Burnout or breakup are constant dangers when one partner carries too much of the mental load of looking after the home and family. Here’s how to spread the burden more evenly

Many households have an imbalance in domestic duties, and women often struggle from carrying the weight of the organisational side of life. Here, mental load experts share the secrets to having a more equitable home – and the rewards that can be gained from it.

Conference delegates grateful ousting Starmer has paid off, but relief tempered by fiscal headwinds ahead

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Even Andy Burnham’s closest allies accept that deposing Keir Starmer to install their man as leader was a huge political gamble. But if the mood at the Labour party conference in Liverpool is anything to go by, it is one that – so far – has paid off.

The contrast with last year, when Starmer retained his grip on the party and Burnham slunk away from Liverpool early, could not be more stark. Their relief at their turn of fortune is tempered only by the fiscal headwinds ahead.

The actors are working together for the first time ever, in Noël Coward’s comedy Hay Fever. Backstage, there’s no stopping their tales of skinny-dipping, fat-shaming and warring co-stars

Richard E Grant: Despite our vast combined vintage, our paths have never crossed before, have they?

Christine Baranski: Regrettably not. We could have had some good fun a few decades ago. A girl could have got into some real trouble. But here we are, and now we’re the veterans. You’re among the great character actors, popping up delightfully in so many things and always being spot-on.

Ambiance: who wants it and why do so many pubs contrive to create it? The deader the pub the better, in my view

I was out with a mate one evening when she asked where I’d like to go. My response was immediate: “A pub with no atmosphere.” I cannot think of anywhere better. You get served straight away, you get a seat and, if you’re really lucky, there’s no music. Seriously, what’s not to like?

First things first: by “pub”, I mean the old-fashioned type, with carpets that stick to the soles of your shoes – no gastropub nonsense. I’m still fuming from the time I ordered fish and chips in one of these (unbeknown to me) gastropubs. It’s a simple meal; a British staple. How can you get that wrong? Well first, the fish and peas arrived on a slate slab (an item, by all rights, I should only come across in my dad’s shed). I’m no physicist, but if a dish contains peas, then having a totally flat surface to place them on is not ideal. Worse, for some inexplicable reason the chips had been separated from the fish and placed in a metal container, which, as I discovered when I foolhardily attempted to pick it up, was hot enough to cause third-degree burns. When I quite reasonably asked if they could not just bung everything on a plate, the look of disdain would have you believe I had asked the barman if I could abduct his first-born child.

She lit up Sherlock, made a brutal exit from House of the Dragon and now she’s back in the hard-hitting Belfast-set police drama. Will she have to stuff a chopping board into her flak jacket this time round?

Sharp eyes save lives. That’s the mantra of the police officers in Blue Lights, although the words sound a good deal more urgent when said in a throaty Belfast accent. The city, dealing with past and present problems, is the turbulent setting for the hit drama. Having starred in the BBC series for the past four years, Siân Brooke has taken its lessons about vigilance to heart.

“I noticed some dodgy-looking activity not far from where we live in London,” says Brooke. “I’d driven past a few times and was suspicious. I told my husband that the last time I went past, I slowed down and did a drive-by, so they’d know their untoward behaviour had been rumbled. My husband said: ‘You can’t do that, Siân. You’re not a real cop!’” She laughs. “I think Blue Lights has got to me. What was I going to do, make a citizen’s arrest?”

I used to be terrified of socialising, certain I would embarrass myself the moment I opened my mouth. And as for dates …

As with a lot of teenagers, social confidence was not my strong suit. Throughout my time at school in the early 2010s, I hated the prospect of new social situations and would often lie awake at night overthinking the day to come.

What I now know to be social anxiety I dismissed as just nerves at that young age. Although I knew something wasn’t quite right, for most of my early teens I managed to disguise my discomfort. Sharing a friendship group with my twin sister meant I could hide behind my sibling.

Officers say they have secured extension to continue to hold men, all in their 20s, on suspicion of terror offences

Five men arrested on suspicion of terror offences at RAF Fairford are all British nationals in their 20s from London, counter-terrorism police have said.

The men were pictured on Sunday being apprehended, shirtless, near the RAF base in Gloucestershire, which is being used by the US air force in its operations against Iran.

Chancellor tells Labour conference it’s ‘not progressive’ to fail to balance books amid rising welfare bill as borrowing costs climb to record high

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• Price of diesel on UK forecourts reaches all-time high

John Healey has pledged to use next month’s budget to inject hope into Britain’s economy while sticking to the government’s fiscal rules, arguing there is “nothing progressive” about losing control of public finances.

In his first speech as chancellor to Labour conference, Healey warned that next month’s highly anticipated tax-and-spending event would need to take into account a challenging global backdrop.

Official says deaths – and dozens of injuries – were probably caused by crushing on boat carrying 105 people

A 10-year-old child and two women died ⁠attempting ​to cross the Channel on Monday, French authorities have said.

Their deaths and the injuries of dozens of others in a large dinghy were probably caused by crushing, according to a French official.

Exclusive: Instructors at tech training company Multiverse hit out at ‘remorseless’ and ‘unnerving’ monitoring system

Teachers at Euan Blair’s £1.6bn tech training company, Multiverse, have blown the whistle about “horrendous stress” and feeling constantly watched after bosses started using AI models to surveil and rate their teaching.

Staff delivering apprenticeship training in computer and AI skills to thousands of UK public and private sector workers now have transcripts of online classroom sessions analysed and scored by an AI programmed to alert human managers when they are suspected of doing things wrong.