'Snatch and grab loopholes prove the royals exploit what the poor cannot'
Opinion, comment and editorials of the day

Loopholes are for King Charles, not those on benefits
Kirsty Strickland in The National
A "morbid snatch and grab" created by the Duchy of Lancaster, which is collecting money from those who die without a will, is "all perfectly legal and above board", says Kirsty Strickland in The National. But it is clear these "loopholes" are only permitted "for the upper echelons of society", not those on benefits. This latest scandal only proves the royals are a "vanity exercise that we don't need and can't afford".
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Europe's hollow apologies for colonial crimes stand in the way of true reparations
Liliane Umubyeyi in The Guardian
When the King of Belgium expressed regret for colonial violence in Congo it "felt like the mask of collective amnesia over Europe's colonial past was starting to crack", Liliane Umubyeyi says in The Guardian. But the situation is now "more fraught than ever". Until "demands for justice and reparation" from formerly colonised people are acknowledged, people "should be wary" of regrets from European leaders.
Is a national Holocaust memorial still a good idea?
Mary Dejevsky in The Spectator
The ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict is "sharpening a dispute" over whether to build a national Holocaust memorial in London, writes Mary Dejevsky in The Spectator. But while such a memorial "might be just what is needed" to help educate people about the Nazi genocide, it could also become "a focus for disorder". It now means the project's creators are "damned if they do and damned if they don't".
Labour's economic plans: Starmer's Spending
The Times editorial board
With high tax and inflation under the Tories, Labour should have "an easy target", but how it will manage the economy if it wins power is "far from clear", The Times argues. Although helped by "the Conservatives' self inflicted damage", Keir Starmer's party "must submit itself to scrutiny regarding how its plans would differ from Mr Hunt's and how these would be paid for". This, the newspaper stresses, is the only way to ensure its success.
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