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We hope you survived Christmas and are feeling fresh and excited for 2026.

Next year is going to be a big year for Kirstama as he faces he faces, possibly his most important set of local elections since becoming Prime Minister.

And many expect those local and devolved elections had made to be a potential flashpoint for the Prime Minister, a moment of high peril,

with his personal poll ratings already hitting record lows towards the end of this year.

We will be back with our usual weekly episodes from Monday the 5th of January.

But in the meantime, we thought we'd bring you this fascinating audio long read,

written by Daniel Trilling about Keir Stama, called Stama versus Stama.

Why is the former human rights lawyer so cautious about defending human rights?

Welcome to the Guardian Long Read, showcasing the best long-form journalism covering culture,

politics and new thinking. For the text version of this and all our long reads, go to

the Guardian.com forward slash long read.

This article contains some swearing.

Stama versus Stama.

Why is the former human rights lawyer so cautious about defending human rights?

By Daniel Trilling.

Read by Simon Darwin.

Thank you. read by Simon Darwin. The International Human Rights System.

The rules, principles and practices intended to ensure that states do not abuse people

is under greater threat now than at any other point since 1945.

Fortunately, we in the UK couldn't wish for a better qualified Prime Minister to face this challenge.

...