here’s an allegorical explanation of what’s going on:

Picture a house — a rather grand house, but fallen into a state of advanced disrepair. That’s not the fault of the current tenant. In fact, she’s been working hard to deal with the shambles left behind by the previous tenants.

The first of these was a party animal — and he absolutely trashed the place. After one excess too many, he was evicted. Unfortunately, his replacement was even worse. She nearly burned the house down — not to mention half the street. And so having only just moved in, she was out in short order.

Her replacement was a sensible sort who soon extinguished the remaining fires. The trouble, though, is what he did next — which was basically nothing. Simple maintenance might have been fine in normal circumstances, but not with the house in such a state. And, so before long, he too had to leave.

As for the current tenant, she struggled at first — who wouldn’t? But now she’s getting to grips with the situation — clearing away the rubble, throwing out the rubbish, giving the walls a fresh lick of paint. It would be absurd to evict her.

And yet, she does have possession of the property under a full repairing lease, and so far she’s not addressed the more fundamental problems. After all, there’s a reason why most people still hurry past the place. It might as well be haunted.

The house, of course, is the Conservative Party and its current tenant, Kemi Badenoch. My argument is that, even though the real damage was done by her previous leaders, she still needs to commission a full structural survey.

As luck would have it, we already an outline version. It comes in the form of an ingenious chart conceived of by Owen Winter, a politics and data journalist at The Economist.

Essentially, it’s a scatter plot of the local seats contested in the elections earlier this month. Each data point is one ward scored against two variables: firstly, on the x-axis, the percentage of the electorate aged 50 and over; and secondly, on the y-axis, the percentage in a managerial or professional job. To put it another way, the areas of the electoral battleground that skew younger are on the lefthand side of the chart, the older areas on the righthand side, the poorer areas are at the bottom and the richer areas at the top.

One could use colour to show the winning party in each ward. But if you did that then the chart would resemble an explosion in a paint factory — spots of every hue splattered all over the place. Various kinds of local independent would also confuse the picture. Therefore, a statistical trick is needed to filter out the noise and reveal the underlying pattern of party support. And so the makers of the chart have coloured each data point not according to the votes cast in the corresponding ward, but according to the average outcome in the hundred most similar wards.

This resolves the chart into solid blocks of demographic territory for each of the major parties. Using data from 2021 to 2024 — i.e. before this month’s elections, you can see how the Labour Party dominated the electoral battleground — the entire younger half of the pre-2026 chart was painted Labour red, plus the more working class parts of the older half. There was small wedge of Lib Dem yellow in the most middle-class and middle-aged wards, while the remainder of the map (i.e. the older, richer areas) was true blue.

In other words, the pre-2026 chart shows a three-party system — with Labour by far the biggest party because this is a selection of seats that includes London and other urban strongholds.

However, once the chart is updated with this year’s results, the picture changes dramatically.

Instead of three colours we now have five. The Greens invade from the left, taking whole swathes of the younger half of chart — i.e. at Labour’s expense. Meanwhile, the older, poorer parts of the battleground (the bottom-right quadrant) have turned Reform turquoise. This is at the expense of both Labour and the Conservatives. The Lib Dems make less dramatic gains at the top of the chart — expanding their wedge a bit (again, at Labour and Tory expense).

Obviously, the realignment is devastating for Labour — because it’s taking place across their heartlands. But the deep structural alterations to the party system are bad for the Conservatives too.

Our retreat across the electoral battleground isn’t just geographic, it’s also demographic. The electorates with whom we’re still in with a chance are older and wealthier than ever before. In other words, we’re becoming a caricature of our former selves.

But perhaps there’s an argument for adapting to the emergence of multiparty politics. If older, richer voters are still voting for us then why not return the favour and focus on their interests? Yes, that might mean that we’re turning into a niche party, but when your back is up against the wall, a niche might be just what you need — if only for temporary breathing space.

There’s evidence that this is exactly the strategy that the party has adopted. For instance, our flagship policy since last year’s party conference is the abolition of stamp duty on residential homes. That, of course, would primarily benefit people with property to dispose of i.e. well-healed retirees who want to downsize, move abroad or otherwise mobilise their accumulated wealth. For everyone else, the policy is just a new variation on the old stupidity of subsidising demand — meaning that asking prices will go up accordingly. Sucks if you’re a first-time buyer. Add to that the Conservative message of cutting benefits for working age adults while protecting the Triple Lock on pensions — and its pretty obvious who we’re appealing to and who we’ve left behind.

