Labour PM’s conference speech comes amid right-wing surge and the left’s plunge in ratings.
A year after his huge election win, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday faced the daunting task of trying to rally his party amid dismal ratings.
His most serious challenge comes from the right-wing Reform UK Party, helmed by Nigel Farage. Its hardline stance on immigration is adding pressure for more border security from Labour.
Starmer’s address at the Labour Party conference showed energy and passion — things he’s been criticized for lacking in recent months.
But will it be enough to help Starmer overcome his challenges, or are his days in office numbered?
Presenter: Nick Clark
Guests:
Patrick Diamond – Professor in public policy at Queen Mary University of London, former policy adviser to Labour governments led by Tony Blair and Gordon Brown
Jennifer Nadel – Political communications strategist and co-founder of Compassion in Politics, a cross-party think tank that works towards legislative change and ethical governance
Michael Walker – Contributing editor at Novara Media, an independent outlet, a former Labour Party member who left in 2020
Released by Arsenal as a youth player, Burgess went to university before he was offered a trial at Championship side Middlesbrough during his second year of study.
He earned a two-year professional contract, but was encouraged by then-manager Tony Mowbray to continue his education.
“It was something you couldn’t turn down,” he said of his first professional deal. “So I took it and finished my degree at Teesside University. They allowed me to transfer my first two years.
“Mowbray told me to make sure I finished it because the contract was a foot in the door, not a guaranteed career. I listened to his words and thankfully, I’ve been able to carve a career out with the game as well.”
Burgess enjoyed spells in League One with Peterborough and Portsmouth, before taking the plunge with a move to Belgium in 2020.
And, remarkably, he is not the only English centre-back who has swapped life in the third tier for a crack at the Belgian top flight.
Defensive partner Ross Sykes was picked up from Accrington Stanley in 2022 after Union “took a chance” on him.
The pair went on to help Union win their first league title in 90 years last season after Sykes, like Burgess, overcame adversity in his formative years.
Sykes may be 6ft 5in now, but he was previously released by Burnley because he was deemed to “too small” as a kid.
It ended up proving a turning point in his career.
“I didn’t want to keep going with academy football,” he said after he was let go at the age of 11. “But my mum and dad persuaded me to go on trial at Accrington Stanley one or two weeks later. I didn’t look back after that.”
Sykes and Burgess have gone on to make 318 appearances between them for Union on a journey that has taken the Belgian league leaders to Europe’s top table for the first time.
And Union’s 3-1 win against PSV in their first Champions League fixture did not come as a surprise to Sykes last month because his side are “not afraid to come up against anyone”.
Burgess certainly looked at home at Europe’s top table. The Union captain was rated 9.39 out of 10 by BBC Sport readers, finishing the match as the top-ranking player.
An Englishman who has only played one league game in the top two tiers of English football might not seem the most obvious to lead a European campaign – but Union have always taken the road less travelled.
“It’s a club built on the profile of bringing youngsters through from unknown leagues,” Burgess explains. “We have players from the Estonian, Latvian, Croatian, Austrian leagues and Union will give them a chance to shine if they see potential.
“My role is to help them and keep demanding high standards and usher them through, and then they get big moves all over Europe, which is a pleasure to see.”
One UCLA football legend sat across from the other, lamenting how far their beloved program had fallen.
On one side was Rick Neuheisel, a onetime Rose Bowl most valuable player and Bruins head coach, wondering aloud whether his alma mater had put itself in position to pick a strong successor to the recently dismissed DeShaun Foster.
“Is there confidence in the current athletic director when there’s been swing-and-misses,” Neuheisel asked, “or do you need to go find somebody else?”
On the other side of the CBS Sports studio roundtable was Randy Cross, a former All-America offensive lineman and three-time Super Bowl champion so angry about the state of the Bruins that his voice rose as he spoke.
“UCLA is clueless, they’re rudderless, they’re leaderless and it’s been decades since they had anybody there that had a freaking clue as to, A, what they want to do and, two, how they’re going to do it,” Cross said. “It sounds simple — there isn’t a better school in America to go to than UCLA — but that athletic department is a joke led by the football team.”
Theirs weren’t the only critical voices.
National college football writers and other pundits tweeted about the athletic department’s massive deficit, meager NIL resources and failed leadership. An online petition that called for athletic director Martin Jarmond’s resignation or removal generated more than 750 signatures as of Sunday evening.
