“If Andy Burnham becomes Prime Minister, he should be brave enough to confront a system that has punished working households for too long”
Council tax is a relic of unfair Britain.
It asks too much from too many ordinary families while allowing owners of far more valuable homes to get off lightly. Andy Burnham must first win the right to govern. But if he becomes Prime Minister, he should be brave enough to confront a system that has punished working households for too long.
A family in a modest three-bed home can pay the same as someone living in a property worth ten times as much. That is not fair taxation. It is a broken deal.
Replacing council tax and stamp duty with a charge linked to property values would be a major reform, but the prize is worth it. If 18 million households could save more than £550 a year, that is real help in a cost-of-living crisis.
If Mr Burnham reaches Downing Street, he should make this the moment Britain finally builds a property tax system rooted in fairness, not outdated privilege.
Medical breakthrough
A new technique that pumps oxygenated blood and nutrients into donated organs could mean hundreds more transplants every year.
The first liver saved through this pilot has already been successfully transplanted after doctors were able to test and strengthen it before surgery. With more than 8,000 people on the transplant waiting list, and donor numbers still recovering after the pandemic, this breakthrough could not be more urgent.
If rolled out nationally, the new Assessment and Recovery Centres could deliver more than 700 extra transplants a year and make Britain a world leader in organ recovery.
Behind every statistic is a family praying for a second chance. This innovation offers exactly that: more hope, more life, and more precious time.
Seeing double
Twins Bill and John Bowdler are proof that two really can live as one.
For 82 years, they have dressed alike, worked alike, holidayed together and even had matching eye surgery. Their secret is simple: brotherly love, shared laughs and one major disagreement – brown sauce.
Even twins need boundaries.
