Angela Rayner has said a growing number of young people in Britain have been left feeling hopeless about their futures, in what will be interpreted as a warning to Sir Keir Starmer.
The former deputy prime minister, who is reported to being weighing up a direct challenge to Starmer’s leadership after next week’s local elections, has said in an exclusive interview that “more and more young people are feeling there isn’t an investment in their future now”.
Rayner spoke of the challenges facing Generation Z – those born between 1997 and 2012 – taking the rare step of talking about how her own son has been forced to borrow money in order to afford dental treatment.
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‘Wise’ bull named
after Attenborough
to mark 100th birthday
BBC nature broadcaster Sir
David Attenborough has had a “wise” bull named after him by animal charity Peta to
celebrate his 100th birthday.
Caption: Frozen Planet S2,11-09-2022,Generics,Sir David Attenborough filming for Frozen Planet II,BBC Studios,Alex Board
TV Still
BBC
Photographer: Alex Board
Provider: BBC Studios/Alex Board
What you need to know
The bull, named Sir Attenbullock to celebrate his birthday on 8 May, will be mentioned in a letter sent to Attenborough by Peta founder Ingrid Newkirk, which will tell him the animal was among the first rescued through Peta India’s Delhi mechanisation project.
Caption: David Attenbullock spent years hauling heavy carts through the chaotic, crowded markets of Delhi, streets familiar to Sir David, weaving through dense traffic and enduring long hours in the heat and dust, often without rest or water. He endured exhaustion, injury, and strain, but today, like Sir David, he has an important educational role, accompanying sanctuary visitors through a birdsong-filled orchard in northern India, allowing people to appreciate nature and get to know the lives and habits of the rescued animals there.
https://www.peta.org.uk/news/bull-sir-david-attenborough/
Copyright: PETA India
Caption: LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 12: Sir David Attenborough attends the Global Launch of BBC Studios’ “Planet Earth III” at Frameless on October 12, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Dave Benett/Getty Images)
Photographer: Dave Benett
Provider: Dave Benett/Getty Images
Source: Dave Benett Collection
Copyright: 2023 Dave Benett
The initiative aims to replace animal-drawn carts with electric vehicles so the overworked animals can retire.
A closer look at the detail
In her letter, Newkirk writes that Sir Attenbullock is “strong, yet gentle”, which she says he shares with Attenborough, and adds that he also “quietly inspires others to appreciate the richness of the natural world”.
Secret World of Sound with David Attenborough (Photo: Humble Bee Sounds/Sky UK)
TELEVISION
3 min read
UK POLITICS
Everything to know about the May local elections
Caption: EMBARGOED TO 0001 MONDAY APRIL 20
File photo dated 06/05/10 of a voter placing a ballot paper in a ballot box at a polling station. Unionist parties could hold the majority in Holyrood after May 7, a poll has suggested, but more than half of constituencies are considered marginal.
The survey, carried out for More in Common and seen exclusively by the Press Association, found the SNP will continue to be the largest party, but John Swinney’s party and the Greens – the other independence-supporting party – would fall one seat short of a majority. Issue date: Monday April 20, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Rui Vieira/PA Wire
Photographer: Rui Vieira
Provider: Rui Vieira/PA Wire
Source: PA
Your guide to the local elections next week, including where they are happening, timings and what could happen at the ballots.
What you need to know
Elections are being held across Scotland, Wales and many parts of England on 7 May.
Voters in Scotland will elect MSPs to the 129-seat parliament at Holyrood.
In Wales, voters will choose members of the Senedd (Welsh parliament), which has been expanded from 60 seats to 96 for the first time.
Meanwhile, in England 136 local authorities will hold elections on the same date. This includes all 32 London boroughs, 48 district councils and 18 unitary authorities.
There are also local mayoral elections happening in: Croydon, Hackney, Lewisham, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Watford.
How will the results unfold?
