Andy Burnham’s first PMQs: here’s what we learned from this bloodless affair
Burnham leaves Number 10 for his first PMQs. Simon Dawson / No 10 Downing Street, CC BY-NC-ND For Andy Burnham, walking into the bear pit that is Prime Minister’s Questions, it must have been hard to stay calm. His audience was a room of closely packed MPs, some hostile, some friendly – all very loud […]
Is Germany’s far right AfD about to take over a state government for the first time?
Germans in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt will go to the polls on September 7 to elect a new parliament. With forecasts indicating that the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) is on course to win around 40% of the vote, which would double its support there compared to five years ago, there is a real chance […]
Leviticus: deadly desire stalks queer teens in this rural Australian horror
You can imagine being a queer teen in a Christian fundamentalist community in rural Australia is not an easy ride. In his debut feature Leviticus, writer and director Adrian Chiarella imagines how much harder that would be if there were also supernatural forces conspiring against you. The film centres on the burgeoning romance between 17-year-old […]
Giardiasis cases are rising in England: should we be worried?
Corona Borealis Studio/ Shutterstock Cases of giardiasis, an intestinal infection that causes diarrhoea, bloating and gas, have reached their highest level in England since 2016 according to newly published data by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). The agency reported 6,069 lab-confirmed cases of giardiasis in 2025, an 11.4% rise from 2024. It is the […]
Iraq’s archaeological discoveries have shaped understanding of human civilisation – but its scientists have been sidelined
The early bronze age (21st century BC) Ziggurat of Ur in southern Iraq. Abbas Al Yasiri/Shutterstock In recent years, archaeologists from around the world have marked the centenaries of some of Iraq’s most influential archaeological discoveries. The excavation of the ancient city of Ur, for example, transformed understanding of early urban life, long-distance trade, royal […]
The lesson Canada’s prime minister learned from Brexit is helping in its trade rift with US
The trade conflict between Canada and the United States is heating up and has moved beyond rhetoric. After the latest round of negotiations failed, the US imposed 50% tariffs on around C$27.6 billion (£14.68 billion) of Canadian goods on August 22. Canada is responding swiftly with dollar-for-dollar retaliation to take effect on September 8. Two […]
Andy Burnham announces thousands of new homes, but is the government much closer to its target?
Andy Burnham recently announced 70,000 new homes Fred Duval / Shutterstock Prime Minister Andy Burnham has promised the largest council house building programme since the immediate post-war period, pledging more than £9 billion of investment. While the commitment is substantial and will deliver much-needed social housing, it is unlikely to push the government much closer […]
Using a radar satellite to track emperor penguins in winter is changing our understanding of the species
Freely available satellite radar imaging is being used for the first time to help track colonies of endangered emperor penguins in Antarctica throughout the winter months. Typically satellite images need sunlight to be useful, and Antarctica is dark in the winter. This has meant that colonies have been hidden at a critical time in the […]
Why criminal justice shouldn’t just be about what punishment people ‘deserve’
Prisons running near capacity have created a dilemma for Andy Burnham. The new prime minister has now confirmed that anyone convicted of manslaughter would not be eligible from the prisoner early-release scheme. Questions around prison capacity hinge on public safety, of course, but also on what types of criminals “deserve” to be let out early. […]
Britain’s quarter century: Netflix, memes and the supposed Christian revival
In this sixth and final part in our series on how the UK has changed in the past 25 years, we focus on tech, culture, religion and entertainment. Media Adrian Bingham, professor of modern British history, University of Sheffield In December 2001 the Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology published a report entitled E is […]