There’s a reason the entire nation is talking about Adolescence. 

It grips you from its first one-shot take. The brilliant writers and cast hold you through four harrowing episodes.

It’s far from easy viewing, but like all impactful dramas, Adolescence leaves you talking about it for days afterwards. That’s certainly how it felt watching it with my family. 

Because the power of Adolescence goes further than the small screen. It’s captured something deeper in our national understanding. 

Part of that is because it shines a light on a problem that is too often swept under the carpet.

A problem that many of us are aware of, but too few people feel like they have the tools to respond to: The devastating effect of misogyny on our society. 

The dangers of online radicalisation. The lure of crime in young people’s lives. And the need for role models who can point young people in the right direction.

These are challenges our children, schools and families face every day.

And perhaps most scary of all, just how banal and commonplace it is. How children – young children – can be drawn into this so easily. That it could almost happen to anyone.

That’s why I backed a call in the House of Commons to screen Adolescence in schools.

And now I’m delighted that Netflix is making the drama free for secondary schools across the country. This is a fantastic step to start the essential conversations we need to be having in classrooms across the nation.

Because almost every week, we hear shocking stories of violent crimes against women. 

This Is Not Right

On November 25, 2024 Metro launched This Is Not Right, a year-long campaign to address the relentless epidemic of violence against women.

With the help of our partners at Women's Aid, This Is Not Right aims to shine a light on the sheer scale of this national emergency.

You can find more articles here, and if you want to share your story with us, you can send us an email at vaw@metro.co.uk.

Read more:

• Introducing This Is Not Right: Metro's year-long violence against women campaign
• Remembering the women killed by men in 2024

Just this year, the case of Kyle Clifford, who watched misogynistic content before murdering three women, horrified the nation. His victims included his ex-girlfriend, just because she’d shown the courage to end their relationship. 

I read that, sickened. But it wasn’t new to me. As Director of Public Prosecutions, I saw first-hand the devastation that misogyny and violence leave behind, how it tears through families and communities. 

I think of John and Penny Clough. Their daughter, Jane, was a nurse. She was stabbed to death in the car park of the Blackpool hospital where she worked by the man awaiting trial on multiple charges of raping her.

I vowed then that I would do everything I could to prevent violence against women and get justice for the victims.

So much of this is about prevention, about pulling young boys back before they get in too deep. It’s about youth work, good role models, neighbourhood policing, and mental health support so young people learn to deal with their emotions and the challenges they face. 

But it’s clear that one of the greatest dangers to young people today isn’t on our streets – it’s in the home. 

If children can access corners of the internet that glorify violence and encourage hatred in their bedrooms, there is nowhere they are safe. And parents who think they are doing the right thing are left in the dark about the terrifying content accessible to every young person today. 

I want our young people to learn about treating each other with respect and dignity now, but I also want them to have the opportunities that mean they feel hopeful about the future and an important part of our country.

That’s part of this government’s plan for change. We’ll make sure every child has the best start in life so we can build a better future together.

There isn’t a simple solution, or a single policy lever to pull that will tackle this complicated problem. We’ll need everyone to get involved across society. 

As Prime Minister I will play my part to work with those people who are vital to supporting our children.

It was a privilege to meet with the creators of Adolescence, as well as charities and young people to begin that action, discussing the issues the show raises so powerfully, and how we can come together to keep our children safe.

This is important to me as Prime Minister, just as it was when I was Director of Public Prosecutions. 

But as a father, watching Adolescence with my teenage son and daughter, it hit home hard.

Adolescence has given a voice to everyone fearful and isolated, wondering what to do and wanting to change the culture of male violence. 

It has lit a touchpaper. It may save lives. It has the power to change our country. 

I am so pleased that as many people as possible will watch it. 

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing Ross.Mccafferty@metro.co.uk. 

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Hard-working Metro readers deserve a good home to build their lives around.

But too many people reading this won’t be able to afford that home. 

For millions, the housing market feels less like a ladder to help them get ahead in life, and more like a hamster wheel of struggling to stay in the same place.

I’ve met people who work two jobs, but still can’t afford a house. Young people still living with parents. Families trapped in temporary accommodation. Or facing the instability of privately renting, unable to save for a deposit.

