A selection of the latest news, including Aston Villa securing first cup win in 30 years, Southampton being eliminated from playoffs, dairy cows distinguishing human faces, Andy Burnham eyeing UK housing policy, and average rent increase
is crowned leader of the Labour Party, as many expect, he will be the 21st man to lead the party in its 120-year-history- and it will remain the only major UK political party never to have had a permanent woman leader, with the exception of Reform.is mentioned in every discussion about potential leaders, Lucy Powell is the deputy leader, three of the four great offices of state are held by women – Rachel Reeves in the Treasury, Yvette Cooper at the foreign office and Shabana Mahmood as Home Secretary.
Caption: ISTANBUL, TURKEY – MAY 20: Matty Cash of Aston Villa lifts the trophy with his team-mates after the UEFA Europa League Final 2026 match between SC Freiburg and Aston Villa FC at Besiktas Park on May 20, 2026 in Istanbul, Turkey. Fans showed their joy last night as they celebrated Villa’s first major cup win in 30 years, after a victory over Freiburg in the Europa League.
A long-time supporter of the club, Prince William was among the fans celebrating in Istanbul last night. He said: “Amazing night!! Huge congratulations to all the players, team, staff and everyone connected to the club. ” Caption: ISTANBUL, TURKEY – MAY 20: William, Prince of Wales during the UEFA Europa League Final 2026 match between SC Freiburg and Aston Villa FC at Besiktas Park on May 20, 2026 in Istanbul, Turkey.
Caption: ISTANBUL, TURKEY – MAY 20: Aston Villa fans celebrate their team’s victory during the UEFA Europa League Final 2026 match between SC Freiburg and Aston Villa FC at Besiktas Park on May 20, 2026 in Istanbul, Turkey. Winning goals were scored by Youri Tielemans, Emi Buendia and England international Morgan Rogers for a 3-0 win.
Caption: Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers celebrates following the UEFA Europa League final at Besiktas Park, Istanbul. Picture date: Wednesday May 20, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Nick Potts/PA Wire.
Provider: Nick Potts/PA Wire. Use subject to restrictions. Editorial use only, no commercial use without prior consent from rights holderCaption: ISTANBUL, TURKEY – MAY 20: Unai Emery, Manager of Aston Villa, celebrates on the shoulders of Emiliano Martinez of Aston Villa after the team’s victory in the UEFA Europa League Final 2026 match between SC Freiburg and Aston Villa FC at Besiktas Park on May 20, 2026 in Istanbul, Turkey.
Manager Unai Emery has now won the league a record five times, previously with Sevilla and Villarreal. Southampton have been kicked out of the Championship playoffs after being found guilty of spying on semi-final opponents Middlesbrough, the English Football League said on Tuesday.
Middlesbrough, who lost 2-1 to Southampton in the two-legged semi-final, have been reinstated and will now face Hull City on Saturday in what is dubbed the world’s richest soccer match. Promotion to the Premier League is estimated to be worth in the region of 200 million pounds over three seasons. Far from seeing us as all the same, the animals can distinguish human faces and even get excited when they meet someone new, according to a new study.
They were shown two screens with a familiar and an unfamiliar human face, and played recordings of the people’s voices. The 32 Prim’Holstein dairy cows spent more time staring at the new faces and listening to those they knew. Dairy cows, in particular, live in close contact with humans from birth, being bottle-fed by humans or milked daily…From a welfare perspective, a better understanding of their socio-cognitive capacities is essential to improve human-animal interactions and management practices.
”Caption: FILE – A dairy cow is milked at a farm in Newcastle, Maine, Tuesday, March 31, 2015. , has been a key policy area during his time at the top of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority. So what could his record tell us about how he could look to shape housing across the country from Westminster?
Caption: WARRINGTON, ENGLAND – MAY 16: Andy Burnham can be seen leaving his home as he makes his way to Wembley to watch the FA Cup Final on May 16, 2026 in Warrington, United Kingdom. On Thursday, Josh Simons announced he would step down as Labour MP for Makerfield, allowing Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham to run in the resulting by-election that will take place.
Burnham confirmed he intends to stand in the contest which would offer him a route to return to parliament where he could potentially challenge Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s leadership. Average rent was £1,349 in April, an increase of 3 per cent on last year.houses under construction in 2025, with another 7,500 with planning permission.