So is the niche party strategy working for us? Well, since last year’s conference our poll ratings have stabilised — and perhaps ticked up a little. Unlike the aftermath of last year’s local elections, there is — so far — little evidence of a significant slide of Tory support to Reform (which is what Nigel Farage’s kill-the-Tories strategy was relying upon).

And yet becoming a niche party is equivalent to retreating to the last one or two liveable rooms in that dilapidated house. It leaves us with no chance of ever commanding a Commons majority again — it might not even win us the fight for second place, which at the next election could plausibly go to Labour, the Lib Dems, the Greens or the SNP instead. In recent weeks, we’ve been greatly cheered by Kemi Badenoch’s stellar performances across the dispatch box. But if we’re not even the Official Opposition, our leaders won’t be at the dispatch box, will they?

We might also consider the fate of niche parties elsewhere in Europe. For instance, Les Républicains in France are now also-rans in presidential elections. Or what about the once-mighty Forza Italia — now a sidecar to Giorgia Meloni’s populist juggernaut. Or, most sobering of all, the Free Democrats (FDP) in Germany. This lot aren’t in fact the Teutonic equivalent to our own Lib Dems, but a business-friendly party of the centre-Right who focus on government efficiency and fiscal responsibility: much the same agenda as Kemi Badenoch’s, in fact. Though never one of the big parties, the FDP have now dropped out of the Bundestag altogether — not being able to get over the 5% threshold for seats.

In effect, there’s a threshold in the British electoral system too. A cliff-edge — somewhere in the 15 to 20% range — below which we’d lose most of our remaining seats. Given where we are in the polls I’d question whether this is anytime to be narrowing our appeal.

As to what direction we should try to broaden it, I’d invite you to take another look at Owen Winters’ chart. Notice how the younger half of the chart is completely dominated by the parties of the Left. Now, with the passage of time, imagine that generation of voters — and subsequent generations — taking over the chart completely. This is the real challenge facing not only the Conservative Party, but Reform too. And time is running out.

The post Peter Franklin: The Conservatives must not become a niche party for the old and rich appeared first on Conservative Home.

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Donald Trump took to his Truth Social platform on Sunday to post an AI-generated image showing him bombing Earth, minutes after his pre-taped Bible reading played at a MAGA-friendly prayer event on the National Mall.

The image, which Trump unleashed as House Speaker Mike Johnson prayed for “mercy upon our land” and “mercy upon us for our mistakes,” shows the president pressing a red button on a control panel while inside some sort of space station or starship orbit above the planet.

The visual features Trump surrounded by small, military-like figures seated by the control panel as several screens show massive explosions taking place on the ground.

At least one screen shows a mushroom cloud-like blast alongside the text, “TARGET DESTROYED.”

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The out-of-this-world image shared by the self-described “peace” president is a kind of fantastical continuation of his recent tendency to post genocidal threats on the platform.

The visuals were part of an extraterrestrial-themed posting tear that arrived as thousands took to Washington, DC, to hear from controversial speakers and Trump officials at a taxpayer-funded, all-day event called “Rededicate 250.”

Trump, who shared an AI-generated Space Force-themed image showing him working aboard a spacecraft earlier in the weekend, took to Truth Social on Sunday morning to express his hopes that attendees were having a “GOOD TIME” at the event.

But — in the lead-up to his pre-taped reading and afterward — he didn’t seem to care about the religion-heavy event as he dribbled out a series of bizarre memes, made-for-MAGA attacks against his opponents and a spread of space-themed posts on the platform.

One such image depicted Trump wearing sunglasses and commanding a “Star Wars”-like droid army flying American flags as the Space Force logo appeared overhead.

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Another showed the president helping escort an alien life form in handcuffs away as he’s flanked by men dressed in suits and at least one US military member.

Trump later reshared the planet-destroying image at the same time as a pastor preached about Jesus Christ on the National Mall stage.

And another AI illustration showed a stern-faced president manning a spacecraft as missiles fired away in outer space behind him.