It’s about more than just bricks and mortar. I know from my own upbringing, a home means security. If you graft hard, the least you should expect is security. 

But the Tories broke that link by their failure to build the homes this country needs.

My government is fixing it, to help more people get on the housing ladder. 

We’re demanding that mortgage rules be relaxed so they no longer block first time buyers. But we are going further. We will step in, and back buyers ourselves, through a permanent mortgage guarantee scheme that will mean lenders will loan to people with smaller deposits.

But we know this isn’t enough. So we will also turbocharge building. No more nonsense rules and regulations holding up development. We’re cutting through red tape to build 1.5 million high quality and well-designed homes across Britain. 

Here’s how. We’ve made it mandatory for local areas to plan and build the homes people need. We will no longer accept no for an answer. We’re rolling up our sleeves through the New Homes Accelerator programme. 

Since the election, we’ve unblocked 20,000 homes that got stuck in the system under the previous government. 

Today, we’re announcing work to unblock more projects, including one in London that will include almost 4,000 homes, two primary schools, a health centre, local businesses and a new riverside park. 

We’re changing the bonkers system that stops us building train lines and homes to protect bats and newts. 

We’re fast-tracking decisions for more than 150 major infrastructure projects to be signed off this parliament. That’s more than were decided in last 14 years under the Tories combined. 

Our determination to back the builders, not the blockers, is already making a difference; planning applications are expected to rise by almost 160% because businesses recognise this government is serious about getting Britain building.

But we need to go further and faster.

We’re targeting the best places in the country to deliver the next generation of new towns. Places close to existing infrastructure and near good jobs and opportunities. The sort of places where people want to live and can thrive.

We won’t allow landowners to hold out for huge profits from developers that drive house prices up and quality down. We’ll make sure land is bought at a fair price, with the power to make compulsory purchase orders where necessary.

When planning permission is granted, the land will go up in value. And because of the scale of these developments, that uplift will be invested directly in the new community from the start – in the roads, schools, public transport and GP surgeries that strong communities need.

I know there will be huge opposition to this. For too long, the NIMBYs and naysayers have been able to clog up our system so things can’t get built. But I refuse to accept the cynics’ claim that no one wants these homes.

In fact, we’ve had more than 100 proposals across the country to build new towns. 

They’ll be affordable, safe and warm. They’ll have the services communities need. They’ll be well connected, well designed, with good access to green space and nature. 

They’ll provide the security working families deserve.  

This is all part of our Plan for Change. We’ll make the dream of homeownership a reality for millions of working people. Siding with the builders, not the blockers. And putting spades in the ground to build a Britain built to last.

The Labour manifesto, that I launched last week, rights a wrong that is so fundamental it goes to the heart of who we are as a nation: The undermining of family life. 

The families I meet on the campaign trail are anxious in particular about the cost of living. On Monday at the Port of Southampton, I spoke to a woman worried for her family in a biting cost of living crisis. She is struggling after years of economic decline and stagnant growth. She questions whether any political party can help. 

My promise to her is my promise to Metro readers: Labour has a plan to make working people better off. 

I don’t want to sugar coat it. Serious damage has already been done after 14 years of Conservative government, and a lot of damage will continue to be done. Whether it’s baby milk formula or fruit and veg, prices in the shops are still far too high, working people are feeling the pinch. 

Metro readers don’t need me to tell them that the price of the typical supermarket shop has risen by nearly £1,000 a year since the last general election, as Labour analysis uncovered. They feel it week in, week out. 

And with mortgages already soaring, if elected, we have found that the Tories will add £4,800 on to people’s mortgages over the next five years as a result of their unfunded commitments. 

We have to stop this. That’s why Labour’s top priority is economic stability. An end to the chaos. With our tough fiscal rules and sound public finances we will ensure inflation and mortgages are as low as possible and living standards rising again. 

We are acutely aware of what a struggle life has been in recent years. That is why our plan for change takes the tough decisions needed to put more money in people’s pockets.

Labour will make work pay with a genuine living wage, banning exploitative zero-hours contracts and extending sick pay. And we will fight the Tories all the way on this just as we did with the minimum wage, which we introduced in 1999, and they opposed every step of the way. 

We will do whatever it takes to reform the planning laws to build 1.5million homes to make housing more affordable and get more people on the property ladder.

