The Week The Week
flag of US
US
flag of UK
UK
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/skoGBi9qKFoUtnNWkovjJQ.jpg

SUBSCRIBE

Try 6 Free Issues

Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • The Explainer
  • Talking Points
  • The Week Recommends
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletters
  • From the Magazine
  • The Week Junior
  • More
    • Politics
    • World News
    • Business
    • Health
    • Science
    • Food & Drink
    • Travel
    • Culture
    • History
    • Personal Finance
    • Puzzles
    • Photos
    • The Blend
    • All Categories
  • Newsletter sign up Newsletter
  • The Week Evening Review
    Youth enfranchisement, misbehaving monks, and a dessert fit for a princess

     
    TODAY's BIG QUESTION

    Votes at 16: who are the biggest winners and losers?

    One and a half million 16- and 17-year-olds will be eligible to vote at the next general election in the biggest shake-up of UK electoral laws in a generation. 

    Announcing the plans last week, Deputy PM Angela Rayner said the changes were about strengthening democracy, not "trying to rig votes for a particular party". But although many assume the move will boost Labour’s chances, the reality may not be so clear cut.

    What did the commentators say?
    With little polling of this age group, it's hard to say how they might vote. But there’s "no reason" to think they would "break away from the pattern of young people leaning to the left", said the BBC. The latest YouGov poll suggests that more than half of 18- to 24-year-olds would vote Labour or Green if a general election were held tomorrow, with just 9% backing the Conservatives and 8% Reform UK.

    It seems good news for Labour, but the move could "backfire" for Keir Starmer if "the Greens or a new hard-Left political party co-led by Jeremy Corbyn picked up momentum", said The Telegraph.

    Meanwhile, the "big losers" from expanding the electoral roll look to be the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, said Ross Clark in The Spectator. The Lib Dems "used to cultivate young votes" through promises "to legalise dope and the like. But they no longer seem to be cutting through; they have become a party of the middle-aged and middle-class."

    Still, the consequences of giving 16- and 17-year-olds the vote are likely to be "overstated", said Sky News election analyst Will Jennings. Young people turn out to vote in far lower numbers than older age groups, so even if the electorate becomes "slightly more left-leaning" at the next election, "older voters will continue to be dominant".

    What next?
    Lowering the voting age "could increase turnout over time", but that "won't happen immediately", Dr James Griffiths, from the British Election Study, told Channel 4 News. Yet research in Scotland shows people who first vote at 16 or 17 are "more likely to turn out to vote in future elections than those who first voted at 18", said The Times.

     
     
    THE EXPLAINER

    Can the government reform Send provision?

    The government is bracing itself for yet another backlash over its plans to overhaul special needs education in England.

    "If they thought taking money away from disabled adults was bad, watch what happens when they try the same with disabled kids," one Labour backbencher told The Times.

    What is special needs education?
    Special educational needs and disabilities (Send) covers children with physical, emotional and behavioural difficulties, including dyslexia, autism and ADHD.

    Send support is provided for nearly two million young people, costing the Department for Education £10.7 billion a year.

    Services are provided by councils, and roughly 630,000 children with the highest needs are supported by specialised education, health and care plans (EHCPs). These "provide some statutory certainty in a system that is overstretched and underfunded", said The Guardian.

    Why does it need reforming?
    There is widespread agreement among parents and politicians that the current system is not fit for purpose.

    Complaints to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman have nearly tripled over the past five years. Assessment delays and funding and access issues are "symptomatic of a system that is in complete crisis", said Sharon Chappell, the assistant ombudsman.

    Critics also point to a sharp rise in the number of young people diagnosed with ADHD and autism over the past decade, which has put an unsustainable strain on services.

    What is the government proposing?
    "We don't yet have any firm details, and that is part of the problem," said The Guardian. A full reform package isn't expected to be published until the autumn – but among MPs there is concern that talk of overhauling the system may be just another cost-cutting exercise aimed at balancing the budget. 

    Ministers hope that by increasing the "number of places in Send units at mainstream schools", they can "eventually phase out the need for individual EHCPs" for all but "those with the most complex needs", said The i Paper. This has sounded alarm bells for parents and advocacy groups.

    In an open letter to The Guardian signed by more than 100 special needs charities and campaigners, Save Our Children's Rights warned that without the support provided by EHCPs, it is "extremely unlikely that ministers will achieve their aim of more children with Send thriving, or even surviving, in mainstream education".

