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Andy Burnham is leaving the door open to a snap general election next year, The i Paper has been told. Multiple sources close to the No 10 operation have suggested that an early election in May has not been ruled out, despite the Prime Minister insisting publicly that there will be no early poll. In a round of interviews last week, Burnham appeared to shut down the prospect , saying: “No, no election any time soon. I’m focused on the job as Prime Minister doing what I said I would do.” Asked by ITV Calendar whether the next general election would be in 2029, he was even more emphatic: “Yes, that’s when the next election will be. All of this speculation on an early election, I can knock that dead.” Many Labour MPs and polling experts have warned against risking the Government’s 166-seat majority, with recent polls giving Labour only a slender lead over Reform. However, behind the scenes, some of Burnham’s closest advisers concede there is still a chance he could go to the country in May. A source close to the PM told The i Paper : “There is a growing school of thought that there might be a sweet spot for an early general election.” The argument is that Burnham could go to the country before the right has a chance to reunite, given Labour’s much weaker performance in 2019 when the right was more united – in what was widely dubbed the “Brexit election” – than it was in 2024. Another No 10 source suggested Burnham would “give the country time to get to know the new PM” before mak

The British public has little confidence that the UK can defend itself from military attack by Russia , a new poll for The i Paper has revealed. Just over one in three people – 34 per cent – believe the country would be able to withstand a strike by Moscow if Vladimir Putin decided to lash out against a Nato state. More than half, 54 per cent, are not confident in Britain’s homeland defence, while the remainder do not know, according to the survey by BMG Research. Western intelligence assessments say that Russia could hit a Nato country by 2030, with some official US predictions warning it could come even sooner, possibly within the next two years. Gaps in homeland defence Fears intensified over the summer after Moscow was accused of stepping up its “grey zone” warfare against Nato countries in Europe, including a failed drone attack on Leipzig airport in Germany. Defence experts claimed the new poll findings would be even more stark if the public knew the full realities about what they believe are gaps in Britain’s homeland defence and called on ministers to be more honest about the situation. The UK has some protection in the form of RAF Typhoons which could shoot down hostile drones, but the jets cannot track or intercept ballistic missiles. The Royal Navy’s Type 45 Destroyers equipped with Sea Viper air-defence systems can intercept missiles, but a ship would have to be in UK waters to be fully effective. While Britain would, to some extent, be able to rely on its Nato al

Friedrich Engels famously described the industrial slums of Manchester as “Hell upon Earth” and among the worst in Britain after visiting them in the 1840s. Now some of those same mill buildings host Michelin-star restaurants, creative agencies and fashionable flats that sell for more than £300,000. The transformation of Manchester’s skyline over recent decades is remarkable, all the more so that it happened in a northern city still bearing the scars of deindustrialisation and economic decline. Manchester City’s owners, the Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG), weren’t the only reason it happened, but they were a key catalyst. And they are also why the City cheating scandal has led to what some are calling Andy Burnham’s first “misstep”. The Prime Minister was Mayor of Greater Manchester when ADUG’s cash wasn’t just flouting Premier League rules, according to this week’s bombshell findings, so that City could buy right backs for £50m, it was also paying for thousands of luxury flats, research facilities at the University and a huge expansion of the Etihad stadium. Burnham welcomed the cash that helped to build his ‘Manchesterism’ brand – propelling him into the country’s top political job. Having such a willing and deep-pocketed private investor on his doorstep – at a time of squeezed local government funding – was a huge boon. But now Burnham stands accused of political interference in an independent process. Asked about what should happen next in the case that has rocked world foo

The Israeli prime minister has said that the near plane crash in the Middle East on Wednesday could have resulted in “a 9/11 tragedy, with bodies scattered in the desert”. Flydubai flight FZ1073 was travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv when a violent altercation in the cockpit forced the Boeing 737-8 MAX to divert to Saudi Arabia . Israeli authorities said the first officer stabbed the captain and attempted to take control of the plane, which dived thousands of feet in barely 30 seconds. Crew and passengers managed to restrain the first officer and two other reserve pilots took control of the plane, which made an emergency landing at Tabuk. The incident is being investigated by Israeli and Saudi authorities, so its precise circumstances and motive are currently uncertain. However, Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that the first officer appeared to be trying to down the plane. “It looks very likely that he was going to down the plane”, he said, claiming: “We know that he underwent Islamist radical indoctrination. That appears to be something we are gathering from his personal information.” He emphasised that those were current indications rather than final conclusions. Flydubai has confirmed an “ altercation ” took place, but urged people not to speculate. The United Arab ‌Emirates is also investigating “whether the incident was linked to any terrorist activity or purpose, or involved prior planning or direction”. Israel has already said it will increase aviation security, but

