English

Robert Hayward predicts Reform will be big winner, taking seats from both Labour and the ConservativesGood morning. We are now into the final week of campaigning for the Scottish parliament, Welsh Senedd and English local elections. Keir Starmer had been planning a big speech today, but he, and other political leaders, are today focusing on their response to the Golders Green stabbing and the antisemitism threat facing Britain’s Jewish community – described as a “national security emergency” by Jonathan Hall KC, the government’s independent reviewer of terror legislation. Here is our overnight story. And here is our live blog by Taz Ali.Taz will be covering most of the political reaction to that story, and so that won’t be something I will be covering here. (And because criminal proceedings are active, comments relating to the attack won’t be allowed below the line, I’m afraid.) Continue reading...

Dublin scholars find 1,200-year-old manuscript of Caedmon’s Hymn composed by Northumbrian cattle herderA lost copy of a poem composed in the seventh century by a Northumbrian cattle herder – the earliest surviving poem in the English language – has been discovered in Rome.Scholars from Trinity College Dublin (TCD) uncovered the manuscript that contains Caedmon’s Hymn at the National Central Library of Rome. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Investigation into campaigning materials for local polls in May challenges tactical voting claims Election leaflets are providing “grotesque” information about how to vote tactically in the May elections, using national polling data, “dodgy” bar charts and doorstep surveys to support claims about parties’ chances of winning.Leaflets distributed by local politicians across England are claiming that either only their party can win, or another party “can’t win here” when “there is no good evidence to show that’s true”, a Full Fact investigation for the Guardian has revealed. Continue reading...

High levels of borrowing and rapid expansion among dangers identified by Higher Education Policy InstituteMany English universities are taking excessive financial risks that threaten not only their own survival but that of others in the sector, a thinktank has warned.High levels of borrowing at some institutions and rapid expansion of student numbers are among the dangers identified in a report by the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi). Continue reading...

Michael Rousseau says his lack of French overshadowed families’ grief after Mark Carney and Quebec denounced his videoSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxThe chief executive of Air Canada has apologized for his inability to express himself in French after politicians called for his resignation for his English-only message of condolence after Sunday’s deadly crash in New York.Air Canada’s CEO, Michael Rousseau, has been criticized for the four-minute condolence video posted online that included only two French words – “bonjour” and “merci”. Continue reading...

The prime minister says the condolence video after the fatal LaGuardia crash revived anger over linguistic rightsCanada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, has said a decision by Air Canada’s top executive to post an English-only message of condolence after a deadly crash in New York showed a “lack of judgment, a lack of compassion”.Amid growing calls for his resignation, the airline chief’s misstep has once again revived frustrations and fears over linguistic rights protections in the province of Quebec, where French is the only official language. Continue reading...

Suella Braverman presses the FA to scrap diversity and inclusion policies, which she claims are ‘racist’Reform UK has been accused of seeking to insert “toxic politics” into football after the party pressed the Football Association in England to scrap diversity and inclusion policies.Suella Braverman wrote to the FA on Tuesday to ask for a meeting to discuss the governing body’s diversity policies, which Reform’s equalities spokesperson described as “utter woke nonsense”. Continue reading...

The hot, dry summer and an increase in vineyard planting resulted in the third-largest UK grape harvestEnglish and Welsh winemakers have reported a sharp rise in production, after the hot, dry summer in 2025 and an increase in vineyard planting resulted in the third-largest UK harvest.The equivalent of 16.5m bottles were produced across the UK last year – or 124,377 hectolitres – according to figures from the wine regulator, the Food Standards Agency (FSA). Continue reading...