Grace

Golf, tennis, hiking, camping, cooking, reading

[Grace @Grace147kl]

Today's morning workout is done. Staying disciplined is the best investment you can make in yourself.

[CNN @CNN]

Wildfires continued to rage across the southwest Gironde region in France on Tuesday. Firefighters and local civilians battled the flames that have already displaced more than 200,000 people. CNN’s Nada Bashir reports.

Track the fires: https://t.co/Jkp44gA5uq

[Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський @ZelenskyyUa]

I have already arrived in the United States. Our schedule includes meetings with President Trump, his team, and those who can support our defense. Our number-one priority is anti-ballistic defense and strategic cooperation with America. Peace needs to be brought closer.

Of course, on behalf of all of Ukraine, we will honor the memory of Senator Lindsey Graham. Together with everyone attending the ceremony in Washington, we will remember his commitment to security and freedom across the transatlantic community and around the world.

Thank you to everyone who helps protect lives!

[Politics Global @PolitlcsGlobal]

🚨🇩🇪 NEW: Germany has deported an Afghan national without a criminal ​record for the first time since ‌the Taliban returned to power

Authorities deported 31 Afghan nationals on Tuesday, 30 of which had criminal convictions

[@Reuters]

[BBC News (UK) @BBCNews]

Zelensky to press Trump on air defences while in Washington https://t.co/vV6r9AG1qi

[Damian Low @DamianLow3]

Andy Burnham's first week suggests he understands something that Westminster has forgotten.

People don't vote for governments because they understand macroeconomics. They vote for governments that make them feel somebody is finally on their side.

The headlines have been about cheaper energy bills, lower bus fares and support for pubs, clubs and high streets. None of those policies, in isolation, will solve Britain's long-term economic problems. But judging them purely on that basis misses what I think Burnham is trying to achieve.

This isn't just about policy. It's about political sequencing.

Too many governments begin by asking people to be patient while they pursue long-term reform. Burnham appears to be taking the opposite approach. Demonstrate that government can make everyday life a little easier first, then use that trust to tackle the more difficult reforms that inevitably follow.

That matters because people don't experience politics through GDP forecasts, productivity statistics or Treasury statements. They experience it through the bills they pay, the bus they catch to work and whether the local businesses they value are still there next year.

Of course, there is an obvious caveat. Britain still faces profound structural challenges. Weak productivity, an ageing population, housing shortages, strained public finances and difficult choices on tax, planning and public sector reform. No Prime Minister can avoid those forever, and retail politics is no substitute for serious economic reform.

But the reverse is equally true. Structural reform is politically much harder if voters don't first believe government understands the pressures they're under. Trust isn't built by telling people to wait for a better future. It's built by showing them that government can still improve life in the present.

Whether Burnham succeeds will ultimately depend on what happens over the next five years, not the first five days. But if his opening week is anything to go by, he seems to understand something many modern governments have forgotten.

Before you ask people to support difficult change, you first have to give them a reason to believe change is worth supporting.

[Nigel Farage @Nigel_Farage]

The biggest taxpayers are leaving the UK in droves, that means that everyone else has to pay more.

The Tories started it and Labour have continued. Madness.

https://t.co/zII6BNkUQL

[Andy Burnham @andyburnham]

This is the issue governments keep putting off. That ends now.

[BBC Breaking News @BBCBreaking]

People trapped inside shopping centre after strong earthquake hits south Japan, officials say https://t.co/2HKGifaRdU

[Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський @ZelenskyyUa]

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Andy Burnham @andyburnham and I met with Ukrainian and British sailors in Portsmouth. They had just completed the multinational Sea Breeze exercises together. It is very important that our units have demonstrated a high level of preparedness in maritime demining. Our country is drawing ever closer to the NATO countries, and there is no doubt that our Navy – and the Armed Forces as a whole – are contributing to our shared security in Europe through their knowledge and skills. I thank our warriors for their service and professionalism. I am grateful to the United Kingdom and to all our partners for their support.

[Sky News @SkyNews]

Armed officers to patrol UK's largest Pride event amid safety fears

https://t.co/GVLt8MJ0GZ

[BBC News (UK) @BBCNews]

MP's shock as French warship in Channel 'fires shots' https://t.co/IJDdbNR7pp

[Politics UK @PolitlcsUK]

🚨 NEW: Andy Burnham will meet Ed Davey virtually later today to discuss social care reform

Kemi Badenoch can’t make it, so Shadow Health Secretary Stuart Andrew will attend instead

[BBC Politics @BBCPolitics]

Lucy Powell says student loan system at top of in-tray https://t.co/jCgF0vy9T0

[Grace @Grace147kl]

Good morning

[Politics UK @PolitlcsUK]

She told the BBC: "I think it's not just about the threshold of when people start to pay it back, but also the interest rate which is RPI [retail prices index] plus 3%.

"I think I've called it in the past egregious and I'm not going to change my opinion on that just because I'm now the secretary of state.

"The government has committed to a review of that, it's very much at the top of my in-tray as the secretary of state, and I want to make sure we look at this so it's fair for students"

She said it's a "real cost-of-living issue" for young people because "they're paying high repayments and never, ever paying off the capital of their student loan"

Pressed on whether it is something she will look at, she said "yes. I can't make any promises, but it needs looking at"

[Politics UK @PolitlcsUK]

🚨 NEW: Andy Burnham confirms his rescue dog Axel will not move into No 10

It means Larry the Cat will be the only animal in Downing Street for the first time in 7 years

[BBC News (UK) @BBCNews]

Ex political advisor admits fraud over expense claims https://t.co/TAmZOJgkeE

[BBC News (World) @BBCWorld]

Japanese reactor decommissioning to bring jobs to UK https://t.co/nPT528Iwz2

[Sky News @SkyNews]

BREAKING: Labour has drawn level with Reform UK in a YouGov poll following the takeover of Andy Burnham as party leader and prime minister.

Sky's @SamCoatesSky reports