Polling stations open at 7am on Thursday 7 May. Voters in England will need to show a photo ID to be able to cast a vote.
Thousands of people will take to the polls before they close at 10pm.
In England, 46 of the local authorities will count and declare overnight, with results expected between 1am and 6am on 8 May.
Ballot papers in Scotland and Wales will be counted during the day on 8 May, with the first results expected in the afternoon and the final declarations in the evening.
The majority of the remaining English authorities will not begin counting until 9am on 8 May and are likely to start declaring results late in the morning and continue through to the evening.
Labour on course for disaster
Caption: NEWMARKET, ENGLAND – APRIL 29: A man holds a placard as Reform UK Treasury Spokesperson, Robert Jenrick, campaigns for Reform UK in Norfolk on April 29, 2026 in Newmarket, England. For the local elections on 7 May 2026, Reform UK is projected to make historic gains in Norfolk, with some polls predicting they could take overall control of Norfolk County Council. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)
Photographer: Leon Neal
Provider: Getty Images
Source: Getty Images Europe
Copyright: 2026 Getty Images
One poll by Lord Robert Hayward predicted Labour will suffer devastating losses of more than 75 per cent of the council seats the party is defending across England.
Reform UK is expected to be the main beneficiary, projected to gain roughly 1,550 seats from both Labour and the Conservatives.
Big Read
4 min read
News
Stephen Fry sues conference for £100,000
The comedian, actor and presenter has brought a claim against the organisers of an AI conference at which he fell off the stage following his keynote address.
What you need to know
Fry, 68, fell 6ft off the stage on to concrete at London’s O2 Arena in 2023.
He broke his right leg, hip, pelvis and some ribs in the fall.
Fry told BBC Radio Two: “I didn’t realise that I was walking off the part of the stage where there was nothing – just a six-foot drop.”
The comedian is now suing CogX Festival and the event organiser, Blonstein Events, for personal injury damages.
TELEVISION
3 min read
A closer look at the detail
In court documents, his lawyers allege organisers failed to ensure “the stage and backstage area were safe, adequately lit and properly protected to prevent a fall from height”.
Fry took months off work after the incident, requiring “constant physiotherapy” for his injuries.
Caption: LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 22: Stephen Fry attends The Standard Theatre Awards 2025 Winners Dinner hosted by the Standard’s proprietor Lord Lebedev on March 22, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Dave Benett/Getty Images)
Photographer: Dave Benett
Provider: Dave Benett/Getty Images
Source: Dave Benett Collection
Copyright: 2026 Dave Benett
BOOKS
6 min read
Prediction tool
spots who needs weight-loss jabs
before obesity hits
People who are overweight
but not obese could be given
GLP-1s if they are identified
as at high risk of suffering from obesity-related complications.
Caption: TOTNES, DEVON – FEBRUARY 20: A close-up of a woman injecting a Mounjaro weight-loss jab on February 20, 2026, in Totnes, Devon. The popularity of weight-loss jabs to tackle obesity has soared in the UK in the past year with around 4 per cent of households currently using them. (Photo by Matthew Horwood/Getty Images)
Photographer: Matthew Horwood
Provider: Getty Images
Source: Getty Images Europe
What you need to know
Caption: FILE PHOTO: Pens for the diabetes drug Ozempic sit on a production line to be packaged at the Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk’s site in Hillerod, Denmark, September 26, 2023. REUTERS/Tom Little/File Photo
Photographer: Tom Little
Provider: REUTERS
Source: REUTERS
Predicting disease risk
Obscore was created by academics from Queen Mary University of London and the Berlin Institute of Health.
Complements BMI
The model offers a more accurate way to spot people at higher risk of cancer and type 2 diabetes.
A nurse gives a patient a diabetes test (Photo: Peter Byrne/PA Wire)
Diabetologist doctor waiting for result from glucose testing in diabetes clinic. – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
Catch issues in advance
The project identified 20 commonly collected readings which can be used to predict 18 different complications.
