A Labour government would seek to strengthen trade and security ties with the European Union but would rule out rejoining the single market, customs union or adopting free movement, according to insiders.

With a recent poll finding that 60% of Britons would now vote to rejoin the EU, Brexit "is likely to be a recurring – and potentially fraught – feature of a Starmer premiership", said The Guardian.

What is Labour's position on Brexit?
Keir Starmer favours a "twin-track strategy" for closer UK-EU relations, senior party officials told the Financial Times, but will not cross the three Brexit "red lines". These will form the basis of Labour's manifesto pledge on Europe, and give Starmer "political cover for a lower-profile pursuit of cooperation in a range of areas", said the FT. Debate is now "raging" about what this new deal might involve.

But the party has left the "door ajar to moving towards a somewhat closer relationship with the single market", said UK in a Change Europe think tank. Possibilities raised include mutual recognition of professional qualifications, the introduction of a mobility scheme and minimising regulatory divergence.

Will it work?
Starmer is facing a delicate balancing act. He needs to avoid scaring off Brexit-backing supporters in northern "Red Wall" seats by appearing to soften Labour's stance on rejoining the EU or freedom of movement. But he also has to satisfy a significant proportion of voters who, recent polls suggest, desire closer cooperation with and even re-entry to the bloc. 

Brussels also wants a more "stable, constructive relationship" with the UK but has no desire for wholesale negotiation of the country's return, Labour peer Peter Mandelson said last month. "Reopen a negotiation? You've got to be joking," he told a British Chambers of Commerce event.

The "soft-Remainer view" that Starmer might be able to negotiate a "superior, closer deal with the EU while remaining outside the single market, is deluded", said Sherelle Jacobs, assistant comment editor of The Telegraph.

"When it comes to 'The B Word', British politics has become gripped by a kind of 'violence of silence'". Politicians and voters alike are "reluctant to confront the fallout from the country's mangled, halfway situation".

Once a month, in countries from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, people are gathering to eat cake and talk about the typically taboo topic of death.

At Death Cafes, said Emma Freud in The Times, people with a range of interests in the subject come together to discuss "the end of life experience in any of its forms", in what is widely viewed as part of the "death positive" movement.

Death Cafes were founded by the late Jon Underwood and his mother, Sue Barsky Reid, a psychotherapist. They were inspired by the work of Swiss sociologist Bernard Crettaz, who had developed a project called Café Mortel, where people would gather to talk about death.

The four rules of Death Cafes
The first Death Cafe in the UK was held at Underwood's home in Hackney, east London, in September 2011. More were then held in places including "funky cafes, people's houses, cemeteries, a yurt and the Royal Festival Hall", said the Death Cafe website.

The four rules are that Death Cafes are offered on a not-for-profit basis; in an accessible, respectful and confidential space; with no intention of leading people to any conclusion, product or course of action; and that cake is offered.

There have now been more than 18,000 groups worldwide, but "they seem to be most prevalent in countries where people are uptight about the subject", said Freud, and "hence we have more than 3,400 in the UK".

A freeing space to talk
Visiting a Death Cafe in London, Freud found that "there were no formal objectives" or "grief counselling", but there was "tea and, naturally, cake – that great lubricant of awkwardness". The discussion was "riveting" and free of "small talk". A woman with terminal cancer spoke and "because we were strangers, her words had no consequences she would need to deal with, and that seemed to set her free".

Attendees will "seamlessly switch" between "sombrely discussing subjects like the difference between suicide and medical aid-in-dying" to "joking about the sayings they'd want written on their tombstones", said The Huntington News.

After joining a Death Cafe in Willesden, northwest London, The Jewish Chronicle's Gaby Wine said it was "heart-warming" that "while not everyone agrees with one another, everyone shows great respect". And, despite the subject matter, the chat was "surprisingly jolly".

Stop off for a day out, or stay a little longer, to sample fine British wines where they're made.

Hambledon Vineyard, Hampshire
England's oldest commercial vineyard has been "flying the flag for English fizz" since 1952, said Time Out, but "it's still full of new ideas". The family-run operation's "charm" is showcased in its wine tours and pop-up restaurant.

Ryedale Vineyards, North Yorkshire
The most northerly vineyard in Britain, Ryedale (pictured above) also offers cider from the estate's orchards. Voted one of the best vineyards to visit and tour in England, it has "cosy en suite rooms in the farmhouse" should you wish to stay, said The Guardian.

Tinwood Estate, West Sussex
There's plenty of attractions for wine aficionados at Tinwood, on the edge of the South Downs. The estate "boasts 110 acres of land under vine, where it largely produces Blanc de Blancs, Brut and English Sparkling Rose", said Square Meal. Book a tour, tasting or afternoon tea, and stay overnight in one of the three luxury lodges.

Gwinllan Conwy Vineyard, Conwy
Set against the stunning backdrop of the Snowdonia Mountain Range, Gwinllan Conwy has received multiple national and international awards. The "success" of this vineyard is "underpinned by the microclimate" of north Wales, which "pairs resemblance" to the climate of New Zealand,  said the Great British Food Awards.

Langham Wine Estate, Dorset
This environmentally conscious vineyard takes a "low-intervention approach to wine making", said Square Meal. English sparkling is the "brand's main forte". With wines made solely from the classical champagne grape varieties of chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier, this is high-quality fare.

World leaders have a chance to raise taxes for rich people like me. I'm begging them to take it
Abigail Disney in The Guardian
The "need to tax rich people like me has never been so dire", writes Abigail Disney. "Extreme wealth concentration in the hands of a few" threatens the climate and democracy, yet billionaires "get away with paying lower tax rates than all other income groups". Finance ministers and central-bank governors could "commit" to changing that during World Bank and IMF meetings in Washington D.C. this week. A global minimum tax on billionaires would "be complex, but it is not impossible".

We need to stop infantilising young adults
James Marriott in The Times
"Modern society supposedly worships youth, yet it treats the young themselves with increasing circumspection," writes James Marriott. The early 20s are "being downgraded from the first stage of adulthood to the last stage of childhood". Britain's youngest ever prime minister, William Pitt, was 24 when he took office, but our "patronising disbelief in the capacity of young adults" now "makes such precocity unachievable" –  even though a "dynamic culture requires the full contributions of its youngest members".

Time for animal abusers in China to face proper justice
Phoebe Zhang in the South China Morning Post
Online footage showing a student kicking, beating and hitting a kitten against a door has "roused public anger in China", says Phoebe Zhang. The nation "has no laws that directly ban animal abuse", and "many still believe animals have fewer rights than people", but this "isn't just about protecting animals". Research shows that such abuse "could be an early indicator that someone would commit serious crimes against people – including assault, murder, rape, partner abuse and child abuse".