Burnham has already said that if he were appointed prime minister, he would oversee a mass programme of housebuilding like that implemented after the Second World War. Statins are the most commonly prescribed drug in the UK with around 8 million people taking them Taking supplements to prevent bone breaks does not help, according to new research. This particularly affects older people who are likely to fall and have brittle bones.
People at risk of osteoporosis or falls are often prescribed calcium and vitamin D supplements on the NHS to protect their bones. Others buy them, believing it will help. Caption: MADRID, SPAIN – JULY 24: A woman walks accompanied, on 24 July, 2023 in Madrid, Spain.
The population over 64 years of age in Spain is over 20% of the total and exceeds the group of people under 20 years of age, which produces a “growing imbalance” between the size of the older and younger generations, according to an analysis by the Fundacion de las Cajas de Ahorro . This imbalance poses a challenge to intergenerational solidarity. Today, the older generations are the ones that absorb most of the national income.
Moreover, their demographic weight makes them decisive actors in electoral results. According to data provided by the National Institute of Statistics, on January 1, 2022, the population over 64 years of age in Spain amounted to 9.5 million people. Caption: Sporty senior woman exercising outdoor, working out with dumbbells. Older woman in connection with nature, working out to stay healthy and strong.
A third of people over 65 fall at least once a year. Researchers from Quebec University, looking at 69 clinical trials, found the tablets had “little to no effect” on break rates or the risk of falls. Half of women and a fifth of men will experience a low-trauma fracture during their lifetime, and 85 per cent of adults have a fear of falling. Why are deadly disease outbreaks suddenly appearing everywhere?
From a growing Ebola emergency in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to hantavirus and meningitis scares, multiple outbreaks are now spreading across the world at the same time. More than 130 suspected deaths have already been linked to the current Ebola outbreak, raising fears over how quickly dangerous viruses can spread.
Copyright: Dougal Waters Photography Ltd You might be disappointed not to see strawberries on the shelves just yet, but we shouldn’t have to wait too long for the popular fruit. The cold start to spring this year has meant the berries haven’t had a chance to ripen yet, according to the British Berry Growers. But the sunny spell coming next week will help them get even bigger and juicier than usual.
Our growers are harvesting berries of significant size, boasting superior quality and good sugar levels. As the phrase goes, good things come to those who wait. Television insiders have revealed the process and protocols behind Channel 4’s hit reality show Married at First Sight as it faces growing criticism following allegations of rape and sexual assault by contestants. You can read Adam Sherwin’s full article on The i Paper’s website.
When it comes to financial planning, I’ve always lived month to month, but recently I’ve wanted to be slightly more serious. So I spoke to a range of financial experts for the easiest, idiot-proof ways to be savvier with money – without just hibernating.
“This is the hardest step but you’ve got to know what’s coming in and out, down to the pound,” says financial coach Ian Dempsey. You’re more likely to remember what’s on there, and pay attention to it on paper. A professor of happiness at Bristol University taught Kasia how adults can train themselves to be happier and find more joy, like when they were unencumbered children.
“Anything that requires discipline is much easier to achieve when you the end goal,” says Ruth Power, from the Financial Management Bureau. If you’re in a relationship, for 30 minutes once a month, take a notebook to the pub/cafe and talk about money with your partner. They are designed to be compulsive. Removing them gives you an extra layer of resistance.
Close up of an unrecognizable woman shopping online with credit card via mobile phone – stock photo. I delete Vinted and only re-download it when I actively want to replace something for my son that he’s grown out of. I’m no longer buring my head in the sand. Sections of my bank statement flash into my mind when I go to use the Uber app.
Money dates have been uncomfortable. We did have a small argument about buying own-brand beans versus Heinz for example, but scribbling down numbers we want to save has also been exciting. I have found it easier to be mindful about spending and broke some unhelpful habits, like associating walks with always getting a coffee. Men are estimated to have 82 per cent more in savings than women.
The truth is, I’m never going to be someone with five side hustles and the financial savvy to become a bitcoin billionaire. But I’m no longer thinking, “where did my salary go? ”. The small changes have, over time, made a difference to my bank account, but also my mind and self confidence.
‘I’ve found greater joy in spending money in an active, more conscious way – on things that felt worth it such as a massage, a cocktail with a friend, a comedy gig, a tricycle for my son,’ says Delgado Three women whose bodies were recovered from the sea off Brighton beach have been named for the first time as sisters Jane Adetoro, 36, Christina Walter, 32, and Rebecca Walter, 31, from the Uxbridge area of London. The three sisters have been described as “my joy, my strength, and the beautiful light that filled our family with happiness and love” in a tribute by their father Joseph.
