15 h. ago The Guardian view on Europe’s failing economic orthodoxy: social contracts cannot be renewed through cuts | Editorial

The French prime minister, François Bayrou, has become the latest leader to target the less well-off in order to balance the booksAs European politicians begin to pack their suitcases and head to the beach, they do so against a domestic backdrop that begins to look distinctly ominous. In Britain and France, nationalist populist parties consistently lead in the polls. In Germany, the particularly extreme Alternative für Deutschland is neck and neck with the conservative CDU. Specific dynamics might vary but the unsettling pattern is the same – large swaths of voters increasingly identify with authoritarian and often xenophobic political forces.Prolonged post-industrial malaise, wage stagnation and austerity have precipitated this wave of disaffection with the mainstream, especially among the less well-off. Yet in London, Paris and Berlin, governments of the centre-left and centre-right seem intent on alienating disillusioned electorates still further. During his visit to London last ...

Economics

15 h. ago The Guardian view on mitochondrial donation: IVF innovation leads to a cautious genetic triumph | Editorial

UK research has brought real hope to families suffering from one of the most common inherited disorders, with a breakthrough that’s been years in the makingEight babies have been born free of a disease that can lead to terrible suffering and early death, thanks to pioneering scientists in the UK employing a form of genetic engineering that is banned in some countries, including the US and France. Ten years ago, when the government and regulators were considering whether to allow mitochondrial transfer technology, critics warned of “Frankenstein meddling” that would lead to three-parent children. It’s hard now to justify such hostility in the face of the painstaking work carried out by the scientific and medical teams at Newcastle, resulting in these healthy babies and ecstatic families.Mitochondria, like tiny battery packs, supply energy to every cell of the body. Their DNA is handed down in the egg from mother to child. In rare instances, there are genetic mutat...

Politics

63 h. ago The Guardian view on Maga and Jeffrey Epstein: the truth about Donald Trump and conspiracy theories | Editorial

The US president is struggling to close down speculation about the case that those close to him have promotedDonald Trump has thrived on conspiracy theories – “birtherist” lies that Barack Obama was born outside the US; the lunacies of the Q-Anon movement; false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him. All centred on the idea that the “deep state” was lying to, and thus cheating, ordinary people. Mr Trump was their tribune.It’s hard not to feel schadenfreude now that he’s at the sharp end of a theory that he at times encouraged and allies eagerly pushed: claims that the prison death of the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein might not be suicide after all, and that wealthy and well-connected associates were trying to hush up connections to the financier. Mr Trump’s attorney general, Pam Bondi, promised that “truckloads” of documents would help reveal the truth and claimed that a client list was “sitting on my desk right now”.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this ...

Politics

4 d. ago Eight babies born in UK with DNA from three people to prevent devastating disease

The scientific method, known as mitochondrial donation treatment, is designed to prevent children from being born with devastating mitochondrial diseases that are passed down from their mothers

Politics

4 d. ago IVF technique using DNA from three people sees eight babies born free of hereditary disease

Mitochondrial donation treatment is designed to prevent children being born with devastating diseases

Politics

4 d. ago Groundbreaking IVF technique using DNA from three people sees eight babies born

Mitochondrial donation treatment is designed to prevent children being born with devastating diseases

Politics

4 d. ago Eight babies born from pioneering IVF technique to prevent devastating disease

The scientific method, known as mitochondrial donation treatment, is designed to prevent children being born with devastating mitochondrial diseases.

Politics

4 d. ago The Guardian view on the Afghan leak superinjunction: a dangerous precedent is set | Editorial

In an era of mistrust in politics, the government now has a duty to bring maximum transparency to a very opaque scandalOne of many extraordinary features of the data breach that put tens of thousands of Afghan lives in jeopardy is the length of time between the original leak and the government taking action. The email containing a highly sensitive dataset was sent from a Ministry of Defence computer in February 2022. Ministers were not aware of the problem until August 2023.The fact that the MoD’s systems were lax enough for the error to have been made is worrying enough. The delayed response is more alarming still. And then there is the disturbing mechanism by which the whole scandal was kept from the public eye.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago The Guardian view on the children of Gaza: when 17,000 die, it’s more than a mistake | Editorial

Israel’s military blamed the deaths of six Palestinian children on Sunday on a technical error. But a staggering toll continues to mountOn Sunday, an Israeli strike killed six Palestinian children – and four adults – as they queued for water in a refugee camp. The deaths of children may be the most terrible part of any war. It is not only the suffering of the innocent and powerless, and the unimaginable pain of surviving parents – as dreadful as those are – but the knowledge of lives ended when they had barely begun, of futures that should have stretched long into the distance severed in an instant.As shocking as Sunday’s deaths were, they are commonplace in Gaza: a classroom-worth of children have been killed each day since the war began. What marked them out was that so many deaths happened at once and publicly; and that Israel’s military felt obliged to acknowledge its responsibility – though without any great contrition. It claimed that a “technical error with the munition” caus...

