3 d. ago Keir Starmer is one of Labour’s most rightwing prime ministers. And one of its most leftwing, too | Andy Beckett

The PM offers a political hybrid designed for a fickle electorate. There are short-term electoral gains to be won, but risks in the long termFor more than eight months now, since shortly after Labour won power, more and more people have been outraged by the government’s moves to the right. Starting with its decision to keep the Conservatives’ cruel two-child benefit cap last July, the government has regularly given these critics reasons to feel shocked, betrayed or just disappointed.From deportation videos to Keir Starmer’s declaration that “I like and respect” Donald Trump, from repeated public sector cuts to the chancellor Rachel Reeves’s talk of “tearing down regulatory barriers” in this week’s spring statement, Labour has often behaved as if the boundaries between its supposedly centre-left politics and the politics of the right or even the far right have simply melted away. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Sadiq Khan launches £10m investment in London's creative industries

City Hall expects funding to leverage £2.5bn in film investment alone, with British Fashion Council and London Design Festival among those to benefit

Economics

3 d. ago ‘Coalition of the willing’ says Russia sanctions must not be eased – Starmer

The US appeared to signal its intention to help ease some sanctions on Russia following ceasefire talks earlier in the week.

Politics

4 d. ago Grand Designs fans slam 'worst property in show's history' as host Kevin McCloud makes comparison

Grand Designs viewers were left far from impressed as they saw architect Howard and interior designer Sarah undertake their most "radical" project yet in Worthing, West Sussex.

Culture

4 d. ago Grand Designs fans brand home 'the worst in show's history' after couple take three yeasrs to complete £465,000 floating house made of polystyrene

Wednesday's episode featured architect Howard and his interior designer wife Sarah, as they set out to build a radical floating home on a tidal estuary near Worthing.

Economics

4 d. ago A Bespoke Headquarters in London Fosters Connection + Community

A Bespoke Headquarters in London Fosters Connection + Community  Design Milk

Politics

4 d. ago Pammy’s Baywatch showstopper, exploding bikinis and Nasa’s banned recordbreaker – Splash! review

Design Museum, LondonThis illuminating exhibition about all things swimming charts the birth of the bikini, its rapid shrinkage, lovely lidos – and the costumes that went too farFour days after a nuclear bomb was first detonated over the Pacific islands of Bikini Atoll in July 1946, the French designer Louis Réard launched a provocative two-piece swimsuit at a poolside party in Paris. The two events might not seem to be connected. But Réard, who had been looking for a name for his design that would embody the tiniest garment imaginable, combined with the most explosive impact possible, hit on the almighty atomic blast as the ideal symbol. And so the modern bikini was born.The world’s first bikini now hangs on a mannequin in the Design Museum in London, looking decidedly less earth-shattering than it did back then. Formed from baggy triangles of pink fabric, printed with a newspaper pattern and tied together with string, it looks a bit like someone has fashioned a quick cossie out of...

Events

4 d. ago Is this the rudest man in Hollywood? Jared Leto's outrageous Taylor Swift remarks, wild gifts he sent to co

The American actor, 53, made headlines this week after British talk show host Alex Jones accused him of being 'so full of himself' while appearing on The One Show.

Politics

4 d. ago Nintendo confirms plans for huge Direct presentation just days before Switch 2 reveal

The Nintendo Switch 2 event is next week, but Nintendo still has plenty to talk about with its current console — so it's holding an extra event tomorrow, March 27

Politics

4 d. ago Moment Grand Designs architect starts building show's most ambitious project yet out of a very surprising material

Architect Howard and interior designer Sarah set out to build a radical floating home on a tidal estuary near Worthing in the new series of the Channel 4 show.

Events

5 d. ago One half of French+Tye photography duo opens the doors to his own home

Maximising natural light and family-friendly design were top priorities for architectural photographer Dom French’s own renovation

Culture

5 d. ago London's 'it' design photographer opens the doors to his own home

Maximising natural light and family-friendly design were top priorities for architectural photographer Dom French’s own renovation

Culture

5 d. ago London’s Design Museum takes a deep dive into our love affair with swimming | Cultural trips

London’s Design Museum takes a deep dive into our love affair with swimming | Cultural trips  The Guardian

Culture

5 d. ago London’s Design Museum takes a deep dive into our love affair with swimming

From art deco lidos to 1980s Speedos, the curator of a new exhibition on swimming and style talks about the inspiration behind it‘The first thing to say is that I’m a terrible swimmer,” says Amber Butchart, curator of a new exhibition on swimming that opens at the Design Museum in London this week. Growing up, school swimming lessons were “horrible, traumatic” – the cold water, the humiliation, the scrutiny from teenage boys. But something shifted when she moved to Margate 10 years ago and discovered the joy of swimming in the resort’s huge tidal pool, which was built in the 1930s. “This sounds quite pretentious, but it’s this idea of becoming one with the horizon,” says Butchart. “It’s almost like an existential feeling of the vastness of the world and being physically a part of that when you’re immersed in water. It’s transformational.”Splash! A Century of Swimming and Style explores our enduring love affair with swimming, from Britain’s lido boom of the 1920s and 30s to the Merma...

Politics

5 d. ago Ukraine and Russia agree Black Sea ceasefire deal after talks in Saudi Arabia

Talks have been taking place this week

Economics

5 d. ago Traitors star lands HUGE ad campaign as fans hail TV personality an 'icon' for taking on new role

The interior designer, who starred on series three of the show which concluded in January, has taken on a new role.

Politics

6 d. ago London’s ‘it’ design photographer throws open the doors to his own home

Maximising natural light and family-friendly design were top priorities for architectural photographer Dom French’s own renovation

Culture

6 d. ago London’s ‘it’ design photographers French + Tye throw open the doors to their own home

Maximising natural light and family-friendly design were top priorities for photography duo French+Tye’s own renovation

Culture

7 d. ago Adolescence star Erin Doherty 'so proud' of Netflix drama on horrors lurking online

The new series, which hit the streaming service on March 13, has got viewers talking over the last week for its gripping storyline and the fact that each episode was done in one take.

Events

8 d. ago Brushing up the past: a graceful French home has art at its heart

The couple behind interior design agency Maison MAVI have turned an old villa into an incredible showroomWhen Marine Koprivnjak and Victor Chabaud, founders of interior design agency Maison MAVI, bought their home in the south of France in 2020, they wanted to renovate everything themselves in their spare time. “It was an adventure that lasted longer than expected,” Marine says.They found the house online. It’s a 1920s villa in the centre of a small town the Luberon with countryside all around and Aix-en-Provence just 20 minutes away by car. It has two floors, covers a total of 130sqm, with a patio in front of the house and a simple room layout. “It’s practically the classic Provençal house with the facade painted in warm earth tones, white-framed windows and sage green shutters. It was irresistible,” says Marine. However, having been abandoned for around 20 years, it was run-down, the roof leaked and the small garden looked like a jungle. Continue reading...

Politics