News, culture and style

No 10

Breaking point

The former Downing Street chief of staff Morgan McSweeney saw the prime minister as his creation, but the imbalanced relationship led to Keir Starmer becoming, in the words of one Labour MP, “a pescatarian forced to eat dog meat”. Now that his aide is gone, Starmer has a chance at a reset – if he dares to take it

By Rachel Sylvester

Kyiv under siege

The colder war

Repeated Russian attacks on energy infrastructure have brought misery. Yet despite temperatures of -30C and reports of people freezing to death, Ukraine’s capital remains defiant, Liz Cookman reports

Economy

High cost of low migration

Spooked by Reform, the government has made it even harder for migrants to come to the UK. Sam Freedman warns it is a decision that could end up costing the public purse billions

Washington Post

A brutal edit

Last week the Bezos-owned newspaper fired more than 300 journalists. Days later, its chief executive Will Lewis was out. Stephen Armstrong charts the gutting of one of the US’s most important titles

For today

‘I don't think Keir Starmer’s got three days’

McSweeney resignation

Catherine Neilan

‘I don't think Keir Starmer’s got three days’

Sánchez’s ‘bienvenido’ to migrants shows cruelty is not the only option

Spain

Steve Bloomfield

Sánchez’s ‘bienvenido’ to migrants shows cruelty is not the only option

‘What I have experienced pales in comparison with what Palestinian prisoners go through’

Palestine Action

John Simpson

‘What I have experienced pales in comparison with what Palestinian prisoners go through’

‘Starmer has to stay. You wouldn’t sack a football manager after 35 minutes’

The Observer walk

Rachel Sylvester

‘Starmer has to stay. You wouldn’t sack a football manager after 35 minutes’

The peers on the ‘Plot against democracy’

In a series of powerful letters, members of the upper chamber respond to our reports last week on the filibustering of the assisted dying bill in the Lords