Some of the fire has been friendly. Roughly 100 former UCLA football players met with Jarmond via Zoom to vent their frustrations about a variety of topics, including the need to get back to the days when football was a top priority at the school.
As UCLA commences a hiring process that will likely last until at least November, one of its biggest hurdles might be a perception problem. Its athletic department has been labeled as impoverished and directionless, with Jarmond squarely in the crosshairs of most detractors.
UCLA athletic director Martin Jarmond.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
Many have questioned whether Jarmond should be involved in selecting Foster’s replacement after so badly whiffing on his hiring. A former position coach who had never run an offense or a defense, much less a team, Foster compiled a 5-10 record that included back-to-back losses to Mountain West Conference opponents before his dismissal three games into his second season.
“The puzzle doesn’t fit together,” said one veteran agent who works in the NIL space, speaking on condition of anonymity so that he could share his thoughts on the situation candidly. “It’s like, the bad AD hires the coach and they get rid of the coach but they still have the bad AD.”
UCLA chancellor Julio Frenk affirmed Jarmond’s standing in what amounted to a vote of confidence, saying in a statement provided to The Times last week that the athletic director would “oversee the process of hiring a new head coach who will elevate UCLA football to national prominence.”
In announcing a search committee that would assist him in making that hire, Jarmond said he was convening a group of accomplished sports and business executives and UCLA greats that would be revealed once finalized.
The agent who spoke with The Times said having a committee of respected names with UCLA ties such as football legend Troy Aikman, sports executive Casey Wasserman and former Golden State Warriors general manager and Washington Commanders consultant Bob Myers could elevate the Bruins’ prospects of finding a top-level coach.
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“The more heavyweights involved, definitely more people might come to the table who wouldn’t otherwise come to the table and then they can try to convince them,” the agent said. “But then you have a lot of chefs in the kitchen picking, and they can’t get it wrong this time.”
The candidates will presumably have more questions than how much they would be getting paid. What does UCLA define as football success — eight-win seasons or reaching the College Football Playoff? What resources will they commit? How firm is Jarmond’s footing inside his department? How will the school bolster its NIL program to be competitive with top counterparts around the country?
Discussions about the school’s complex finances could take up a good chunk of any meeting.
The widely circulated figure of UCLA’s athletic department running a combined $219.55-million deficit over the last six fiscal years doesn’t fully reveal the financial situation. That tab has been covered in full by the university, bringing the balance to zero, thanks in part to $30 million in direct institutional support in the most recent fiscal year.
The university’s forgiving stance has been taken, in part, because a significant chunk of athletic department revenue is diverted to several other business units on campus, including the recreation department, parking, housing, food and Associated Students UCLA, which benefits from long-held trademark and licensing agreements.
That hasn’t stopped the Bruins from making significant investments in football, mostly thanks to an infusion of cash from their Big Ten media rights deal. The team spent $2.9 million to install new grass and artificial turf practice fields while also renovating the weight room inside its relatively new practice facility. A locker room renovation is in the works.
This summer, UCLA paid to hold its 18-day training camp in Costa Mesa. The team has also spent untold millions on food, travel, biometrics and mental health services while also upgrading the infrastructure of its football staff, including general manager and assistant general manager positions and expanded coaching, analytics and recruiting departments.
UCLA committed the maximum $20.5 million for revenue sharing with its athletes, earmarking an estimated $15 million or so for football players. The team also poured millions into NIL deals consummated before the House settlement so that players could benefit prior to the NCAA’s clearinghouse, NIL Go, going into effect July 1.
But how sustainable is that kind of spending?
In May, the UCLA Academic Senate’s executive board sent a letter to Frenk and Darnell Hunt, the executive vice chancellor and provost, outlining “profound concern” related to the athletic department deficit at a time of anticipated budget cuts for academic departments.
“We have been told that financial sacrifices are necessary to ensure that there is a UCLA in the future,” the letter stated. “How can austerity of this magnitude be imposed on the core academic mission while athletics spending goes unchecked?”
Fans attend the UCLA season opener against Utah at the Rose Bowl on Aug. 30.
(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)
The letter went on to note that Jarmond received a contract extension paying him more than $1.5 million annually despite never operating his department with less than a $20-million annual deficit. It also detailed several ways in which the athletic department’s roughly $80-million deficit for the most recent fiscal year (not counting the $30-million lifeline from the university) could be used to support academics, including covering nearly all in-state tuition for every doctoral student.
