More young people will be able to vote in the next general election but many of them will never be allowed to smoke. Keir Starmer’s reign has heralded drastic changes in the lives of British teenagers.

Smoking
Children aged 17 or younger face a lifelong ban on buying cigarettes, after the Tobacco and Vapes Bill became law in April. “The world-leading legislation means today’s children will never legally be sold cigarettes, breaking the cycle of addiction and disadvantage that has persisted for decades,” said the government.

The change has faced pushback from conservatives and from members of the tobacco industry. Nigel Farage told The Telegraph in March that if Reform ever came into power, the law would be scrapped.

Voting and consultations
The government will reduce the minimum voting age to 16. Young people “represent the future of our country”, said the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. “Decisions the government makes now” will “affect young people today” and “have an enduring impact on their entire lives”.

Supporters view the move as a massive expansion of civic education, primarily in schools. However, “provision is really quite patchy and it’s a real lottery”, Harriet Andrews, a campaigner for youth democratic engagement, told the Institute for Government.

Social media
The government last month announced plans to ban under-16s from accessing a range of platforms, including TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram. Older teenagers will face an overnight social media curfew under which a range of apps will be unavailable by default to 16- and 17-year-olds between midnight and 6am.

And everything else
There is still no real consensus on the age of maturity into adulthood in the UK. British teens can legally have sex from the age of 16, but they can’t watch other people having sex in pornographic films until the age of 18. They can’t drive on public roads until they are 17 and can’t drink alcohol until they turn 18. And in education, English pupils must stay in school or training until they’re 18. In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, they can give up learning at 16.

“Confused? How do you think teens feel?” said Rosa Prince on Bloomberg. And with all of the changes from Starmer’s government, “it’s getting worse”.

This is the summer of “cerebral pursuits” in France, with “a big rise” in the sale of “holiday workbooks”, said The Times. With their cahiers de vacances – an adult spin-off from school revision guides – grown-ups are “brushing up” algebra, history and grammar on the beach.

All grown up
Holiday workbooks were originally designed to help schoolchildren keep up with their studies over the long summer break. But the new adult versions are a real hit: you only have scan bookshop shelves to see “the scale of the phenomenon”, said the Aleteia site. French adults are using the workbooks not only to “evoke childhood summers” but as an entertaining way to learn something new during the summer holidays.

Last year, more than 650,000 holiday workbooks were sold – double the year before – and publishers are reporting even bigger sales this summer, said The Times. Among the most popular ones are “Les Maths en Vacances”, which has readers practising geometry by folding their beach towels, and “Énigmes de l’Histoire”, which focuses on historical puzzles, such as the “mysterious fate of Louis XVII”, who disappeared after his parents were beheaded during the French Revolution. “Passeport Adultes Anglais” is all about improving your English – with a “notably challenging” section on making British “herb jelly”.

There are also logical reasoning challenges. And police-investigation workbooks offer “puzzles to solve” in a “Cluedo”-style format, said Instant.

‘Need to disconnect’
Adults want to buy these books because they allow them to “learn a lot while having fun”, Didier Ferat of workbook publisher Solar told Aleteia. The format is not “intimidating”, Carole Strang of publisher Éditions Nathan told Instant. Readers can work through the books “alone or with others”. There’s a sense of nostalgia at play, too: everyone knows these workbooks from their schooldays. They are associated with “strong memories” of childhood summers and holidays, said Strang.

The desire to disconnect with a nostalgic activity also explains the associated boom in “kidult” colouring and sticker books, and an increasing passion for puzzles and crosswords. Dictionary publisher Robert has launched a new series of themed giant crossword books this summer. At a time when the “world of books is suffering”, the publisher’s Charles Bimbenet told Instant, “this enthusiasm is welcome”.

A police officer fires tear gas shells to disperse supporters of India’s youth-led Cockroach Janta Party during a protest in New Delhi. Activists are demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and action against corruption in the exam system.

Sajjad Hussain / AFP / Getty Images

Vinho verde is northern Portugal’s gift to drinkers looking for a light and refreshing tipple to enjoy in the scorching summer heat. The name translates as “green wine” and is a nod to both its “inexperienced” and youthful character and to the lush, verdant Minho province where it is made, said Mina Holland in The Guardian. With “ocean breezes”, “cool nights” and “high rainfall”, the region’s “Atlantic maritime climate” provides the perfect environment for indigenous grapes to flourish. Many producers blend several grape varieties, including the “aromatic loureiro, softening trajadura and arinto for acidity”.

Quinta do Ermízio Chin Chin Vinho Verde 2024
This is an “inarguably delicious and nattily labelled” wine, said Holland in The Guardian. It combines a “blend” of the traditional loureiro and trajadura grape varieties and has notes of crisp green apples and tropical fruits. Chin Chin rose in popularity during the pandemic and gave way to “several dupes”, but the original remains a “cult” favourite.

Bowl Grabber 2024
Made primarily from alvarinho (also known as albariño) grapes, this refreshing vinho verde is “light, zesty and dangerously easy to drink”, said Will Lyons in The Times. Expect a gentle spritz and a “mouthwatering purity giving way to a long, saline finish”.

Casal de Ventozela Arinto Vinho Verde 2024
This “zippy” wine is made from the “lesser-known but interesting” arinto grape variety, said Susy Atkins in The Telegraph. The delicate notes of “yellow apples, pear and passion-fruit” pair nicely with “bitter salad leaves or baked fennel”.

Europe is at risk of creating a human rights black hole with its ‘return hubs’ for migrants
Michael O’Flaherty in The Guardian
Europe has embarked on “outsourced migration management”, writes the Council of Europe’s Human Rights Commissioner Michael O’Flaherty. The idea of processing “unwanted migrants” through “offshore facilities” was “once dismissed as fringe” and “legally untenable” but has now been “rebranded as mainstream” and “commonsense”. There are “vague assurances” about compliance with human rights obligations, but that’s not enough. If Europe is to venture into this “risky territory”, it must “allow rigorous, independent” scrutiny of partner countries to prevent “serious human rights violations”.

Topless men reveal more than just their chests
Helen Rumbelow in The Times
“We live in the summer of the bare-chested man,” writes Helen Rumbelow. Whipping your shirt off used to be just a “working class” thing – “the sun came out” and “bellies burst forth on building sites”. Now, it’s “a badge of youth power”. Today’s “young men see their pecs as a luxury asset: attainable by those with the money and leisure to devote to the gym. To keep them under wraps would be like hiding a Rolex in your pocket.”

The sheer awfulness of CPAC GB
William Atkinson in The Spectator
America’s right-wing Conservative Political Action Conference has been brought to Britain by Liz Truss, but “Yankee politics is on a sticky wicket” here, writes William Atkinson. I went along, and all I saw were lots of “shameless grifters” and a “three-quarters empty” hall where “the 49-Day Queen” was displaying “the same emotional depth” that “characterised her time in No. 10”. The right won’t find its “salvation” at this “clown show”. Truss “should be embarrassed”, but “she isn’t capable of that”.