We will end tax breaks for very wealthy non-doms to deliver free breakfast clubs in primary schools, which we have found would save parents up to £400 a year by cutting expenses on paid-for breakfast clubs or alternative childcare arrangements.

And we’ll use the spare capacity in primary schools to open 3,000 nurseries to give more families access to affordable childcare. 

And we will implement a proper windfall tax on the excess profits of the oil and gas giants. We will use the money for the start-up costs to set up Great British Energy, a publicly-owned clean power company, to cut bills for good and boost energy security.

And we will tackle the rip offs that mean car insurance costs spiral out of control. 

And our plan for the NHS is equally serious. With over 6million people on the NHS waiting list, according to the British Medical Association, Labour’s first step will be to tackle the backlog with 40,000 more appointments each week. And we will do so by paying doctors and nurses to work evenings and weekends. 

We will go further, with 700,000 emergency dentist appointments because it’s truly shocking that, as of 2022, the biggest cause of children aged six to 10 going into hospital was tooth decay. It’s time to stop the Tory rot. 

Taken together, those steps will get to work tackling the cost of living crisis at its core. 

And they’re fully costed and fully funded at every turn. Our manifesto spells out in black and white how we will pay for every penny we spend. 

And we have been absolutely clear with the public. Working people are already paying too much in tax under the Tories. So Labour will not raise income tax. We will not raise national insurance. We will not raise VAT.

Labour offers stability and change we can afford. 

I know we can’t wave a magic wand and pretend that everything will be fixed overnight. But step by step we need to lift the cloud of anxiety that is hovering above hard working families. People deserve to feel optimistic about the future, not dread. 

Labour’s manifesto will give hardworking families their future back. 

It is a plan for change. A plan for Britain’s future. 

And I believe it is a change worth voting for.

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk. 

Share your views in the comments below.

One of the hardest things I have ever had to do was sit with a grieving mother – Zoey.

She showed me a video that I will never forget, of her cradling her son Jack, singing to him as he lay in a hospital bed, dying from a knife wound. 

There are no words I could say that could possibly comfort her. 

As a father of two children, I can’t think of anything more unbearable than losing a child. 

People up and down the UK will be all too familiar with devastating stories like Zoey’s, and the impact knife crime has on many communities. 

It is about the fear of crime as well as the crime itself: the dread of walking home alone in the dark, the belief of a growing number of teenagers that they need to carry a knife to protect themselves, the sense that their community is unsafe.

In Britain today, there is an epidemic of knife crime, and it’s growing fastest in the towns and suburbs. 

The statistics tell a chilling story. Knife crime is up 70% since 2015. Recent figures show those committing the crimes are getting away with it, arrests for notifiable offences have more than halved since 2010.

Too often nothing is done when there are signs that a young person is getting into trouble, being groomed by gangs, or lost into a dangerous online world.

And too often, the Tories say they will act, and fail to do so.

It’s beyond a joke that since 2015 they’ve announced 16 times they will crack down on knife crime by banning the sale of lethal knives. 

Yet nothing happens, it’s all talk and no action. They can’t press release their way out of their abysmal record. 

The fact that it’s easier for a child to buy a zombie style knife online than it is to buy a kitchen knife in a department store is as infuriating as it is shocking. It’s young people that are paying the price for Tory sticking plaster politics. 

But are we really surprised that if we cut the numbers of neighbourhood police and PCSOs, close down youth clubs and disempower local councils, then this is fertile grounds for crime and antisocial behaviour to flourish and criminal gangs fill the void? 

Enough is enough. We’ve got to turn the page on this spiral of violence. 

As the country’s former Chief Prosecutor, I locked dangerous criminals up for a living. I’ve seen the impact of violent crime up close. 

I’ve spoken to many parents who, like Zoey, won’t see their child again. 

I know what it will take to get to grips with knife crime. And that is what my changed Labour Party will do. That’s why, today, I’ve outlined our action plan to get violence off our streets. Our approach is clear. If you flout the law, you’ll face the full force of it. No ifs, no buts. 

Tough on knife crime means we won’t shrug our shoulders when kids are caught with knives. An apology letter is not enough. Meaningless warnings are not enough.  

Prison sentences for the worst offenders. A referral to a youth offending team for all those caught carrying a knife. Tough sanctions in the more serious cases. 

