The Guardian Opinion

For the super-rich with cash to burn, all those Rolexes and rare Labubus may not fill the void. But for me, a little goes a long wayWhen wages have stalled for nearly 20 years and I recently came face to face with a tube of toothpaste that was nearly £7 in my local Sainsbury’s, the idea that money can’t buy happiness seems almost offensive. It ultimately comes from a blinkered concept of what money can do. Sure, if you only use your money to buy things, the happiness it provides will be shallow

Carer’s allowance turns 50 this year, but it’s no reflection of the labour of the millions who cook, clean and nurse behind closed doorsImagine your house is on fire, and when you dial 999 the call handler suggests you try putting the blaze out yourself. Resources are tight, you see, and demand high, and the service increasingly relies on volunteers. Or perhaps your child’s maths teacher is off sick. The headteacher texts and asks if you can leave work to explain algebra to the class. It’s your

Roger Downie notes that jokes can be lost in translation, while Tim Jones remembers a feeble attempt at humour, and Denis McCullough recalls a few physics gagsHelen Pilcher bemoans the lack of humour in most science writing, but does not appear to consider why this is (It’s official: scientists aren’t funny. But it doesn’t have to be this way, 4 April). When I wrote my first scientific paper many years ago, I included some humorous remarks. A referee gave me some wise advice. We scientists whose

Readers respond to an article by Zoe Williams in which she argued the space race was pointlessZoe Williams speaks for many of us when she notes that the US space mission is pointless (Let’s stop going into space. There’s nothing to see and no one to talk to, 7 April). Unfortunately, it is worse than that. With a $100bn budget, the Artemis programme represents a truly spectacular misdirection of human creativity and resources.The UN World Food Programme, before it was cut back by Donald Trump’s m

Readers respond to a letter by Andrew Copson in which he reflects on Gen Z’s search for meaningI read Andrew Copson’s letter with interest (There is no revival of Christianity in Britain, 5 April). But he implies a dichotomy that is questionable, and also that humanists and Christians have little or nothing in common.He writes “the search for meaning is not found in dogma, but in the humanist values of reason, kindness and personal responsibility”. But that is what most, if not all, people who s

Prof John R Ashton responds to an obituary of the Northern Foods businessman The fight for social justice has lost a real champion with the death of Chris Haskins (Obituary, 3 April). As a junior public health academic, I experienced first-hand his openness and willingness to embrace and support insights into the conditions of the left behind in the north of England.In his response to my cold-calling letter drawing attention to the problem of food deserts in inner-city Liverpool, I was privilege

Ruth Tanner says Labour must cap the number of industrial units and put in place the building blocks for nature-friendly farming The government’s intention to relax planning regulations to allow for more industrial chicken units is immensely shortsighted (UK looks to relax planning rules for factory farms after industry lobbying, 2 April).These proposals would effectively commit the UK to business as usual for chicken production, one of the least resilient and most cruel farming systems we have.

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Alan Payling and Andrew Risby respond to a column by Adrian Chiles on getting rid of stuffIf Adrian Chiles still wants to get rid of his surplus zinc guttering (I need to declutter my life. But I can’t even give my stuff away, 2 April), he should consider using Freegle and/or Freecycle. As the names suggest, these are websites where everything on offer is absolutely free. As a regular customer, I have not only acquired items of use, but have passed on things I no longer needed.In addition to off

The former chancellor was the chief architect of Germany’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels and cuts to defence spending. Both haunt the country todayThe former German chancellor, Gerhard Schröder, is enjoying a curious political revival. Not so long ago, his reputation seemed in tatters. In light of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, many came to regard his longstanding ties to Russia and personal friendship with Vladimir Putin as self-serving. Fellow Social Democrats (SPD) tried to expel hi

The threat posed by a new space race is real. But so is the wonder of humankind’s reaching for the skies “Everything we need, Earth provides. And that is somewhat of a miracle, and one that you can’t truly know until you’ve had the perspective of the other.” This is how the US astronaut Christina Koch summed up her experience of travelling to the far side of the moon on Monday. The feeling of a deepened appreciation for home recalls statements by an earlier generation of space travellers. The fa