“All of these potential uses would directly support the academic mission in austere times,” the letter said. “Yet the money is instead being directed to bail out a non-academic department that consistently demonstrates poor fiscal management.”
The senate ended its letter by requesting, among other things, immediate assurance that campus would no longer subsidize the athletic department in any form, including providing or authorizing loans. What was Frenk’s response?
Megan M. McEvoy, the academic senate chair for the 2025-26 school year who is also a UCLA professor of microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics, told The Times that the academic senate did not receive a reply and its concerns are ongoing.
But any pressure to save will undoubtedly be offset by calls to spend.
During a discussion of the coaching openings at UCLA and Virginia Tech on ESPN’s “College GameDay” on Saturday, reporter Pete Thamel noted that the Hokies were adding $50 million to their athletic department budget to display their commitment to winning at the highest level.
Host Rece Davis wryly added that of the two schools, Virginia Tech was the one that knew what needed to be done.
The agent who spoke with The Times said that UCLA’s best move might be to hire a coach from a lower-level conference who could bring a good chunk of his roster with him like Curt Cignetti did as part of his transition from James Madison to Indiana. In his first season with the Hoosiers, Cignetti won 11 games and took his team to the College Football Playoff.
“If you bring in a guy from Tulane, where those players don’t make as much [in NIL] as what UCLA has to pay,” the agent said, “you can just get it all done in a one-stop shop, so that’s a very interesting dynamic. I don’t think an A-lister [at a bigger school] can really build it as fast as the B-plus guy because the B-plus guy can bring players from his school right now.”
That’s assuming, of course, that the B-plus guy takes UCLA’s call.
The Body Snatcher – as he is affectionately known for his work to the midsection – has also developed one of the most dangerous left hooks in that time.
But the punch – especially as a counter while catching the opponent’s shot on the gloves – is harder to land on a southpaw due to the angle of stances.
Trainer Mark Tibbs – who had four years and 11 fights with Whyte before their split in 2020 – recognises his former boxer is at risk of being debilitated against leftie Itauma.
Tibbs said on SunSport’s No Glove Lost episode: “Unless Moses is throwing a big hook, catch and whip, Dillian loves doing that, catching the shot and whipping the hook.
“But, he’s got to get the right hand off as well, in my opinion.”
The highly-touted Moses Itauma faces the biggest test of his fledgling career as he steps into the ring with Dillian Whyte on Saturday night.
Itauma, 20, has great expectations on his shoulders – he has been compared to Mike Tyson and is expected by many to dominate boxing’s heavyweight division over the next decade.
But the Slovakian-born star – who sits at 12-0 (10KOs) is yet to face a test anywhere close to what Whyte can offer.
The Body Snatcher is now 37 and has not looked great in his last couple of fights, but the former world title challenger knows an upset win would catapult him right back to the top table.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the fight…
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Anthony Yarde – who lost in his two brave light-heavyweight titles challenges to Sergey Kovalev and Artur Beterbeiv – was in agreement.
And he looked to fellow guest on the panel, Derek Chisora, as an example of how Whyte should approach the bout against Itauma.
Yarde, 34, said: “For him to be catching and countering Moses, it has to be fast.
“For him to give Moses trouble or upset Moses, I personally think he’s just got to be a veteran.
“Derek will now, you drag them down. Even (Chisora’s) last fight against Otto (Wallin) I was thinking, is that Derek? Because he put it on him.
“Every time it was, bap, bap, bap, let him have it! Take that and see how you like it. It’s calculated.”
With Whyte’s famous left hook potentially being nullified – Tibbs believes the right hand will need to be more deadly than ever before.
He said: “I’d like Dillian to try get his lead foot on the outside the best he can and get his right hand off because he’s fighting the southpaw.
“But he will have to use that left hand as a bit of a shield and get in mid range as early as possible.
“They don’t call him The Body Snatcher for nothing, so we’re going to have to get round that body and try and unsettle and not let Moses be pretty.
“But Moses is fleet-footed, it’s a difficult task but Dillian’s got the experience, I’m sure he’s got the desire and he’s a fighting man.
“Unless Moses is throwing a big hook, catch and whip, Dillian loves doing that, catching the shot and whipping the hook.
“But, he’s got to get the right hand off as well, in my opinion.”
