Premier sports
Andy Burnham took part in the Great North Run, a half marathon, finishing in 1 hour 57 minutes. Some other prime ministers who competed in office:
– Edward Heath captained his sailing boat, Morning Cloud, on the 600-mile Fastnet Yacht Race, finishing in 14th place but helping Great Britain to regain the Admiral’s Cup.
– Alec Douglas-Home took part in charity cricket matches while PM, having played first-class cricket for Oxford University and Middlesex in his younger days.
– Keir Starmer continued to put in the occasional match for a five-a-side football team in Kentish Town.
Party favours
Reform received two record-breaking donations totalling £72 million in 48 hours. How have political donations changed since the year of the last general election?
2024
Labour £42.1m
Conservative £32.2m
Lib Dems £12.2m
Reform £3.1m
SNP £2.0m
Green party £1.1m
2026
Labour £7.7m
Conservative £10.2m
Lib Dems £5.1m
Reform £14.9m
SNP £538,000
Green party £480,000
Source: DonationWatch
Paying visitors
Which cities have the highest tourist taxes? By percentage on bookings:
Los Angeles 15.5%
Washington 14.95%
New York 14.75%
Las Vegas 13.38%
Edinburgh 5%
Euros per person per night:
Barcelona and Milan 12
State of independence
The leaders of the SNP, Plaid Cymru and Sinn Fein signed a pact demanding the ‘right to self-determination’. Do they have the support of their people?
Some polls:
Scottish independence
May 2026, Norstat: 49% for, 45% against
June 2026, YouGov: 43% to 44%
August 2026, Survation: 47% to 43%
Welsh independence
March 2025, Redfield & Wilton Strategies: 35% for, 50% against
January 2026, YouGov: 26% to 54%
August 2026, Survation: 26% to 51%
– Northern Ireland joining the Republic
August 2024, Social Market Research: 34% for, 49% against
May 2026, Institute of Irish Studies: 36% to 50%
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