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culture

How to make a bestseller: insiders reveal the tricks of the book trade

From cover design to shelf placement and influencer partnerships … how publishers will persuade you to buy their books this autumn Think about the last book you bought. How did you choose it? Was it from a recommendation, a review, a TikTok video? Did the cover grab you, were you swayed by the quotes on the front, or did you just happen to spot it on an appealing table as you walked into the shop? Did you think about all the nudges that led you to that decision – by the publisher, the bookseller or that person you follow on Insta? The reality is that our reading choices are directed and massaged at every turn. “It’s all about the art of persuasion,” says Philip Gwyn Jones, who was a publisher for more than 30 years and is now a literary agent. And who are the persuaders? They’re the booksellers, the supermarket stock buyers, the publishing houses and their ranks of marketers and publicists. And, more recently, persuasion often comes from BookTokers and online influencers, social media videos, podcasts and Instagram posts. How is all this changing publishing?..

The Guardian • 8/29/2026, 8:00:21 AM
money

‘Winter panic’: EU gas stores at their lowest level in 13 years

As one of Europe’s biggest consumers of gas the UK may be particularly exposed to heightened price volatility Europe is on course to enter the cooler months with gas stores at their lowest level in 13 years, which has triggered “winter panic” among energy traders, experts have warned. The EU’s gas stocks were 63% full in the last week of August, well below the 80% average for late August over recent years and among the lowest levels ever recorded for this time of year...

The Guardian • 8/29/2026, 5:00:19 AM
money

An $18bn settlement – and Zuckerberg barely blinked. The tech titans must be stripped of their power, and soon | Jonathan Freedland

Those who said Meta harms children struck a blow, but the ability of big tech to gouge profits and cause harm is barely diminished. That’s the battle to come Follow the money. If you want to know how the tech giant Meta really feels about the $18bn it agreed to fork out to end a landmark lawsuit against it – an outcome widely hailed as a victory for campaigners – just look at its share price. It didn’t go down when word came on Wednesday that Meta had settled with the 29 US states that had argued that the company’s Facebook and Instagram platforms harmed children. On the contrary, Meta stock went up, initially surging by 5%, before levelling out at a gain of just over 1.25%. There could be no clearer proof that the money men reckon Meta dodged a bullet. To be sure, there was plenty to hearten those who have long believed that social media damages teenagers especially, whether by exposing them to content they shouldn’t see or by sapping their self-esteem, offering them filters that show how much prettier they would look if they had cosmetic surgery or giving them a metric of their popularity – and unpopularity – in the form of a running tally of “likes” and views. Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian columnist..

The Guardian • 8/28/2026, 4:10:15 PM
power

There is no challenge for BJP: Ram Madhav on the party’s next big goal | The Hindu Mind

Ram Madhav, BJP National Vice President and former General Secretary, speaks on the BJP’s growth over the last 12 years, the party’s future electoral ambitions, RSS at 100, Jammu & Kashmir statehood, Gen Z protests, social media politics, India’s neighbourhood policy, and the Ayodhya trust controversy. In this wide-ranging conversation, he shares his views on the BJP’s challenges, ideology, governance, and political strategy. Watch the full interview with Political Editor Nistula Hebbar for insights into the BJP’s roadmap, the RSS’s centenary year, youth politics, foreign policy, and key national issues.

The Hindu • 8/28/2026, 2:32:40 PM
culture

Li Jin Hao: Falling from a Moon review – comedy’s Mr Nostalgia is now the man of the moment

Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh In his award-nominated show, the standup ruminates on myth and memory with some lovely observations ‘There’s a moment when that ends,” muses Li Jin Hao, “and this begins …” As well as being jam-packed with swoonsome one-liners like that, Li’s show traces the tension between this and that; the draw the past exerts on this self-proclaimed Mr Nostalgia, versus the necessity of living in the present. Beginning with a yearning sun-and-moon myth learned at his granny’s knee, Li’s show – nominated for the Edinburgh comedy award – toggles between a day in his current London life and memories of his upbringing in east Asia, and a long-gone romance he can’t quite shake off. What makes the show distinctive, though, is the ruminative angle at which Li addresses his experiences, and the quality and consistency of its joke-writing – so many ravishing little insights revealing the world to us in shapes askew. It’s a leap forward from his 2024 debut, which signalled the talent but was sheepish in its delivery. The only thing sheepish here is the twisty livestock gag that opens Li’s show, with a swagger that marks a performer now in his element onstage...