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Tommy Robinson’s 2026 Unite the Kingdom rally ended up being a big step down from last year in terms of the numbers. This is obviously embarrassing for Robinson, and he’s responded exactly how you’d expect – i.e. by lying about the numbers:

Millions of patriots hit the capital of England today in the largest patriotic display the world has ever seen.

All happy, smiling, singing unity.

We came, we saw, we conquered.

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Against all establishment attacks.

We United The Kingdom and the West pic.twitter.com/02ZKsid86S

— Tommy Robinson (@TRobinsonNewEra) May 16, 2026

Interestingly, there’s no community note on the above despite it being blatantly wrong. We wonder if that’s got anything to do with Robinson being friends with Elon Musk – the owner of X/Twitter?

Tommy Robinson: not even close

Calling someone ‘ten men’ implies they’re a real hard case. We’re sure Robinson thinks many ten men attended his march, but for the ‘millions’ figure to work, each attendee would have needed to be at least forty men apiece:

“The Met estimated Saturday’s event drew 60,000 people, still a sizeable crowd for a British protest but well short of the million or more organisers were hoping for.”https://t.co/Cb1BzOEjpL

— Kaino (@KainoKivi) May 17, 2026

Robinson’s supporters got around the low turnout by sharing images from last year’s event:

pic.twitter.com/DN6q66BACU
Unite the Kingdom rally.

Met Police estimate: 50K.
Aerial footage: clearly more.
Media headline: "10K."

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The gap is the trade.

— BRKT (@BRKTgg) May 16, 2026

They also shared crowd pictures from what some said is a Shakira concert and what others claimed is AI. Whoever’s correct, the image certainly isn’t from London on 16 May:

You’re clearly not a geography wonk either.. this is a Shakira crowd in Rio. I’d like my country at least correctly identified.. https://t.co/awwbi7Baog

— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) May 17, 2026

Given the above, the following is only slightly more ridiculous than what people are claiming:

5 million proud British Patriots gathered for Tommy Robinson's absolutely not racist Unite The Kingdom March in London. The Looney Leftists will tell you those numbers are fake, but photos never lie. pic.twitter.com/9alWOKg35S

— Sam (@SamCKx) May 17, 2026

Oh, and here’s the actual event for reference:

8 billion! pic.twitter.com/SIKWypnUkg

— Mukhtar (@I_amMukhtar) May 17, 2026

And the crowd numbers aren’t the only thing Robinson is lying about:

The march footage is from last year. This arrest from last month. Nothing is real. All slop for the consumption of American grifters selling “London has Fallen” t shirts at CPAC https://t.co/hDLObV8XCI

— Alonso Gurmendi (@Alonso_GD) May 17, 2026

Still too many

As one commenter highlighted:

50,000 are too many, we need to get alternatives in front of people who are desperate for change.

The media silencing voices is throttling our democracy, but offshore owners get what they pay for. https://t.co/bIHNQvZvqI

— Up_Again ItWasAScam (@up_again) May 16, 2026

For reference, the following demonstrates the unfettered racism that was on display at the march:

The police would’ve arrested a pro-Palestine protester if they had held up a placard saying the exact same thing about Judaism. pic.twitter.com/FOVyR9XbC3

— Mukhtar (@I_amMukhtar) May 16, 2026

Tommy Robinson Unite the Kingdom.
It was a matter of time before the Islamophobia would start. It’s sickening behaviour.

As Muslims, we shouldn’t have to tolerate this in our home…… England. pic.twitter.com/CP2h3LNcBi

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— Zara Hussain (@zarahussain999) May 16, 2026

60,000 is less than half of what the previous Unite the Kingdom attracted. Let’s aim for zero next year.

Featured image via Getty Images (Mario Tama) 

By Willem Moore

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UK politics is an absolute mess right now – everyone knows Keir Starmer is finished, but he’s still in power, and he hasn’t announced a plan to step down. Andy Burnham, meanwhile, is running to become an MP in Makerfield, with everyone understanding he intends to give Starmer the boot once he’s in office.

As a result of all this, the media is now just openly taking the piss out of Labour Cabinet ministers:

Sophy Ridge asks David Lammy, if you live in Makerfield and quite like Keir Starmer, who should you vote for in the by-election? pic.twitter.com/OSJG1YrnYb

— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) May 18, 2026

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The Starmer question

In the video above, Sophy Ridge asks deputy PM David Lammy:

My question on this by-election is if you quite like Keir Starmer, who should you vote for?