Caption: BRIGHTON, ENGLAND – MAY 13: Search and rescue vehicles seen in Black Rock car park on May 13, 2026 in Brighton, England. Police say the bodies of three women have been recovered from the sea in Brighton, after emergency services received calls for their welfare around 5:45 this morning. Police are working to identify the women and investigate the circumstances of their deaths.
Emergency services were called to the beach near Black Rock car park off Madeira Drive at about 5.45am last Wednesday to a report of a person in the water. Sussex Police said: “The investigation to understand how Jane, Christina and Rebecca came to be in the water is ongoing.
At this time, there is no evidence to suggest third-party involvement or criminality, but specialist detectives are working hard to gather the full facts and circumstances of their deaths. ” Caption: BRIGHTON, ENGLAND – MAY 13: Police guard the beach after the bodies were found on May 13, 2026 in Brighton, England. Police say the bodies of three women have been recovered from the sea in Brighton, after emergency services received calls for their welfare around 5:45 this morning.
Police are working to identify the women and investigate the circumstances of their deaths. A chicken has been born using an artificial egg for the first time. The US firm behind the breakthrough says it will help them resurrect an extinct New Zealand bird. Caption: This undated photo provided by Colossal Biosciences shows the embryo of a chick developing inside an artificial environment.
Caption: This undated photo provided by Colossal Biosciences shows a chick hatched from an artificial environment. Colossal Biosciences was able to remove a chicken embryo from a real egg. Scientists were then able to incubate the embryo in an artificial egg until it hatched. Colossal Biosciences aims to use the breakthrough to resurrect the New Zealand moa bird – a species with giant eggs made extinct between 1380 and 1445AD.
Caption: This undated photo provided by Colossal Biosciences shows Romulus and Remus, both 3-months old and genetically engineered with similarities to the extinct dire wolf. The first Homo sapiens in Europe hunted woolly mammoths – and used their tusk and bone for decorative purposes The artificial chicken egg is a “major milestone” in efforts to develop a “de-extinction toolkit,” claimed CEO Ben Lamm.
The biotech billionaire claims to have already “de-extincted” dire wolves, and says he wants to bring back the woolly mammoth. Some scientists are impressed by the breakthrough. Dr Megan Davey at The Roslin Institute called it a “major step” and could protect “egg-laying endangered species”. But some scientists are sceptical.
Dr Louise Johnson, genetics expert at Reading University, said until there was a peer-reviewed paper, she “might as well give expert commentary on a YouTube ad”. The Conservative Party has put three women – Margaret Thatcher, Theresa May and Liz Truss – into the highest office in the land. The Scottish National Party, the Liberal Democrats, the Green Party, Plaid Cymru and even the Democratic Unionist Party have all at some point been led by a woman.
Reform, at just seven years old, has only ever had two leaders, discounting founder Catherine Blaiklock, who led its former iteration the Brexit Party for its first two months of existence in 2018. The best Labour has managed is to have Margaret Beckett as Acting Leader for 71 days after the death of John Smith, and Harriet Harman who held the fort twice, also while elections for a permanent leader took place – one nine month stint in 2010 after Gordon Brown stepped down, and again in 2015 when Ed Miliband stepped down.
So why does the Labour Party appear to have such a women problem? This question was posed to multiple Labour MPs – both male and female – from different regions and wings of the party and their response was startling. In an age when it is widely assumed that women have smashed the glass ceiling, they claimed the party was inherently misogynistic. Behind the scenes, the MPs paint a bleak picture of an institution trapped in a time warp.
The modern machinery of the party, they argue, is still fuelled by a working-class hyper-masculine culture that sidelines women. This performative “lad politics” has created an environment where female authority is subtly resisted. The political shorthand for leadership remains tied to patriarchal tropes – the regular bloke holding a pint, shouting from a soapbox, or bonding over the weekend’s football results.
When women try to command the same space, they find themselves trapped in a double standard: either too soft to lead, or too “difficult” if they show strength. As one Labour minister put it: “I think there are deep pockets of misogyny in the party and some trade unions. This is worse when we are in power as you can see in No10 and the mainly male policy advisers.
“I think despite the Labour Party talking and championing equality, we are still a party that has a woman problem. If you challenge and speak up, you are considered a difficult woman.
“Young women are dismissed as they don’t know anything and older women are sidelined as past it. We still have an outdated view about what a leader looks like and sounds like.