Speculation that the leader’s teenage daughter will succeed him is rife. But Ju-ae’s high profile is about continuity, not changeNorth Korea is unique in turning a putatively communist state into a dynastic system now in its third generation. So while the proposition that Kim Jong-un’s teenage daughter will inherit power is sparking debate, unexpected political transitions are not entirely new. On Monday, South Korea’s intelligence agency said that it had “credible” information that Kim Ju-ae is

Two court cases last month illustrate how confusion over legal definitions are feeding into a culture of poor driving standardsIn 2024, 1,602 people were killed on British roads. Only a small proportion of these resulted in a surviving driver being prosecuted. When we hear about the sentencing in such cases, the public reaction is often a mix of sorrow, anger and, increasingly, confusion. Why do some drivers who kill receive only short prison terms? Why are some charged with the lesser offence o

Dr Mireia Galian argues that paid, protected time off for fertility assessment and treatment should be standard across women’s sportsAs you report, changes to insurance cover for female athletes following the Carney review are welcome (Landmark changes to insurance cover for female athletes to be implemented, 30 March). Addressing contraception, pregnancy, menopause and other health conditions disproportionately affecting women is long overdue.Yet one crucial blind spot remains: fertility. Elite

Forget bare walls and clean lines. Give me curiosity and obsession. Give me evidence of a life well livedI have a friend whose flat when I visit feels like stepping into someone else’s mind. It’s filled to the absolute brim with stuff: cupboards full of mismatched mugs, chintzy ceramic dogs adorning the shelves, piles of books everywhere and, most impressively, a display case lovingly filled with dozens of Kinder egg toys. The funny thing is, I always leave feeling calmer than I would in any str

The brutalisation of global norms by figures like Pete Hegseth must be seen as an ethical issue. It’s a fight against chaos, and all major religions must play a roleThat combative old hymn, Onward Christian Soldiers, is not much heard these days, though it was once a favourite with church congregations and school assemblies. Written in 1865 by Sabine Baring-Gould, an English clergyman and religious scholar, its belligerent refrain urges the faithful on to battle, victory and conquest: “Onward,

The president’s outbursts on allies and Nato were further confirmation that Europe cannot wait to bolster security – and Britain must play its part“She had no more surprises for him; the unexpected in her behaviour was the only thing to expect,” Henry James wrote in his novel Daisy Miller. Leaders dealing with Donald Trump surely recognise the sentiment. James’s character was a young American out of her depth in Europe, falling victim to prejudices. Mr Trump is a real-world problem, and this tim

The ups and downs of the collection launched by Millicent Fawcett make it an apt symbol of an ongoing struggleWhen the Women’s Library opened a century ago, the movement it documented appeared triumphant. Most British women had gained the vote in 1918, and in 1928 suffragist campaigners would ensure that they held it on the same basis as men. The London Society for Women’s Service, led by Millicent Fawcett, intended the library to become a home for the suffrage movement’s archives. But even as t

This new ‘world order’, where rogue nations can pick and choose their next acquisitions, gives the green light to other bad actors, writes David Tayler. Plus letters from Peter Gregory, Rev Graham Murphy and John GittingsIn our crazy, unregulated world, we watch the unedifying spectacle of two rogue nations, each awash with nuclear weapons, going to war to stop a third rogue nation from acquiring similar weaponry (Editorial, 30 March). The resulting conflict is bringing chaos, death and destruct

One reader shares their experience of fighting to receive the money they were owed, while Roy Grimwood offers insight into the disastrous effects of a flawed economic modelAs witness to the cash-grabbing nature of these businesses (The great care home cash grab: how private equity turned vulnerable elderly people into human ATMs, 28 March), I would like to draw your attention to a specific practice: that of trying to deny grieving families the balance of fees owed to them when a resident dies in