It’s a fair question. And it’s one which Lammy avoided answering:

Oh, look. This is a Labour by-election. We’ve got to fight for every vote. Reform will be challenging hard.

I’ve known Andy Burnham for over a quarter of a century. We were both protégés of the wonderful Tessa Jowell. We worked together all those years ago under Tony Blair.

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That’s right, isn’t it, Burnham did indeed rise through the ranks as a Blairite. People have largely forgotten this because Burnham has moved leftwards as the mayor of Greater Manchester – particularly when it comes to public transport initiatives.

Given that Tony Blair and his neoliberal privatisation politics are both incredibly unpopular, we wonder if Lammy brought this up to put people off Burnham?

It would certainly make sense. After all, the deputy PM will be a deputy nothing once Starmer is gone, and Starmer’s only path to remaining in position is for Burnham to lose.

Before we get back to the interview, we should note that Burnham might not be as progressive as people are hoping. He’s already said Labour shouldn’t pursue proportional representation in this parliament, and there’s reason to suspect he wouldn’t pursue full re-nationalisation (emphasis added):

The country gave away its control of basic things people depend upon every day. And that was a big mistake in my view.

Put more things back under public, stronger public control: energy, housing, water, transport.

Why not full public control, Andy?

From experience, we know that once private companies have their foot in the door, they’ll eventually take over the house.

Full support

Lammy continued:

He will be a great addition to Parliament for Makerfield. He has my full support. I will be up there. Much of the Cabinet will be up there, of course.

Sending the full Starmer Cabinet, are they?

Once again, this seems like a plan to turn voters off given the popularity of this current government.

When she didn’t get a proper answer, an amused Ridge asked:

The reason I ask the question, though, it is a little bit confusing because, in a way, a vote for the Labour candidate in Makerfield is a vote to get rid of Keir Starmer. So if you kind of like Keir Starmer… Should you vote for Andy Burnham? Because we know, as soon as he gets back to Parliament, he’s going to challenge the leadership.

Lammy responded:

Let’s step back. I’m not going to sugarcoat this. I thought that the Labour Party, over the last 10 days, had a spectacular own goal after those local election results. We now need to unite and pull together. We have a by-election to fight.

It’s true that he didn’t sugarcoat it, but he also didn’t answer.

How could he?

The Starmer administration is truly one of the most farcical governments this country has ever endured, and that’s really saying something given the past two decades.

Featured image via Sky News

By Willem Moore

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UK authorities let far right voices publicly incite anti-Muslim hatred in London at the ‘Unite the Kingdom’ rally, once again highlighting their extreme double standards on different forms of prejudice.

The British state has already waged an intense campaign to censor and crack down on activists opposing Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Such activism hurts the feelings of people who support the Israeli apartheid state or defend its crimes.

And people are rightly asking why the authorities don’t seem to care about the incitement of hate against Muslims.

At yesterday's Unite the Kingdom rally one speaker said:

"It's not too late to get Islam out of that building (Parliament)"

"It is not to late to get Islam out of every single official office in this country"

"It is absolutely vital, if we want to save this country, we have to… pic.twitter.com/EKo7fgBBVt

— Farrukh (@implausibleblog) May 17, 2026

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Muslim Council of Britain: ‘Apply the law equally’

The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) responded to the “openly Islamophobic rhetoric“:

Statements such as Tommy Robinson’s calls that “it’s time for many Muslims to leave this country,” that he “would stop Islam,” are not political speech – they are incitement. History teaches us, painfully and repeatedly, that language demanding the removal of an entire group from its home is the language that precedes ethnic cleansing and genocide.

Considering this, it wasn’t surprising that the rally proudly displayed the flag of Israel — a country currently committing genocide against a largely Muslim population in Gaza — alongside the Union Jack, English, and other flags.

Addressing UK “authorities, political leaders, and broadcasters”, the MCB asked:

…why is this rhetoric tolerated and even defended when it comes to Muslims when the equivalent, directed at any other group, would rightly be met with prosecution, condemnation, and unequivocal political consequence?

Just imagine, for example, if someone publicly said “It’s time for many Jews to leave this country” or “It’s absolutely vital to remove Judaism from every single place of authority”. As the MCB stressed, such discriminatory rhetoric would rightly attract tough consequences.