Tool could stop at-risk patients falling through the net
Dr Kamil Demircan, from Queen Mary University, said: “We actually observed that a considerable proportion of individuals were living with overweight rather than obesity.
“These constitute a population of individuals who may be overlooked if we only look at BMI and not other risk factors.”
Caption: A medicine distributor stores Mounjaro (tirzepatide) self-injecting GLP-1 prefilled pens and vials in a fridge at his office in Thane on March 20, 2026. A deluge of weight-loss drugs is set to transform the global fight against obesity as India prepares to unleash low-cost generic versions of injections like Ozempic after a key patent expired on March 20, 2026. (Photo by Indranil MUKHERJEE / AFP via Getty Images)
Photographer: INDRANIL MUKHERJEE
Provider: AFP via Getty Images
Source: AFP
Copyright: AFP or licensors
SCIENCE
4 min read
The hotspots where it’s most difficult to sell your home
The average length of time to sell a home is just a day longer than a year ago despite
higher mortgages,
although in London homes are taking nearly a week longer
to be snapped up typically, according to a property website.
Caption: Estate agents ‘for sale’ and ‘let’ signs outside residential properties in Guildford, UK, on Monday, July 28, 2025. The number of UK home loans given the green light rose to a three-month high in June, as the housing market continued to shake off the impact of April’s tax hike.??Photographer: Jason Alden/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Photographer: Bloomberg
Provider: Bloomberg via Getty Images
Source: Bloomberg
Copyright: ? 2025 Bloomberg Finance LP
A closer look at the figures
33 days
Across the UK, the average time to sell a home is 33 days, just one day longer than last year.
6 days
The London area stands out as being particularly affected by recent events, with the average home there taking six days longer to sell than a year ago, the report found.
The locations on the list of hotspots
Here is how long on average it takes to sell a home, according to Zoopla analysis of the seven weeks to 17 April, 2025 and the seven weeks to 17 April, 2026:
Scotland – 15, 15
North East – 28, 28
Yorkshire and the Humber – 31, 31
North West – 28, 31
Wales – 34, 34
West Midlands – 33, 34
South West – 36, 35
East Midlands – 37, 37
East of England – 35, 38
South East – 37, 39
London – 35, 41
Caption: LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 30: People lok at houses for sale in an estate agents window in Mayfair on October 30, 2025 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by John Keeble/Getty Images)
Photographer: John Keeble
Provider: Getty Images
Source: Getty Images Europe
Copyright: 2025 John Keeble
What do experts say?
Mortgage rates are drifting lower and there is greater choice of homes for sale
The best-value homes are moving quickly, particularly in northern cities and Scotland, whereas the room for negotiation is greater across southern regions,” Richard Donnell, executive director of Zoopla said.
Can you learn to love pigeons? A much-unloved animal in the UK
Features writer Kasia Delgado went on a safari to see if she
could look past their rat-like nature
The tour guide
People think pigeons are stupid but lots of studies have shown them to have amazing memories, that they can identify people by their facial features, and they have an extraordinary sense of direction.
Florence Wilkinson, author of Wild City: Encounters with Urban Wildlife, took Kasia on a tour.
Positives of pigeons
War heroes
During the Second World War, carrier pigeons were routinely used to send messages, and they saved thousands of lives.
Homing ability
Scientists have put them in blacked-out vans and put miniature goggles on them to blur their vision and still the pigeons manage to return home.
The Dove family
We think of them as all grey, but they vary in shades, and some of them are quite amazingly coloured, says Florence.
Kasia’s feeding test
As I gingerly chuck some seed, wincing slightly, 15 or so flap their wings at me. I wouldn’t say I feel content or relaxed but I don’t hate it as much as I thought I would.
I can see they’re not going to do me harm and after all, they’re just enjoying some free food.
A common myth?
Disease carriers
Research has found that between 1941 and 2004, there were only 207 reports worldwide of pathogens transmitted from pigeons to humans.
