'Starmer vs. Sunak is more sugar-fuelled pre-schoolers than Big Beasts'

The many, many faces of Keir Starmer

Julie Burchill for The Spectator

The battle to lead the UK leaves me "underwhelmed", writes Julie Burchill in The Spectator. To say that Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer "are not Big Beasts" is an "understatement". These two "going at it" is "less Reagan and Gorbachev in ‘Two Tribes’ and more a pair of sugar-fuelled pre-schoolers grizzling in a soft-ball play-pit". Indeed, "sometimes it feels like the whole world is having the screaming ab-dabs; to contradict Harold Macmillan, the feeling is that we've never had it so bad".

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Israel-Palestine war: Britain's epidemic of unchallenged anti-Palestinian racism

Peter Oborne and Imran Mulla for the Middle East Eye

Suella Braverman was "right" to declare zero tolerance for antisemitism, argue Peter Oborne and Imran Mulla on Middle East Eye. Even the "most fervent supporters of the Palestinian cause" must recognise that the home secretary has a duty "to prevent violence and hatred erupting on British streets". But Britain has also "experienced an epidemic of almost unchallenged anti-Palestinian racism and anti-Muslim bigotry", and the government's decision to "give a blanket endorsement" to "whatever" Israel might do is "reckless and irresponsible". 

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SNP has a week to save itself. Here's what it must do

Neil Mackay for The Herald

By the end of the SNP's upcoming conference, "Scotland will know whether it's game over" for the party, says Neil Mackay in The Herald. The key question is whether the SNP should "turn inward, talking to itself about independence", or "turn outward, engaging with the electorate's concerns". That "the economy and public services should be paramount" is a "no-brainer" for "most". But, he adds, "most of us aren't SNP members".

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I'm on a mission to touch my friends more – and it's having a profound effect

Jodie Bond for the i news site

"In a world turned digital, where human connection is more crucial than ever, embracing physical affection among friends can be a powerful catalyst for deeper, more meaningful relationships," says Jodie Bond on the i news site. And "so much repair" is needed "following the physical distances we imposed on ourselves to keep safe during the pandemic". Touch "conveys empathy, strengthens emotional bonds, and enhances our overall wellbeing", so we "should remember that a simple hug" can "enrich our lives in profound ways". 

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