Politics
The House | An End To The Resident Doctors’ Dispute Could Cause New Problems For Government

11 min read
The long-running resident doctors’ dispute that has dogged successive governments may finally be nearing resolution. But, as Noah Vickers reports, there are formidable hurdles ahead before Wes Streeting can declare ‘mission accomplished’
Wes Streeting, less than a month into his new job as Health Secretary, declared that a strike that had “caused untold misery to patients and staff” was all but over.
He had, after all, just handed a 22.3 per cent pay rise to resident (formerly known as junior) doctors after 11 rounds of industrial action, in the weeks after Labour’s election victory in July 2024. Settling the strikes had been his “priority from day one”, he said, jubilant that the British Medical Association (BMA) had accepted the award.
Except that – as we now know – the huge settlement did not end the strikes. Within 11 months, the BMA was back on the picket line to Streeting’s extreme displeasure. To his critics, a hubristic Streeting has been taught a painful and expensive lesson in power dynamics. His allies insist that his approach is slowly working.
There are indeed signs that – despite winning a fresh mandate for yet more strikes – a new leadership at the BMA is looking for a way out. But the finishing line is still some way off and the obstacles forbidding. A deal to reduce competition for specialist posts from foreign graduates could cause problems elsewhere. And other health staff with pay claims of their own are watching like hawks.
First, tempers need to cool a little – on both sides – for any settlement. “We gave them a big pay increase because we recognised their value, and I think there was a feeling that we’d get them on our side. That clearly hasn’t happened,” says one Labour MP.
The BMA argues that resident doctors’ pay remains 20.8 per cent lower in real terms than it was in 2008, which they say is when their pay cuts began. Critics point out that they use the RPI rather than CPI measure of inflation to reach that percentage, and that most resident doctors had not even started their medical degrees in 2008.
The most recent round of strikes, held just before Christmas, saw tempers run high. Streeting accused resident doctors of taking a “self-indulgent, irresponsible and dangerous” decision by choosing to strike during a flu season, “at a risk of serious harm to patients”. Dr Jack Fletcher, chair of the BMA’s resident doctors committee (RDC), said politicians were “scaremongering” by suggesting that the number of flu cases was more severe than in reality.
Since the new year, however, the tone on both sides has become more conciliatory. Earlier this month, the BMA’s resident doctor membership voted by 93 per cent in favour of extending their mandate for strike action for another six months – but crucially, this was on a reduced turnout of only 53 per cent, suggesting that enthusiasm for the cause has ebbed somewhat.
“I don’t think the doctors have an appetite for years of rolling strikes, like they’ve had for the last three years,” says one Labour MP. “If you mandated all the doctors to vote, my guess is that the actual appetite for striking among all the doctors is not there. This is not the miners’ strike. The sort of people that get involved in BMA politics are a self-selecting group.”
For its part, the BMA claims it does not plan to use its new mandate.
“There is no intention to go on strike,” RDC deputy chair Dr Arjan Singh told the BBC’s Today programme. “[It is] a negotiating tool, but we’ve got no intention of actually using it. I would say that our relationship with government over the last few months has become increasingly positive.”
The BMA declined to make Fletcher, Singh or any of their RDC colleagues available for an interview with The House. MPs who have met Fletcher, however, say he is a “serious” and “co-operative” figure who “wants to see a solution”. They also point out he is a Labour member who “wants the government to work”.
One MP adds: “He has a committee who I think are not always on the same page as him, because they’re a little bit more militant.”
Before Fletcher was elected last year, the committee’s four previous co-chairs belonged to a hardline faction called DoctorsVote. It was this group which had pushed hardest for strike action and for “full pay restoration” to 2008 levels. DoctorsVote no longer holds any officer positions on the RDC committee, but full pay restoration “by 2027/28” remains BMA policy. Fletcher is said to regard this aim as “not realistic”.
The BMA says the dispute is not only about pay but also about addressing the “bottleneck” that resident doctors face when applying for specialty training posts. The ‘competition ratio’ for those jobs has got tighter over recent years, largely due to an increase in applications from international medical graduates (IMGs) – which leaves many UK-trained doctors unable to progress in their careers.
To address that issue, the government is passing emergency legislation – the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill – which will ensure UK-trained graduates are prioritised for foundation and speciality training posts. Streeting claims that for speciality posts, the bill “effectively reduces the competition for places from 4-1 to 2-1”.
The legislation was given its First Reading on 13 January, and the government aims for it to receive Royal Assent by 5 March. Passing the bill by that deadline should mean its effects are felt by this year’s round of applicants, whose jobs would start in August.
Yet there are concerns that the rushed-through bill could have damaging impacts on the government’s ambitions elsewhere in the health service.
Lucina Rolewicz, a fellow at the Nuffield Trust, warns that the NHS has “previously relied” on IMGs “to fill a big proportion of general practice training places, so if this bill deters them from applying for jobs that are less popular with UK graduates, it could torpedo efforts to expand general practice, especially in poorer areas”.
She tells The House: “Competition and interest in different specialities are not equal. This is especially the case in general practice and for core psychiatry training as well…
“The bill won’t stop internationally trained doctors from applying to those routes, but it could discourage them from putting applications forward in the first place.”
Stuart Hoddinott, associate director at the Institute for Government, points out: “Almost the entire increase in the GP trainee workforce, since 2019, has come through IMGs… They now make up more than 50 per cent of GP trainees. This is a very important route for general practice.”
More deprived areas, including many of the rural and coastal areas now turning to Reform UK, could be especially badly hit by any downturn in international applications, as UK-trained doctors disproportionately tend to apply for GP posts in urban areas close to the teaching hospitals where they studied.
When it comes to settling the dispute, however, there is a quiet optimism in Parliament that once the bill has been passed in March, a deal could potentially be reached with the BMA in the weeks that follow, without any further strikes having been called.
“That’s the intention of the Secretary of State,” says a Labour MP. “In the early spring, hopefully there’ll be a relatively harmonious deal, and they can move forward.”
But anyone watching the dispute agrees that the BMA is serious about needing to also see some form of improved pay offer – and one may be on the way.
“It sounds like there will be a pay-off of some sort which might be attractive,” says an MP, who adds: “What’s needed is a multi-year settlement which is just a little bit over inflation – that would solve the [pay] problem.
“I would give them a three-year rolling pay settlement, and I’d give it at a percentage or two above inflation for two years, and then a bit more in the third year. You’re not going to take it back to some mythical date of 2008, because it’s not affordable.”
But even a deal of that nature would risk further problems for Streeting, as other unions representing healthcare workers would take immediate notice of it.
“I don’t envy Wes Streeting in his job at the moment, because he’s got to balance all these things out,” says one backbencher. “He wants the doctors back. That might involve a more-than-inflationary pay increase, which then might bring all of the other professions into play.
“The main cost for the NHS is people. If you lose control of the pay aspect, then the costs will go up enormously.”
Unions representing NHS staff tell The House they are monitoring the resident doctors’ dispute and do not rule out balloting their own members for strike action if a generous deal is agreed.
“All NHS staff are deserving of above-inflation pay rises,” says Richard Munn, national officer for health at Unite, which represents almost 100,000 healthcare workers.
“Unlike resident doctors, the lower-paid NHS staff do not have the opportunity to progress to be consultants, GPs or surgeons as their careers develop.
“We hope that the government will see the unfairness of treating doctors more favourably than other NHS staff and will look to offer all staff above-inflation pay offers.”
A spokesman for the Society of Radiographers says their union is watching the resident doctors’ dispute “with interest”, adding that “balloting for strike action would depend on what follows for other NHS staff and how this is received by our members”.
The Royal College of Nursing, meanwhile, says it was “an insult” for the government to offer a 3.3 per cent pay uplift to their members and has pledged to “look at whether this is fair treatment compared to other professions and sectors”.
Hoddinott says: “The resident doctors are actually a relatively cheap staff group to pay. If you want to pay them a lot more money, you can actually do so relatively easily.
“An extra percentage point increase in their salary is worth roughly £51m, which sounds like a lot, but in NHS terms is not that much.
“More worrying is the contagion effect to other staff groups – if you get ‘Agenda for Change’ staff, which is all non-medical staff in the NHS, walking out.
“If you give them a percentage point increase that matches the resident doctors, that is suddenly something like £730m. That starts to get very expensive, very quickly.”
For Streeting, there will also be a personal incentive to resolving the dispute. The Health Secretary has been touted as a challenger to Keir Starmer’s leadership, and preventing further strikes – by reaching a deal which the public believes to be fair – will be a key test for him.
“It’s damaging for any secretary of state to have this hanging over their head,” says Hoddinott. “It gives the impression of dysfunction, and it does hurt your ability to demonstrate progress towards your ambitions.”
A DHSC spokesperson said: “Resident doctors have already had a 28.9 per cent pay rise over the last three years – we’ve gone as far as we can on pay this year.
“We’re working constructively with doctors on the long-standing issues they face in their careers and we’ve already made progress, including fast‑tracking legislation so UK medical graduates get priority for specialty training places. Our focus remains firmly on continuing this work and preventing strike action, which has already caused too much disruption for both patients and NHS staff.”
In a written statement, Fletcher told The House: “This is not a problem the government can wait out.
“From the very start of my engagement with government, I have made clear I am serious about getting to a deal. Strikes could have been avoided from the get-go if government had simply engaged with us on those terms.
“Sadly, we had to go through strike action before they would talk seriously. We hope that the talks we are now in will result in an offer that means there need be no further strikes.”
Regarding pay erosion since 2008, he added: “Our job is not 21 per cent less difficult, so it should not be paid 21 per cent less. The choice to cut this pay was a political on,e and the choice to restore it must be a political choice too.”
Politics
Politics Home Article | Lib Dems Fear Frustrated MPs Could Defect To The Greens