A major report into ADHD and autism has been delayed amid fears sparking a debate around overdiagnosis was not the “right timing”, The i Paper understands. The landmark review into the rising mental health, autism and ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) diagnosis was expected to be published last week, but was pulled at the last minute. The i Paper revealed the report was expected to find ADHD and autism are not widely overdiagnosed in the UK and that a growing number of people are incentivised to seek a diagnosis as support – including benefits such as personal independence payments (PIP) – is difficult to obtain without one. Its conclusions are likely to be the subject of fierce debate, with a sharp rise in cases leading some experts to question whether they are being diagnosed too readily. Others argue the increase reflects improved recognition of the condition. A source with knowledge of the discussions said there were concerns publishing the report’s findings on the eve of Andy Burnham’s first Labour conference as Prime Minister could “dominate” the narrative around planned welfare reforms. A Government source suggested the report will be released closer to the publication of Labour grandee Alan Milburn’s review into youth unemployment later in the autumn, which is expected to include proposed solutions to the soaring cost of health-related benefits in Britain. They said: “I think there is a conversation ongoing about how you better align it [the Fonagy Revie

The five British men who were arrested over a suspected terror plot near a UK airbase may have been unknowingly working for Iran , experts say. The suspects, who have been released on bail, were arrested close to RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire on Sunday after one of the group called 999, The Times reported. The development has left some experts suspecting the group, who are all British nationals from London, may have been unwittingly coerced into the alleged plot without fully understanding its scale or severity. On Wednesday, Andy Burnham said there are “strong indications that Iran played a part” in the plot although an investigation is under way. Iran’s history with criminal proxies On Monday, Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, head of Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP), said officers investigating the case were considering all angles, including that “this may be activity committed by proxies, or individuals either knowingly or unknowingly, working on behalf of a foreign state”. Tehran has strongly denied any involvement in the alleged plot, with Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi insisting Downing Street is “barking up the wrong tree”. However, Dominic Murphy, former commander of Counter Terrorism Command for the Metropolitan Police, has said the use of criminal proxies is a common practise for both Iran and Russia. “Russia and Iran have been using criminal proxies for a very prolonged period of time to great effect to commit incidents and attacks and sabotage he

Cristiano Ronaldo is like the ageing beauty who calls in the plastic surgeons in a futile attempt to preserve their appearance. The adjustments make them look even older than the passing years, and, like the Bride of Wildenstein, they are the only ones who can’t see it. Ronaldo is 41. As freakishly well preserved as this Dionysian vision is, performance is underwritten by nature. Athletic decline sets in at the age of 35, give or take a month or two. Ronaldo is almost seven years into the process. No male player has scored more international goals (146), nor made more international appearances (234). The lad has scored 10 hat-tricks for Portugal. His eminence is not in doubt, only his capacity to keep up with his teammates. It has taken his former coach at Al-Nassr, Jorge Jesus, to give him the bad news, that he is not 21 anymore. And he took it like a 12-year-old. His exit from the Portugal camp, complete with teased promise to reveal all on social media, was peak diva behaviour. Ronaldo is done as an elite footballer. The World Cup confirmed that . The pursuit of 1,000 career goals, a target from which he is 21 away, continues in the Saudi Pro League, which kind of says it all. Vanity is bad enough. Vanity and power combined is a lethal blow to reason and balance. The only voice that matters is his. He is always right, which by definition makes everyone else wrong. The result is the conduct of a child. Ronaldo was an unused sub against Norway (Photo: AFP) The decision of Je

When a new West End production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? , Edward Albee’s 1962 modern classic behemoth of a marital slugfest, was announced earlier this year, Gillian Anderson was quoted as saying that the role of Martha was one she had wanted to play “for decades”. Her patient wait for this juiciest of parts for a middle-aged actress has more than paid off, for she is wonderful in the ferocious/fragile role for which Elizabeth Taylor won her second Oscar. Whether or not The Morning Show star Billy Crudup had been counting the years until he could get stuck into the personal and professional disappointments of Martha’s mid-ranking academic husband George is unknown, but the thrilling revelation is that Crudup is sensationally good as a man who looks as if he has had all the air let out of his tyres. I have been underwhelmed by Crudup’s previous two West End outings, not least the hugely disappointing High Noon earlier this year, but if he doesn’t scoop next year’s Olivier Award for Best Actor, I will be astonished. When they were working together on the now-tarnished 2024 film The Salt Path , Anderson revealed her interest in this play to director Marianne Elliot, a woman who selects her quality projects with the greatest of care. Their inspired choice was to pick Soho Place, the West End’s newest theatre, as their venue, since Soho Place’s in-the-round auditorium offers a thrilling level of intimacy to this most brutal of domestic dramas. So close are we to the acti

