There’s a man in the wings Starmer should call

Reforming leaders depend on visionaries who can get things done — which is why the prime minister needs Michael Gove

The big sell-off: landlords get ready for the CGT raid

Property investors are acting fast amid fears of tax rises within hours of the budget, report Rachel Mortimer and Lucy Andrews

Mortgage rates are finally dropping — here’s how to get the best deal

Five-year fixes at less than 4 per cent are available — but not for everyone. Luckily George Nixon has some tips to help you to beat the rush

What to do if your fund manager is leaving

With several high profile bosses jumping ship, here’s how to decide whether to follow them or stick with your fund

Why the £400 state pension boost will not be enough

Even with an increase in April, experts say that those in retirement will still need extra savings to cover their basic needs, reports Lily Russell-Jones

I have £46,000 in Premium Bonds, but are they worth it?

Anna Bowes from the comparison site Savings Champion offers her advice

One day, Doug said: ‘I wonder if we could do a national park?’

Douglas and Kristine Tompkins were the world’s most eminent conservationists. Kris talks to Lisa Grainger about continuing her husband’s legacy

Could a gong bath help my dodgy knee?

Aristotle wrote that flute tunes could ‘purify the soul’ and Pythagoras used melody to treat psychological conditions

‘The buzz isn’t about money, but wanting to make lives better’

The founder of the Aleto Foundation on why his biggest thrill is giving away what he’s learnt and earned

On Japan’s artisan trail

Lisa Grainger spends two weeks with the country’s most acclaimed craftsmen

Posh perfection: Victoria Beckham on her beauty brand

The entrepreneur talks smudgeproof eyeliner and finding the right shade of brown

Ben Whishaw: Bond, Paddington and the ‘one secret I didn’t need to keep’

The acclaimed actor opens up about aging, why coming out made him happier and bringing Waiting for Godot to the London stage

I can’t get enough of Slow Horses — it’s like The Thick of It does 007

It is the finest British drama of this decade, says our new TV critic Tom Peck — but what’s happened to Jackson Lamb’s explosive trademark?

Patti Smith at 77: ‘I’m not a 21st-century person’

The punk priestess on her seventies heyday, US politics — and why she’s happily reconciled with the daughter she gave up for adoption at 19

The best art, music and cultural events this week — the critics’ guide

Here’s some inspiration to make the most of your time — from Van Gogh at the National Gallery to Elvis Costello on tour and Jude Law as Henry VIII

Dogs, dreams and dirty jokes: an offbeat biography of Elizabeth II

The satirist has foraged through diaries and old newspapers, gathering tales of royal circumcisions and weird dreams, to create an unusual royal portrait

The midlifers who found love on a dating show

Julia Llewellyn Smith meets the couple who fell head over heels for each other on My Mum, Your Dad – and are now building a life together

Why late love is so much better than young love

Shane Watson on how she found The One in midlife — after she’d given up hope

Red meat, coffee, butter — do we have to give them up?

Experts reveal the truth about red meat, processed meat, white bread, coffee, butter, eggs and alcohol

Women fall in love with the idea of me, not the reality

Michael Odell meets Pete Wicks, the reality TV star and Strictly contestant who has written a book addressing toxic masculinity

I wanted to donate my eggs — sadly, it was too late

Verity Stockdale, 34, on why she dreamt of helping a stranger to become a parent

I’ve been visiting Greece for 30 years. These are the best places for autumn

Cut-price hotel stays, no crowds and plenty of sun — it’s no wonder that holidaying on the mainland during September and October is the country’s best-kept secret

The Italian school of lifestyle that helped retrain my stressy brain

A mind and body reset at a luxury spa hotel in mountainous Merano is just what the doctor ordered for this workaholic who struggles to switch off

I’ve always hated Paris — but this trip made me fall in love with it

Is the French capital overrated? Our writer thought so — until she uncovered this new maximalist hotel, gritty neighbourhood and dazzling array of cool dining spots

This cool, cultural city is Colombia’s most exciting place to visit

Colourful new hotels, chic shops and boat trips out to paradise islands await in Cartagena — one of the most luxurious places on the Caribbean coast

‘We lost two days of our luxury holiday — and £500 — thanks to Aer Lingus’

Plus: how to celebrate a 50th in style in Mauritius, the perfect group getaway in Shropshire and accessible Italy

The Times Saturday Quiz

Twenty questions to get you thinking

The Times Saturday Quiz

Mindset by 700

Three fiendish word and number brainteasers

Mindset by 700

Printable Puzzles

MindGames puzzles to solve at your leisure on paper

Printable Puzzles

Bothy bliss on the Road to the Isles

The curtains are coffee bags, the coat hooks are deer antlers — nothing goes to waste at these holiday cabins in one of Scotland’s most spectacular corners

Nish Kumar: You need therapy and good friends to cope with trolls

The stand-up on getting laughs out of the least funny subjects imaginable, the distinctive whiff of Ed Gamble and why Edinburgh is his home from home

More fire please: this Leith restaurant needs to live up to its name

ASKR often lacks the ingredient it promises most, says Chitra Ramaswamy

The day your friends don’t need anything, you’re in real trouble

We’re all a burden, passing it back and forth like a hot potato — and that’s a good thing, because problems don’t cool down on their own

Culture hub or beach bliss? Get to Valencia, the city that does both

It’s three hours from Edinburgh, gets 300 days of sunshine a year and makes an ideal autumn getaway, writes Stephen Jardine