     
     

    Poll watch

    One in six Britons (17%) who use AI for finding factual information have said they have "never" encountered so-called AI "hallucinations" – when AI gives incorrect or made-up information. In the YouGov poll, a further 23% say they encounter hallucinations very or fairly often, while a third (33%) say they encounter them infrequently or rarely.

     
     
    IN THE SPOTLIGHT

    Thailand's monk sex scandal

    A sex scandal has hit Thailand's Buddhist clergy after a woman allegedly had sexual relationships with several monks and then blackmailed them to keep the liaisons quiet.

    The scandal has "rocked" Thailand and "raised questions" about the money and power "enjoyed" by the country's "orange-robed clergy", said The Guardian.

    Vows of chastity
    Most monks in Thailand belong to the Theravada sect, which requires them to be celibate and refrain from even touching women.

    Suspicion that all was not well began last month when an abbot of a famous temple in Bangkok abruptly left the monkhood. Investigators subsequently found he had apparently been blackmailed by a woman who told him she was pregnant by him and demanded 7.2 million baht (£165,000).

    The woman, Wilawan Emsawat, "allegedly enticed several Buddhist monks into sexual relationships, and then blackmailed them with videos and photos of the acts", said Euronews. Thai police believe she had sex with at least nine monks, several of whom transferred significant sums of money after she initiated the romantic relationships, police said.

    The size of the payoffs highlights the large donations made to the temples that are "controlled by monks", which contrasts sharply with the "abstemious lives they are supposed to lead under Buddhist precepts".

    Emsawat was arrested on suspicion of extortion, money laundering and receiving stolen goods, and police investigators found that around 385 million baht (£8.8 million) had been deposited in her bank accounts in the past three years alone.

    Moral decay
    At least nine abbots and senior monks have been disrobed and thrown out of the monkhood, said the Royal Thai Police Central Investigation Bureau. The Sangha Supreme Council – the governing body for Thai Buddhism – is to form a special committee to review monastic regulations.

    Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai has ordered a review of existing laws related to monks and temples, including the transparency of temple finances. 

    The scandal is just the latest to rock Thailand's much revered Buddhist institution, after a raft of allegations of monks engaging in sex offences and drug trafficking in recent years. Wirapol Sukphol, a "jet-setting" monk with a "lavish lifestyle" was charged with sex offences, fraud and money laundering in 2017,  said the BBC.

     
     

    Statistic of the day

    72: The number of new Girl Guides badges on offer, with the historic organisation expanding its range in order to move with the times and broaden its appeal. Younger guides can now earn badges for "laughter, grooving, courage and being a 'bee rescuer'", said the BBC, while older members can be recognised for interests like "fandoms" – such as Taylor Swift – or becoming a "booktivist": using reading to empower themselves and others.

     
     

    Good day 📚

    …  for a Brighton bookshop, after Australian singer-songwriter Nick Cave donated 2,000 books to the charity shop. Fans have descended on the Oxfam store in Hove in the hope of buying a piece of the eclectic collection, which reportedly included a first edition of Johnny Cash's novel "Man in White" and a recipe book about aphrodisiacs. 

     
     

    Bad day 👑

    … for the King, who can't keep his gardeners at Highgrove, according to The Times. The King's exacting demands, staff shortages and low pay have led to a gardener "exodus" at his Gloucestershire estate, where 11 of the 12 garden staff have left since 2022, including two head gardeners who "quit within a year".

     
     
    picture of the day

    That syncing feeling

    Austrian competitors compete in the final of the women's duet artistic event at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore.

    Francois-Xavier Marit / AFP
     / Getty Images

     
     
    PUZZLES

    Daily crossword

    Test your general knowledge with The Week's daily crossword, part of our puzzles section, which also includes sudoku and codewords

    Play here

     
     
    THE WEEK RECOMMENDS

    Princess cake: 'sexy' Swedish treat is having a moment

    "After nearly a century of demure European popularity", the Swedish princess cake (prinsesstårta) is suddenly "everywhere", said The Guardian.

    The "dome-shaped" cake – made of neat, alternating layers of chiffon sponge, raspberry jam and vanilla custard, topped with whipped cream and a "smooth layer of green marzipan" – has gone viral, appearing in countless TikTok videos and cropping up on menus at "hip restaurants in Los Angeles and New York".

    One of Sweden's "most recognisable and beloved pastries", the princess cake was invented in 1948 by recipe book author Jenny Åkerström, who cooked for the Swedish princesses, said Eater.