That means curfews to stop the perpetrators being out on the streets at night, tagging so the authorities know where they are. Put simply – if you carry a knife, you’ll carry the consequences.

Tough on the causes of knife crime means more prevention. We will get knives off our streets with a comprehensive ban on the sale of zombie style knives, machetes and swords. 

Campaigns like Idris Elba’s Don’t Stop Your Future has laid bare that human cost of inaction. 

No warm words and governing by headline, we will ban them. And we won’t stop there. 

We will impose tough criminal sanctions on tech executives who allow knife sales on their online marketplaces, such as Amazon Marketplace, eBay and Instagram. It cannot be beyond the will of a government to get a grip of this. 

As Chief Prosecutor, I saw time and again the power of prevention. But lives are being lost to knife crime because Tory governments don’t. 

That’s why our radical Young Futures programme is so vital. It brings services together in one place; youth services, mental health services, new opportunities, targeting them at those who need them most. 

It will be a nationwide programme with youth hubs in every community across the country. It will mean youth workers in A&E departments, custody centres and communities, and mentors in pupil referral units, to target young people most at risk of being drawn into violence.   

As Prime Minister I’ll fight tooth and nail to ensure we hear less heart-breaking stories like Zoey’s. 

Labour’s long-term plan to halve knife crime and take back our streets will show that actions really do speak louder than words.

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk. 

Share your views in the comments below.

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The Prime Minister started the week dressed in police uniform attempting to persuade the nation that he has crime under control. He is finishing the week with no control at all. 

But the Tories wanted to talk about crime, so let’s. 

Since 2010, the Government has closed nearly 300 courts and 667 police stations, the very buildings that should have kept the public safe. In Runcorn, there’s a Magistrates’ Court that was closed by the Government in 2017. The locals have since thought it derelict. But just over a fortnight ago, the police found out it had actually been used by criminals as a cannabis farm.

Is there any more striking image of the Prime Minister’s failure to tackle crime? When Labour was in power, we handed out justice to victims. Under the Conservatives, it hands out spliffs to criminals. 

In my time running the Crown Prosecution Service, I saw first-hand the vital work of Britain’s justice system in keeping the British people safe. But thanks to over a decade of Government cuts and mismanagement, we are seeing nine out of 10 crimes in the country go unsolved. Perhaps the Prime Minister wants to improve those numbers a little just by owning up to his Downing Street parties?

Instead of being honest, the Prime Minister has chosen this week to keep up the charade about parties being held in Downing Street during lockdown. Instead of coming clean, he continues to take the British public for fools. 

Most damaging of all is the Prime Minister’s refusal to take responsibility, which in turn means day after day of distraction and chaos at the heart of government. He has left a vacuum of leadership when the country needs it most. 

On Wednesday morning, too ashamed to take to the airwaves to defend their leader’s behaviour, there was no government minister on broadcast to assure and inform the public about Omicron. Let’s take a moment to reflect on that. Because the leader of our country doesn’t think the rules apply to him, people missed out on vital public health messaging during a crisis. 

When I think back to Her Majesty the Queen, who sat alone whilst she marked the passing of the man she’d been married to for 73 years, the contrast in leadership couldn’t be starker. 

This week we’ve heard the Prime Minister issue denial after denial in the hope the story goes away. It won’t wash. He needs to acknowledge the facts and be honest with the British people. They made huge sacrifices and followed the rules, they had a right to expect their government was doing the same.

It’s been announced that the Cabinet Secretary will be looking into the parties at Downing Street last winter. The charade continues. His time needn’t be used in this way if the Prime Minister were willing to tell the truth. 

In a week where the Omicron variant threatens to cause serious problems for our NHS, and the public is being asked to follow tighter Covid-19 rules, the Prime Minister’s lack of moral authority is undermining public confidence and, as a result, the fight against Covid-19. 

Leadership is of vital importance, particularly now. But the Government has been found wanting. 

While the British people followed the rules and made deep personal sacrifices during each lockdown, the Prime Minister’s staff laughed about covering up their Christmas party. 

The country is no longer laughing. The jokes aren’t funny anymore. Serious times call for serious leadership, and it is clear that this Prime Minister isn’t up to the job.

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk. 

Share your views in the comments below.

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