Rate rises by 19% compared with 2020, prompting fresh concerns about NHS maternity care
The risk of women in England suffering severe bleeding after giving birth has risen to its highest level for five years, prompting fresh concern about NHS maternity care.
The rate at which mothers in England experience postpartum haemorrhage has increased from 27 per 1,000 births in 2020 to 32 per 1,000 this year – a rise of 19%.
From pie-and-mash to the swank of a Michelin star, everyone has their own idea of what’s ‘best’. What’s yours?
Jonathan Nunn is the author of London Feeds Itself
Almost 24 years ago, a small British food magazine called Restaurant assembled an all-star panel – made up of Gordon Ramsay, John Torode, Aldo Zilli and 65 other food guys – to adjudicate on the world’s most stupid question: what is the best restaurant on the planet? It didn’t matter that no judge had been to all the restaurants on the shortlist, or that two of the judges happened to be Jeremy Clarkson and Roger Moore – what the editors of Restaurant understood is that people love a list, and if you order a group of restaurants from 50-1 and throw a party, people might take it seriously.
“This could run and run,” the editors wrote in their intro, half hoping. They were right. Within two decades, The World’s 50 Best Restaurants had gone from what critic Jay Rayner described as a “terribly successful marketing exercise” to an insurgent alternative to the ossified Michelin Guide, solidifying the reputations of El Bulli, the Fat Duck and then Noma as the “world’s best restaurant”.
Jonathan Nunn is a food and city writer based in London who co-edits the magazine Vittles. He is the author of London Feeds Itself
The Football Association will pass on England supporters’ concerns about high 2026 World Cup ticket prices to Fifa. However, despite the growing outrage, it is understood none of the international federations expect world football’s governing body to change its policy.
Anger among supporter groups continued on Friday after it emerged that the cheapest tickets will cost 10 times the price promised in the original bid for the United States, Canada and Mexico to host the tournament. For England fans it will mean having to pay at least $220 (£165) for group games – when the bid document’s ticket model stated the cheapest seats should be $21 (£15.70).
Five men who targeted vulnerable girls in park sentenced to terms of between 18 months and 14 years
Five men who were part of a “horrific” grooming gang that raped and sexually assaulted schoolgirls in a park have been jailed for between 18 months and 14 years.
The men targeted vulnerable girls in Saltwell Park, Gateshead, plying their victims with alcohol and cocaine.
Fifa’s demand that the most fervent supporters cough up a minimum of £5,000 in advance just for tickets is scandalous
It was not mathematically confirmed until the Latvia game a month later, but as I watched Ezri Konsa turn in the third goal away to Serbia in early September I smiled to myself in the Stadion Rajko Mitic, knowing England were going to the World Cup. But immediately, a key question surfaced: was I? The answer came on Thursday, with the announcement of the ticket prices that the most loyal supporters of international football would have to pay. And that answer, emphatically, was no, as it will be for countless supporters worldwide. If you had asked me as a hypothetical what seeing England in a World Cup final was worth, I might have said: “Priceless.” But $4,185 – £3,130 – just for the match ticket? No, no, no.
As a fan, I have been to 14 tournaments – nine European Championships and five World Cups – dating back to Euro 92. I have the money, or at least could get it by dipping into my pension pot, which I was braced to do for hotels and flights. But, in a sentiment being echoed across England, Scotland and all the other qualifying nations, I’m not spending a minimum of about £5,000 simply on match tickets, the price Fifa has put on watching your team from group stage through to the final (the exact total will vary, depending on where a country’s group matches are).
Police appeal for witnesses after tree put up in tribute to war dead cut down in act of ‘mindless vandalism’
A Christmas tree that had stood in a village for more than a decade has been chopped down hours after having its lights switched on.
The tree, in Shotton Colliery in County Durham, was felled between 10pm and 11pm on Wednesday. It is believed to have been cut down deliberately. Police are appealing for witnesses.
Britain’s economy shrank unexpectedly in October as consumers held back on spending before Rachel Reeves’s budget, and car manufacturing struggled to recover from the cyber-attack on Jaguar Land Rover.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed gross domestic product fell by 0.1%, after a 0.1% drop in output in September. City economists had predicted a 0.1% rise in October.