The Guardian • 8/28/2026, 2:00:01 PM
power

CEOs earn 614 times more than workers at US’s 100 lowest-paying corporations

Analysis by Institute for Policy Studies found that between 2019 and 2025, CEO compensation increased 41.4% The average CEO of the US’s 100 largest, lowest-paying corporations earned 614 times more than their average worker last year, according to an analysis by the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS). IPS’s latest executive excess report analyzed compensation at the 100 S&P 500 corporations with the lowest median worker pay. Between 2019 and 2025, CEO compensation increased 41.4%, unadjusted for inflation, twice as much as the median worker pay increased at these firms during the same period, at 20.7%...

The Guardian • 8/27/2026, 11:00:13 AM
technology

Asian technology shares ride high on AI optimism after Nvidia’s ‘stunning’ results – business live

Investors breathe sigh of relief after AI bellwether Nvidia reports doubling in quarterly revenue to nearly $100bn Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the global economy, the financial markets, the eurozone and business. Asian technology shares rose after bumper results from the US chipmaker Nvidia last night. The AI juggernaut is rumbling on with Nvidia smashing through expectations, amid voracious demand for the tech backbone of the AI revolution. The results solidified high expectations for the company’s mega revenues going forward, and shares firmed up, leaving behind the post-results wobbles seen after previous updates. Given the might of Nvidia, which carries the largest weight of any company in the S&P 500, the results are closely watched as a gauge of sentiment towards AI adoption, and the prospects for the index, which so many portfolios track. Demand for its Blackwell chips has been particularly significant, showing that customers are continuing to spend heavily on Nvidia’s newest generation of AI accelerators rather than simply filling existing capacity. With demand still running ahead of supply, Blackwell is helping to power the next leg of the AI infrastructure build-out. Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium begins in the US 1.30pm BST: US Initial jobless claims for week to 22 August 1.30pm BST: US trade in goods for July..

The Guardian • 8/27/2026, 7:14:17 AM
climate

Plug-in balcony solar panels to go on sale in UK for first time

DIY system will be stocked by big retailers, starting with Argos, enabling more homes to lower bills by generating own electricity Plug-in solar panels will go on sale in the UK for the first time from Thursday, allowing households unable to use rooftop panels to also generate their own cheap electricity. Households across the country will be able to join the millions across mainland Europe who generate their own renewable electricity using “balcony solar panels”, which will be stocked by some of the UK’s biggest retailers...

The Guardian • 8/26/2026, 9:30:23 PM
business

The London stock market dodged a bullet with Shein | Nils Pratley

China’s fashion giant will list in Hong Kong with a shrunken price tag – and big questions over its business model In a parallel world, we might now be preparing for the arrival on the London stock market of Shein, the giant Chinese-founded fast-fashion retailer. Or it could have happened already. The possibility of a London flotation was a running story during 2024 and into last year as politicians from both main parties engaged in behind-the-scenes wooing. Shein was seen as a shot of tech adrenalin for a listless local listings scene, and an opportunity to advertise the UK’s openness to international capital...

The Guardian • 8/26/2026, 4:21:36 PM
climate

UK to warn citizens to stock up on food amid threat from climate crisis and hostile states

Government resilience campaign aims to ensure people can cope in a national disaster, in order to free resources for most vulnerable UK citizens will be told to stock up on tinned food and take steps to ensure they are prepared for national emergencies as part of a new government campaign to improve the nation’s resilience. The new campaign from the Cabinet Office will set out ways people can prepare for extreme weather events and potential attacks from hostile states, including stocking up on bottled water, sources told the Guardian...

The Guardian • 8/25/2026, 4:55:08 PM
climate

Europe’s heatwaves threaten insurers’ earnings, rating agency S&P says

Rise in claims linked to heat-related deaths and illness, especially among older people, could drive up premiums Europe’s intense heatwaves could hit insurers’ earnings as companies face a rise in claims linked to heat-related deaths and worsening health conditions, the rating agency S&P has said. While a long summer of extreme heat will have increased drought and wildfire-related claims, the rating agency said there would also be fallout for life and health insurers, and for the reinsurers who provide financial protection to insurance companies...

