Dear Lush (cc Chelmsford City Council), As a woman who had half a breast removed last year due to cancer, I am writing to raise my concerns about your “Proud of My Stripes” window display. I am also, on behalf of other women who have experienced breast cancer, respectfully requesting its removal. Because mastectomies are not a fashion statement, an identity marker or something to be celebrated. They are something women undergo because they are ill, because they are frightened, because they are trying to stay alive. Around 59,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer in the UK every year. Many will undergo surgery - a mastectomy, lumpectomy or other procedure. Others choose preventive mastectomies because they carry a high-risk BRCA gene mutation. If a woman chooses to have her breasts removed to affirm a gender identity, that is her personal choice. I honestly don’t know the number of women who have elective mastectomies for this reason. What I do know is that it is a tiny number compared with those for whom breast surgery is medically necessary and not something to be celebrated. I think I speak for many women who have experienced breast cancer - and for their families - when I say this: Breast removal surgery is not something I regard as cute, playful or empowering. Nor is it something I believe retailers should be celebrating. For that reason, I am requesting that the display be removed and that @ChelmsCouncil apologise for promoting it on social media. Yours sincerely, Janet Murray

When people ask me for advice on standing for election, the first thing I say is “Don’t do it unless you have a purpose. If you think being an MP will be fun, you’ll soon be disabused. But if are working towards a goal, you’ll be able to shrug off all the insults and inconveniences.” Al Carns is a good example of someone who has gone into politics with a purpose. You don’t lightly step away from commanding the SBS or turn down a senior one-star field appointment. His purpose is plain enough: he wants to reverse the decades-long downgrading of our Armed Forces. Some MPs will respect his integrity; others will resent the mirror that he holds up to their own motives. We’ll find out soon enough which response is more common.

Makerfield: Reform and its media supporters argue a Burnham victory in Makerfield would be disastrous and that they are the only ones who can stop him. A few points in that: 1) Regardless of why they did it, Reform, in fact, created the conditions in which Starmer got his huge majority in 2024. That is the reason Starmer has been able to do so much harm and, indeed, why we may end up with Burnham as PM. 2) it’s also the reason - despite what Reform tell you - there will not be an early general election. No Labour leader would be so stupid as to call one now with such a massive majority. That majority would get slashed or they’d lose. 3) Reform fought the local elections on “Vote Reform, get Starmer out!” Now Reform, in effect, is saying “Vote Reform, stop Burnham, keep Starmer in!” 4) What would actually be the difference between a Starmer government and a Burnham government? - Starmer governs like a timid senior barrister managing wondering what is defensible. - Burnham thinks like a local politician trying to build legitimacy and public support. - In practice, the two governments would sound and present quite differently, but policies wouldn’t be much different. So, does it much matter if Burnham wins or loses in Makerfield? No, not much. We’ll still have a Labour government with a massive majority in the HoC and its policies will not change significantly, albeit the presentation will be quite different. 5) Is Restore Britain splitting the vote? I guess you can argue it is, but only if some voters prefer Restore to any other party. Surely that’s their choice. What Reform and those saying that Restore should stand down are effectively arguing is that those voters should not be offered that choice. Is that democratic? I think not. 6) Are Reform the only ones who can win and stop Burnham? No. Even if you still think it makes any difference to the country if Burnham wins or loses - which it won’t - Reform is not the only party that can win. The party that gets the most votes will win. So if you want that party to be the Monster Raving Looney Party, vote for them. 7) THE MAIN POINT: You’ve been told all these things and, frankly misled by Reform’s leadership because they want your vote. Nothing more, nothing less. First they said “Vote for us and destroy the Tories (and incidentally give Starmer a huge majority)” which many of you did. Then they said “Vote for us, get Starmer out” which many of you did”. Now they tell you “Vote for us, stop Burnham (and keep Starmer)” And tell me… what in all that time has improved for the country. SUGGESTION Make history in Makerfield. Break the model of manipulation. Don’t vote tactically because a manipulative politician tells you it’s your only option - it is not. Don’t vote against a party or to stop a particular candidate. Vote for the party you actually would like to win.

Revealing that on @bbclaurak this morning none of the panel - Carns, Kidron and Madeley - could answer how they would find the extra money needed for Defence. It's very easy to criticise government but much more difficult to govern

The British Left now has a death wish.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. It takes Kemi about 3 years to copy the rest of us. Unable to come up with their own ideas the Tories are putting out a half-baked, heart- hearted copy of what Reform announced 6 months ago. But of course, like typical Tories, it doesn’t go far enough and won’t fix the problem. Leaving the ECHR, banning the hate marches, Grooming Gangs, two tier policing and now the Equality Act. Every time, in government, she was implacably opposed but now hopes that no-one will remember. Some of us had the guts to do what was necessary at the time- when it was hard, but vital, and would make a difference. Others didn’t.

Lack of unity on the Right of British politics may well lead the country into dystopian disaster. We desperately need change. We need less, more efficient, govt and bureaucracy. We need fiscal realism and an admission that the economy is in fact bust and public spending can't continue as it does.

😤 “Stupid” was ramming the Constitution for Europe through as the Lisbon Treaty despite its rejection by electorates. 🤷🏻‍♂️Otherwise, I’d never have become a Eurosceptic. 💡I hope @FT looks up “affective polarisation” and “fundamental attribution error”. @profpauldolan may help.

If Labour are to be beaten, if Britain is to be unbroken, Reform, Restore & Conservative must form an alliance. With such an alliance, Britain just might be saved. There is no reason why it should not include some former Labour and Lib Dems. National survival is now at stake.

Something isn’t right in our police service. To fix the problem, we have to first accept that there is one.

The Attorney General says some people who want to remove human rights law for small boat migrants seem to want to 'let people drown in the water’. Lord Hermer tells @bbcnickrobinson 'some of the rhetoric is deeply, deeply concerning’.

Missing Mandelson messages from minister Darren Jones revealed bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1w2… - this is what he said to us about those ‘warm messages’ a few weeks ago 👇🏼

A change of Labour leader won’t save Britain. Until we break culture of welfare dependency, stop letting activist stakeholders dictate policy, reward hard work and success instead of punishing it and end untouchable status of the NHS, the country will keep declining