4 min read
There is concern within the Liberal Democrats that some of their MPs could defect to the Greens amid restlessness over the direction of the party.
A senior Liberal Democrat MP told PoliticsHome that at least two Lib Dem MPs — both representing traditionally Conservative constituencies in southern England captured during the party’s 2024 surge — could be tempted to switch to Zack Polanski’s party.
Ed Davey led the Lib Dems to a record 72 seats at the last general election, which made them the third biggest party in the House of Commons. Their gains came largely at the expense of Tories in so-called ‘blue wall’ parts of the country.
Since then, however, there has been growing disquiet within the parliamentary party, with Lib Dem MPs privately questioning the strategic direction and complaining that they have failed to capitalise on the success of 2024.
This restlessness has been fuelled by Polanski’s Greens overtaking the Lib Dems in recent polls. Polanski, previously a Lib Dem, has been credited with sharpening the Greens’ message and expanding their appeal beyond traditional environmental voters.
YouGov this week put the Liberal Democrats in fifth place nationally on 14 per cent, trailing behind Reform, the Conservatives, the Greens and Labour.
“Ed is the most successful leader the party has ever had. He’s won more MPs than ever before, and has a story that genuinely connects with the public. But he’s lost all momentum,” one Lib Dem MP told PoliticsHome.
The same MP added: “There’s a huge opportunity in the centre for the Lib Dems. Ed’s team needs to stop holding back now and really go for it. Otherwise, we’ll just disappear.”
“Everyone’s frustrated,” added a different Lib Dem MP.
Davey has made opposition to Donald Trump a key part of his political agenda, regularly calling on the Labour government to be firmer with the US President.
Internal plans obtained by The Spectator reveal a belief among Lib Dem strategists that their strong opposition to US strikes on Iran will pay dividends at the 7 May local elections.
One memo leaked to the publication reads: “For the first time since the Iraq war… we have a chance to turn a distinctive and principled Liberal Democrat position on foreign affairs into significant election gains.”
However, critical Lib Dems MPs say that, beyond their position on the Trump administration, a lack of a clear policy platform is leaving them with little to talk about.
A Green Party Source told PoliticsHome: “Zack has made it clear that his door is open to anyone who shares the Green Party’s values – but right now he is focused on electing a wave of green councillors, mayors and Sennedd members in May.”
As the party gets together for its spring conference in York this weekend, MPs are starting to wonder whether Davey, who has been Lib Dem leader since 2020, is the right person to lead the party into the next general election.
However, as things stand, there is no sense that his position is under serious threat, nor that there is an obvious successor.
The party’s deputy leader, Daisy Cooper, former leadership contender, Layla Moran, and party president, Josh Babarinde, elected in 2024, are names mentioned by MPs as potential future leaders.
In a recent interview with The House magazine, the Liberal Democrat MP Roz Savage hinted at her own frustrations when asked whether Davey remained the best person to lead the party.
“I can’t say anything about that on the record,” she replied.
One of her colleagues told PoliticsHome: “It’s what everyone’s thinking, she’s just the first to say something publicly.”
Lisa Smart, the Lib Dem MP for Hazel Grove, who is helping devise party strategy, urged colleagues to get behind their leader.
“Ed is the most popular party leader in the country and the strongest voice in Parliament when it comes to standing up to Donald Trump or building closer ties with Europe,” she told PoliticsHome.
“Of course, we have a big bit of work to do coming up with bold new policies as we get closer to the next election, and I’m really proud of all my Liberal Democrat colleagues working hard to do that.”
She added: We are focused on winning, because that’s how we stop Reform, elect more Liberal Democrat MPs and change the country. We have a huge opportunity to win more seats, but also a duty to stop Nigel Farage getting anywhere near Number 10.”
One of the strategic questions facing the Lib Dems is what political direction to pursue as part of their bid to build on their success at the 2024 general election.
There are some MPs, like Savage, who describe themselves as being on the left of the party.
However, there are those who believe the party should continue prioritising former Conservative voters through more centre-right positions on issues like fiscal responsibility.
“We need to be making the case to Conservative voters that we can be trusted on the economy or they won’t vote for us,” said one Lib Dem MP.
Politics
Oscars Nominations 2026: 7 Biggest Snubs And Surprises This Year
Ahead of Sunday night’s ceremony, some of Hollywood’s most recognisable faces will be gearing up to find out if they’ve snagged one of those coveted golden statues.
Others, though, weren’t quite so lucky.
Indeed, there are some pretty note-worthy absentees from this year’s Oscars shortlist – while there are a fair few others we were no doubt pleasantly surprised to see make their way into their categories.
Here are our seven biggest snubs and surprises of the 2026 Oscar nominees…
SNUB