The MCB then said:

We call on the Government, the Home Secretary and the Metropolitan Police to apply the law equally, to investigate these statements as clear speeches inciting hatred, and to make clear that the dehumanisation of British Muslims has no place in our country.

How fascists benefit from scapegoating

As the MCB highlighted:

British Muslims have helped build this country, served it, taught in its schools, healed in its hospitals, and protected it in uniform.

Indeed, British Muslims — like people from other religions and cultures — play a big role in the UK today.

Some Muslims settled in port towns about 300 years ago, having worked for the massive British colonial force of the East India Company. But after the devastation of the Second World War, in which hundreds of thousands of Muslims had served, many people from former colonies came to help rebuild the UK.

British Muslims have made a big economic contribution to the UK, consistently donate much more than average to charities, and offer £622 million worth of volunteer time every year. They have also, along with all other religious groups, enriched British culture.

However, the far right has increasingly weaponised the crimes of a tiny number of Muslims to paint the entire religious community as the cause of the UK’s ills. The far right has always used the hatred of people who are different as a distraction from the real issues, whether it was Irish people, Jewish people or Black people.

Meanwhile, corporate elites (and their friends in parliament), benefit from ordinary people focusing on religious, cultural or physical differences. Why? This distracts us from focusing on the increasing transfer of wealth and power from us to a handful of obscenely wealthy individuals.

By failing to treat all prejudice as equally destructive and unacceptable, the current government is enabling and empowering fascism.

London pic.twitter.com/N8Qg0etMe8

— Jamie Kay (@TheRealJamieKay) May 16, 2026

Featured image via Yahoo! News

By Ed Sykes

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We hope you love the products we recommend! All of them were independently selected by our editors. Just so you know, HuffPost UK may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page if you decide to shop from them. Oh, and FYI — prices are accurate and items in stock as of time of publication.

Dads famously love a practical gift. No fuss, nothing lavish, and don’t even think about cooking him breakfast.

But that doesn’t mean they’re not worthy of the best. And with Father’s Day fast approaching, there’s no time like the present to start thinking of just the thing that’ll make your old man feel loved and appreciated for being him.

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We’re sure yours is already insisting you don’t have to get him anything, but if the thought of your sibling showing up with a better gift than you isn’t enough motivation to find something life-changing, we don’t know what is.

Whether your dad is an explorer of the great outdoors, enjoys getting his grill on, or feels more fulfilment quizzing over a puzzle, we’ve found 29 gifts for every kind of dad this Father’s Day.

When is Father’s Day 2026?

This year, the big day falls on Sunday 21 June. And while there’s still over a month to go, time will fly as soon as the sun comes out again, so there’s no time like the present to start perusing.

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Experiences especially need to be booked early, and if you’re going halfsies with your mum or one of your siblings, you’ll want to start getting that cash flowing now.

No ideas? Don’t worry, we’ve got your back with our selection of presents from under £10.

29 Father’s Day gift ideas to shop now

Can’t get him away from the grill? This butcher set will give him more of an excuse to hover. While you might want to offer to cook him Father’s Day lunch, the multiplicity of meat in this box will last him and the family for weeks – so it’s time to get freezing!

Tell me this Japanese knife is a blade of beauty. Bet you you can’t. Crafted with a curved stainless steel blade, it’s ideal for everyday chopping, and can be used to achieve a razor-thin slice on anything from fish to vegetables.

Pickles and ferments are the perfect accompaniment to every kind of ‘dad’ food: burgers, cheese, and even sausages. Instead of stocking his cupboard with store-bought jars, send him off on this cooking class so he can learn how to make his own, inspired by techniques from all around the world. That’ll be his Christmas gifts for the next 10 years sorted.

When it comes to cookware, it really gets no better than Le Creuset. The lid for this pan is actually… another pan! As a lid, it locks in moisture for braises and stews, but when used separately becomes an enamel pan for even searing. Plus, both can be popped in the oven, or used on the grill or hob.

Breakfast is serious business, so if you can’t make it home to spend it with him, you might as well send this fancy Fortnum box so he can’t start his day right. Loaded with everything from streaky bacon to sourdough bread, this box has the makings of a fry up worthy of a king (which he is, after all).

