‘We hope the US steps again from the abyss and places Kamala Harris within the White House’

The world is holding its breath today as Americans go to the polls and the spectre of a Donald Trump presidency looms.

The bigoted, spiteful and dangerous leader of a failed coup, when he refused to accept a clear defeat last time, is a threat to democracy. So we hope the USA steps back from the abyss and puts Democrat Kamala Harris in the White House. The fate of that nation and our own ­prosperity and security is in the hands of a few tens of thousands of voters in seven key swing states in this knife-edge contest.

Trump, despite having a Scottish mother, is no friend of Britain when he threatens trade barriers, destabilises Nato and might even gift-wrap invaded Ukraine for his fellow ­traveller Vladimir Putin. Britons don’t have a vote but we do have an interest in Harris winning and Trump losing.

Beat the boats

Smashing the gangs and stopping the boats is an almighty task for Labour after the Tories lost control of our borders.

Keir Starmer has doubled funding to £150million to tackle the crisis. The new Border Security Command uses hi-tech security, including drones, with 100 specialist investigators targeting traffickers. No instant, simple, single solution exists and blame continues to lie with the Tories.

But by next spring the problem of Channel small boat crossings will be Labour’s. Total crossing this year at just over 31,000 are up 16.5% on the same point last year, if still down 22% at this stage in 2022. Starmer and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper will be judged on whether numbers come down…or go up.

Unbeatable

Producer Quincy Jones was a music industry giant and the genius behind a string of hits by stars from Frank Sinatra to Michael Jackson. Classic numbers such as Fly Me To The Moon and Thriller made his stunning career truly out of this world.