Let’s start with the biggie, shall we?
In 2025, the first Wicked movie racked up a hefty 10 Oscar nominations, including acting wins for both Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, and wins in the Best Production Design and Best Costume Design categories.
However, neither actor has been recognised at this year’s event – and, in fact, Wicked: For Good failed to pick up a single Oscar nomination in something of a blow for the musical sequel.
Worst of all, without a nod in the Best Original Song category, we were subjected to those new additions to the soundtrack for nothing…
SNUB
Chase Infiniti (One Battle After Another)

One Battle After Another, remarkably, marked Chase Infiniti’s first time on the big screen, with her performance in the Paul Thomas Anderson movie earning her nominations at both the Golden Globes, Critics’ Choice Awards, Baftas and recently-renamed Actor Awards.
Surprisingly – and, we have to say, disappointingly – this did not translate to an Oscar nomination for the young star, who will next be seen in Niki Byrne’s coming-of-age drama The Julia Set.
SNUB
Paul Mescal (Best Supporting Actor)

As expected, Hamnet had plenty of love when it came to this year’s Oscar nominations, with lead actor Jessie Buckley the current favourite to scoop Best Actress and Chloe Zhao receiving Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay nods.
While many expected that Paul Mescal would rack up his second nomination for his performance as William Shakespeare, it turned out there was not enough room for him in the stacked category after all.
SURPRISE
Kate Hudson (Best Actress)

As the date of the Oscar nominations announcement drew nearer, we’d heard rumblings that Kate Hudson might make her way into the Best Actress category, but we weren’t sure whether she’d actually manage it.
Kate plays tribute singer Claire Sardina in the musical drama, earning her first Oscar nomination in 25 years for her work in the movie (she was last nominated in 2001 for her breakout role in Almost Famous).
SURPRISE
Delroy Lindo (Best Supporting Actor)

After Delroy Lindo was overlooked at the Golden Globes, Critics’ Choice Awards and Actor Awards for his performance as Delta Slim in Sinners, we came to the sad conclusion that the comic relief character wouldn’t be getting any love from the major awards bodies this year.
Imagine our delight, then, when he managed to make his way into the Best Supporting Actor category at the Oscars, one of three acting nods for the film (which has shattered the record for the most nominations in history) at the upcoming Academy Awards.
SURPRISE
Amy Madigan (Best Supporting Actress)

To be fair, after winning a Critics’ Choice Award and earning recognition at the Golden Globes, we’re not sure we can really call Amy Madigan’s nomination for her performance in Weapons a surprise anymore.
Still, when we cast our mind back to the first time we were introduced to Aunt Gladys last year, we never thought that Amy would land herself in the running for an Oscar for her role, and given the Academy’s history with horror movies, it’s great to see her getting the recognition she deserves so much.
SNUB
Like Wicked: For Good, many were shocked that Park Chan-wook’s satirical drama No Other Choice didn’t get a single Oscar nomination – despite its acclaim from both critics and audiences, and the fact that until recently it held a rare 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
What we’re hoping is that the conversation around this snub, paired with its rave reviews, are enough that when it hits UK cinemas later this week, audiences flood to see it.
Politics
One Piece Season 2 Cast: Where You’ve Seen The New Stars Before
When One Piece debuted in 2023, it quickly was hailed as one of the best live-action adaptations of a manga ever, and became the Netflix’s most-watched original series of the second half of that year.
After an agonising three-year wait, Monkey D. Luffy, Nami, Roronoa Zoro and the rest of the super-powered team of pirates are back in action – alongside a new ragtag group of enemies, allies and magical creatures.
Here are all the new actors joining One Piece in its second season, and a quick guide to where you might know them from…
Charithra Chandran

Charitha has joined the second series of One Piece as Miss Wednesday, the princess of the desert kingdom Alabasta.
The British actor is no stranger to popular Netflix shows, having played Edwina in the second series of Bridgerton.
After her big break in the Amazon Prime adaptation of the Alex Ryder books in 2021, playing Sabina Pleasance, Charitha went on to appear in Dune: Prophecy as a younger version of Tabu’s character Francesca.
On the big screen, you may recognise her for her performance as the flight attendant in Josh Hartnett’s action film Fight Or Flight, and in the recent festive film Christmas Karma, which co-starred Kunal Nayyar and Danny Dyer.
Mikaela Hoover

