Happy Friday! On we roll into February and we've had a busy start to the month with The Lead, as we bring you exclusive agenda-setting stories on health and housing and also our new subscriber-only audio note which deep-dives into one of our recent stories. Each Friday we'll bring you our picks from what we've published each week as The Lead's week that was digest for the week ending Friday 7 February 2025.
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This week we launched our subscriber-only feature, which will appear each month, The Lead in Conversation. Westminster Editor Zoë Grünewald was joined by Hannah Fearn as she lifted the lid on her recent long-read for us about the crisis in shared ownership and housing association properties. It's a fascinating discussion.
Staying with our Westminster Editor and Zoë looked at YouGov polling this week which puts Reform as the most popular party in the UK - how should Labour respond? It also weaves in insights from HopeNotHate as we attended their event which went inside the minds of Reform voters (and potential voters). This was also the topic of discussion when Zoe appeared on BBC Radio 5 Live to debate the rise of Reform with Gawain Towler.
"The fact is things that Farage says, they don't match up with who he really is."
The Lead's Zoë Grünewald on Radio 5 Live this week.
Read her piece for below... pic.twitter.com/MTCs99TWRr— The Lead | theleaduk.substack.com (@theleaduk) February 6, 2025
We also heard from frustrated residents in a development 'managed' by RMG. The firm has faced growing criticism over how it manages many leasehold properties. And MPs are now looking deeply into the issue. Kevin Gopal reported on how one estate in Bury was representative of the experience of thousands of people.
And following our reader survey in January we've been looking at how we expand our health coverage on The Lead. The first of a two-part story looking at how the UK looks set to miss its target to stop new transmissions of HIV by 2030 sees health professionals, charities and those affected by the disease explain the situation, as Rachel Howarth reports.
We also launched our new feature, The Lead Untangled, where each week we'll dig into the arguments about a topic. And give you some facts. Yes, remember those? Luke Beardsworth dives into the USAID debate.
Over at The Lead North and there's the tragic story of little Ava in Lancashire. Pharmacists may have to change how they prescribe vital medicines as a result. While in Teesside, Leigh Jones continued his investigation into which councillors are not paying their council tax - with one paying up in Hartlepool as a result of our enquiries and one in Stockton having an unpaid bill of £6,000.
And in Calderdale, Andrew Greaves looked at what the local impact would be if the government press on with a flawed change to sick pay. We're campaigning to make Sick Pay Safer, thanks to everyone who has signed our petition so far calling on Alison McGovern MP to agree to an amendment to the Employment Rights Bill.
In the upcoming weekend edition of The Lead, on Saturday, we're delighted to welcome back Natalie Morris as she writes for us on the inequality of toxic air in our cities. Natalie returns in March after maternity leave and we're delighted to see her back. Make sure you sign up to receive her writing direct to your inbox.
Some The Lead parish notices too:
- Thanks to everyone who took part in our reader survey - there was some great feedback and things for us to reflect on as a team. We're commissioning some new features and long reads for the weeks ahead, so we're taking your ideas and feedback onboard. Health, politics and climate came through strongly - so expect to see more of these. We'll also be introducing some stories and insights for paid subscribers only too.
- We're on Bluesky, as well as X, so do give us a follow to be notified of new stories going live. Our piece about why we're staying on X, despite everything, is a good read.
- If you're a freelance journalist, or have a story tip, our pitching guidelines have all been updated and are over on our Substack.
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