9 h. ago Starmer delays tackling child poverty leaving tens of thousands on the brink

Labour prime minister facing calls to scrap the controversial two-child limit, brought in as part of former Conservative chancellor George Osborne’s ‘austerity’ policies

Politics

16 h. ago Fresh attack on Harvard intensifies chaos for international students in US

Students will need to move schools to keep legal status, as US universities reel from funding cuts and Trump ordersThe Trump administration’s announcement on Thursday that it would revoke Harvard University’s eligibility to enroll international students marked the most severe escalation yet in its weeks-long showdown with the university.The move, which the university is likely to challenge in court, would force more than 6,000 currently enrolled students to transfer to other universities or lose their legal status, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The announcement sent shock waves through US universities already reeling from funding cuts and executive efforts to bring them in line with the administration’s agenda, but it will also add yet another element of uncertainty for international students after the administration abruptly terminated the legal status of thousands in recent weeks – a move it partially walked back but that has nonetheless disrupted students’ edu...

Events

18 h. ago Labour child benefits civil war as Angela Rayner 'demands middle class parents who earn £60,000 a year lose payout' while Starmer 'clashes with chief aide' over handouts for big families

Angela Rayner suggested the Chancellor should 'claw back' the handouts from families where one adult earns over £50,000 a year.

Society

27 h. ago Angela Rayner 'urges Rachel Reeves to strip child benefits for middle

The Labour Deputy Prime Minister urged the treasury to 'claw back' the benefit from families where the top earner's annual salary was somewhere between £50,000 and £80,000, The Telegraph first reported.

Politics

28 h. ago Labour 'determined to follow in footsteps of Blair and Brown' on child poverty, Liz Kendall says

The Work and Pensions Secretary refused to be drawn on the future of the two-child benefit limit - but said reducing child povety was a 'top priority' in an interview with The Mirror

Society

43 h. ago Angela Rayner 'jockeying to take over from failing Starmer' as panicking PM 'looks to placate Labour Left by axing two

Keir Starmer signalled an extraordinary U-turn on cuts to winter fuel allowance yesterday as he bowed to a growing revolt on his benches.

Events

59 h. ago DAN HODGES: Angela Rayner is angling to be our next Prime Minister. The Labour civil war is underway and this is the truth about her extraordinary power

It's already become the Westminster 'Whodunnit?' of the year. Who was behind the leaking of the explosive 'Angegate' memo that has exposed the fracturing unity of the Cabinet?

Politics

59 h. ago DAN HODGES: Angela Rayner is set to be our next Prime Minister. The Labour civil war is underway and this is the truth about her extraordinary power

It's already become the Westminster 'Whodunnit?' of the year. Who was behind the leaking of the explosive 'Angegate' memo that has exposed the fracturing unity of the Cabinet?

Politics

65 h. ago 'How can they afford to go private?' Critics question why Peppa Pig's 'middle class' family welcomed new arrival Evie in £5,900

Named after Mummy Pig's aunt Evie, the piglet was delivered at the Lindo Wing in London - the same location where Kate Middleton gave birth to all three of her children.

Economics

3 d. ago Middle class mom hires bodyguard for court appearance after she was filmed committing obscene road rage act

Christina Solometo, 44, appeared at Prospect Park District Court on Monday for a preliminary hearing into the wild offense that was caught on camera last month.

Events

3 d. ago Youth mobility scheme shouldn’t only benefit ‘middle class kids’ – Labour MP

Sir Keir Starmer had told the Commons the newly-agreed ‘youth experience scheme’ will allow young British people to travel and work in Europe.

Politics

3 d. ago We lost the spark in our marriage and THIS is how we rekindled it... don't make our mistake: The deadly truth behind the x

Like many parents in their early 40s, Harry and Bella Thomson leapt at the chance to enjoy a long weekend away without their children at the end of last year.

