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The Observer

It's not poverty that breeds this populism. It's wealth

Steve Coogan wants people to see his new film, The Penguin Lessons, and think about how they might be living in a wealthy cocoon, disengaged from the world.

3 min  |

April 20, 2025
The Observer

The Observer

British Steel must now join the modern economy, not be a prisoner of the old

Lack of investment and vision has dogged UK industry, while China literally forged ahead

4 min  |

April 20, 2025
The Observer

The Observer

Fears that cash-strapped schools are evicting nurseries and claiming funds for early years care

Scheme designed to increase places may have opposite effect, warn private providers

4 min  |

April 20, 2025
The Observer

The Observer

Putin announces surprise Easter ceasefire as a 'test for Kyiv regime'

Remarks on state TV greeted with scepticism after coinciding with air raid alert in Ukraine

2 min  |

April 20, 2025
The Observer

The Observer

With Labour sliding and the Tories moribund, this is the first true five-party election

A byelection in a normally safe Labour seat was Keir Starmer's first big electoral test as Labour leader. A similar scenario now provides his first test as prime minister. The loss of Hartlepool to Boris Johnson's Conservatives in 2021 provoked the biggest crisis of Starmer's time as opposition leader, forcing sweeping changes in personnel and approach. The loss of Runcorn and Helsby to Nigel Farage's Reform UK could be similarly bruising. Labour ought to start as favourites, having won this socially mixed marginal corner of Cheshire by a massive margin less than a year ago. But with polls showing a Labour slump, a Reform surge and a restive, dissatisfied public, all bets are off.

3 min  |

April 20, 2025
The Observer

The Observer

From kitchen staple to design icon: lifting the lid on the humble teapot

The British think the cuppa is their national treasure, but a new interest in tea sets among young people is bringing with it an interest in the international cultural significance of the teatime ritual.

3 min  |

April 20, 2025
The Observer

The Observer

If our political opponents want a fight about clean energy, then bring it on

The world feels more uncertain and unpredictable just now than at any time in my political lifetime.

2 min  |

April 20, 2025
The Observer

The Observer

Trafficking victims reject help 'due to fear of being deported'

Thousands of trafficking victims have rejected the government's support, many due to fear of the authorities or of being deported, lawyers have said.

2 min  |

April 13, 2025

The Observer

Volatile markets fuel savers' anxiety over value of pensions

Some have seen pots lose tens of thousands, report Jedidajah Otte and Alfie Packham

3 min  |

April 13, 2025
The Observer

The Observer

Still the injured pour in as Russia's barbarous war grinds endlessly on

With peace negotiations faltering, battalions — and the medics treating them — are resigned to playing the long game, they tell Dan Sabbagh on the Pokrovsk frontline

5 min  |

April 13, 2025
The Observer

The Observer

BP turned back to oil. Now the price of crude has collapsed

At its AGM this week, the company will face not only the activist investor at its heels, but a changing economy, writes Jillian Ambrose

3 min  |

April 13, 2025
The Observer

The Observer

Kiss and sell: rare Rodin on market after years in French flat

Auguste Rodin's sensual portrayal of tragic lovers caught in an embrace before being killed by a jealous husband is one of the world's most recognised works of art.

2 min  |

April 13, 2025
The Observer

The Observer

Controversial documentary forces Danes to confront their colonial heritage

Country divided over claims that Greenland's cryolite mines were plundered by Denmark

4 min  |

April 13, 2025
The Observer

The Observer

Skilled with your hands? There's a theatre role for you behind the scenes

Decline of drama at school prompts training drive for backstage work

3 min  |

April 13, 2025
The Observer

The Observer

Simon Carter

Chief executive, British Land

4 min  |

April 13, 2025
The Observer

The Observer

Japan's world Expo opens, on a mission to heal global wounds

Despite soaring costs and lukewarm public interest, carnival aims to deliver a message of hope. Justin McCurry reports from Osaka

4 min  |

April 13, 2025
The Observer

The Observer

Mine's a pint of Unesco ... brewers chase heritage status for British cask ale

Petition calls for official recognition of the 'historic and traditional serving method' that is 'unique to the UK'

2 min  |

April 13, 2025
The Observer

The Observer

'His ability to switch from a loving partner to a monster kept me in a permanent state of stress'

'Michelle', a victim of coercive control, tells Yvonne Roberts how she is still recovering after seven years of hell with an abusive partner. Why then was he jailed for just 30 months?

7 min  |

April 13, 2025
The Observer

The Observer

In the rush towards a law on assisted dying, the vulnerable have become expendable

Last month, ITV News reported on the case of 51-year-old Anne, who travelled to a Swiss assisted suicide clinic to end her own life after her only son died.

4 min  |

April 13, 2025
The Observer

The Observer

Luxury perfumes fighting losing battle against 'dupe' copycat scents, say lawyers

Call for greater legal protection as market for cheap imitations booms among TikTok users

3 min  |

April 13, 2025
The Observer

The Observer

After the Post Office ... now it's Mr Bates v misinformation

Toby Jones to tackle truth and orderina new immersive show

2 min  |

April 13, 2025
The Observer

The Observer

Will a radically changed America find Weinstein guilty a second time?

Disgraced film mogul’s lawyers bet on changed political landscape as trial rerun begins

3 min  |

April 13, 2025
The Observer

The Observer

Voters want PM to rebuild trade ties with EU, new poll reveals

A clear majority of UK voters want the government to concentrate on rebuilding trade ties with the EU over forging a new economic deal with the US, according to research published this weekend.

2 min  |

April 13, 2025

The Observer

Expelled fire risk surveyor made my flat unsaleable

I am trapped in a shared-ownership flat, which is proving impossible to sell because the fire safety engineer who surveyed the block is accused of forging certificates required by mortgage lenders.

2 min  |

April 13, 2025
The Observer

The Observer

Travel agents warn of Trump slump as British tourists steer clear of US

After backpacker Rebecca Burke was arrested and locked up for nearly three weeks by US immigration officials, she started urging people not to travel to America.

3 min  |

April 13, 2025
The Observer

The Observer

Emergency law passed to force loss-making steelworks to keep operating

Special powers granted to prevent the collapse of British Steel’s Scunthorpe plant

4 min  |

April 13, 2025
The Observer

The Observer

Reeves calls for global free trade fightback to protect UK economy

New measures to help tariff-hit firms | Ambitious plan to foster closer ties to EU

4 min  |

April 13, 2025

The Observer

Why resurrect the dire wolf when existing animals are facing extinction?

It’s not as sensational as recreating long-dead species, but conserving modern-day fauna is far more pressing

3 min  |

April 13, 2025

The Observer

We are working to provide the security Britain needs to thrive

Last week we witnessed the uncertainty of a changing world. Financial markets and nation states responding to the dawn of a new economic era and the reality of new barriers to trade. I am in no doubt that the imposition of tariffs will have a profound impact on the global economy and the economy at home.

3 min  |

April 13, 2025

The Observer

Iran and US hail 'constructive' indirect nuclear talks in Oman

Iran and the US completed a successful opening round of indirect talks in Oman designed to prevent the weaponisation of Iran’s nuclear programme. In a sign the talks had gone as well as the two sides had hoped, they agreed to meet again this week, on 19 April.

1 min  |

April 13, 2025