Tibbs – who never cornered Whyte against a southpaw – called on him to try and drag Itauma into a fight the youngster has never experienced before.
The trainer said: “He’s got a difficult task but if I was Dillian, he’s got to do his utmost to edge him back and put him on his heels. Not too many men can fight on their heels.
“But Moses, like Derek says, is a fresh, fresh lion. He’s a sharp shooter, a great counter puncher, but it’s a cracking match.
“Moses needs a Dillian Whyte right now to see where he’s at. The fans need to see where he’s at, we need to see where Moses is at.
“He’s 12 fights in, it’s not a great deal. It’s a cracking match and what makes it a cracking match is Dillian’s mentality – like I’ve said before – and equally Moses’ mentality.”
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Mark Tibbs formerly coached WhyteCredit: Getty
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Moses Itauma takes on Whyte in Saudi ArabiaCredit: Getty
MILWAUKEE — Yoshinobu Yamamoto was one pitch away from a clean first inning Monday night.
Instead, it devolved into a sudden, unstoppable nightmare.
In the shortest start of his MLB career, and in an outing that somehow rivaled his disastrous debut in the majors last March in South Korea, Yamamoto missed one chance after the next to escape the bottom of the first against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field. Poor defense and bad batted-ball luck didn’t help in what became a 41-pitch collapse.
By the time it was all over, the Brewers were leading by five runs, manager Dave Roberts was summoning a reliever just two outs into the game, and the Dodgers were well on their way to a fourth consecutive defeat, never coming close to a comeback in a 9-1 loss to open a six-game road trip.
The trouble started quickly beneath an open retractable roof on a mild summer night in Wisconsin.
Sal Frelick hammered a hanging curveball for a leadoff double. Willson Contreras drew a walk when Yamamoto couldn’t locate his splitter near the zone. And the two outs that followed — a fly ball from Jackson Chourio and grounder from Christian Yelich — proved to be only a temporary reprieve.
In the next at-bat, newly acquired Brewers slugger Andrew Vaughn came to the plate in his first game with the team. He got three straight sliders from Yamamoto to start, fanning on the first before laying off two that missed the zone next. Then, after a called strike on a fastball at the knees evened the count 2-and-2, catcher Will Smith dialed up another curveball from Yamamoto again.
It was supposed to be down and on the outside corner. Instead, it fluttered up and above the zone. Vaughn connected with a mighty upper-cut swing. The ball soared beyond the left-field wall, making it 3-0 Brewers just like that.
Somehow, the inning would only get worse from there.
Despite entering the night coming off a first-career All-Star selection, and leading the majors in road ERA at 1.57, Yamamoto failed to settle down.
In a 1-and-2 count against Isaac Collins, he left a fastball down the middle that was hammered for a single. After falling behind 3-and-0 to Brice Turang, Yamamoto worked the count full only to miss badly with a fastball and issue an inning-extending walk.
With his pitch count climbing at that point, Roberts began to stir the bullpen.
Yamamoto appeared to finally find an escape route against Caleb Durbin, inducing a grounder with a splitter that was hit straight to shortstop Mookie Betts. But, in a rare defensive lapse at his new position, Betts spiked a throw to first that Freddie Freeman couldn’t corral. Collins came racing around from second to score. The inning stayed alive when it once again should’ve ended.
Yamamoto’s leash finally ran out on pitch 41, when Andruw Monasterio lobbed a bloop RBI single down the right-field line in the next at-bat. As another run scored, Roberts came walking out of the bullpen to give the team’s season-long ace an unimaginably early hook.
The two teams played the final eight innings. But the result already seemed well in hand.
The Dodgers’ lineup was shorthanded, missing Teoscar Hernández with a bruised foot and Tommy Edman with a pinky toe fracture (both are expected back in the lineup by Wednesday). Before the game, Kiké Hernández was also put on the injured list with an elbow injury that had been bothering him since he made an awkward slide in Cleveland in late May, and flared up to the point of requiring a cortisone shot this past weekend. Not to be forgotten, Max Muncy also remains sidelined by his bum knee.
In their places, the Dodgers started James Outman in center field (who was called up from triple A pregame), Miguel Rojas at third base and Hyeseong Kim at second against Brewers All-Star right-hander Freddy Peralta.
The outcome was predictable: Six innings of shutout ball in which the Dodgers managed only five hits, one walk and struck out seven times.
