today's POLITICS story

Labour makes 'seismic' change to the electorate

What happened
The voting age will be lowered to 16 across the UK for the next general election, the government has announced. This will be the "biggest change" to the electorate since the voting age was reduced from 21 to 18 in 1969, said the BBC.

Who said what
Teenagers aged 16 and 17 are "old enough to go out to work" and "old enough to pay taxes", said Keir Starmer, so it's "really important" that they can vote.

But the prime minister "faced a furious backlash" from Conservative and Reform UK figures, who claimed that he was only trying to "boost Labour's chances of re-election", said The Telegraph. Richard Tice, deputy leader of Reform UK, said the government was handing the vote to "children".

What next?
The "seismic" change will be part of a raft of measures introduced through a new Elections Bill, Democracy Minister Rushanara Ali told the BBC. Among other changes, UK-issued bank cards will become acceptable forms of voter ID and registering to vote will become easier with an increasingly automated registration system.

Today's EUROPE story

Campers arrive at Tomorrowland after fire

What happened
Tomorrowland, one of Europe's biggest summer festivals, is expected to go ahead today despite a raging fire having gutted the main stage earlier in the week. Organisers said no one was injured and the campsite had opened as normal on Thursday morning.

Who said what
The dance music event in Belgium is "as big as Glastonbury", said Sky News, and is known for its "immersive and elaborate" set designs. But its iconic main stage was "destroyed" just two days before it was due to start. "Footage showed flames and thick plumes of black smoke engulfing the stage and spreading to nearby woodland."

Organisers said they were "focused on finding solutions". The site has 14 other stages, but "they are considerably smaller" than the main stage, said NME. More than 400,000 music fans are expected to attend over two consecutive weekends for acts including David Guetta and Swedish House Mafia.

What next?
"We are 100% going ahead," said Debby Wilmsen, a spokesperson for Tomorrowland. The festival is "more than a stage, and we're going to prove it!"

It's not all bad

British scientists have announced the safe birth of the first "three-parent babies" – using a ground-breaking technique developed to allow children to avoid inheriting certain genetic disorders. It works by transplanting the key genetic material of mothers who are carriers of incurable diseases into the healthy donor egg of a "second mother". Doctors at Newcastle University monitored the eight babies born using the new method for the first two years of life and have declared that all are healthy.

UNDER THE RADAR

Sweden's 'Soft Hooligans'

The Euros might feel a little quieter after Sweden was knocked out at the quarter-final stage by England's Lionesses last night.

A group of Swedish football fans had brought colour, noise and a party atmosphere to the Uefa Women's European Championship in Switzerland.

The "Soft Hooligans" group was formed after the 2017 women's Euros. We wanted to do something to "create a loud and inclusive culture around women's football", founder Estrid Kjellman told London's The Standard. And despite the use of "hooligans" in its name, the group is all about "good vibes and good vibes only".

These fans "created an atmosphere that was worlds away from past women's Euros", using "marching, drumming and cheering, with boisterous show tunes" to support their team, said Jezebel.

Kjellman and her family were shocked at how "incredibly dead" the stands were at Euro 2017. When we cheered on the Swedish team, people "looked at us as if we were completely crazy", she told France24. "We joked that we were hooligans. And then we were like, 'but we're not like other hooligans, we're soft hooligans'." And so the group was born, with a Facebook post soon recruiting others. Its "core values", said France24, are that "everyone should feel welcome".

The Soft Hooligans group now has more than 5,000 members and, although it is not formally organised, the fans come together under the same goal of loud and colourful support of the national team. You can spot them by their "drums, megaphones, banners and flags", including huge tifo displays featuring portraits of Swedish players, said The Guardian. Their swelling ranks mirror the rising interest in women's football, with a "record-breaking number of applications for tickets from Swedish fans for the Euros", up 70% on the last tournament in 2022.

on this day

18 July 1817

"Pride and Prejudice" novelist Jane Austen died at the age of 41 in Winchester, Hampshire. This year, which marks the 250th anniversary of her birth, three Austen adaptations are in the works, including a new film version of "Sense and Sensibility" starring Daisy Edgar-Jones.

Today's newspapers

'Abbott suspended'

For a "second time", Labour veteran "Diane Abbott has been suspended", says The Guardian, after the MP doubled down on her past remarks on racism. Police will use facial recognition cameras at Notting Hill Carnival this year, says the Daily Mail, in an "unprecedented crackdown on violence". John Torode's "race slur" was a line from Kanye West's hit "Gold Digger", claims The Sun. Torode denies the allegation.

See the newspaper front pages

tall tale

Bless this beer

The Dean of Gloucester Cathedral, Andrew Zihni, swapped his usual ecclesiastical setting for a brewery this week to bless a newly created ale called CathedrALE. Cans of the light, fruity Session IPA carry a photo of the cathedral's cloisters – familiar from the Harry Potter films – and sales of the limited-edition ale will help support a 10-year project to renovate said cloisters. Zihni said the ale was an "exciting collaboration" between the cathedral and Gloucester Brewery, which harks back to a medieval tradition of brewing by monks in the area. Amen.

Morning Report was written and edited by Hollie Clemence, Chas Newkey-Burden, Genevieve Bates, Martina Nacach Cowan Ros and Richard Windsor, with illustrations from Marian Femenias-Moratinos.