Monday’s ‘make or break’ speech was one of the PM’s best but the signs are that most Labour MPs have already seen enough

• What did Keir Starmer say in ‘last chance’ speech to save his premiership?

Was that it? Reset number … I forget where we’re up to now. Much the same as the last reset. And probably much the same as the next reset. That’s if there is one. The signs are that most Labour MPs think they’ve seen enough. That Keir Starmer has run out of road. He certainly seems to be running out of friends. Down to a few ultra-loyalists. And he can’t even trust those who want him to stay, as they are probably only biding their time until Andy Burnham is in Westminster and can launch a leadership challenge.

There’s a sadness here. Because Monday’s “make or break” speech was one of Starmer’s best. But it was always going to end in heartbreak, because Starmer can’t roll back the last two years. He can’t stop a leadership race that has in effect already started.

The last survivors of the blitz share their stories to mark 85 years since it ended. It is a hugely moving film that is all too relevant today – but what a privilege it is to witness

Over the decades since the second world war, the “blitz spirit” has been in danger of becoming a slightly trite article of national faith. Most recently invoked during the Covid-19 pandemic, it is used to imply a uniquely British pluck; the notion of stoicism as a resource that the UK can always call upon in times of adversity.

Inevitably, the “blitz spirit” is a phrase most commonly used by people who don’t remember the blitz. This is partly because anyone who can remember the blitz is now at least in their late 80s. But it’s also because, as a lived experience, the blitz was clearly not something that lent itself to sentimental homilies. This wonderful, moving film is, for both of those reasons, a hugely important piece of social history. The voices of these witnesses to the Luftwaffe’s “lightning war” are variously lyrical, wistful, resolute and deeply regretful. We see them as they play with grandchildren, visit old haunts, attend yoga classes. Their wartime experiences are clearly a backdrop to their lives but very present all the same. They are offered up not quite as a corrective to national myths, but certainly with a harder edge than is customary; as a sobering reminder that to evoke the blitz is to evoke deep trauma.

Aditya Chakrabortty on the Labour leader’s predicament – and if he may be the last prime minister of the two-party system

In these highly polarised times, dunking on the prime minister – and this PM in particular – is the one thing that seems to unite people in fury, disappointment and loathing. So as he rolled his sleeves up to address the nation on Monday morning, after one of the worst election results in Labour’s history, Keir Starmer had quite the job on his hands.

The Guardian columnist Aditya Chakrabortty was watching – and wincing. “There are times when I watch Keir Starmer promising he’s going to change,” he said. “He looks to me like a guy on the verge of divorce, holding flowers from the nearest petrol station and saying: 'Trust me. Honestly, it’s going to be different this time. Honestly, love, stick with me.’” But why does there seem to be such antagonism towards the Labour leader – and can anyone guide the party out of the mess they have found themselves in?

Keir Starmer kicked off the day with a speech aimed at persuading MPs against launching any kind of leadership challenge. By lunchtime, Angela Rayner was speaking at the CWU conference calling for Andy Burnham to return. In the afternoon the list of MPs calling on him to resign was slowly creeping up but no challenge has materialised. Why is the Labour party in such a muddle over Starmer?

After years of upheaval, English National Opera is staging its first new opera in its northern base: the Pulitzer-winning Angel’s Bone, about two angels brutally exploited by human traffickers. We talk to its creators

I’m peering into a vast hangar teeming with tech crew wearing hi-vis and hard hats. Enormous lighting rigs hang low to the ground. Somewhere out of sight is the biggest lift in Europe, allowing articulated lorries to drive straight in. This is the Warehouse in Manchester’s Aviva Studios. Since opening in 2023, this arts venue run by Factory International has presented gigs by major pop acts, the largest ever show by cult Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama and a “sprawling four-hour odyssey through often naked rituals” by performance artist Marina Abramović. Now, for the first time, it’s hosting opera.

More precisely, it’s about to host English National Opera’s first production created in and for Manchester: the UK premiere of Angel’s Bone by Chinese-American composer Du Yun and Canadian librettist Royce Vavrek, staged by acclaimed Australian director Kip Williams. The opera won the 2017 Pulitzer prize, commended as a “harrowing allegory for human trafficking in the modern world” following its 2016 world premiere in the US.

The GB News commentator Sophie Corcoran’s case against 10,000 Interns is part of a broader strategy of anti-DEI lawfare imported from Trump’s US

If our culture wars are to reach a nadir, it may be this single, absurd moment: a white female influencer is moving to sue a positive action charity over anti-white discrimination.

This is the basis on which the GB News commentator Sophie Corcoran is bringing a legal case against the 10,000 Interns Foundation, which helps to organise internship opportunities for young black people and other ethnic minorities. Corcoran says that she applied for a programme run by the foundation and the Bar Council, as she had been “exploring a legal career”, only to be rejected. The legal action claims that Corcoran faced a loss of employment opportunity, as well as discrimination in violation of the Equality Act.

Jason Okundaye is an assistant Opinion editor at the Guardian

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Exclusive: Yvette Cooper and Shabana Mahmood believed to be among those telling PM to oversee orderly departure hours after he said he would fight any challenge

Keir Starmer’s grip on power appeared to be slipping away on Monday as cabinet ministers urged him to set out a timetable for his departure and more than 70 Labour MPs publicly called for him to stand down.

The prime minister warned the country would “never forgive” Labour for plunging into the chaos of a leadership election – and that he intended to prove his doubters inside and outside the party wrong.

US president says he is considering restarting naval escorts in strait of Hormuz in attempt to end Iranian blockade

Donald Trump has said the ceasefire with Iran is on “life support” and that he is considering restarting US navy military escorts of ships through the strait of Hormuz in an attempt to end the Iranian blockade of the vital waterway.

The US president dismissed Iran’s peace proposals as stupid, and denied he was under any domestic pressure to reach a deal.

Dip in credit card spending in April, particularly on travel, suggests Britons preparing for harder times amid Iran war fallout

Households cut back on their spending in April at the fastest pace in 18 months, as the conflict in the Middle East provoked fears of another cost of living crisis, a report from one of the UK’s biggest banks has suggested.

Barclays, which processes nearly 40% of the UK’s credit and debit card transactions, said its data showed there had been a 0.1% fall in card spending last month compared with a year earlier. This was the first year-on-year fall since November 2024.

Research from UCL suggests visiting art galleries or museums, singing and painting can help improve health outcomes

Singing, painting or visiting a gallery or museum helps people age more slowly, according to the latest study to link taking an active interest in art and culture with improved health.

The findings are the first to show that both participating in arts activities and attending events, such as viewing an exhibition, lead to people staying biologically younger.