Tribute to Sylvia Townsend Warner follows campaign to nominate overlooked women
“The thing all women hate is to be thought dull,” says the title character of Sylvia Townsend Warner’s 1926 novel, Lolly Willowes, an early feminist classic about a middle-aged woman who moves to the countryside, sells her soul to the devil and becomes a witch.
Although women’s lives are so limited by society, Lolly observes, they “know they are dynamite … know in their hearts how dangerous, how incalculable, how extraordinary they are”.
Home secretary to order special investigation amid concern inadequate checks during hiring spree may pose criminal risk
The home secretary is to order an independent special inquiry into whether the Metropolitan police allowed hundreds of recruits to join without proper vetting amid fears they may pose a criminal risk.
The Guardian has learned that the inquiry will be carried out by the policing inspectorate, with concerns centred on 300 new officers hired between 2016 and 2023.
Roundhouse apologises after animation projected behind band appears to show Star of David entwined with swastika
A music venue in London has apologised after antisemitic imagery was allegedly displayed on stage during a Primal Scream gig.
A video appearing to show the Star of David entwined with a swastika was said to be screened during the Scottish band’s show at the Roundhouse in Camden on Monday.
Bridget Phillipson says £3bn scheme focussed on local state schools will ‘transform lives’, after rise in parent appeals
The government is to invest £3bn in creating bespoke places within local state schools for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (Send), a crucial part of its efforts to grapple with England’s rising numbers of children facing social and mental health problems.
The plan announced by Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, to create up to 60,000 places within mainstream schools, will be partly funded by the suspension of a group of planned free schools, saving an estimated £600m in the coming years. The remaining £2.4bn will come from departmental spending outlined in November’s budget.
Health secretary announces investigation into Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys trust that has seen young patients take their own lives
A public inquiry will be held into the failures of a north-east NHS foundation after the deaths of several patients, Wes Streeting has confirmed.
The health secretary made the announcement in Darlington, speaking to the families of patients who died while receiving treatment from hospitals run by Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS foundation trust, which is headquartered in the County Durham town.
Warwickshire board says maximum 5% tax rise needed for financial viability despite election promise to cut costs
Reform UK council leaders have been accused of making “rash promises” after a local authority led by the party has been told it will have to increase council tax by the maximum amount, despite its election promises to cut costs.
Warwickshire county council has been warned by its executives that anything less than a 5% maximum council tax increase will put its financial viability at risk.
Hospitals treating record numbers of flu patients but worst is yet to come as medical bosses urge people to get vaccinated
The NHS is bracing for its worst ever winter crisis in the next fortnight because of a worsening “flu-nami” that has left hospitals, GP surgeries and ambulances services under intense strain.
Hospitals are already treating record numbers of people seriously ill because of flu for the time of year. But things will get worse in the days ahead, NHS leaders said, as medical bosses urged people to get vaccinated against the virus so they can enjoy Christmas gatherings more safely.
Robert Milne, who joined the school as its “master” this summer, said the alleged behaviour was “at odds” with the modern-day school in a letter in which he said he understood why 28 former pupils had felt compelled to speak out.
Senior opponents of assisted dying legislation have called on peers not to hold up the progress of the bill through parliament, warning there was a serious danger of the Lords losing democratic legitimacy.
Many supporters now admit the bill is in serious danger of running out of time in the Lords before the end of the parliamentary session, meaning it will fail to pass, because of the slow pace of considering more than 1,000 amendments means the bill will probably run out of time for a vote.
Detectives release images of group after more than 600 items were taken from a storage facility in September
More than 600 artefacts from Bristol Museum’s British Empire and Commonwealth collection have been stolen in a “high-value burglary”, police have said.
Detectives with Avon and Somerset police said they wanted to speak to four men in connection with the incident and released CCTV images of the group.
Militaria including medals, badges and pins.
Jewellery including necklaces, bangles and rings.
Decorative art items including carved ivory, silver items and bronze figurines.
Natural history pieces including geological specimens.
Number of people in England being treated remains at record level for this time of year with daily average of 2,660
The NHS is facing its “worst-case scenario” for flu cases this month across England after the number of people in hospital with the illness increased by 55% in a week.
An average of 2,660 patients a day were in an NHS hospital bed with flu, up from 1,717 last week and the highest ever for this time of year. By comparison, in the same week last year the number of patients in hospital with flu stood at 1,861, compared with 402 in 2023.