Season two of One Piece also welcomes Mikaela Hoover to the cast, who voices the talkative reindeer Tony Tony Chopper.
You’ll likely recognise her for her recent role in Superman, in which she plays journalist Cat Grant.
The superhero movie marked her latest collaboration with director James Gunn, having played Nova Prime’s assistant in Guardians Of The Galaxy, voiced Floor the Rabbit in Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 and appeared as the president’s assistant, Camila, in The Suicide Squad.
She has also had guest roles in Charlie Sheen’s comedy Anger Management, 2 Broke Girls alongside Kat Dennings and in last year’s TV crime thriller Duster.
You can next see Mikaela in the second season of Netflix’s Beef, which also features Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan.
David Dastmalchian

Zade Rosenthal/Marvel Studios/Walt Disney Studios/Kobal/Shutterstock
David Dastmalchian appears as Mr. 3, the Baroque Works member who can produce candle wax from his hands.
A well-known face to fans of sci-fi and comic book adaptations, David played Kurt in the Ant-Man films, Polka Dot Man in The Suicide Squad and voiced Julian Day in the recent Batman animated films.
Following his big-screen debut in The Dark Knight, playing Joker’s deranged henchman, David teamed up again with director Christopher Nolan in 2024, taking on the role of real-life lawyer William L. Borden in Oppenheimer.
You may also recognise him for his role in Dune as Piter De Vries, the assistant to Stellan Skarsgård’s Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, and for starring in horror, Late Night With The Devil.
On TV, he appeared in the 2017 series of Twin Peaks as Pit Boss Warrick, Dexter: Resurrection as the Gemini killer and all 10 episodes of Apple TV’s eccentric sci-fi series Murderbot.
Katey Sagal

Aaron Rapoport/Corbis/Getty Images/Fox
Katey Sagal, who plays Dr. Kureha in the manga adaptation, is a veritable TV icon.
She is known for playing Peg Bundy on the sitcom Married… With Children and, more recently, starring in Sons Of Anarchy as matriarch Gemma Teller Morrow.
Her other credits include voicing Leela in Futurama, having a leading role in the family sitcom 8 Simple Rules, and playing Dan’s second wife in the TV sitcom The Conners.
Most recently, you might have seen Katey play Nora’s mother in Tell Me Lies, appear in former Married… With Children co-star Christina Applegate’s comedy/drama Dead To Me or star alongside Sophie Turner in the horror film Trust.
Mark Harelik

Mark Harelik appears in One Piece as another of the doctors on Drum Island.
The actor and playwright has been consistently working since making his TV debut in Wings in 1993.
On the big screen, his long and varied career includes Election with Reese Witherspoon, Jurassic Park III and 2017’s Battle Of The Sexes, starring as real-life baseball player Hank Greenberg.
As for his TV work, he played the head of the physics department in The Big Bang Theory, God in Amazon Prime’s Preacher and most recently worked with Jake Gyllenhaal in Apple TV+ drama Presumed Innocent.
Callum Kerr

Callum Kerr has a supporting role in the second series of One Piece, playing a Marine Captain who can turn into smoke.
The Scottish actor and country singer found fame playing George Kiss in Hollyoaks between 2020 and 2021, before joining the cast of the musical drama show Monarch, acting alongside Susan Sarandon and Anna Friel.
He later played the young Everett in Virgin River, and starred as Galad Trakand in season three of The Wheel Of Time.
You might also recognise Callum for his appearance in Robbie Williams ’ video for his 2017 single Mixed Signals.
Camrus Johnson

Camrus Johnson, who plays Mr. 5, is most likely recognisable for his role as Luke Fox in the TV series Batwoman, in which he acted alongside Ruby Rose.
His first big role came when he played Omar Hassabala in the 2019 teen romance movie The Sun Is Also A Star.
One Piece is his latest Netflix collaboration, having also appeared in two episodes of Luke Cage and played a supporting role as Corporal Carson in Millie Bobby Brown’s streaming blockbuster The Electric State.
Julia Rehwald

Julia Rehwald appears as Smoker’s subordinate in One Piece. She, too, is a well-known face to Netflix audiences, after being hailed as one of the most exciting scream queens currently working after starring as Kate Schmidt in the Fear Street trilogy.
Star Wars fans, meanwhile, will know her for voicing Celesta Kami in the recent animated series Young Jedi Adventures.
Rigo Sanchez

Byron Cohen/ABC/Getty Images
Rigo plays the leader of the Revolutionary Army in One Piece, but you may better recognise him as Lightner, the mercenary villain introduced in season four of Outer Banks.
The actor also starred in the Animal Kingdom television show, played a firefighter in the Grey’s Anatomy spin-off Station 19 and recently appeared in an episode of Duster.
Daniel Lasker

Zimbabwean actor Daniel Lasker, who plays Mr. 9 in One Piece, is best known for his performance as Furfur in the sci-fi show Raised By Wolves.
His other TV credits include appearing in BBC drama Our Girl as a US soldier, and playing Merrick in the recent adaptation of Mallory Blackman’s Noughts + Crosses.
On the big screen, Daniel recently starred alongside Josh Duhamel and Aidan Gillen in London Calling.
Sophia Anne Caruso

Helen Sloan/SMPSP/Netflix
Sophia Anne Caruso stars in One Piece as Miss Goldenweek, a character who can alter people’s emotions using paint.
She is a recognisable face in the world of theatre, originating the role of Lydia Deetz in the Broadway musical adaptation of Beetlejuice.
On screen, Sophia appeared in Paul Feig’s fantasy The School For Good And Evil alongside Charlize Theron and Kerry Washington.
Rob Colletti

