3 d. ago Young Brits issued stark warning as nearly a quarter turn to TikTok financial advice

A survey from HSBC UK and the national education charity, Young Enterprise, reveals that Gen Z feel judged about how they manage money, leading some to turn to unreliable sources for financial advice

Events

3 d. ago You say we need more babies, rightwingers? Come back to me after you’ve fought in the trenches of soft play | Emma Beddington

A ghastly coalition of tech bros and religious conservatives is pushing a baby boom. Let’s see how they feel when they’ve dragged a screaming child out of an excrement-fouled ball pitI absolutely cannot fathom the number of populist rightwing politicians and commentators who have looked at the smouldering mess that is the world currently and thought: “I know what this situation demands – more toddlers.” Population-boosting discourse and policies have spread across Europe (Hungary, Poland, Greece, Italy and beyond), while in the US an unholy coalition of tech bros, religious conservatives, blowhard podcasters and the politicians who pander to them have gone loudly pronatalist. JD Vance used his first speech as vice-president to proclaim: “I want more babies in the United States of America”; Elon Musk called declining birthrates “a much bigger risk to civilisation than global warming”; and Trump is considering various procreation-incentivising policies, including a $5,000 “baby bonus”...

Politics

8 d. ago It’s not Denmark’s children who can’t handle debating Gaza. It’s our politicians | Rune Lykkeberg

In banning a schools debate on Palestinian sovereignty, our leaders have revealed the nation we’re becomingIn Denmark, we like to think of ourselves as being in the vanguard of freedom of expression. We were the first country in the world to legalise pornography. We insisted on the right to publish caricatures of the prophet Muhammad. Rather than marginalise so-called rightwing populists in parliament, we invited them in to political cooperation. We pride ourselves on being unafraid of controversy and we’re good at making authorities who try to tell us what to do – and especially what not to do – look ridiculous.Danes also like to think of our country as a role model for democracy. As such, the national elections for children aged 13 to 16 are a cherished tradition, considered a part of civic education and a preparation for democratic participation. All schools are invited to take part in the exercise, which is held every other year. Students debate 20 issues for three weeks before ...

Politics

1 week ago Teen trans athlete at center of rightwing attacks wins track events in California

AB Hernandez, 16, ties for first place in two events as Trump administration threatens to withhold federal fundingA teenage transgender athlete in California, who has been at the center of widespread political attacks by rightwing pundits and the Trump administration, won in two track events over the weekend. The 16-year-old athlete, AB Hernandez, tied for first place alongside two other athletes in the high jump, and tied for first place in the triple jump.This comes as the Trump administration threatened to withhold federal funding from California for allowing trans athletes to compete in girls’ sports. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Remote Wyoming vacation lodge emerges as haven for US ‘dissident’ right

Wagon Box Inn, founded by Paul McNiel, attracts figures with ambitions to push politics and culture rightwardsA vacation lodge known as the Wagon Box Inn in the tiny town of Story, Wyoming, has emerged as an unlikely hub of rightwing ambitions to reorient US politics and culture.Events held there since it opened, and others planned for this spring, have brought together figures from the so-called “dissident right”, political figures backed by reactionary currents in Silicon Valley, and proponents of the “network state” movement. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago The least ‘integrated’ part of British society isn’t the immigrants – it’s the elite | Andy Beckett

Politicians and the rightwing press talk about integration in a selective and politically loaded way. The reality is quite differentAmid all the acrimony surrounding Keir Starmer’s recent remarks on immigration – a row that could follow him into retirement and beyond – there has been one little-examined area of agreement between the prime minister and his critics. “When people come to our country,” Starmer said, “they should also commit to integration.” You may believe that integration is not best achieved by government decree, yet in conversations about what sort of society Britain should be, it has long been generally accepted that integration is a good thing – not just for immigrants but for everyone.Mixing, empathising and collaborating with people who aren’t like you has benefits, the argument goes, for individuals and the country as a whole. Perspectives are broadened. Inequalities are softened, at least a little. Lives are enriched, and feelings of loneliness and alienation a...

Events

last month 'They want to feel like men': Why are gen Z men turning to rightwing politics?

Young men and women are pulling apart ideologically – in the US, UK, South Korea, France, Germany and elsewhere, young women now take far more liberal positions on immigration and racial justice than young men, while older age groups remain evenly matched. At the same time, as Reform UK polls neck and neck with Labour, a new group of voters referred to as ‘radical young men’ make up one of Reform's largest voting blocks, mirroring the Trump campaign’s focus on the ‘manosphere’ during the US election. The Guardian's Damien Gayle goes in search of these young men to ask why they are turning to the right Continue reading...

Politics