The Guardian • 8/25/2026, 4:00:48 AM
power

Ukraine showing ‘remarkable innovation’: Kyiv ‘holding front line’ while striking Russia’s economy

Genie Godula is pleased to welcome Samantha de Bendern, Associate Fellow at Chatham House, author, and political risk and financial consultant. Europe is taking increasingly consequential steps to support Ukraine, but de Bendern warns that they remain insufficient to address the country's fundamental vulnerability. The transfer of interceptor missiles and the prospect of producing Storm Shadow/SCALP missiles domestically represent significant shifts, particularly as US Patriot stocks become increasingly constrained. Yet the larger question is whether Ukraine's allies are prepared to move beyond supplying weapons towards actively helping to protect Ukrainian airspace. That debate reaches back to the earliest weeks of the full-scale invasion: even after President Biden warned in 2022 of an imminent Russian attack, Kyiv's allies ruled out enforcing a no-fly zone, fearing that direct engagement between NATO and Russian forces could escalate into a wider war with Moscow.

France 24 • 8/24/2026, 1:32:21 PM
business

Fast-fashion giant Shein lowers value to $27bn for Hong Kong IPO

China-based retailer swung to $99m loss in first quarter and faces scrutiny over its environmental footprint Business live – latest updates Shein, which built a fast-fashion empire on what seemed like impossibly low prices, has been forced to lower its own valuation in a cut-price stock market float, after falling into the red earlier this year. The online retailer will list on the Hong Kong stock exchange on 1 September at a valuation of close to $27bn (£19.8bn), significantly down from a near-$100bn private market peak four years ago...

The Guardian • 8/24/2026, 8:46:52 AM
business

Back on track: can Burnham fix the north’s woeful rail services?

From a new high-speed line to better intercity links, the PM has a chance to tackle problems he criticised as Manchester mayor For passenger rail travel, the north of England was the future, once. But since that first train from Darlington to Stockton in 1825, many have felt short-changed. As one angry passenger put it, 200 years later: “What is it about the rail industry which makes them think they can treat passengers in the north as second-class citizens?” That complaint came from the former mayor of Greater Manchester, who frequently set out a different vision for the train services he would like. Now that Andy Burnham is in No 10, he has the opportunity to win those battles – or perhaps see them a little differently. For now, what unresolved issues could the railway expect to be pursued with greater urgency?..

The Guardian • 8/21/2026, 5:00:26 AM
money

Anxiety over war, wildfires and cyber-attacks leads to growth in cash stocks in EU

Value of banknotes in circulation rises from €1bn in 2016 to €1.6bn in 2026 as people advised to keep stash of cash The number of banknotes in circulation in the EU is increasing despite widespread smartphone payments, new data shows, with wildfires ripping through parts of Europe fuelling demand for an emergency stash of cash. While cash plays second fiddle to contactless payments in many cities across Europe, the amount in circulation is actually going up, Philip Lane, the chief economist of the European Central Bank (ECB), said at the MacGill summer school conference in Ireland...

The Guardian • 8/21/2026, 4:00:24 AM
business

China: Robots box and dance at Beijing's 2026 World Robot Conference

More than 300 companies are displaying humanoid robots, industrial machines, service robots and other forms of embodied artificial intelligence at the Beijing's 2026 World Robot Conference. The five-day event kicked off on August 19, coinciding with Unitree's stock-market debut. The company, China's best-known humanoid robot maker, saw shares increase nearly six-fold on opening day. The conference comes as robotics emerges as a new front in the US-China rivalry.

France 24 • 8/20/2026, 12:37:36 PM
climate

It's finally raining, but the drought's not over

After a summer that has seen England and Wales experience the driest July since records began, rain is finally on the horizon. But with reservoirs at ‘exceptionally low’ levels, will there be enough rain to replenish stocks? Madeleine Finlay hears from Dr Anna Murgatroyd, a lecturer in hydrology at Newcastle University, about how much rain we need to see us through next summer, why we’re now at increased risk of floods, and what we can all be doing to take better care of our water supplies..

