'The great thing about British values is how nebulous and undefined they are'
Opinion, comment and editorials of the day

'British Values' are whatever the Tories want them to be
Steph Paton for The National
The "great thing" about British values, says Steph Paton in Scottish newspaper The National, is that they are "nebulous and undefined". In "their most modern form", these values are "whatever the UK government needs them to be to justify its increasingly authoritarian and far-right policy positions". Principles outlined as quintessentially British such as mutual liberty, democracy and tolerance have been "objectively undermined and trod upon" by the Tories. The party "does not care" for values beyond their use as a "rhetorical tool".
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Scanners without staff won't solve NHS waiting crisis
Dean Rogers for The Times
That there are "too few" NHS radiographers to perform vital scans is an "inescapable truth", says Dean Rogers, the Society of Radiographers's director of industrial strategy, in The Times. While any new MRI and CT scanners are "very welcome", many stand unused "for all but a few hours each week" as there is no "matching staffing budget". Our health service needs investment to build a "stronger workforce", because what "matters most" is the "people, not tech".
Is the West losing interest in Ukraine?
Mark Galeotti for The Spectator
Volodymyr Zelenskyy faces a "constant struggle" to rally international support for Ukraine, writes security expert Mark Galeotti for The Spectator, and it appears to be "taking its toll". While opinion polls show "rock-solid" backing for the Ukrainian leader's cause, "things aren't so clear" in practical terms. As the Israel-Hamas war captures "media, public and policy-maker attention", the challenge to overcome "Ukraine fatigue" and keep the West "engaged" in the conflict with Russia is becoming increasingly difficult.
There's a way for the US to compete with China – and to work with China
Janet L. Yellen for The Washington Post
A "pragmatic economic strategy" is key to "navigating the complexities" in the US-China relationship, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen argues in The Washington Post. "Healthy economic competition" can "benefit both countries over time". The two nations have made "progress on global challenges together" in recent years, and the US must now avoid the "mistake" of becoming "so consumed with our competition with China that we become defined by it".
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
June 3 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Tuesday's political cartoons include RFK Jr. and the CDC, Elon Musk's DOGE exit, and Donald Trump versus academic freedom
-
Gaza Humanitarian Foundation: the group behind Gaza's controversial new aid programme
The Explainer Deadly shootings and chaotic scenes have been reported at aid sites after US group replaced UN humanitarian organisations
-
Is UK's new defence plan transformational or too little, too late?
Today's Big Question Labour's 10-year strategy 'an exercise in tightly bounded ambition' already 'overshadowed by a row over money'
-
Frustrated Trump warns 'crazy' Putin
Feature Trump lashes out online after Putin launches his largest missile and drone attack on Ukraine
-
'The pattern is similar across America'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
'Russia's position is fragile'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
'Physicians today have a number of ways of categorizing pain'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
'The benefits of such a program go beyond just the data'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
'Gen Z has been priced out of a future, so we invest in the present'
instant opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Germany lifts Kyiv missile limits as Trump, Putin spar
speed read Russia's biggest drone and missile attacks of the war prompted Trump to post that Putin 'has gone absolutely CRAZY!'
-
'Organ donation is kindness'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day