The Lead

Special report: hope, despair, and the deadly journey to Britain Sarah Collins meets refugees waiting to cross the channel at Loon Plage in northern France

Life at Loon Plage is tough: there is no running water, no toilets, no permanent medical or welfare tents and people sleep in tents in the grass or bushes.

@sarahelizacollins.bsky.social meets refugees waiting to cross the channel in northern France.

national.thelead.uk/p/immigratio...

Can Corbyn and Sultana's Your Party move on from its troubled beginnings? Splits, rows and even legal threats have dogged the first few months of what was supposed to be a new start for the left in Britain. Left-wing veteran David Renton dives into just what went wrong.

From the outside, what happened next was a complete mess.

Here's the inside story:

national.thelead.uk/p/your-party...

After some controversy and a false start, they decided on a joint leadership and announced the launch of Your Party. By mid-August, around 800,000 people had added their names to a sign-up list.

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Those messy debates shaped a further question of who would lead the party: Corbyn is 76, Sultana 31. For all his kindness, and popularity among people who hate conventional politics, Corbyn is unsuited to be a leader. Sultana also has a better ear for the policies likely to inspire young voters.

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The group was divided over a series of political questions – what kind of party did they believe in, how left-wing would it be, what position would it take in relation to employers and landlords?

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Splits, rows and even legal threats have dogged the first few months of what was supposed to be a new start for the left in Britain.

For The Lead, left-wing veteran David Renton dives into just what went wrong for Your Party🧵

Taking a break You’ll notice the past two Sundays have been and gone without new editions of The Teesside Lead (or at least I’d hope you’ve noticed).

And we wish @leighsus.bsky.social a lovely honeymoon as he heads off anywhere other than Teesside! It means The Teesside Lead will be taking a short break from casting an eye over all things politics

While @jamielopez.bsky.social gets thoroughly baffled by a Tommy Fleetwood AI-generated post doing the rounds about the Sandgrounder's apparent generosity
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For paid subscribers to The Lancashire Lead, @lukebeardsworth.bsky.social considers what fracking being back in the national political agenda means for the county
lancashire.thelead.uk/i/175115252/...

The Southport Lead continues to report on Sefton Council's plans for a new homeless shelter. ‘Homeless people are friends and family’, said Cllr Liz Dowd today as she addressed some of the concerns raised about plans to purchase The Salfordian Hotel.
southport.thelead.uk/p/lancs-coun...

Mentally unwell STILL waiting days for treatment at The Vic PLUS: Why fracking entering the national politics debate is not good for Lancashire

We continue our focus on what's happening inside Blackpool Victoria Hospital. Mentally unwell patients continue to languish for days in the A&E department - even after the suicide of Jamie Pearson, whose 22-hour wait there sparked promises of reform.

Reform UK deputy leader plans tribunal after being suspended in previous role PLUS: Fracking fizzing back into the national agenda is not good news for Lancashire

The latest from our Lead North team, starts with an exclusive for Lancashire Lead subscribers this morning as we revealed the deputy leader of Lancashire County Council and Reform county councillor for Skelmersdale, Simon Evans, is suing his former employer

Can Corbyn and Sultana's Your Party move on from its troubled beginnings? Splits, rows and even legal threats have dogged the first few months of what was supposed to be a new start for the left in Britain. Left-wing veteran David Renton dives into just what went wrong.

Splits, rows and even legal threats have dogged the first few months of what was supposed to be a new start for the left in Britain. Left-wing veteran David Renton dives into just what went wrong.

The Lead Untangles: The Reform leader’s Russian influence scandal Not unreported, but certainly not given much spotlight, what do the Russian bribes taken by a former Reform UK leader tell us?

What do the Russian bribes by a former Reform UK leader tell us?

open.substack.com/pub/theleadu...

The Lead | The Lead Editors | Substack Politics and culture with a campaigning heart, covering people, place and policy beyond the mainstream headlines. Click to read The Lead, by The Lead Editors, a Substack publication with tens of…

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Noxious gas from giant Greater Manchester landfill ruining the lives of residents The stench of rotting egg can be smelt for miles and is causing serious health problems. Local people want to know what's in the Bury dump, why those in charge have been allowed to break the law and…

Additionally, Jennifer Sizeland was shortlisted for her reporting on the noxious smells from Pilsworth tip near Bury.

thelead.uk/noxious-gas-...

@hannahfearn.bsky.social has made the shortlist for best news story for her article about children imprisoned in young offenders’ institutions and care facilities during the pandemic lockdowns.

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The Lead is delighted to see two of our contributors shortlisted for this year's Freelance Journalism Awards ⬇️

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"I know the synagogue well and I know the people in the synagogue. I have lived within a stone’s throw of that synagogue for most of my adult life and I think it’s appalling. I know, like after the Manchester Arena attack, people will come together."

He said: "It’s a dreadful attack designed to damage the Jewish community and damage inter-faith and inter-community relationships. I know that Mancunians will come together to make sure that villains like this do not damage our very tolerant city...

Speaking after the horrific attack on a synagogue in Crumpsall, Manchester on Yom Kippur, local Labour MP Graham Stringer said he knows "Mancunians will come together" to protect the "very tolerant city".

The news story shortlisted is this one on the abhorrent treatment of children in prison during the covid lockdowns, for @theleaduk.bsky.social

thelead.uk/dog-kennel-l...

Radicalised far-right 'waiting for a spark' Plus: Questions over Marine Lakes Events Centre and Southport Inquiry latest

Southport MP Patrick Hurley has called for greater vigilance against the growth of the far-right as he warned there is a network waiting to be “activated”.

A tale of two city venues PLUS: Councils in some parts of Lancashire unable to provide home adaptations for disabled people

One Lancashire music venue is eyeing up an ambitious new future - while another is planning its next move ahead of its closure.

Two boys, 13, arrested on suspicion of arson after hotel fire PLUS: A £400,000 bill for a fishing trawler deemed to have accidentally cut an internet cable running from Ireland to Blackpool

The latest from The Lead North, starting in Blackpool where two teenage boys have been arrested after a major fire at the former Carlton House Hotel

“The politics of grievance is the biggest threat we face,” says Starmer

New online NHS hospital service by 2027, PM to promise - BBC News Patients will get the option of digital support when GPs refer them but only for certain conditions.

He announces a completely digital NHS trust called NHS Online which will offer digital appointments. He says it will cut waiting times.

Some more info: www.bbc.com/news/article...

He criticises violent anti-immigration protests as “thuggery”

He comes down hard on racism. “He says “free speech is a british value” but “inciting racist violence is criminal” .

He continues with his “smash the gangs” slogan and promises to “remove people without the right to be here” and “secure Britain’s borders”

“We have become a party that has patronised working people,” he says, noting that some people don’t feel like they can discuss issues in their communities without having to “prove that they’re not racist”.