The Guardian • 8/20/2026, 12:27:48 PM
climate

The threatening thaw: climate professor on heatwave risks to tipping point of permafrost

Prof Gustaf Hugelius warns wildfires could accelerate release of methane and carbon as vast regions approach irreversible thresholds Heatwaves and wildfires are not just scorching forests, they are adding to the tipping point risks in the world’s vast permafrost regions, which contain three times more carbon than all the living vegetation on Earth. This is a major concern for Gustaf Hugelius, a professor at the Bolin Centre of Climate Research at Stockholm University, Sweden, and a leading authority on the risks from thawing tundra and peatlands. In this Q&A, he explains why the world should pay attention...

The Guardian • 8/20/2026, 4:00:43 AM
climate

It’s finally raining. Will it be enough to end the drought? – podcast

After a summer that has seen England and Wales experience the driest July since records began, rain is finally on the horizon. But with reservoirs at ‘exceptionally low’ levels, will there be enough rain to replenish stocks? Madeleine Finlay hears from Dr Anna Murgatroyd, a lecturer in hydrology at Newcastle University, about how much rain we need to see us through next summer, why we’re now at increased risk of floods, and what we can all be doing to take better care of our water supplies Support the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod..

The Guardian • 8/20/2026, 4:00:42 AM
business

UK inflation increases in July driven by a surge in gas costs; oil prices rise again – business live

Brent crude approaches $92 a barrel; Asian shares slump after Wall Street chip sell-off Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the global economy, the financial markets, the eurozone and business. It’s UK inflation day! 9.30am BST: UK Private rents and house prices for July 8.10am BST: European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde speaks 10am BST: Eurozone inflation final for July 7pm BST: US Federal Reserve minutes of last meeting..

The Guardian • 8/19/2026, 6:12:54 AM
money

Chelsea’s boardroom rift: if Boehly goes who will Clearlake have left to blame? | Sam Cunningham

Despite another reset with a new manager and fresh strategy, the boardroom drama persists at Stamford Bridge Perhaps, in hindsight, it was always going to end this way. As some of the world’s wealthiest investors scrambled to find funds after Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine set a series of dominoes toppling that forced Roman Abramovich to sell Chelsea, it threw together some unexpected allies. Todd Boehly became the public face of the winning bid, convincing US sports mogul Mark Walter and Swiss businessman Hansjörg Wyss to join as 12.8% minority investors. Private equity firm Clearlake Capital put in 61.6%, bringing owners Behdad Eghbali and José E Feliciano, who made their fortunes investing in tech, into the leadership fold...

The Guardian • 8/18/2026, 4:53:13 PM
business

Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley tightens hold on Hugo Boss

Frasers Group increases stake in German fashion house to 48%, after buying Harvey Nichols chain last week The retail billionaire Mike Ashley has given the latest indication that his summer shopping spree may be far from over, after he increased his stake in the luxury giant Hugo Boss to nearly half. Ashley’s Frasers Group, which last week bought Harvey Nichols department stores for a reported £40m, increased its shareholding in the German fashion house to 48%, falling short of taking full control. In June, the British billionaire made a nearly €2bn (£1.73bn) takeover offer for the luxury group, but its board rejected Frasers’ bid as “inadequate” and urged shareholders not to accept Ashley’s offer. The new, higher stake is a result of 17.6% of shareholders accepting Ashley’s offer, which amounted to €38 a share. That bid reflected only a 4% premium to Hugo Boss’s shares when it was tabled. Axel Rudolph, an analyst at the investing platform IG, said it was “another major step towards gaining control” of Hugo Boss. Ashley’s new shareholding puts Frasers “firmly in the driving seat as it looks to increase its influence”, he added...

The Guardian • 8/18/2026, 8:49:21 AM
business

Cooling UK labour market ‘questions need’ for Bank of England rate hikes; grocery inflation slows to two-year low – business live