It’s a scandal laid bare. A stark new report highlights the price paid in Britain’s former industrial heartlands for this silent piece of ministerial vandalism
The Welsh valleys have some of the highest numbers of people claiming incapacity benefits in the whole of Britain. In Abertillery, Maesteg and Merthyr Tydfil, getting on for a quarter of the working-age population is not employed – in large part due to long-term ill-health. If the government was serious about reducing the growing welfare bill, it would be starting here and in the other parts of the country blighted by deindustrialisation and poverty. It would identify the parts of the country most in need – Wales, Scotland and large swaths of northern England – and love-bomb them.
Yet instead of devoting more money to regional economic development, ministers are doing the opposite. In one of its less-publicised policy moves, Labour has quietly gutted the fund designed to create jobs, a scheme inherited from the Conservatives. The silent demolition job on regional policy is laid bare in a new report by Steve Fothergill, national director of the Industrial Communities Alliance, an umbrella group for the local authorities worst affected by the hollowing out of Britain’s industrial base and the closure of the coalfields.
Wartime defences in Surrey and model boat club boathouse in Birmingham among this year’s unusual listings
If Nazi tanks had ever attempted to invade Guildford, they surely would have been thwarted by concrete pyramid-shaped obstacles known as “dragon’s teeth”.
Eight decades after the defences were installed in Surrey woodland, their history is being remembered by Historic England (HE), which has included them on its list of remarkable historic places granted protection in 2025.
Exclusive: Letters with deepfake images of Carmen Lau in UK and targeting of Ted Hui in Australia part of growing harassment
Sexually explicit letters and “lonely housewife” posters about high-profile pro-democracy Hong Kong exiles have been sent to people in the UK and Australia, marking a ratcheting up in the transnational harassment faced by critics of the Chinese Communist party’s rule in the former British colony.
Letters purporting to be from Carmen Lau, an exiled pro-democracy activist and former district councillor, showing digitally faked images of her as a sex worker were sent to her former neighbours in Maidenhead in the UK in recent weeks.
Qualifications watchdog launches consultation amid complaints from pupils about writing fatigue in exams
Students could be sitting some of their GCSEs and A-levels on a laptop by the end of the decade, according to England’s qualifications watchdog.
Amid complaints from pupils of writing fatigue in exams because their hand muscles “are not strong enough”, Ofqual is launching a three-month public consultation about the introduction of onscreen assessments.
More than £10bn was committed to building new schools between 2014-15 and 2023-24, compared with £6.8bn for rebuilding existing schools
Conservative governments spent £325m creating 67 free schools that subsequently failed or disappeared, many through lack of demand, according to data revealed by a freedom of information request.
The figures from the Department for Education (DfE) show that the government committed more than £10bn to building new schools between 2014-15 and 2023-24, compared with £6.8bn for rebuilding existing schools, which critics say left England with a backlog of crumbling and decaying buildings.
BMA puts health secretary’s offer, which includes pledge to double number of extra training places, to resident doctors
Wes Streeting has made an improved offer to end the long-running dispute with resident doctors before their strike next week that threatens to bring chaos to the NHS as it battles a flu surge.
The health secretary has pledged to double the number of extra places that early career doctors in England can apply for in order to train in the area of medicine they have chosen to specialise in.
Women say fears were dismissed and help was unavailable at crucial moments during labour
Almost one in five women feel their concerns were not taken seriously by healthcare professionals during childbirth, according to the “concerning” results of a national survey of maternity experiences.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) survey of almost 17,000 women who gave birth across England in NHS settings this year found that 15% felt they had not been given relevant advice or support when they contacted a midwife at the start of their labour, while 18% said their concerns had not been taken seriously.
Cross-party group of MSPs says bill going through Holyrood could attract people from elsewhere in UK
Senior Scottish politicians fear there could be a risk of “death tourism” from terminally ill people travelling from other parts of the UK to end their lives in Scotland.
A cross-party group of MSPs, including the deputy first minister, Kate Forbes, said the looser controls on eligibility written into an assisted dying bill for Scotland could attract people who are unhappy with stricter rules planned for England and Wales.