Not all walks are
created equal
Read on to find out how to supercharge yours into an unbeatable health-builder
How to supercharge your walk
Get a bit breathless
All walking paces are linked with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease but there are additional gains made by those who walk at a moderate-to-vigorous intensity.
Walk uphill
Try to find varying inclines to increase energy and muscle burn.
Add weights
The extra resistance challenges your heart to work harder, increasing cardiovascular fitness.
How to supercharge your walk
Uneven ground
Mountainous and uneven terrain work your stabilising muscles harder, increasing the difficulty and output from your walk.
Go Nordic
Using poles engages the arms as well as the legs and core, turning walking into a full-body workout.
A walk is beneficial at any time of day, but after eating could be best. Research has found that 10- to 30-minute walks taken 10 to 30 minutes after a meal can reduce the peak blood-sugar measurements reached.
Slower and lower blood sugar throughout the day reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
How to supercharge your walk
Go green
Walking in nature has more psychological benefits than concrete. It’s shown to significantly reduce anxiety and depression.
Improve your posture
Staying tall through the spine, open your chest and keep your eyes forward (not leaning over on your phone..).
Meet outside
Walking is a good time to have conversations, whether with your boss or a friend.
Mistakes to avoid
1Focusing on step count – most research suggests that benefits plateau at 7,000 steps a day.
2Using ankle weights – they can tug at the hip flexors and the knees.
3 Doing one-and-done – just hiking for three hours on the weekend, and nothing throughout the week, means you’re missing out on benefits.
4Thinking it’s not a workout – walking packs in cardio and brain-boosting effects without the recovery time of intense exercise.
Eight million people in the UK are living with heart or circulatory disease
And while chest pain is a well-known symptom, there are more subtle signs you should be aware of too.
Overlooked signs of heart disease
Dizziness and fainting
An abnormal heart rhythm can cause a dizzy feeling. While much dizziness is not serious, it can be associated with life-threatening complications.
Increased breathlessness
This breathlessness could be due to blockages and reduced blood flow in the arteries.
Swollen ankles
Unusual swelling can indicate a problem with the body’s circulatory system and kidneys.
Worsening fatigue
Ongoing and worsening fatigue can indicate an underlying health issue, and it could be a sign that your heart isn’t working as effectively as it should be. If persistent fatigue is impacting you day-to-day, the best thing to do is speak with your doctor.
Ruth Goss, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation
Overlooked signs of heart disease
Indigestion-type symptoms
Discomfort in the stomach, chest and ribs, or a burning sensation in the chest area, could all be symptoms of heart disease.
Erectile dysfunction
If it’s an ongoing issue, there could be an underlying health problem, including atherosclerosis (narrowing of the arteries), diabetes or high blood pressure.
She was interviewed as part of an investigation by The Rest is Politics podcast into the plight of Gen Z. While she did not directly address Westminster politics her remarks will be seen in the context of the Labour leadership debate.
Rayner said: “That whole generation at the moment feels, no matter how much you run on the treadmill, you are not going to make it.”
She said that the psychological impact of feeling that homeownership is out of reach and being in permanent debt makes people feel “that they are pushed down, punched down” and is “holding the nation back”.
“They are in this trap of poverty, a system that feels rigged against them and they feel that nothing changes for them,” Rayner added.
“That’s why I’m always trying to fight for them because I believe politics does change people’s lives. It changed my life. It doesn’t happen overnight, but it does make a difference.
“But actually being part of that delivery of change, I think will make a huge difference. It will make a difference to the confidence of the economy. It will make a difference to the psychology of the nation.”
Angela Rayner is reported to be weighing up a challenge to Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership (Photo: Getty)
Her comments will be interpreted as another challenge to the Prime Minister over the direction of his Government ahead of what are expected to be devastating local election results when millions vote in England, and for devolved governments in Scotland and Wales, next Thursday.