Rob Colletti plays the tyrannic ruler of the Drum Kingdom in One Piece.
Although more famous for his stage work, including originating the role of Dewey Finn in Broadways’ School Of Rock, he also had a small part in 2021′s The Sopranos prequel, The Many Saints Of Newark.
Watch seasons one and two of One Piece and Netflix now.
Politics
Katya Interview: RuPaul’s Drag Race, Trixie Mattel And Podcast Who’s The A**hole
“You’ll have to excuse me, I’m cleaning a men’s wig.”
This feels as fitting a way as any to begin a conversation with Katya Zamolodchikova (your dad just calls her Katya), the drag world’s queen of all things chaotic.
Katya first captured the world’s attention 10 years ago, as one of the break-out stars of RuPaul’s Drag Race’s seventh season, quickly becoming a popular fan-favourite and returning a year later for the second All Stars season (still considered by many to be the pinnacle of the franchise) a year after being crowned her season’s Miss Congeniality.
A decade on, she’s still considered one of the show’s most popular queens, particularly among non-winners – a title she’s more than happy to retain.
“I’m not a winner – and I mean that not in a pejorative, insult-y way,” she tells HuffPost UK. “I’m not competitive. I found that out the first day I was on the show.”
Katya recalls: “I guess before I went to season seven, I was kind of like, ‘I could win’. And then I got there and I was like, ‘….nope’.”
“But then, I don’t want to!” she continues, pointing out: “When you win, people are like, ’you shouldn’t have won’. And when you lose, they say you should have won. So it’s like, I’ll take that!”
Having not ever picked up a Drag Race crown, she claims, she’s been spared the “the whole combing through your career with a fine-tooth comb” that fans do in order to try and prove, “’see – she didn’t deserve to win here!” or “she should have gone home…”.
“Whatever,” she quips, before adding a playful: “The most important thing is love.”

The Drag Race fandom is something that Katya acknowledges can be a mixed bag, and one which everyone who passes through the show will invariably have a different experience with.
“It’s tough, because real life and online are two very, very different interactions, and two different conceptions of people,” she explains.
“The internet version is a small, nebulous population of people who I don’t know. But in real life – that’s the people coming to the shows, the people who talk to me after the shows, the people who talk to me in the street – those people, 99% of the time, are incredible.
“Online… I don’t know those people. I appreciate them… I think? I don’t know. And also with bots and stuff, who the fuck knows these days?”
For Katya in particular, many of the fans she’s accrued over the last decade know her as well for her work outside of Drag Race as they do her stints on season seven and All Stars.
Much of this has seen her collaborating with her season seven sister turned right-hand woman Trixie Mattel, most notably the web series UNHhhh, the Netflix recap show I Like To Watch and, more recently, their gloriously-titled podcast The Bald And The Beautiful.
Both Katya and Trixie have made no secret of the fact that their more devoted and zealous fans can be a little unfiltered when meeting them in public, but Katya insists that their oversharing is mostly not an issue for her.

“I don’t care! We don’t have that much time! We could all be dead tomorrow! Share it! You know?” she enthuses. “Just – if it’s a meet and greet, don’t overstep, because we’ve got a line.”
Last summer, Katya and Trixie marked 10 years since they went off to film season seven by rewatching the whole thing, and devoting one episode of their podcast to each instalment.
For Katya, this marked the first time she’d watched it all back since she took part, and she found she had a lot of grace for her younger self.
“The other day, I was talking to somebody who was going to go on Drag Race, or somebody had just been on Drag Race, or whatever, and somebody was asking for advice,” she recalls. “It’s really, really simple. You just go and try to be as funny as you can. And so, rewatching it, I was like, ‘oh, I could have been funnier there’.
“But, like, I don’t care about the bad drag, because we were all poor! And I still have bad drag! Who cares? I’m not dressed by Valentino! I don’t have that much money – although I am extremely rich – but you know, it’s cringe-y, but also it’s fun.”
“And here’s the thing,” she adds. “If people are fans of you and they love you, you can’t be too hard on yourself – because then you’re insulting them!”

JLN Photography/Shutterstock
In fact, she had more notes for her looks out of drag than for anything she wore on the runway.
“The clothing is a huge head scratcher,” she admits. “I don’t know whose clothes those were. I don’t know what that art teacher jacket was, or how that happened. I have actually been kind of goth my entire life, to wear that jacket is so strange.
“Nowadays, the girls go in with entire boy costume selections. That’s unthinkable to me. I didn’t care! And yet, these young kids are doing it all day and going into the interview room looking like a Balenciaga fashion model, and they’re out on the runway looking like Victoria’s Secret.”
“Damn, good on you,” she concludes. “’Cause I’m a goblin!”
Since Drag Race, Katya’s fanbase has steadily continued to grow thanks to her distinct take on the artform of drag, her irreverent sense of humour and her frankness and candour around issues like sex, mental health and addiction.
Her latest venture allows her to lean into all of these skills, flying solo as the host of the Grindr podcast Who’s The Asshole?. (“She let me out of the house!” Katya jokes of not working with Trixie on the interview series. “It was a really pivotal moment in our career and friendship and our sub-dom relationship when she unshackled me from my bed and allowed me to work solo. Of course, I still have to give her all the money…”).
The podcast sees Katya chatting to guests as varied as fashion icon Jeremy Scott, electroclash pioneer Peaches, viral comedian Megan Stalter and Drag Race’s “Queen of Queens” herself, Jinkx Monsoon, about “sex, social mores, taboos and what that means in the digital marketplace for sex and love”.
“I love talking to people, and it’s fascinating stuff!” she beams. “It’s not like hauling bricks down a quarry. Which was my previous job…”

Santiago Felipe via Getty Images
Now onto her third season of Who’s The Asshole?, Katya credits her success as a host to the fact that she knows “how to listen” – and she’s been part of enough interviews over the years, as both a presenter and guest, to know what not to do.
“I’ve noticed – without naming any names – in the current entertainment landscape, there are quite a few people who are hosts who perhaps should… try something else,” Katya says. “Their skillset is just not in that arena.”
“When you’re a host, you’ve got to listen to somebody. And you have to listen to the whole sentence. When you’re talking to someone, and you can see behind their eyes that you’re just waiting for you to finish whatever the fuck you’re saying so they can chime in with their – perhaps non-sequitir – comment, it’s like…” she trails off, groaning.
“That didn’t happen on the Grindr podcast!” she quickly adds. “But just in general – that is just… ugh. It’s hard, sometimes. Sometimes it can feel like you’re the dentist and you’ve got to pull a bunch of teeth, with no laughing gas.”
Katya recalls: “There’ve been very few times [outside of Who’s The Asshole?] when that’s happened, and it’s just a bummer, you know? Because when you’re creating something in the moment, or you’re filming something, it’s like, ‘well we’re not going to use this because who would ever want to watch or listen to this?’.”
Fortunately, Grindr has selected a line-up of guests for Who’s The Asshole? which Katya describes as “consistently, at the very least, nice, mostly wonderful and often incredible”.

