Andy Burnham has accused former Labour Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair of failing to understand what's going on in people's lives and underestimating the impact of inequality. Sir Tony used a 5,600 word essay to argue the Labour government had no coherent plan for the country and had introduced policies that had held back business. He urged Labour not to move to the left and to embrace the radical centre instead. But Burnham, who is widely expected to challenge Sir Keir Starmer for the Labour leadership if he wins a by-election next month, told the Observer Sir Tony doesn't mention inequality once in his critique of where the Labour government has gone wrong. If you don't get how that's driving politics now, if you are not rooting your analysis in the fact that people are unable to live and that things that were taken for granted are no longer affordable, then you are not understanding what's going on, said the mayor of Greater Manchester.

Chris Mason: Why a coffee is overshadowing the King's Speech It is quite something when two blokes having a cup of coffee can generate more headlines and conversation than the King coming to parliament for the main ceremonial event of the parliamentary calendar. Both these things are happening this morning. The prime minister has met the Health Secretary Wes Streeting in private - a meeting offered by Sir Keir Starmer to cabinet ministers after Tuesday's cabinet meeting and an offer Streeting took up. It was a very short meeting - under 20 minutes - and we may not know what happened in Number 10 immediately. And then, not long afterwards, the King will arrive in Westminster for the State Opening of Parliament, in which the sovereign reads out the government's planned new laws for the year and a bit ahead. This ceremonial occasion was scheduled for this week precisely because government figures anticipated a rough set of election results and a splash of political tumult afterwards.

Angeliki Stogia has been selected as the Labour Party candidate for the upcoming Gorton and Denton by-election. The Manchester councillor was chosen to represent the party after Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham was denied permission to enter the contest a week ago. The by-election on 26 February in the Greater Manchester constituency was prompted by the resignation of former MP Andrew Gwynne on health grounds. Stogia said she was thrilled and excited as a proud Mancunian woman to start campaigning in the constituency. She said she was so looking forward to going out on the doorstep and winning this for Labour.

He used to go to the Regal City North cinema in Chicago three times a week. But he never goes there anymore--because of the parking lot. The parking garage, which is directly connected to the theater, once charged 2 for parking. Then it fell into disrepair sometime during the pandemic. "Someone destroyed the crossbar at the exit, and the stairwells had broken glass in them. They never replaced the glass for the stairwell," Spencer told me.