Tory candidate Philip Davies has become the latest in a string of MPs to be investigated by the Gambling Commission, after being accused of placing an £8,000 bet that he would lose his Shipley seat in the election.

Insider betting, the subject of the Gambling Commission's investigation, is already illegal. But the scandal has elicited calls for the rules to be tightened or for MPs to be banned from betting completely.

What did the commentators say?
Iain Duncan Smith, deputy chair of the all-parliamentary group on gambling-related harm, said MPs shouldn't bet on politics because it "shows a disregard for the seriousness" of their roles.

Others have gone further. Tory MP Tobias Ellwood told BBC Radio 4’s "Today" that rules should "prevent any current politician or party professional from placing any bets in the future". Asked by Times Radio whether politicians should "just be banned" from placing bets, Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride replied: "Yeah, quite possibly, and I think we do need to have a debate about it."

But "there is no evidence that politicians are deliberately trying to lose races to win bets", said Henry Hill on Conservative Home, and any ban would "just be a press-management strategy". Despite the "confected" media outrage, said William Atkinson in The Spectator, talk of a ban is "unhelpful and unnecessary".

Anthony Pickles, assistant professor in social anthropology at Birmingham University, told the Financial Times that the limits of a ban would be very difficult to define. "Should unpaid political advisers be barred from political gambling?" he asked. "What about newspaper columnists?" 

What next?
Five Conservatives and one Labour candidate are being investigated by the Gambling Commission, but "reports suggest the number of politicians involved is much higher", said the London Evening Standard.

Rishi Sunak said that "the integrity" of the investigations "should be respected". And "if anyone is found to have broken the rules", he added, "not only should they face the full consequences of the law,  I will make sure that they are booted out of the Conservative Party".

The outcome of the various investigations will go a long way to determining whether any ban will be imposed.

"Even by the standards of the world’s biggest race", the 2024 Tour de France is shaping up to be one of the most "star-studded" in recent history, said Rouleur.

The four best all-round riders in the world – Tadej Pogačar, Primož Roglič, Remco Evenepoel and defending champion Jonas Vingegaard – will all be vying to wear the prestigious yellow jersey when the race concludes in Nice on 21 July.

'Open and unpredictable'
The route of the Tour changes each year, presenting riders of all types with opportunities for stage wins. This year's route – which begins in Florence, Italy on Saturday – is "all about balance", said Escape Collective, with the combination of mountains, time trials and flatter stages favouring an "all-around talent". The four favourites are all remarkable all-round cyclists, making for a potentially spectacular edition of the race.

But all four also have "something holding them back", said Eurosport. Pogačar may be battling fatigue after winning the Giro in Italy in May, while the other three all suffered injuries in a huge crash at the Tour of the Basque Country in April. Roglič and Evenepoel have returned to racing with "varying degrees of success", but Vingegaard will make his comeback at the Tour. So the race will take place under a rare "set of circumstances" that have made the "modern-day Tour so open and unpredictable".

'Different to 20 years ago'
It is "nearly impossible" to talk about extraordinary performances at the Tour without addressing the "question of anti-doping and drug testing", said Bicycling.

Following doping scandals in the 1990s and 2000s that culminated in the downfall of former seven-time Tour winner Lance Armstrong, recent spectacular performances – including those of Pogačar in 2020 and 2021 and Vingegaard in the past two years – have been met with "scepticism surrounding their impressive form", said the Daily Mail.

Riders have regularly been "quizzed" amid allegations of doping during the race. Last year, eventual winner Vingegaard said he understood that it was "hard to trust in cycling" because of past scandals, but that he believed "everyone is different than 20 years ago".

The Bush Theatre has established itself as one of London's top venues for "gripping" family dramas, and its latest production is no exception. "My Father's Fable" delves into a complex set of family dynamics and a secret that has been carefully concealed between generations.

While it might not be as "polished" as some of the theatre's other offerings, said Isobel Lewis in Time Out, Faith Omole's debut play certainly "packs a punch".

Set in London, the action follows disillusioned history teacher Peace (Tiwa Lade) who is grieving the death of her father when her recently-discovered half-brother Bolu (Theo Ogundipe) arrives from Nigeria.

"What follows", said Anya Ryan in The Guardian, "is a slick, if slightly melodramatic, revelation of who this stranger actually is." Directed by Rebekah Murrell and written by Olivier award-nominated actor Omole, the play "keeps you guessing" right to the end.

Omole has a knack for "authentic and rich" dialogue with "deadpan humour", said Dave Fargnoli in The Stage. Rakie Ayola (pictured above) is a "first-class scene stealer" as Peace's "overbearing yet secretly paranoid" mother, Favour, who "worms her way" into her daughter's home.

The show is a bit slow to get going and the storylines can be "hard to keep track of". However, it starts to feel more "streamlined" in the second act and the "big twist" is genuinely surprising.

"My Father's Fable" might not be the "perfect" production but Omole's script demonstrates her talent as a writer who "knows how to tell one hell of a story".

At Bush Theatre, London, until 27 July

A hotter world is a negative-sum game
FT leader article
Richer countries "are not escaping the toll of climate change", says the FT. "They are already experiencing greater extremes in weather." As the situation continues to worsen, it will "only intensify migration pressures from the developing world, and as certain food, crops and other commodities grow scarcer, prices will rise, too". There may be changes in the "distribution of some global economic activities, but the entire world will still face the consequences".

The Biden-Trump debate may be the weirdest yet
Kyle Sammin for UnHerd
The timing of tonight's debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump is "strange", writes Kyle Sammin. Debates have "typically been held later in the year, after the hoopla of the party conventions and when more voters are paying attention". With so much campaign left to run, it's "even more likely that any short-term effect will fade", and the "most persuadable voters may be the 'double haters' – those who view both men unfavourably".

French elections: Macron could end up a loser. How did he get there?
Gilles Paris for Le Monde
Ten days "after dropping his bombshell", Emmanuel Macron "is still trying to explain why he went for snap elections, which is not a good sign", writes Gilles Paris. "None of the main figures of Macronism are coming to his rescue to justify a decision that risks bringing the far-right Rassemblement National party to power". In fact, "most of them are asking the president to keep silent, which is something Macron is not cut out for".