Opinion

From Farage’s undeclared donations to Burnham's Sainsbury’s-branded leadership bid, political money buys outcomes long before voters get a say. Harry Cross on why the left needs its own war chest – built from pennies, not oligarchs.

Loneliness isn’t just personal, it’s political – and the right is filling the gap the left has left behind. Harry Cross argues the left must rebuild the clubs, halls and spaces where solidarity used to grow.

Harry Cross argues that the left’s activist base is far larger than its critics – and its own doubters – assume and warns against internalising decades of hostile caricature as a besieged minority.

A Burnham bounce and a string of Polanski own goals have put the Greens under pressure. But the party's deeper problem is a structure built for consensus, not confrontation – and a conference clash over defence spending is about to test it, says Andrew Hedges.

A month into his premiership, Andy Burnham has ditched Starmer’s stiffness for smiles and popular policies. But on tax, spending and devolution, he’s still playing by rules written to keep markets and donors onside.

Jason Arday resigned amid plagiarism claims. Then the media kept coming. A week later, he was found dead – and the press has serious questions to answer.

Governments are rolling out heat-health plans and cooling centres as Europe burns. What they’re still avoiding is the fossil-fuel expansion driving the crisis in the first place, says Rob Dyer.

Copernicus data shows July 2026 among the hottest on record, with Arctic ice near historic lows. The technology to fix this already exists – but union leaders defending fossil fuel jobs are standing in the way, says Brian Green.

Andy Burnham has made housing his flagship pledge. But the crisis isn’t a shortage of homes – it’s who owns them. Reversing decades of financialised property risks the very crash it was built to prevent, says Brian Green.