From the archive: ‘A nursery of the Commons': how the Oxford Union created today's ruling political class
We are raiding the Guardian long read archives to bring you some classic pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors.
This week, from 2022: at the Oxford university debating society in the 80s, a generation of aspiring politicians honed the art of winning using jokes, rather than facts
By Simon Kuper. Read by Andrew McGregor
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The Guardian
25 minutes ago
- The Guardian
‘It's like being walled in': young Iranians break through internet blackout
Amir* hasn't slept much in days. From his apartment in northern Tehran, the 23-year-old spends his nights searching for proxy links – fragile digital lifelines that briefly break through the internet blackout. Iran remains under a near-total internet shutdown, severely limiting access to information. A group of young Iranians are, however, working non-stop to breech the blackout to ensure their voices go out to the outside world. 'We can't use VPNs any more. To get around this internet blackout, we are using special proxy links, essentially 'secret tunnels' that route messages through servers outside Iran,' said Amir, adding that he has managed to build a system to give proxies to his friends. 'These links are a part of one of the app's features […] they route Telegram traffic from an internal server. Each of them does this for a few hours and then fails. So I constantly try to find new ones to send to my folks.' The Iranian government shut down access to the internet, accusing Israel of exploiting the network for military purposes. Local sources told the Guardian no one has access to the internet except correspondents working for vetted foreign media. Domestic messaging apps continue to work, but young Iranians have little faith in their security. Amir said: 'We have domestic apps, but they're bullshit. The government uses every opportunity it gets to spy on us, especially student leaders.' Last week, Amnesty International called on the authorities to lift the communications blackout, stating it 'prevents people from finding safe routes, accessing life-saving resources and staying informed'. Another student leader, Leila*, 22, who lives in Abbas Abad in north-central Tehran, said she only managed to reconnect after receiving help from abroad. 'My boyfriend in Europe sent me configuration links via text. Without that I would still be completely cut off. The internet suddenly works for a few minutes here and there, but goes off before I can use any websites.' The blackout not only severed contact with the outside world, but made life under Israeli bombardment even more difficult. 'It's like being walled in,' said Arash*, a student in Tehran. 'We've lost access to each other, to independent news, to help. There's just state media and silence followed by the sounds of bombs.' For Amir, the most frightening part is how the war is becoming normal. 'We're starting to act like this is normal,' he said, though 'war is not normal'. He said they now recognise shaking windows as air raids or explosions. While the war terrified him, the blackout added to his worries. 'That's what erases us … makes us invisible. And still, we're here. Still trying to connect with the free world.' * Names have been changed
Reuters
41 minutes ago
- Reuters
Trump suggests US would strike again if Iran rebuilt nuclear programme
THE HAGUE, June 25 (Reuters) - Asked if the United States would strike again if Iran rebuilt its nuclear enrichment programme, U.S. President Donald Trump said: "Sure."
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Starmer says vote on welfare cuts bill happening on Tuesday amid growing Labour revolt
Update: Date: 2025-06-25T08:41:27.000Z Title: Keir Starmer says he is going ahead with welfare benefits cuts as number of Labour MPs joining rebellion grows Content: Good morning. MPs are due to vote on the universal credit (UC) and personal independent payments (Pip) bill next week, the legislation enacting the disability and sickness benefit cuts worth around £5bn. As Pippa Crerar and Aletha Adu report in our overnight story, Keir Starmer insisted yesterday that he was pressing ahead with the plans. But this morning it seems all but certain that, if the government goes ahead with the vote without offering a colossal concession, it will lose. And, if governments know they are going to get defeated on flagship legislation, they normally pull the vote at the last minute. Here are the key developments this morning. The Labour rebellion is growing – even though some cabinet ministers spent yesterday trying to persuade rebel Labour MPs to back the bill. By last night, 123 Labour MPs had signed the amendment, up from 108, plus 11 MPs from opposition parties, all from Northern Ireland. You can read all their names on the order paper here. They are the MPs who have signed Meg Hillier's amendment, listed under business for Tuesday 1 July. Starmer has failed to quell speculation that the vote will be postponed. Despite what he said publicly yesterday, the BBC is reporting a source close to government thinking saying: 'Once you take a breath, it is better to save some of the welfare package than lose all of it.' And the Times is reporting: Privately, some close to the prime minister are preparing to delay next Tuesday's vote in an attempt to buy time and find concessions to win enough of the rebels around. One minister described the mood in government as one of 'panic'. But Starmer has again confirmed the vote will go ahead. He told LBC: There'll be a vote on Tuesday, we're going to make sure we reform the welfare system. He said the welfare system had to change: It traps people in a position where they can't get into work. In fact, it's counterproductive, it works against them getting into work. So we have to reform it, and that is a Labour argument, it's a progressive argument. John Healey, the defence secretary, refused to rule out the government making further concessions before the vote in an interview on the Today programme this morning. Kemi Badenoch has in effect confirmed that the Tories will not support the bill. She implied the opposite in a statement she released last night, saying: The government is in a mess, their MPs are in open rebellion. If Keir Starmer wants our support, he needs to meet three conditions that align with our core Conservative principles. The first condition is that the welfare budget is too high, it needs to come down. This bill does not do that. The second condition is that we need to get people back into work. Unemployment is rising, jobs are disappearing, and even the government's own impact assessments say that the package in this bill will not get people back to work. The third is that we want to see no new tax rises in the autumn. We can't have new tax rises to pay for the increases in welfare and other government spending. We are acting in the national interest to make the changes the country needs. And if Keir Starmer wants us to help him get this bill through, then he must commit to these three conditions at the dispatch box. There is no chance of the government committing to no tax rises in the autumn, and so, while sounding supportive, this statement is anything but. The bill also fails Badenoch's first condition, because it would not stop spending on disability benefits still rising (but by less than it would without the cuts). Ministers have made this point to Labour rebels in a bid to persuade them the bill is not as harsh as people suppose. Here is the agenda for the day. 9.30am: Stephen Timms, minister for social security and disability, gives evidence to the Commons work and pensions committee about the proposed disability benefit cuts. 10am: Darren Jones, chief secretary to the Treasury, gives evidence to the Commons Treasury committee about the spending review. Morning: Keir Starmer and other leaders arrive at the Nato summit in The Hague. Starmer is expected to hold a press conference in the afternoon, after the main meeting. Noon: Angela Rayner, the deputy PM, takes PMQs. Also, Wes Streeting, the health secretary, is giving a speech in Blackpool where he will say that England's poorest areas will get billions in extra health funding under new government plans to tackle stark inequalities. If you want to contact me, please post a message below the line when comments are open (normally between 10am and 3pm at the moment), or message me on social media. I can't read all the messages BTL, but if you put 'Andrew' in a message aimed at me, I am more likely to see it because I search for posts containing that word. If you want to flag something up urgently, it is best to use social media. You can reach me on Bluesky at @ The Guardian has given up posting from its official accounts on X, but individual Guardian journalists are there, I still have my account, and if you message me there at @AndrewSparrow, I will see it and respond if necessary. I find it very helpful when readers point out mistakes, even minor typos. No error is too small to correct. And I find your questions very interesting too. I can't promise to reply to them all, but I will try to reply to as many as I can, either BTL or sometimes in the blog.