There’s not a man who doesn’t love cheese. As well as giving him his own farmhouse cheddar to snack on, this box comes with all the accoutrements for many an astounding charcuterie board to come, including crackers, honey-mixed nuts, chutney, and salami sticks.

New dads need to celebrate Father’s Day, too! To give the happy couple a helping hand when their little one arrives, this cook set covers a week’s worth of meals, with classics like fish pie, macaroni cheese, and risotto to help them ease into their new role.

You are what you drink, so get him all the ingredients for an Old Fashioned! This whisky is brewed in a 15th century distillery just outside of Inverness (talk about ancient). Aged over 14 years in Tawny Port casks, you even catch a whiff of once the notes of honey, butterscotch, and berries wear off. Plus, it’s available for next day delivery in case you leave it last minute.

For the dad whose proudest achievement is (sorry) their drinks cabinet, this eight-year aged rum will prove a hug-worthy addition. Straight from a Paraguay-based French oak cask, it balances spicy notes of cinnamon and clove with caramelised sugarcane, and a hint of smoky wood.

What’s the point in walking if you can’t crack open a cold one at the end of it? This packpack doubles as a cool bag that can house up to 24 cans, which should be enough for him and, what, three friends to get through a day of walking? For longer trips, the brand’s large ice sheet will keep cans cold for up to three days. Cool!

There’s something undeniably cool about tools with multiple uses, and this pocket knife has everything he could need for any conceivable situation. Designed with camping and fishing trips in mind, it includes everything from pliers to a wire cutter and saw (along with 16 other functions, too, of course). Even better, it can be operated with one hand, and comes with its own lanyard so he won’t lose it in the wilderness, never to be seen again.

Made from breathable, ergonomic mesh, this flattering style is inspired by the athleticism of Roger Federer. But don’t worry, it works just as well for sessions on the tennis court as it does for lounging around on a sunny day.

Add this to the list of things he’ll love, but would never buy himself. This sleek day rucksack from Berghaus has everything he needs for a day of adventure: walking pole holders, and plenty of space for packing everything from his lunch, to a hydration bladder.

If he never quite got the hang of tennis, padel is the fastest-growing sport in the UK, and it’s much easier to learn to play. Just don’t tell him that. This beginner-friendly racket comes in at only £25, but buy yourself one so you can learn all its variety of underarm serves together.

Whether they admit to it or not, every dad wants a pair of running shoes from On. These ones are loaded with the brand’s signature CloudTec cushioning system, for a footfeel that bounces off the road and makes runs feel easier and lighter. But don’t worry, even if he’s not a runner, the design is stylish enough for supportive every day wear, too.

Pottering around the house is one of life’s greatest joys, so it’s an activity worthy of its very own pair of shoes. The cigar of shoes, to be precise. These slip-on ones will do the job, and they’re finished with a rubber sole if he loves them so much he can’t bear to take them off when they go outside.

If he can name his Bookends from his Baez, this book will take him on a trip down memory lane. Ochs travels back through the decades, showcasing era-defining album covers that’ll make vinyl heads nostalgic for the night.

There’s no better way to spend Father’s Day than making him prove his knowledge for the thing he’s professed to be an expert in your whole life. This book has over 20 quizzes in a range of formats to settle, once and for all, whether he’s a big screen buff or a film flop.

LEGO is not a toy, it’s a lifestyle: repeat. Car connoisseur will instantly recognise this classic model – and then they’ll get to build it! In nearly 800 pieces, they’ll get to relish in the tiny details, and once they’re done it’ll be a new model to add to their collection.

Give him a home away from home with a gift card to Everyman cinemas. They’re all over the country, and make watching something on the big screen feel like a treat. Depending on how generous you’re being, he can order restaurant-quality food to his luxurious sofa-sized seat, or even call for a top-up of red wine mid-viewing.

Well the baby’s not gonna buy him something, are they?! This sleep suit will give him a smile every time he sees it, and that’s the best gift any of us can ask for, really.

We can almost guarantee there’s no one in the family with more tech than your dad. To help him stay organised for his next trip, this pouch is stuffed full of pockets and compartments so he knows for sure where everything is – and most importantly, won’t have an embarrassing panic in the middle of the airport.