Brent crude climbs above $91 a barrel as US-Iran ceasefire ends Grocery inflation in the UK has slowed to the lowest rate in almost two years, bringing some relief to households, a monthly survey shows (ahead of tomorrow’s official inflation data). Inflation at supermarkets and other grocers eased for a fifth month, to 2.1% in the four weeks to 9 August – the lowest since October 2024, according to Worldpanel by Numerator. With inflation slowing again, this marks the fifth consecutive month of easing prices. Shoppers are feeling the relief with 39% now feeling financially comfortable, marking the highest level of financial confidence since November 2021. But it’s by no means the same picture for all, with 20% reporting that they are struggling, and this has a clear impact on spending decisions. Among these households, 30% are more likely to prioritise grocery essentials over additional summer spending such as holidays and travel. The continued heat across the UK has certainly impacted the way people are eating and drinking. Earlier this summer we saw that mealtimes were being pushed later in the day, with 13% of evening meals now eaten after 8pm. Shoppers have been trying to stay cool this month, with soft drinks growing 15.1% in spend, while the freezer aisle saw shoppers stocking up on ice cream, sorbet and frozen fruit to beat the heat. A brighter spot was that the rate of youth unemployment came down to 16.2% in June. This is relatively good news, but the data are volatile and so we would perhaps not place too much weight on one month’s data. Moreover of course this is a high level, which has climbed by over 2.5 percentage points over the past two years. It’s encouraging to see signs of progress in the latest figures, with employment on the up and a continued fall in unemployment rate. We will continue to reform welfare and employment support so that more people can live independently and restore opportunity across the country...

The Guardian • 8/18/2026, 8:06:25 AM
business

Smart glasses controversy sidelines the benefits for disabled people | Letter

Guardian readers reflect on the ableism rife in the debate about Ray-Ban Meta eyewear, despite the life-changing difference they can make Your editorial on Meta’s smart glasses acknowledges their value to blind and visually impaired people, then asks that this “not be allowed to distract” from the harms (The Guardian view on Meta’s smart glasses: regulators must get on the front foot, 10 August). As an optometrist who owns a small independent practice, I’d suggest that it is visually impaired people who are being treated as the distraction. I was reluctant to stock Ray‑Ban Meta, having no fondness for Meta or Luxottica, but colleagues persuaded me of the benefits for people with sight impairment. The reality has surpassed that. The majority of our buyers have a visual impairment or learning difficulty. One man, practically illiterate, now has the world read to him...

The Guardian • 8/14/2026, 3:22:59 PM
business

US firms that kept DEI policies despite ‘go woke, go broke’ threats thrived

Exclusive: Companies that kept policies did just as well financially, even after Trump’s executive order, as those that didn’t Conservative backlash was supposed to put an end to the diversity, inclusion and equity (DEI) movement as companies were warned “go woke, go broke”. In January 2025, Donald Trump delivered a death knell, ending DEI within the federal government with executive orders and threatening to target companies that still supported it. Companies including Google, Goldman Sachs, McDonald’s and Walmart that had embraced DEI years earlier fell into line and announced an end to their policies...

The Guardian • 8/14/2026, 11:00:27 AM
culture

Come Back Home review – loss and love in Palestinian artist’s intriguing fringe hour

Summerhall, Edinburgh Fadi Murad’s unconventional drama is a collage structured with the free-form imagination of a poet Last year, a group of Scottish producers staged a four-day mini festival called Welcome to the Fringe, Palestine. One of the excerpts was a scratch performance by Fadi Murad, which now returns as a full-length show. It is not a conventional drama. Rather, Come Back Home is structured with the free-ranging imagination of a poet, an impressionistic collage that resists straightforward interpretation. Murad’s theme is one of loss and the pull of home, focusing in particular on the death of his mother in a car accident when he was nine. He speaks touchingly from a child’s perspective of what it meant to lose the nurturer in his life, the one he turned to in just such a moment of distress. And he shares video footage of his younger self singing Mad World by Tears for Fears at her memorial. It is as cute as it is sad. At Summerhall, Edinburgh, until 31 August All our Edinburgh festival reviews..

The Guardian • 8/13/2026, 7:00:06 PM
business

Top Forbes editor reportedly fired after receiving $6m from business associate

Randall Lane left his job last month after accepting money from founder of firm that does business with magazine The top editor of Forbes left his job last month and was reportedly dismissed for accepting $6m from the founder of a firm that does business with the magazine. The New York Times reported this week that Randall Lane was paid by RJ Shook, whose company, Shook Research, worked with Forbes since 2016 to publish rankings of wealth advisers. The payment was made after Shook sold a majority stake in the company to a private equity firm a year ago...

The Guardian • 8/13/2026, 6:16:42 PM
business

Tesla paid Elon Musk 2.5m times more as CEO than its average worker in 2025

Tech billionaire’s $158.3bn deal an outlier in report showing widening gap of CEO to worker pay at top companies Elon Musk received over 2.5m times as much compensation at Tesla as the company’s average worker, according to a new report on the growing gap between top corporate executives and their workers. Musk’s $158.3bn pay deal was an outlier but came as the gap between CEO and worker pay continued to grow. Excluding Musk, last year the average ratio of CEO to worker pay for the top S&P 500 companies was 312 to 1, up from a 285:1 ratio in 2024. With Musk, the average pay ratio was 5,387:1, according to the executive pay watch report released this week by the AFL-CIO, the largest federation of labor unions in the US...

