Stella Creasy on her lonely maternity cover battle: ‘Women should be able to have kids and do politics’

The Labour politician is used to fighting battles – but can she win her latest: convincing her colleagues to back proper maternity cover for fellow members?

Anti-obesity scheme to offer voucher rewards for healthy living

Government to launch pilot in England in January, aimed at motivating people to lose weight

The Taliban are not the only threat to Afghanistan. Aid cuts could undo 20 years of progress

The most vulnerable people will bear the cost of sanctions, as services and the economy collapse

Tories ‘squandering Olympic legacy’ as school PE declines

Sport England reveals that in some regions a third of children are active for less than 30 minutes a day

Spike by Jeremy Farrar and Anjana Ahuja; and Vaxxers by Sarah Gilbert and Catherine Green – review

Two urgent and fascinating accounts from the frontlines show how scientists succeeded, and failed, at saving us from Covid-19

The Rishi Sunak workout: why his day begins with Britney, Peloton and blueberries

Boris Johnson is a runner (of a sort), while Dominic Raab practises karate. Now comes a surprisingly detailed account of how mornings start in No 11 Downing Street

The evidence is in: low-traffic neighbourhoods are popular

The London election proves that measures to make streets safer are a vote-winner, says a former Labour leader of Ealing council

Why am I so furious about teeth? They are deeply socially divisive

The gap between those who can or can’t afford a dentist is widening. There is a three-year wait for NHS appointments – while the market for whitening and tweakments booms, writes Guardian columnist Emma Beddington

Thousands of work-related Covid deaths going unreported, says TUC

Unions believe data showing just 2.5% of working-age Covid deaths are work-related is ‘not credible’

Parent trap: why the cult of the perfect mother has to end

Worldwide, mothers are overworked, underpaid, often lonely and made to feel guilty about everything from epidurals to bottle feeding. Fixing this is the unfinished work of feminism