Can’t tear him away from YouTube? He’ll finally be able to watch hands-free while he’s on the go thanks to this clever phone case, which has a pop-open phone stand that can prop his screen up wherever he is. Oh, and then there’s the fact that it’ll protect your phone from cracks, too – but who cares about that when it has a feature as cool as this one?

Whether he’s well into his yoga journey or just starting out, this mat will provide the foundation for everything from the forward fold to the flying crow. It’s double sided, so it can be used for either yoga or high-intensity workouts, and its super non-slip stability in some of the more compromising, sweaty poses.

Dads famously never want to go to the doctor’s, but if he’s been complaining of a sore back, this LED wrap could be just what he needs to ease some of that post-workout pain. It’s loaded with four kinds of therapy, including LED, heat, vibration, and infrared, which all help to boost blood flow to the back and ease recovery along.

This might be one to split with the siblings, but this personalised poker set is a luxury he’ll use forever. It comes in a leather case lined with velvet, which can be monogrammed for an extra special touch. Plus, you can challenge him to a game of poker to win your money’s worth back!

Your old man deserves to feel like he’s one of the world’s best dart players, even if he only ever plays down the pub. If he’s half decent, though, this’ll be his lucky day, because this board is the official dartboard of the Profession Darts Corporation. Made with a low compression outer surface, the board has less bounce than previous iterations, making for a satisfying land (sound included) and longer last-time, which is backed by a five-year warranty. Throw in a personalised set of darts for a gift he’ll never forget.

Don’t ask us why, but men’s skin simply runs different. For the skincare-conscious dad, this LED face mask stimulates collagen production, while reducing fine lines and wrinkles for smoother, more radiant look. Just make sure he’s not gonna take offence to this one first, yeah?

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Patrick Brammall’s wife has spoken out in his defence following a debate over the significance of her husband’s role in The Devil Wears Prada 2.

A newcomer to the Devil Wears Prada franchise, Patrick portrays Peter, a New York contractor who becomes the love interest of Runway magazine editor Andy Sachs (played by Anne Hathaway) in the new sequel.

Over the course of the film, Peter gets sidelined as Andy’s professional ambitions in the cutthroat world of fashion journalism consume her.

Reviews of The Devil Wears Prada 2 have been mostly positive – however, since its release, a number of dissenting voices have emerged, with many questioning whether Patrick’s character was necessary in a narrative about career-focused women.

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A recent article in Cosmopolitan, for instance, deemed Peter “one-dimensional”, and “an insult to single women everywhere”, with writer Megan Wallace opining that the character’s “sole function is to remind us that employed, single men do exist”.

Cosmopolitan teased the article on Instagram earlier this week, further describing Peter as “useless”. The post, however, drew a swift rebuttal from Patrick’s real-life wife, fellow actor Harriet Dyer, who called the comments “mean”.

“They cut scenes out. The edit is brutal,” she wrote. “The scene all these pictures are from was cut.”

She went on to note: “I liked him. And I married him.”

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As of Friday, Harriet’s post had received more than 6,100 likes and a plethora of responses, many of them supportive.

“Bloody amazing actor and personality. This is just a snide editorial piece,” one person wrote.

Added another: “I loved him in the movie. He added humour and is bloody handsome as well.”

Patrick and representatives for 20th Century Studios, which distributed The Devil Wears Prada 2, did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.

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As Harriet pointed out, however, photographers snapped images of Patrick and Anne on the New York set of The Devil Wears Prada 2 last summer in which they appear to be shooting scenes that did not make the final cut.

Brendon Thorne via Getty Images

In many respects, Peter’s arc in The Devil Wears Prada 2 is similar to that of actor Adrian Grenier’s character, Nate, in the original 2006 film.

In the 20 years since the first movie’s release, Nate has come to be regarded by many viewers as its “true villain,” a point which Adrian ― who, notably, does not appear in The Devil Wears Prada 2 ― has supported.

“I might’ve been as immature as him at the time, so I personally couldn’t see his shortcomings,” he told Entertainment Weekly in 2021. “But after time to reflect and much deliberation, I’ve come to realize the truth in that perspective.”

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The scope of Patrick’s role aside, The Devil Wears Prada 2 looks poised to be a breakout moment for the actor, who has appeared in an array of film and television projects in his native Australia but is a relative newcomer in the U.S.

As of this week, the movie has raked in a reported $435.2 million at the box office worldwide, surpassing the 2006 original.

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