The Guardian • 8/13/2026, 4:31:14 PM
science

What can we learn from eclipses?

A total solar eclipse will sweep across northern Spain on August 12 in one of Europe's most anticipated astronomical events of the decade. From the Sun's corona to animal behaviour and human emotions, these rare celestial events continue to provide scientists with valuable insights more than two millennia after they were first observed. Head of Space Science at the Centre National d'Études Spatiales, Olivier Joie-La Marle, shares further insights.

France 24 • 8/12/2026, 12:05:40 PM
technology

If the markets reject OpenAI and Anthropic, the US should nationalize them | Bruce Schneier and Nathan E Sanders

From space to telecommunications, the US has a long history of fostering technology for the public good. These AI models could be aligned to democratic values, not corporate profits OpenAI, and then Anthropic, were each formed by AI developers who feared unrestrained corporate AI development – specifically, that companies like Google and Meta would steer the technology towards deleterious, maybe even catastrophically unsafe, outcomes for society. Their founders proclaimed that their new labs, uniquely, could be trusted to develop the technology in humanity’s best interest. But each, in turn, were themselves co-opted by the same market incentives, themselves becoming corporate behemoths zealously guarding future investor value rather than the public interest. It was only a few weeks ago, in June, when OpenAI and Anthropic each filed for their IPOs and were met with buzz about trillion-dollar valuations. The hype around their valuations is so extreme that many worry about their potential for concentrating wealth on a global scale. In an effort to leave something for the rest of us, some observers have proposed that the federal government seize a share of these companies’ stock to create a US sovereign wealth fund, or redistribute their revenues to produce a dividend for taxpayers...

The Guardian • 8/12/2026, 10:00:26 AM
world

Key US primary races take shape

Tuesday was primary election day in six US states, with both major parties holding runoffs in several races. In Minnesota, the progressive Lieutenant Governor defeated Representative Angie Craig in the Democratic Senate primary, while Wisconsin’s Republican gubernatorial primary remains too close to call. Also in Minnesota, eccentric Donald Trump-endorsed businessman Mike Lindell lost the Republican governor’s primary to House Speaker Lisa Demuth. And in South Carolina, Darlene Graham advanced to the Republican Senate runoff to succeed her late brother, Lindsay Graham, who died suddenly last month. France 24 International Affairs Editor Kethevane Gorjestani shares further insights.

France 24 • 8/12/2026, 9:07:39 AM
business

Rush to find solar eclipse glasses as UK high street stocks run short

Some online shoppers may have left it too late to order – but you can view partial eclipse indirectly without specs A frantic rush is on across the UK to find the right kind of protective eyewear ahead of Wednesday’s partial solar eclipse. High street stores are running out of eclipse glasses and online shoppers who track down a pair are being told they may not reach them until the end of the week. In other words, in plenty of time for the next comparable UK eclipse – in 2081 – but no good at all for Wednesday’s show...

The Guardian • 8/10/2026, 2:47:48 PM
culture

The culture surrounding ‘ideal’ childbirth has to evolve | Letters

Molly O’Brien responds to an article by Natalie Morris about her five-day labour, while an NHS doctor shares her personal experience of feeling ‘othered’ It is not clear whether Natalie Morris’s labour began spontaneously or was induced (By day five of my labour, I didn’t want an ‘ideal birth’. I only wanted to survive, 6 August). Nevertheless, what is described is not a debate about “ideal birth”, but an account of undiagnosed labour dystocia. By day four she had contractions but no cervical dilatation, was exhausted, unable to sit down, and knew instinctively she needed help. These are features of pathophysiology that should have prompted reassessment. That failure was not ideology. It was a lack of education and training among both midwives and doctors in recognising difficult labour, also known as labour dystocia. This same issue, with tragic consequences, was highlighted in the Nottingham maternity review. That system’s failure receives far less attention than the “culture wars” surrounding birth...

The Guardian • 8/9/2026, 4:25:19 PM