    Originally called gröntårta (green cake, after the marzipan topping), it quickly became known as prinsesstårta because it was such a favourite with the princesses. It's famously difficult to make: Mary Berry's version of the colourful layer cake appeared on "The Great British Bake Off" more than a decade ago as one of the early technical challenges.

    For years, it remained a relatively niche dessert. But recently, Americans have started "leaning in" to the "seductive qualities" of this "breast-shaped cake, topped with a rosy marzipan nipple", said The Guardian: it's a "very, very sexy" dessert.

    In a sign of its entry to the US mainstream, The New York Times has published a simplified recipe by British pastry chef Nicola Lamb. To make the "intimidating" dessert easier, she reduced the number of layers and included pre-made marzipan. "Still, it all adds up to 22 steps," said Eater.

    Instead of toiling over tricky recipes, most people buy their princess cakes. The Swedish bakery chain Fabrique (which has outposts in London and New York) has been selling the dessert as an "off-menu item" for years. Now, with demand soaring, it has "re-envisioned" the prinsesstårta as a rolled cake, sold in slices.

    "If you can resist finishing it all at once, save a slice for the next day," Sophie Curl, co-founder of Swedish bakery Fika in Sydney, told The Age. "The flavour only gets better."

    See more

     
     
    QUOTE OF THE DAY

    "If we are to achieve the water sector we need, we need to look at all the factors that have contributed to our Great Stink moment."

    Jon Cunliffe likened the UK's water crisis to the Great Stink of 1858, as he unveiled a 465-page report from the Independent Water Commission calling for a fundamental "reset" of the sector. The report contained 88 recommendations and one was immediately accepted by the government – scrapping Ofwat and creating a new regulator.

     
     
    instant opinion

    Today's best commentary

    The left-wing case for controlled immigration
    Jonathan Hinder in The Spectator
    "To avoid the working class turning their backs on Labour", we must "make the left-wing case for low, controlled immigration", writes Labour MP Jonathan Hinder. Immigration control is "seen as a right-wing cultural issue", and those discussing it from the left "are shouted down as 'racist'". But the "unfettered movement of labour, to be exploited by private capital" exposes an "unpleasant impulse" to "get the foreigners in" for "the cheap, dirty work". "Some solidarity, that."

    A mum apologised for her toddler – it broke my heart
    Kirsty Ketley in Metro
    "The moment a child dares to be exuberant – or, heaven forbid, upset in public", people forget that "children are, in fact, children", writes Kirsty Ketley. The "same people who roll their eyes at kids glued to screens in public are often the first to tut" when a child is "talking loudly" or "just being a child". Children are "part of society", so "a smile, or even just withholding judgement, can go a long way".

    Does catastrophe affect how we think about climate change?
    Cass Sunstein in the Financial Times
    When deciding if a risk is "serious", people try to think of past cases where that risk "came to fruition", writes US law professor and behavioural economist Cass Sunstein. So "personal experiences of extreme weather" should "have an impact on people's views about climate change". Political ideology can still "damp those reactions" but, as "weather-related tragedies" increase, we should expect more people to "think that climate change is both serious and real".

     
     
    word of the day

    Polygenic

    A risk score given by a new DNA test, known as the "polygenic risk score", is thought to be twice as effective at predicting obesity as the previous best test. More than 600 scientists worldwide drew on the genetic data of more than five million people to develop the test, which can also predict how well adults might respond to targeted weight-loss programmes.

     
     

    In the morning

    In tomorrow's Morning Report, we take a look at a major hospital abuse scandal – that few people have heard about. 

    Thanks for reading,
    Sorcha

     
     

     Evening Review was written and edited by Sorcha Bradley, Harriet Marsden, Elliott Goat, Chas Newkey-Burden, Irenie Forshaw, David Edwards and Helen Brown, with illustrations by Stephen Kelly and Julia Wytrazek

    Image credits, from top: Stephen Kelly / Shutterstock / Getty Images; Julia Wytrazek / Getty Images; Sydney Bourne / Getty Images; Francois-Xavier Marit / AFP / Getty Images; Nathanial Noir / Alamy

    Morning Report and Evening Review were named Newsletter of the Year at the Publisher Newsletter Awards 2025
     

    Recent editions

    • Morning Report

      Zelenskyy faces first wartime protests

    • Evening Review

      Are we facing a summer of riots?

    • Morning Report

      Gaza aid killings 'inhumane'

    VIEW ALL
    TheWeek
    • About Us
    • Contact Future's experts
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Cookie Policy
    • Advertise With Us

    The Week UK is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

    © Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.