"Education, education, education" was at the heart of Tony Blair's pitch for the 1997 general election.

Now, 27 years on, the issue remains a key part of Labour's manifesto, with Keir Starmer making promises to invest in more teachers and more childcare places, as well as a controversial plan to scrap the VAT exemption on independent school fees.

'Free at all stages'
The Labour Party's first leader, Keir Hardie, believed all people should receive an education "free at all stages" and "open to everyone without any tests of prior attainment at any age".

This was not as simple as hoped. The 1944 Education Act, overseen by Clement Attlee's post-war Labour government, offered universal free secondary education, raising the minimum school leaving age from 14 to 15.

Harold Wilson expanded comprehensive education, increasing the proportion of children in such schools from 10% to over 30% between 1966 and 1970.

'Education, education, education'
Education spending under Tony Blair's premiership reached almost £1.2 billion every week by 2007, as the core "per pupil" funding amounted to £1,450 more per year per child, said the BBC.

There were some successes, as primary school test results rose after he took power in 1997, with 35,000 more teachers and 172,000 more teaching assistants.

But there were also "failures", as a "stark gap" remained between the achievement of pupils in "affluent and deprived communities".

'Leftward drift'
Jeremy Corbyn's passion for state education contributed to his 1999 divorce. The disagreement with his wife over whether their son should be educated at grammar school or a comprehensive echoed Labour Party "tensions" over selection in education, said The Guardian.

As Labour leader, Corbyn planned to scrap university tuition fees and restore maintenance grants. He also wanted children to be taught about the British Empire, as education policy moved more towards the left.

A Starmer government would create more than 3,300 new nurseries, funded by its "VAT raid on private schools", said The Telegraph. Starmer said childcare is "critical infrastructure", but Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said Labour's approach is the "politics of envy".

It was a "spectacular weekend of celebrity cameos, fireworks and crowd-surfing", said Sky News's cultural and entertainment reporter Gemma Peplow. Oh, "and music, of course".

But sound issues and scheduling oversights have left some feeling that this year's edition of the UK's biggest music festival didn't quite strike the right note.

Lessons to be learnt
SZA's Glastonbury headline set "will go down in history for the wrong reasons", said the BBC's music correspondent Mark Savage. Despite her "vocal command" and a "visual feast" of staging, the American artist "failed to ignite any magic" on the Pyramid Stage.

Attracting the smallest crowd of the weekend's trio of headliners, SZA had to put up with persistent sound issues that resulted in "distorted and muffled" vocals, a problem which also dampened performances by Shania Twain and Cyndi Lauper. Still, SZA delivered one of the "most vulnerable, moving" performances of the weekend's biggest acts, albeit "in the wrong venue – a problem that has repeatedly blighted this year".

Noughties pop icons Sugababes and "grouchy, nostalgic pop-punk queen" Avril Lavigne were "shoved on a too-small stage in front of an overwhelming sea of people", said The Independent's features editor Adam White. Glastonbury organisers should "learn lessons from a year that has vastly underestimated the appeal of pop nostalgia", and "overestimated the interest in many performing over at the Pyramid".

Hit-filled highlights
"In terms of 'I was there' moments, this one wasn't quite up there with Jimi Hendrix doing 'The Star-Spangled Banner' at Woodstock," said arts writer and pop critic Ludovic Hunter-Tilney in the Financial Times.

Nonetheless, Coldplay's Saturday night set "was a spectacle designed to be seen from outer space". The fifth-time headliners "were out to make a Big Glastonbury Statement", with a "retina-dazzling, synapse-frying, sensory overload of a show". It wasn't for me, but "everyone else crammed into the vast Pyramid space" loved it.

Dua Lipa threw "everything she has at it" too, said The Guardian's head rock and pop critic Alexis Petridis. There were pyrotechnics, special guests and "crowd-pleasing hits". She drew a huge crowd who stayed put – a sign that the singer got it right.

Once confined to Japanese restaurants and karaoke clubs, sake has found its way on to drinks lists and supermarket shelves up and down the country.

Waitrose announced searches on its website for the fermented rice beverage had soared by 241% year-on-year, while plum sake searches have climbed 100% compared with 2023, said The Times.

Whether you already have a taste for the Japanese drink or you're wondering where to start, here are three of the best bottles to try.

Sawanotsuru Deluxe Sake
Georgie Darling in the London Evening Standard recommended this bottle as a "great entry-level" option, perfect for those who want to give sake a go without "throwing themselves forward, full throttle". Crisp and fragrant, it features notes of peach, melon and cherry blossom.
£12.79, thedrinksbasket.com

Akashi-Tai, Junmai Ginjo Sparkling Sake
A nice sparkling option, said Silvia Wu in Decanter, naturally fermented to produce a fizz. Balancing aromas of "freshly steamed sticky rice" and jasmine, it has a refreshing palate of citrus and ripe pear, which pairs well with sushi and seafood dishes. The lower than average 7% ABV means it feels "easy to drink and cleansing".
£15.25, ewwines.co.uk

Kanpai Kumo 'Cloudy' Nigori Sake
Made near Tower Bridge, London, at the UK's first sake brewery, this award-winning bottle was chosen by the editorial team at Good Housekeeping as its pick for the best cloudy sake. Aged on the lees and bottled with some fine rice sediment remaining, it has a "balanced funkiness that's rounded out by a melon sweetness, ending with a yoghurt-like finish".
£17, kanpai.london

It's a bit like 1997, but without the optimism
Libby Purves in The Times
"We have stood here before," writes Libby Purves, "poised at the crumbling edge of a long Conservative government, expecting a landslide." Today, there are "echoes" of 1997, although Britain is "wearier" and "more divided". Now, as then, many voters who have "prospered" under the Tories will still vote for change "because it is frankly no fun to live on the middle-class island if all around you the waters are rising".

Joe Biden's presidency has been a conspiracy against the world
Tim Stanley in The Telegraph
Joe Biden "might not remember his debate performance, but the world does", writes Tim Stanley. This "tragedy" is about "a man in total denial, enabled by a system steeped in paranoid fantasy". He "resembles an ostrich stuffed by an amateur", his "eyes black marbles, the sharp teeth set in an alarming grin". He's "a narcissist who can't see his limits", but there's "no practical way to remove the old fool from the nomination without his consent".

Where are the Marcus Rashfords of British tennis? The truth is they're still not welcome
Chris Marshall in The Guardian
A head coach from a "prestigious club" told me that tennis "will never have a Marcus Rashford", writes Chris Marshall. "Having been in this sport for 20 years, it is hard for me not to agree." The costs of becoming a professional are "prohibitive" to most, and the tennis establishment "does very little to nurture talent". I have "witnessed racism towards south Asians" as well as a Black player "mistaken for a cleaner" at a tournament.