For example, talking about football and having a pint seems the default position. ”Another Labour MP added: “There is still a view that the working classes like the strong male leader and we forget that our electorate is no longer the working classes but the progressives and urban populations who want competence, intelligence, especially emotional intelligence, and relatability. ” This widespread disillusionment has led to a sense of resignation among some members of the Parliamentary Party.
Even those who desperately want to see change find themselves falling into line behind male figures. Another Labour MP admitted frankly: “I feel bad that I’m supporting a man as we don’t have a decent woman standing. ” Yvette Cooper, the Foreign Secretary, has been touted by some Labour MPs as a potential “safe pair of hands” to take over if Burnham fails in his bid to return to Westminster.
Angela Rayner, the former Deputy Prime Minister, is the other woman who could enter the race. However, neither appears to be seen as a serious contender by their colleagues and many doubt that they would be able to muster the required 81 MPs to back them in order to stand.
“I would really like to see a woman leader,” said a government figure. “It’s terrible and deeply embarrassing that we have never elected a female leader. I think if Any Burnham fails to win Makerfield, then Yvette could see momentum move behind her”This sense of defeatism points to a deeper paradox within the movement.
Despite various internal structural mechanisms designed to increase female representation – such as all-women shortlists, which were used for decades to boost the number of female MPs – the top job remains tantalisingly out of reach. According to some insiders, the resistance to a female leader does not just come from the top down; it is woven into the very fabric of local constituency parties and internalised by female members themselves.
A third Labour MP explained the phenomenon: “I think it’s misogyny plain and simple. It’s never the right woman. And it’s very often women that reject the woman candidate.
“I also think women only shortlist for seats works against women somehow. Members begrudge being told they have to select a female. ” Perhaps the most devastating critique of Labour’s internal culture comes from those who have chosen to walk away from it entirely. Rosie Duffield’s resignation and subsequent comments deliver a scathing criticism of Labour’s internal culture, which she describes as having a serious “woman problem” and functioning as an entrenched “Boys Club.
” She argues that female candidates carry the burden of “historic and current deep-rooted misogyny,” facing obstacles that are often invisible but widely understood inside the movement. According to Duffield, now the independent MP for Canterbury, success within Labour depends less on merit and more on hierarchy, patronage, and proximity to powerful men, with many women pressured either to ignore these dynamics or suffer the consequences of speaking out.
Duffield outlines a series of what she calls “unwritten but well-established rules. ” The first is that “the Leader of the Party must only be a man,” claiming leadership contests are shaped by wealthy backers, strategic endorsements, and institutional support that ultimately favour male candidates. The second rule is to “never under any circumstances mention the Boys Club,” warning that women who challenge the culture risk “briefings,” scandals, and coordinated retaliation.
A third rule centres on hierarchy and nepotism: advancement, she argues, often depends on connections to influential men rather than championing an individual’s working-class roots or ability. Her fourth rule describes a culture of silence and self-preservation among women within the party. Duffield claims female politicians are expected not to intervene when other women face “bullying, sidelining, ghosting or campaigns” against them.
Instead, they are encouraged to dismiss concerns with phrases like “nothing to see here” or portray outspoken women as disloyal outsiders. In Duffield’s view, conformity is rewarded with political survival, while dissent can lead to reputational damage and replacement by “well-connected” figures. Whether Labour accepts these criticisms or dismisses them as bitterness from those who have latterly become disaffected, the pattern is hard to ignore.
Decade after decade, female MPs have risen through the party, held senior offices of state, and helped shape its direction. In the 1960s and 70s Barbara Castle blazed a trail for women in politics, even, some argue, indirectly paving the way for Margaret Thatcher through her example. Yet when leadership moments arrive, power repeatedly consolidates around men. That tension goes beyond personalities or factional politics.
Women make up a huge part of Labour’s membership, voter base and parliamentary ranks, yet many inside the party believe female leadership is still treated as a risk rather than a natural progression. As Labour searches for its future identity, some MPs fear it is also clinging to an increasingly narrow and outdated vision of authority – one rooted in masculine political traditions that no longer fully reflect either the modern electorate or the movement itself.
For all the party’s talk of renewal and reconnecting with its working-class roots, the unanswered question remains whether Labour is truly prepared to imagine leadership differently. Until it does, the party risks sending a message – intentionally or not – that even after more than a century since its inception, the people trusted to embody Labour values at the very top still overwhelmingly look the same.
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