As well as an audio podcast, Who’s The Asshole? is also available to watch as a video series on YouTube, with Katya fronting each episode out of drag – surely an endorsement of her skills as a host that Grindr cared more about having her present than have anyone else in drag.
“We’ll go with that as the official word,” she jokes. “But there’s not enough aircon in the world for me to get through a whole day [of filming] in drag.
“My interview skills would be severely compromised if I had to spend 30 to 40% of my brain power worrying about, ‘do I look like crap?’, ‘am I sweating?’, ‘oh my god, I’m worried about my hair…’.”
This way, she says, she “can just show in my little wiglet, put a little powder on and hit it”.
It should be noted that this is the moment, Katya throws on the wig she’s been cleaning since the start of our interview (“I won’t take up all your time with the wig because we’ve got business to do,” she says, modelling. “But this is my Targaryen fantasy”.)
“As fierce as drag is, let me tell you, it feels like a palliative care situation,” she continues, before correcting herself: “No, no, no. Sorry. That would have morphine. Drag feels like you’re in a Saw movie. Like you’re in a Saw trap.
“And if you want to do eight hours of that, good luck. But they’d have to pay me about $3.5 million a minute. No, I’m just kidding…”
Katya’s break-out moment on Drag Race season seven came not just at a turning point for the reality show, but the artform of drag more generally.

While RuPaul famously once declared that drag could “never be mainstream”, it came impressively close in the 2010s. Just a couple of years after season seven, queens were popping up on major red carpets like the VMAs, Grammys and Met Gala.
Drag Race alum were becoming celebrities in their own right, landing roles on primetime shows and popping up on Broadway. Before long, Ru came out with another quote: “Earlier this year I was quoted saying I’d rather have an enema than an Emmy. But thanks to the Television Academy, I can have both!”
Unfortunately, the pendulum soon began swinging in the opposite direction, and in the 2020s, a conservative backlash became steadily louder, with queerphobic rhetoric and legisalation, much of it aimed at drag queens, becoming infuriatingly commonplace.
“Without getting too dark,” Katya says. “Listen, I don’t know any drag queens on that list.” She pauses. “The Epstein list,” she clarifies. “Not Craigslist. Or Angie’s List.
“I don’t think there’s a single [drag queen] that’s gone to that island. And yet, just months and years ago, we were the ones who were considered to be groomers? Give me a break!”
“Look at the person pointing the finger and shouting, because they need to look in the mirror,” she continues. “And voilà. That’s what happened.”
As for the fear felt by many queer people around the world in the current political climate, Katya laments that this is more than justified.
“Be very afraid!” she warns. “Be afraid – and also get engaged, because it’s becoming very clear that the people in power, not just here [in the United States] but around the world, are so greedy, so psychotic, and so selfish that they are going to stop at nothing to make this bizarre world the way that they want it.
“We’re all going to suffer, and we are suffering. Gay, straight, whatever…”
“Jesus Christ,” she sighs. “I don’t have any advice.”
Besides? “Watch Democracy Now?” And? “Wear a funky hat?”
Katya is the host of the Grindr podcast Who’s The Asshole?, which is now back for its fourth season.
Politics
New Pentagon Policy Aims To Stop Unflattering Pete Hegseth Pics
The Pentagon is apparently going to war against press photographers who take “unflattering” photos of Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.
According to The Washington Post, the Defence Department blocked some press photographers from attending briefings about the ongoing war with Iran because Hegseth’s staffers found them “unflattering.”
The ban was instituted after a briefing on March 2 that marked Hegseth’s first appearance in the briefing room since June 2025. Photographers from several outlets, including Reuters, Getty and The Associated Press, attended the briefing with Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman General Dan Caine.
After photos from the briefing were published, some of Hegseth’s staff members were reportedly miffed at how Hegseth looked in the pics. It is unclear whether Hegseth’s aides were bugged by a single photo or several, but some photographers were shut out of subsequent briefings on March 4 and 10. Only Defence Department staff photographers have been permitted into briefings since then.
Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson said in a statement to the Post that the DoD was attempting to “use space in the Pentagon Briefing Room effectively” by allowing “one representative per news outlet if uncredentialed, excluding pool.”
“Photographs from the briefings are immediately released online for the public and press to use,” Wilson added. “If that hurts the business model for certain news outlets, then they should consider applying for a Pentagon press credential.”
The Defence Department’s relationship with the media has become notably more contentious under Hegseth, according to The Associated Press. Many mainstream news organisations have left their desks at the Pentagon because they refused to accept new rules enacted by the Trump administration that restrict journalists’ movements and the people they can talk to.
HuffPost reached out to the Defensc Department, asking for clarity on the photo policy and the criteria used to determine whether a photo makes Hegseth look bad. No one immediately responded.
Art is subjective, but here are some Hegseth pics that might qualify for the “unflattering” designation:

Roberto Schmidt via Getty Images

Andrew Harnik/Pool via AP



Julia Demaree Nikhinson via AP
Politics
Teenager Mean To Their Friend? Therapist Advice On How To Handle It
This article features advice from Emma Cullinan, a BACP accredited psychotherapist based in London.
No parent wants to think of their child as a bully – but the reality is, kids can be pretty mean. And sometimes, especially when peer pressure is involved, young people who wouldn’t usually behave that way can get swept up with the tide.
One parent recently shared on Reddit that they were in disagreement with their husband about how to respond, after they found out their son had been “acting like a jerk”.
The 16-year-old had been on a school trip with friends where he shared a room with three other boys – two of which he’s close to, and one who is more of a peripheral school pal (who the parent referred to as ‘John’ for the sake of the story).
“My son got home from the trip and when I gave him and the other 2 boys a ride home from school, the car conversation was how annoying John was, how funny it was the pranks they pulled on him, how funny it was how mad he got, how much John now hates them, etc,” explained the parent.
“Sounded like John had a crappy time because of his roommates. My son was quiet in the car other than agreeing John was ‘so annoying’, but it was 100% clear he joined in.”
After relaying the story to their husband, the couple agreed that their son “was a jerk” if what they heard was true – but they couldn’t seem to agree on how was best to handle it.
OP (original poster) wanted to have a calm talk with their son, whereas their husband wanted to “yell at him and shame him in his actions, punish him severely (no hanging out this weekend), [and] force him to apologise to John”.
How should they handle it?
Emma Cullinan, a BACP accredited psychotherapist based in London, suggests parents in this position – or a similar one – need to understand what lies behind their teen’s behaviour.
She recommends approaching with curiosity rather than judgement or an attack. “Ask them what is happening for them and why they felt the need to do this,” she says.
“They may not understand themselves (their cognitive self-reflection is still in its early stages) so it may be a case of you both working through why they might have behaved in this way.
“For instance, if they felt jealous of the other person or if they feel that they can boost their own sense of self through taking down another person, they need to be made aware of this.
“Then you can talk through how else they might deal with feelings of jealousy or lack of confidence in a more constructive way.”
Peer pressure can play a big role in why teens behave this way
Another key factor behind their behaviour may have been peer pressure – and the threat of being iced out from the group.
“Peer pressure is huge for teens. When we are young our primary attachment is naturally to our parents (or adults who are bringing us up) but in our teens this switches to our peer group,” says Cullinan.
“Being part of group is a way to practice social skills and learn how to develop supportive relationships. But naturally other teens are also learning and they can be erratic and unkind so negotiating how to belong to the group is fraught with conundrums.”
Consider the potential threat of being ostracised or iced out by a group of friends – “being part of a group can feel like such a matter of life or death for a teen, that they can behave in unethical ways just to belong,” adds the therapist.
“This then leaves them feeling at odds with who they actually want to be – at a time when they are learning who they are.”
What’s more, when the rest of the group starts ostracising another person, “everyone in the group is relieved that it is not them and, if preventing also being ostracised means having to go along with excluding someone, people often do that, even if they feel terrible about it,” says the therapist.
“It sounds as if this is what happened with the 16-year-old in this case. He was torn.”
Help them figure out how to behave next time
Having a conversation with teens about their behaviour – and what drove it – can help lead you onto solutions regarding what they could say/do next time.
“Talk to your child about ways in which they can verbally become objective about the situation, rather than confronting someone head on,” says Cullinan.
“They could say: ‘What are you doing?’ Or ‘Are you OK?’ Or ‘Ouch.’ In this way, they are naming what is happening and commenting on the situation in a factual way, and calling out the behaviour, rather than engaging with it,” she explains.
“If you state facts about what is happening, it is harder for the other person to challenge it.”
Does taking away privileges work?
Just as therapists don’t really advise taking away toys or privileges as a way to teach a lesson to younger children, the same goes for teens.
“Taking away privileges aims to train someone through punishment, but learning through fear of consequences will do nothing to aid the growth of a child who is already dealing with complicated feelings, such as shame and guilt. It just adds another difficult emotion into the mix,” says Cullinan.
“Also, it could inadvertently teach them that communicating in a punishing way is OK, which takes them back into the realm of bullying behaviour. Instead, you want to try and model good communication and relationships.”
Politics
Islamophobia boosted by right-wing US politicians
Since the escalation of Israel’s genocide in Gaza in 2023, the US far right has been exploiting the chance to spread Islamophobia even further. And a new report suggests that prominent US figures have been increasingly using the rhetoric of Christian extremism to do so, particularly around the illegal US-Israeli war on Iran.
‘Overtly religious’ framing and genocidal dehumanisation
The Center for the Study of Organized Hate (CSOH) has reported that:
Since the start of 2026, harmful content targeting Muslims across social media platforms has escalated at an alarming pace.
It said this has further built on the “deeply hostile climate” that far-right, pro-Israel forces have nurtured since 2023. And it noted that the unprovoked US-Israeli attack on Iran on 28 February “accelerated this trend sharply”.
The CSOH also identified that far-right US leaders in both the government and military have leaned into “overtly religious” framing surrounding the war.
Analysing X posts from 1 January to 5 March, the CSOH noted “a sharp spike” in Islamophobic posts starting on 28 February. Between then and 5 March, it recorded 25,348 such posts. Including reposts, this number shoots up to 279,417.
With leaders’ language fuelling “suspicion, hostility, and violence” against Muslims, the CSOH stated, people online used:
dehumanizing language, referring to Muslims as “rats,” “pests,” “vermin,” and “parasites.” Such language has historically preceded and enabled the most extreme forms of violence against targeted communities.
This, it said, is:
a significant indicator of escalation risk.
A new study found more than 25,000 anti‑Muslim posts on social media since the war with Iran began, signalling a surge in Islamophobic rhetoric in the US and raising concerns about growing online hostility toward Muslim communities.
Al Jazeera’s Nour Hegazy explains. pic.twitter.com/Is2gFGtGD7
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) March 13, 2026
Dehumanisation of a group fuels genocidal rhetoric and actions, as it has in Israel around the settler-colonial power’s decimation of Gaza.
The CSOH also recorded the use of words like “infestation”, along with calls for ‘extermination’, “internment camps”, Muslim bans and expulsion, and the targeting of places of worship.
Rising Islamophobia under Trump’s far-right regime
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) civil rights group has also released a new report. This noted that 2025, the first year of Donald Trump’s second administration, saw the highest number of complaints about anti-Muslim discrimination in three decades. Al Jazeera explained that this was due to factors like:
- The rollback of “civil rights operations at the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Education”.
- White House “efforts to punish schools and students for their participation in pro-Palestinian protests and activities”.