Events

6 d. ago The Guardian view on a climate reckoning: an annual address could set a new standard for political accountability | Editorial

The energy secretary framed environmental action as practical and patriotic, not in terms of wordy ideological pieties. But holding the line won’t be easyEd Miliband is a target for the political right; not because he’s irrelevant, but because he’s effective. The bacon sandwich gags and “Red Ed” jokes mask a deeper unease: that Mr Miliband, with his dogged insistence on science, public investment and long-term thinking, is right. Now, as energy secretary, he has delivered what he calls an exercise in “radical truth-telling” and a stark warning to MPs that rejecting climate action is a betrayal of future generations. The language, for once, isn’t overblown. It’s belated.By highlighting the Met Office’s annual State of the UK Climate report, Mr Miliband shows that the hotter, wetter and more arduous future we feared has already arrived. Extremes are becoming the norm: the number of very hot days has quadrupled; in the last 250 years, six of the 10 wettest winter half-years have o...

Politics

6 d. ago The Guardian view on Europe’s Trump challenge: Brussels must hold its nerve and think big | Editorial

A renewed threat of punitive tariffs from the White House is a reminder that the EU must invest in its own values in a volatile and transforming worldAs the world has grown used to Donald Trump delivering aggressive ultimatums that are then revised or watered down, the shock-and-awe effect of a presidential edict on Truth Social has somewhat diminished. On Saturday, Mr Trump unexpectedly announced that the United States would hit the European Union with swingeing tariffs on goods of 30% from 1 August. That certainly prompted urgent weekend discussions in Brussels, Paris and Berlin. But for now, the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, is placing all countermeasures on hold, in the hope that what the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, described as “reasonable solutions” can be found.Given the stakes, betting on the success of a softly, softly approach to trade negotiations remains sensible. Mr Trump’s previous imposition of 25% tariffs on European carmakers ...

Politics

7 d. ago The Guardian view on Brics growing up: A new bloc seeks autonomy – and eyes a post

The expanding group of emerging powers is building new rules, new tools and a shared industrial future – with or without Donald TrumpThe Brics summit in Brazil last week revealed a loose alliance of emerging powers becoming more complex – and perhaps more consequential. For Brics, heft matters. It now counts 11 member states – including Indonesia, which joined this year – representing half the world’s population and 40% of the global economy, outpacing the G7 by $20tn.Yet its size hides its contradictions. The grouping’s call for more inclusive global institutions sounds welcome, but there is a preponderance of autocracies within its own ranks. Brics is right that international law should be upheld in Middle Eastern conflicts. But it climbs down from its moral pedestal by condemning Ukraine’s strikes on Russian infrastructure – while staying silent on Moscow’s relentless attacks on civilians. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago The Guardian view on private prosecutions: access to justice should not depend on people’s ability to pay | Editorial

An option that should provide a safety valve when the state falls short appears to be increasingly a tool for businesses – sometimes to draconian effectIn England and Wales, anyone can take a suspected criminal to court. Private criminal prosecutions, which can be initiated by individuals, companies or charities, can give people a shot at justice. They can also be open to abuse. The Post Office brought 918 successful private prosecutions against its employees to protect its own commercial interests – at a shocking human cost laid bare by an official report last week. Rail companies take the draconian measure of prosecuting people for mistakenly buying the incorrect ticket: in 2023, a woman received a criminal record for erroneously using her railcard to save a total of £1.60.In the context of a depleted justice budget, these prosecutions appear especially dystopian, allowing the wealthy to pay for their day in court. No official record exists for the number now taking place, though&...

Economics

9 d. ago The Guardian view on Starmer and Macron’s channel crossings deal: safe routes hold the key to future progress | Editorial

The government has hailed its ‘one in, one out’ migrant returns deal as a breakthrough. But awkward questions over its implementation remainTo use a football analogy that he might appreciate, the first year of Sir Keir Starmer’s premiership has been a game of two halves. Domestically, grievous strategic mistakes have been made. On the foreign stage, however, an approach that Sir Keir likes to style as “quiet, serious diplomacy” has yielded some tangible results.For the most part, this week’s state visit by Emmanuel Macron further showcased the benefits of leaving behind the blowhard politics of the post-Brexit years. Sir Keir and the French president used the occasion to pledge greater cooperation on security and strengthened their joint commitment to safeguarding Ukraine’s future as a sovereign independent state. But the biggest take-away from Mr Macron’s trip launched the prime minister straight back into toxic domestic terrain.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this a...

Politics

9 d. ago The Guardian view on The Salt Path scandal: memoirists have a duty to tell the truth | Editorial

In an era of misinformation, trust in publishers is more important than ever“All autobiographies are lies,” George Bernard Shaw wrote in 1898. “I do not mean unconscious, unintentional lies: I mean deliberate lies.” The veracity of autobiographical writing is under scrutiny once again following allegations that the bestselling memoir The Salt Path is not quite the “unflinchingly honest” account of one couple’s triumph over adversity as billed.Even if you are not one of the two million people to have bought the book, and haven’t seen the film released this summer, you will doubtless know the story of a couple’s 630-mile journey along the South Coast Way after facing homelessness and a diagnosis of terminal illness. Published in 2018, The Salt Path struck a chord during lockdown as readers discovered the solace of walking and nature during the pandemic. But this tale of wild-camping and the kindness of strangers, not to mention the seemingly miraculous healing powers of...

