MARY CONWAY revels in a powerful reminder that human lives are not defined by physical perfection
WHAT makes The Divide stand out as documentary on the ever-widening gap between rich and poor is that it focuses very much on the human stories of those affected by the vicious attacks on the most vulnerable in society.
No cinematic essay on macroeconomics, it’s a slice-of-life look at seven people brought to their knees by poverty in Britain and the US.
There’s Keith, whose US prison has turned him into a brutalised volcano of resentment, and Rochelle from Newcastle, who doesn’t get respect for her carer job and whose long hours don’t allow her time for her kids. Ostracised by neighbours in the wealthy gated community she thought she’d “escaped” to, Jen in Sacramento endures a waking nightmare of snobbery.
We cannot refuse to abolish the unjustifiable two-child benefit cap that pushes children into poverty while finding billions of pounds for defence spending — the membership and the public expect better from Labour, writes JON TRICKETT MP
The Prime Minister’s hamfisted promotional video promising to go ‘further and faster’ coincides with Angela Rayner’s resignation over tax dodging and Mandelson’s long overdue departure over Epstein — incredible timing, writes MATT KERR
MARIA DUARTE and ANGUS REID review Friendship, Four Letters of Love, Tin Soldier and The Ballad of Suzanne Cesaire