They face long hours, mediocre pay and, at worst, no job, but their optimism is astonishing – let’s support them better
Prof Devi Sridhar is chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh
When I mentioned to colleagues in the NHS that I was helping with admissions interviews for medical students, several responded with the same wry smile and weary shrug: “Do they know what they’re getting into?” Anyone working with the health service over the past few decades has seen the job conditions get tougher, salaries stagnate and idealism erode within a crumbling system. Brexit, Covid, austerity and the rise in the cost of living haven’t helped.
From the students’ perspectives, they’ve gone through a lot to get here too. Not just the usual high-level academic performance and résumé-building either. This is a group who dealt with school closures and lockdowns during impressionable years, many come from crowded schools with little support and coaching, and yet they’ve found a way to persevere.
Prof Devi Sridhar is chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh
Fit Forever: Wellness for midlife and beyond: On Wednesday 28 January 2026, join Annie Kelly, Devi Sridhar, Joel Snape and Mariella Frostrup, as they discuss how to enjoy longer and healthier lives, with expert advice and practical tips. Book tickets here or at guardian.live
Wes Streeting’s plan to make booking easier made sense. Then I encountered an AI triagist, a stubborn receptionist and a Kafkaesque vicious circle
A couple of months ago the health secretary, Wes Streeting, rolled out his latest master plan to save the NHS. From 1 October, it became compulsory for all GP practices in England to offer the online option for patients to request non-urgent appointments or medical advice throughout core working hours (8am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday).
The doctors’ union might not have much liked it, but it made sense to regular punters like me. It seemed like a common sense means of avoiding the maddening early morning scramble for the few available appointments, hanging on for an age, only to be told all the slots have gone. Or worse, just have the phone go dead on you.
Simon Hattenstone is a features writer for the Guardian
Initial Kansas plan for US training base thrown into doubt
FA exploring alternative options on the east coast
The Football Association has sent operational staff to the US this week to scout for World Cup training camps amid concerns that England may lose their preferred site to the Netherlands.
Thomas Tuchel had cleared an FA plan for England to be based in Kansas after a pre-tournament training camp in Fort Lauderdale, but after last week’s draw there are concerns that the Netherlands will be allocated their chosen facility at Sporting Kansas City, a high-performance centre used by US Soccer.
Home secretary’s plans for a radical reshaping of policing in England and Wales could be delayed due to lack of funds
The home secretary’s ambitions for the biggest reforms to policing since the 1960s are being threatened by a lack of money, with plans being considered for the creation of Britain’s FBI and slashing the number of forces.
Shabana Mahmood believes a radical reshaping of policing in England and Wales is needed, with the number of forces covering local areas being reduced from 43 to as low as the “mid teens” over time.
Worcestershire council leader Jo Monk sent city councillor Ed Kimberley a cease and desist letter over his criticism of her
The leader of a Reform UK-run local authority has been criticised for an “authoritarian” attempt to silence opposition after sending a legal threat to a Labour councillor, demanding he stops mentioning her name in public.
Ed Kimberley, a Worcester city councillor, said he received the cease and desist letter from the leader of Worcestershire county council, Jo Monk, in late November.
In a boost for Rachel Reeves, deputy governor says analysis shows chancellor’s policies will lower annual rate next year
The Bank of England expects Rachel Reeves’s budget will reduce the UK’s headline inflation rate by as much as half a percentage point next year.
In a boost for the chancellor after last month’s high-stakes tax and spending statement, Clare Lombardelli, a deputy governor at the central bank, said its early analysis showed the policies would lower the annual inflation rate by 0.4 to 0.5 percentage points for a year from mid-2026.
More than 300 flood warnings or alerts across UK as homes left without power, sporting events cancelled and transport disrupted
Flights, trains and ferries were cancelled, motorists faced long delays and thousands of properties were left without power across the UK and Ireland after Storm Bram brought heavy rain and strong winds.
By Tuesday night, there were more than 300 flood warnings or alerts across the UK and sporting matches and festive events were cancelled because of the weather.
Why proposals for a shorter working week are winning over teachers and parents – despite the logistical headaches
“A wonderful idea”, “Bring it on!”, “Yes!”, “Brilliant!”, “Absolutely”. If enthusiasm were all it took to change policy, a four-day week in England’s schools would be all but guaranteed.
A Guardian report this week saying that the 4 Day Week Foundation has urged the government to pilot a four-day working week in schools in England and Wales to boost teacher wellbeing and recruitment attracted hundreds of thousands of readers.
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