For us Manchester City fans , it was a little glimmer of light in what have been irredeemably dark days. Andy Burnham, with the applause of the Labour Conference still ringing in his ears, said he would be “really concerned” if Abu Dhabi’s ruling family, the owners of Manchester City who have been found guilty of wholesale breaches of football’s financial rules, sold the club. It felt like a welcome change of tone. While the world has been united, so to speak, in condemnation of the alleged cooking of Manchester City’s books , the Prime Minister, not averse to taking political risks, chose to posit a proposition which was counter to the general opprobrium: that, irrespective of what happened or didn’t happen within the football club, Abu Dhabi has been good for Manchester. There is the possibility that, at the end of this legal process, either the Emirati regime will be forced to divest itself of the club , or they might think that owning Manchester City has become more trouble than it’s worth, and Burnham is clear this would not be a good result. “I would be really concerned to lose them,” he said. “They’ve been such a huge partner in the building of modern Manchester, and the building of Manchester City into the global force that it is.” He went on to thank the owners “for the money that they didn’t just put into the Etihad [Stadium] and the campus around it but also into the city.” And it is undeniable that Manchesterism – Burnham’s shorthand term for the political philoso

In one of the most moving chapters of his party conference speech, Andy Burnham spoke directly to the poorly paid , overworked and under-appreciated care workers who are – despite the odds – holding Britain’s fragile social care system together. Warning that politicians had failed to acknowledge their contribution to our society, the Prime Minister told these men and women “you’re not invisible to me”. He said his promise to fix social care, to provide a universal system that’s free at the point of use, would not only benefit the elderly people who use it but the workers who would finally be given the respect they deserve. The triple lock state pension may go to pay for it, he said, but it is a trade-off that’s worth it. The group set to be the biggest beneficiary of this big care shake-up, though, did not get any specific mention in the Labour leader’s speech. Indeed, women can often feel invisible in the care debate. Women’s lives – their careers, their financial security, social connections and even their own health and vitality – are dictated by their silent role as the country’s unpaid care force . According to the Women’s Budget Group, women’s participation in unpaid care is costing the economy £100bn a year. Elderly care is rarely a choice, it is undertaken as an obligation and a necessity. The social care system is too threadbare, too risky, too chaotic, to fulfil its duties without the support of family members . That is more likely to fall on women, and being the su

The Government’s “one in, one out” deal to send small boat migrants back to France has come to an end today, after the French government opted not to extend the scheme. Under the terms of the deal, which launched in August 2025 and was agreed by Sir Keir Starmer’s government , migrants attempting the crossing faced being forcibly returned to France in exchange for asylum seekers who have not tried to enter the UK illegally. At the time, Starmer described the deal as “groundbreaking” because it would help to deter the number of people crossing the Channel illegally. “There is no silver bullet here, but with a united effort, new tactics and a new level of intent, we can finally turn the tables,” he said. But what do the figures tell us about how effective the scheme actually was? Deal cost £56,000 for every person sent back to France On Wednesday, the Home Office announced the pilot scheme is “no longer processing new cases”. The flagship scheme was reportedly shelved over France demanding a Europe-wide deal instead, and due to nations being reluctant to increase the numbers of people exchanged. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood told MPs this month that the deal cost about £56,000 for every person sent back to France. Many migrants deported back to France under the deal have been sleeping homeless in Paris, while others have returned to the camps around Calais and Dunkirk. Some have made the Channel crossing back to England. A Government source told The Guardian : “We would like t

The turn of a new month is a great moment for any bibliophile – after all, it means the arrival of a fresh batch of books – but when it comes to October, when publishers release their big autumn books each year, there is possibly no moment better. From the return of Lessons in Chemistry author Bonnie Garmus to new work from Women’s Prize winning Barbara Kingsolver and Judi Dench’s highly-anticipated memoir , here is our pick of the best… Peck & Peck by Bonnie Garmus In 1980s New York, graduate Batter lands a dream job at the world’s most prestigious poetry quarterly, only to find warring twin editors and a spectacularly dysfunctional workplace. A joyful, quirky follow-up to Lessons in Chemistry . Manilla Press, £22 Partita by Barbara Kingsolver After her beloved older brother takes his own life, 11-year-old Livia finds solace at the piano. A college music scholarship later offers an escape from her Appalachian family farm – and opens up a seductive, complicated new world in this heart-rending story from the author of Demon Copperhead. Faber, £20 Music Against the Night by Yiyun Li Two musicians forge remarkable paths across continents: Dublin-born John Field becomes a celebrated composer, while orphaned Adelaide Percheron escapes French India for Europe and falls for pianoforte. Eventually, their lives – and ambitions – collide in this searing new story from the Pulitzer winner. Fourth Estate, £20 Bad Words by Ríoghnach Robinson When feared literary critic Selina tears Parker