Events

4 d. ago Could you fall into the pension inheritance tax trap? We reveal how four families could face huge bills

We reveal in four examples how families could be saddled with massive inheritance tax bills by 2030 thanks to the looming raid on pensions.

Economics

5 d. ago A Danish Groundhog Day or tales of millennial angst What should win next week’s International Booker?

A headspinning novel from Japan alongside a high concept tale from Denmark, and a French account of migrant tragedy our critic weighs up the contendersWhat unites the books on the shortlist for this year’s International Booker prize? Brevity, for one thing: five of the six are under 200 pages, and half barely pass 100. They are works of precision and idiosyncrasy that don’t need space to make a big impression. Themes are both timely – AI, the migration crisis – and evergreen: middle-class ennui; the place of women in society. And for the second consecutive year, every book comes from an independent publisher, with four from tiny micropresses. Ahead of the winner announcement on 20 May, here’s our verdict on the shortlist.Solvej Balle’s On the Calculation of Volume, Book I (Faber, £12.99; translated by Barbara J Haveland) is easiest to introduce through the film Groundhog Day: its heroine, Danish antiquarian book dealer Tara Selter, is stuck in time. “It is the 18...

Politics

5 d. ago A Danish Groundhog Day or tales of millennial angst What should win this year’s International Booker?

A headspinning novel from Japan alongside a high concept tale from Denmark, and a French account of migrant tragedy our critic weighs up the contendersWhat unites the books on the shortlist for this year’s International Booker prize? Brevity, for one thing: five of the six are under 200 pages, and half barely pass 100. They are works of precision and idiosyncrasy that don’t need space to make a big impression. Themes are both timely – AI, the migration crisis – and evergreen: middle-class ennui; the place of women in society. And for the second consecutive year, every book comes from an independent publisher, with four from tiny micropresses. Ahead of the winner announcement on 20 May, here’s our verdict on the shortlist.Solvej Balle’s On the Calculation of Volume, Book I (Faber, £12.99; translated by Barbara J Haveland) is easiest to introduce through the film Groundhog Day: its heroine, Danish antiquarian book dealer Tara Selter, is stuck in time. “It is the 18...

Politics

5 d. ago Is Keir Starmer about to cave to Labour benefit rebels? Government could ease two

The two-child cap on handouts is said to be among measures that could be tweaked as the PM and Chancellor Rachel Reeves try to appease furious party backbenchers.

Politics

6 d. ago DWP changes to PIP could see 150,000 people lose out on benefit payments next year

The Department for Work and Pensions has confirmed that a significant number of people will be affected by changes to the Personal Independence Payment (PIP)

Politics

6 d. ago Middlesex confirm interest in ‘iconic player of his generation’ Virat Kohli

India batter retired from Test cricket this weekKohli could play in County Championship or Metro Bank CupVirat Kohli could yet be seen batting in England once more after Middlesex confirmed they are keen to lure India’s recently retired galáctico to Lord’s. The 36-year-old called time on his stellar Test career at the start of the week, ruling himself out of the five-Test series in England that begins at Headingley next month. But notably his statement said nothing about drawing a line through first-class cricket.Middlesex have form when it comes to using Lord’s as a pull for star overseas talent, having signed South Africa’s AB de Villiers for the T20 Blast in 2019 and attracted New Zealand’s Kane Williamson over for the second half of this season. Both deals came about in collaboration with MCC – Williamson will also play for London Spirit – and officials there have indicated they would be happy to similarly split the cost of any deal for Kohli. There is a belief that, as someone ...

Sport

9 d. ago I was on the roof smoking weed as my baby girl fought for her life in hospital

Lying motionless in a hospital bed, surrounded by beeping machines attached by wires to her tiny body, my four-month-old daughter was fighting for her life.

Politics

9 d. ago Tracy Beaker's Dani Harmer reveals she was in labour for FIVE DAYS with first child

Actress Dani Harmer admits she was traumatised by the birth of her first child and it influenced her decisions when she got pregnant with her second child.

Politics