Labour is braced to lose thousands of seats, and there is speculation that Sir Keir Starmer – if he survives as Prime Minister – will need to launch a Cabinet reshuffle in order to shore up his position.
Rayner, who commands strong support among the soft left of the party and its MPs, has publicly backed the Prime Minister at several crucial points since her resignation, and is expected to shortly be free for a return to Cabinet when HMRC concludes its investigation into her tax affairs.
She is understood to be undecided about a return to Cabinet, regarding the direction of the Government an important factor in her decision. Rayner may also launch a leadership challenge if it becomes clear that Starmer cannot survive.
In March, Rayner ignited leadership speculation by claiming in a speech that the Government was “running out of time”.
She said then: “The very survival of the Labour Party is at stake – as a party and a movement we cannot hide, we cannot go through the motions in the face of decline. We are running out of time.”
Rayner’s comments on young people are part of the new Rest Is Politics podcast series about the struggles faced by Gen Z in Britain today.
The former housing secretary was forced to resign over tax affairs relating to stamp duty last September, but it is understood Starmer wants to find a way to bring Rayner back into his Cabinet as speculation grows of a potential leadership challenge.
Rayner said during her time in the Cabinet she has been able to push through legislation which, she says, was aimed at supporting young adults: the Renters’ Rights Act, the Employment Rights Act and the forthcoming Leasehold and Commonhold Bill. She also championed giving 16-year-olds the right to vote.
“I want young people to look at the things that I was doing in Government and say, ‘She’s fighting for me and she gets it because they know things are difficult,’” Rayner added.
In the interview, part of the four-part series called The Gen Z Story, Rayner spoke about the risks of politicians ignoring young adults who are currently locked out of homeownership, repaying hefty student loans and dealing with a job market where there are fewer opportunities for young people.
It comes as the cost of the average home has risen to more than eight times the annual salary, while the average graduate now faces debts of around £50,000 after leaving university.
Rayner, who is the mother of Gen Z children as well as a grandmother, said she had to be a guarantor for her 29-year-old son’s tenancy so he could afford to rent a home for his young family.
She said: “He’s got no opportunity at the moment to buy a property. He works really long hours. He provides for his family. He’s on a very low income. It’s really difficult for him.
“He had a problem with his teeth. He had to ask me to borrow to get his teeth done. He was in a hell of a lot of pain. He’s trying to work. He’s trying to raise his family. He can’t even afford a dentist.”
Rayner has previously tried to avoid sharing private details about her family, but took the unusual step of providing an insight into her life as a mother and grandmother.
She said: “It’s the psychology of my son having to come to me when he’s working, when he’s an absolutely brilliant dad, he’s looking after his family, but the psychology of him having to come to his mum or ask somebody else for help, that’s not a system that we should be enduring at the moment.
“That is not a system that Gen Z should have to accept because I think that [it has] a long drag on the economy, I think [it has] a long drag on our wellbeing as a country.”
Since resigning, Rayner has made relatively few public comments. She said she had chosen to speak about Gen Z because: “They [Gen Z] are our future. I’ve got skin in the game; I’ve got three of them at home. They need to feel that politics is for them. I go round schools and colleges all the time – the frustration for me is, they feel that no matter how hard they try, they can’t change the system.”
As part of the probe, The Rest Is Politics conducted research on 12,000 people, of which 6,000 were Gen Z.
It found young people were most likely to describe themselves as “resilient” “misunderstood” or “lost”, and older generations used the word “entitled” the most.
The poll also found 73.6 % of older people agreed with the concept that the struggles young people face today are as serious as they say, rather than exaggerated.
The first episode of the four-part series, The Gen Z Story, is introduced by Alastair Campbell and presented by The i Paper’s Housing and Society Correspondent, Vicky Spratt. It will be available on The Rest Is Politics feed on Friday, 1 May. The episode featuring Angela Rayner will be released later in the series.