- Trump’s statements “attacking Muslim-majority groups living in the US, including Somalis and Afghans”.
The report on Islamophobia highlighted that:
anti-Muslim narratives more clearly resurfaced in 2025, particularly the notion that the religious principles followed by Muslims are inherently threatening and anti-American
CAIR’s research and advocacy director Corey Sawyer said:
In 2025, what we saw in the United States was a group of powerful public officials assert that freedom comes with conditions… You have to speak their approved lines. You have to worship in ways in which they approve. You should trace your ancestry to places that they approve of. And you should think the thoughts that they approve.
And he emphasised that:
Protecting your right to be different and your right to dissent isn’t a favour to any one community… That’s the operating system of a free country.
Under Joe Biden, Democrats let Israel’s fascists get away with dehumanising Palestinians and committing genocide against them in Gaza. Now, as Donald Trump’s far-right regime has actively joined Israel’s destructive rampage throughout the Middle East, that dehumanisation is targeting bigger and bigger groups of people.
The US establishment is showing the world its true face. And if citizens of the country want to rescue what’s good there, they must seriously challenge the ongoing spread of dehumanising and hateful rhetoric. Because only bad things will come if the US continues on this path.
Featured image via NYSBA
Politics
BBC editor reportedly set to continue case against Owen Jones
BBC editor Raffi Berg will reportedly continue his lawsuit against journalist Owen Jones, despite already losing a key judgment in the case. The decision has been described as a “huge” gamble, because the judge has agreed Jones was expressing a considered opinion. Two of Berg’s lawyer Mark Lewis’s clients were bankrupted in the same way, as journalist Rivkah Brown pointed out:
NEW: Raffi Berg’s lawyer Mark Lewis, former director of UK Lawyers for Israel, says that Berg will continue to sue Jones, despite today’s judicial determination.
It’s a huge wager. Lewis’s previous clients, Daniel Miller and Nina Power, were bankrupted in the exact same way. https://t.co/K1x9YxxVfH
— Rivkah Brown (@rivkahbrown) March 12, 2026
Writer Luke Turner had described both Miller and Power as “fascists” and Miller as a “neo-nazi”. Both were forced to declare bankruptcy over the loss.
BBC spat goes deeper
But they are not the only ones. Lewis was also the lawyer for Israel activists Edward Cantor and James Mendelsohn. The two men, along with ‘Labour against Antisemitism’ (LAAS) director Peter Newbon, had put James Wilson in danger by suggesting he was dangerous to children. Wilson sued. Mendelsohn and Cantor pursued the case disastrously when they could have settled. The High Court awarded Wilson around £150,000 in damages and costs.
Newbon, after putting his family home at risk through this case and another lawsuit, took his own life before the case concluded. According to Wilson, Cantor was losing his family home to cover his share of the loss.
Wilson later published documents, exposed as part of the case’s ‘disclosures’, showing that Lewis had told well-known barrister Gavin Millar that for him, continuing to fight the case was all about getting a large sum of money out of Wilson:
Mr Millar advised against an appeal, but what is more interesting is what the exchanges between the lawyers reveal. I provide a series of extracts below with some analysis and opinions.
The conference started with:
Gavin Millar: Looking at appeal, what do we get out of it?
Mark Lewis: get some money out of him [me]. If good appeal, do so anyway.
Mr Lewis’ apparent fixation with getting money from and bankrupting me is a recurring issue. Later on in the conference Mr Lewis said the most desirable outcome was me paying the lawyers £100,000. Any money that Mr Lewis might have got from me was for himself and Patron Law for their fees. His clients would have got none of it.
Wilson also points out Lewis withholding key documents from the court when Lewis tried to have the lawsuit ‘struck out’. Lewis had not disclosed evidence showing the extent to which his clients’ lies had been distributed and read:
While a discussion about the crucial evidence might have been omitted from the note, the most likely explanation is surely that Mr Lewis and Ms Grossman did not tell Mr Millar about the evidence and that is why it was not discussed?
If I am right about this, then something very weird has gone on. The defendants were paying – it cost them £1,680 – for the advice of Mr Millar, one of the foremost defamation lawyers in the country, but it seems their lawyers did not give Mr Millar crucial evidence so he could give informed advice on a key issue in the litigation.
My suspicion is that the crucial evidence was not given to Mr Millar because he might have advised “You cannot appeal the decision where you have evidence that suggests publication by Mr Cantor to over 500 people”.
Perhaps Mr Millar might also have said “Frankly, I cannot believe you ran what you knew was a misleading case on limited publication to try to get Wilson’s claim struck out”.
And on 11 March 2026 Wilson accused Lewis of lying to the police that he (Wilson) had tried to blackmail Lewis:
Mark Lewis lied to the police that I was blackmailing him. The police sent him an email asking him questions.
Lewis sent the obviously confidential email to his former clients, presumably to show off that the police were taking it seriously.
How bad is this? @sra_solicitors pic.twitter.com/kKNyxQ1ctk
— James Wilson (@per_incuriam2) March 11, 2026
Wilson, himself a lawyer, has commented on Berg’s decision to continue the case:
Mark Lewis is suggesting Raffi Berg will fight on despite losing on meaning.
Berg needs to know what happened to the clients of Lewis in Miller & Power v Turner.
Fighting on was a total disaster for Lewis’ clients – their ended up bankrupt with their reputations destroyed. pic.twitter.com/jMXHNalTYi
— James Wilson (@per_incuriam2) March 12, 2026
Lewis is a fanatical Zionist who once spoke about ‘unapologetic Zionism’ at the launch of a UK pro-Israel group considered by many to be far-right.
He has been sanctioned by the Solicitors Regulation Authority for abusive conduct on social media – wished a young Jewish supporter of Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour dead – and was heavily criticised by a judge in a different case for his conduct of the case and his lack of proper research on behalf of his clients:
a matter of very real concern that the Claimants put evidence before the Court, on an ex parte application, that was not true…
…he had simply failed to carry out sufficient (or any) research or to take adequate instructions from his clients.
It is unclear whether Berg is continuing the case because of legal advice, or out of a personal determination to do so. But the evidence shows that similar stubborn pursuits have not ended well for the clients concerned.
Featured image via the Canary
Politics
Wunmi Mosaku has complicated feelings about her Oscar nomination
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Politics
Starmer denials over Mandelson aren’t resonating
Number 10 has denied that it is covering up Keir Starmer’s role in his appointments of Peter Mandelson as UK ambassador to the US and a senior adviser. The paltry document release so far – filtered through the government – contains nothing showing Starmer’s indubitable input into the appointments.
It also denied the appointment was ‘rushed through’ – despite the files proving that Starmer’s National security adviser warned that Mandelson’s ambassador appointment was “weirdly rushed”.
The papers also put beyond any doubt that Starmer personally knew all about Mandelson’s continuing closeness to serial child-rapist Jeffrey Epstein. Mandelson remained an ardent fan of Epstein – and passed him sensitive and profitable UK government information – for years after Epstein’s first paedophilia conviction.
Despite this, during a visit to Belfast on Thursday 12 March 2026, the prime minister continued to claim he hadn’t realised Mandelson was close to Epstein.
Clearly, denial is not just a river in Egypt – Starmer’s position is untenable, yet like a bad smell he still lingers.
Featured image via the Canary
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