99 minutes ago Huge £1bn development next to major motorway set to take another step towards reality

The employment space would form part of the Atom Valley project

Economics

1 hour ago Council gives crucial update on plans to turn Stockport Pyramid into huge curry house

The final decision on the building will be made next month.

Politics

1 hour ago King Charles' unexpected three words as he hugs survivor of Australia's 'stolen generation'

King Charles was seen embracing Uncle James Michael 'Widdy' Welsh in a huge hug as he visited the National Centre for Indigenous Excellence in Sydney today as his tour of Australia continues

Events

1 hour ago Workers set for income tax hike as Rachel Reeves ‘to extend freeze on thresholds’

Conservatives have accused Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves of preparing to break a manifesto pledge

Economics

2 hours ago The play that changed my life: Jim Broadbent on Ken Campbell’s electrifying epic Illuminatus!

In the 70s, Campbell’s sprawling sci-fi odyssey was a huge education and a hysterical adventure for an eclectic bunch of actorsA teacher at Lamda had recommended early on that I might be suited to Ken Campbell’s way of working. I didn’t have the nerve to do anything about it. Eventually I did call and he said: “Oh, this is remarkable because I’m just about to do the most remarkable play yet done on Planet World! Read these books and come and have a chat.” So I did.The Illuminatus! Trilogy [by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson] is a sort of science fiction piece, drawing together an awful lot of the then current conspiracy theories. It’s a huge thing that spreads over lots of different stories and characters. Continue reading...

Politics

2 hours ago Battered but bizarrely upbeat: why even utter defeat hasn’t shaken the Tory party’s confidence | Andy Beckett

The Conservatives believe that they uniquely represent British values – so what need is there to admit the UK is changing? Why exactly are the Conservatives so upbeat, barely three months after their worst-ever election defeat? At their party conference, in their leadership contest and in the Tory press, the mood has been unexpectedly positive, even unrepentant, with relatively few recriminations and little deep reflection. During the conference, I lost count of how often people told me the party would be back in power within a few years.There are some straightforward explanations: Labour’s troubles trying to run the country; Tory relief that they have been given a break from that difficult task; the displacement activity of the leadership contest; and the fact that the grind of opposit...

Politics

3 hours ago Horniness, hedonism and hope: why Rivals makes me surprisingly nostalgic

The TV drama doesn’t shy away from the worst aspects of the Thatcher era. But this version of Jilly Cooper’s bonkbuster also captures the lust, laughter and late-night partiesThere is no watching Rivals, the Disney+ adaptation of the Jilly Cooper classic, and pretending the 80s weren’t like that. The poisonous, unabashed homophobia of Tory politics; the hushed-up rapes, the sexual exploitation, the abuse of power, the objectification. Not to mention the inequality, the snobbery, the vulgar excess, the truly nauseating deference to aristocracy – a craven surrender to their innate superiority – and the racism and misogynoir. There is a highly plausible depiction of just how hard a black woman had to fight to exist and to be seen, even by the characters who are meant to be right-on. There ...

Politics

5 hours ago King faces Indigenous activists for second day in a row on Australia tour

Indigenous elders in Sydney one told him their goal was ‘sovereignty’.

Politics

6 hours ago NADINE DORRIES: The next Tory leader needs two things: an ability to heal the party and the force of personality to take on Starmer. Only Robert Jenrick can deliver on both

The Tories have again clambered onto the merry-go-round of a leadership election. On November 2, Jenrick or Badenoch will become the fourth person to lead our party in just over two years.

Politics