Politics

1 week ago The Guardian view on Ukraine’s future: Putin may be gaining ground, but he is not winning | Editorial

As Russia intensifies its brutal assault, morale is battered but unbroken. European solidarity must remain strong tooEuropean leaders gathered in Rome on Thursday for a conference on Ukrainian recovery, but endurance remains the priority. Russia has intensified its assault with punishing strikes far beyond the frontline – including a record 728 drones and 13 missiles one day before the conference. The UN said that civilian casualties last month were at their highest for three years, with at least 232 people killed and 1,343 injured.Russia’s brutal offensive aims to break Ukraine’s spirit and European solidarity. Even Donald Trump appears to be realising, with encouragement, that Moscow is not interested in peace. For Mr Trump, maximalism is a negotiating tactic; he does not recognise that for Vladimir Putin it reflects a fixation. Yet this week he acknowledged: “We get a lot of bullshit thrown at us by Putin He’s very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless.”...

Politics

1 week ago The Guardian view on Macron’s state visit: a renewed entente cordiale is good for France, Britain and Europe | Editorial

After being sabotaged in the Brexit years, one of the UK’s most important bilateral relationships is back on a firm footingIn the years after the Brexit referendum, the deterioration of Anglo-French relations became one measure of the sorry disconnect between a radicalised, reckless Conservative party and any sane notion of the national interest. In 2021, a bellicose Boris Johnson sent Royal Navy frigates to patrol off the coast of Jersey in response to a dispute with Paris over fishing rights. The following year, notoriously, Liz Truss declined to say whether she considered the French president, Emmanuel Macron, to be a friend or foe to Britain. For five years, no Franco-British bilateral summits took place at all.That, thankfully, was then. France and Britain are close neighbours, nuclear powers and members of the United Nations security council. At a time of acute geopolitical instability, fuelled in part by the return of Donald Trump to the White House, it is overwhelm...

Politics

2 w. ago The Guardian view on the BBC’s future: the broadcaster’s independence and funding face challenges | Editorial

Lisa Nandy’s call for a modern Annan-style review offers a chance to renew the broadcaster for a fragmented digital ageThe BBC will soon charge US users for full news access. In Britain, it may seem a distant prospect, but if universality can be dropped abroad, how long before it’s tested at home? With the BBC’s charter due for renewal in 2027, the funding debate is intensifying. What becomes of the licence fee will define the broadcaster’s future.There is increased scrutiny of Auntie’s independence and impartiality after political pressure was applied through censure, funding freezes and contentious board appointments. What the BBC should look like in a fragmented media landscape is uncertain. A big question is whether the licence fee levied on households should be replaced by subscription, limited advertising or public funding. The last option is surely a non-starter, opening the door to more direct political control. Carrying adverts would force the BBC to compete with other broa...

Politics

2 w. ago The Guardian view on metal detecting: hobbyists as well as experts can play a part in unearthing the past | Editorial

Detectorists and archaeologists sometimes clash, but the recent find of two Roman swords was the thrilling result of collaborationThe discovery of two swords at a dig in Gloucestershire has fuelled speculation that a Roman villa may once have stood there, at a period in the second or third century AD when Saxons were making inroads in the region. Experts think that the blades may even have been deliberately hidden – but not deep enough to conceal them from a novice metal detectorist, Glenn Manning. Next month, the public will get a chance to see the weapons when they go on display at the Corinium museum in Cirencester, to which they have been given.The items join a growing list of striking finds by hobbyists. These include a gold nugget found in the Shropshire Hills by Richard Brock, who located it with the help of an old machine that was “only half working”. Another newcomer dug up a gold necklace bearing the initials of Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon, which is n...

Politics

2 w. ago The Guardian view on the public’s dinomania: passion for palaeontology endures through the ages | Editorial

From blockbuster movies like Jurassic World Rebirth to documentary series, the appetite for these ancient creatures appears inexhaustibleOn-screen discussions of DNA and off-screen scientific consultants notwithstanding, no one goes to see a Jurassic Park movie for its realism. Yet one of the less convincing moments in Jurassic World Rebirth, the latest in the franchise, is unrelated to oversized velociraptors. It’s the palaeontologist Dr Henry Loomis complaining of shrinking public interest in his field.This spring, the BBC revived its 1999 hit series Walking With Dinosaurs. Not a week goes by without headlines announcing the discovery of a new species or new theories on how they behaved. Publishers produce an endless stream of dino-related fact and fiction, particularly for children. Palaeontology – at least when focused on the dinosaurs of the Mesozoic, or our hominin forebears – has long exerted an extraordinary hold on the public imagination.Do you have an opinion on the issues...

Politics