Political news

• Andy Burnham faces tricky run to win Labour crown

  22-01-2026 23:40 via bbc.com
  The Greater Manchester mayor must overcome substantial obstacles in order to challenge Keir Starmer.
  
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• Starmer’s allies launch ‘Stop Andy Burnham’ campaign to block parliamentary return

  22-01-2026 21:38 via theguardian.com
  Speculation has spread over whether Burnham will attempt to return to pursue a Labour leadership bidKeir Starmer’s allies have launched a “Stop Andy Burnham” campaign to prevent the Labour mayor from returning to parliament after the resignation of a Manchester MP triggered a byelection.Multiple members of the party’s ruling national executive committee (NEC) predicted it would be impossible for Burnham to make it through the selection process given the number of Starmer
  
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• Minister told armoured vehicle which left soldiers vomiting was 'safe'

  22-01-2026 21:01 via bbc.com
  The defence minister claims he wasn't made fully aware of issues which led to 35 people falling ill.
  
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• First asylum seekers moved into former army camp

  22-01-2026 21:00 via bbc.com
  The Home Office says 27 people seeking asylum have been housed in the training camp in East Sussex.
  
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• Number of police forces in England and Wales to be reduced significantly

  22-01-2026 20:26 via ft.com
  Home Secretary is due to publish a white paper on Monday outlining a radical reshaping of the service’s structure
  
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• ‘Everybody is trying to capitalise on the chaos’: The race to replace Starmer

  22-01-2026 20:04 via ft.com
  A by-election could offer a way back to Westminster for Manchester mayor Andy Burnham. But he is not the only one in contention
  
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• Protests expected as first asylum seekers arrive at East Sussex camp

  22-01-2026 19:47 via theguardian.com
  Minister says use of former army barracks at Crowborough is part of plan to move people out of hotelsA first group of asylum seekers has been moved into a former military camp in East Sussex, the Home Office has said, amid expectations of further protests and legal challenges.Crowborough training camp received 27 men in the early hours of Thursday morning, a statement said, which will be scaled up to 500 over several months. Continue reading...
  
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• The Guardian view on toddlers and screens: more reasons to be fearful of big tech | Editorial

  22-01-2026 19:44 via theguardian.com
  Growing concerns about the impact of smartphones on the youngest children must be addressedThe first UK government guidance on young children’s use of tablets, smartphones and other screens, expected in April, cannot come soon enough. The laissez-faire approach to the boom in social media, handheld devices and other digital technology was arguably nowhere less suitable than when such machines were placed in front of babies. The Department for Education’s ongoing Children of the 2020s
  
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• Gordon Ramsay says tax changes will make restaurants ‘lambs to the slaughter’

  22-01-2026 19:39 via theguardian.com
  Celebrity chef warns UK government’s plans for higher business rates from April ‘simply will not work’The celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay has accused the government of cooking up a kitchen nightmare at restaurants across the country with tax changes that he says will make hospitality businesses “lambs to the slaughter”.Ramsay, whose company operates 34 restaurants in the UK including Bread Street Kitchen, Pétrus and Lucky Cat, said the industry was “facing
  
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• UK not ready to sign up to Donald Trump’s ‘board of peace’, says Yvette Cooper

  22-01-2026 19:36 via theguardian.com
  Foreign secretary says Britain supports president’s Gaza plan but there are concerns around involvement of PutinUK politics live – latest updatesDavos live – latest updatesBritain will not join Donald Trump’s “board of peace” on Thursday, Yvette Cooper has said, citing concerns about Russian involvement.The foreign secretary said the UK strongly supported the US president’s 20-point plan for Gaza, which he is seeking to draw attention to at the World Eco
  
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• Ex-Labour minister quits as MP, paving way for Burnham return

  22-01-2026 19:33 via bbc.com
  Greater Manchester MP Andrew Gwynne says he is stepping down due to "significant ill health".
  
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• What we know about Trump's 'framework of future deal' over Greenland

  22-01-2026 19:15 via bbc.com
  Denmark and Greenland have made it clear they will not relinquish sovereignty of the world's largest island.
  
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• Number of police forces to be cut in major shake-up

  22-01-2026 19:15 via bbc.com
  Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood will announce plans for police reform next week.
  
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• Data centre suffers setback after UK government admits planning error

  22-01-2026 19:04 via ft.com
  Legal challenge to proceed against contentious £1bn project due to be built on former landfill site near London
  
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• Labour’s Andrew Gwynne resigns paving the way for return of Andy Burnham as an MP– as it happened

  22-01-2026 19:02 via theguardian.com
  PM declines to say whether he supports Burnham standing as Gwynne steps down Andy Burnham may have a new route to parliament after the MP Andrew Gwynne reached a settlement with the Commons that would allow him to retire and call a byelection, Pippa Crerar, Jessica Elgot and Josh Halliday report.In her Sky News interview this morning, Kemi Badenoch also said she was opposed to the UK joining President Trump’s board of peace if Vladimir Putin is a member. She said:We should not be, certainl
  
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• Starmer’s allies ready to block Burnham’s bid for Westminster comeback

  22-01-2026 18:33 via ft.com
  Andrew Gwynne’s decision to stand down as an MP offers by-election opening for Labour rival to prime minister
  
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• If the assisted dying bill is killed off by the Lords, let that be the end for this unelected chamber | Polly Toynbee

  22-01-2026 18:18 via theguardian.com
  With filibustering slowing the pace to a crawl, there is no chance the legislation will get through – unless the government shows some backboneThe assisted dying bill is about to die, killed off by a small coterie of peers against the will of the House of Commons and voters who have supported the right to die for decades. Can the government let this happen? Keir Starmer, who has voted in favour of the legislation, needs to summon the spirit of Harold Wilson’s 1960s reforms. He has th
  
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• Met Police should lose counterterror role, says commissioner Mark Rowley

  22-01-2026 18:11 via ft.com
  Home Secretary is due to publish a white paper on Monday outlining changes to London’s police force
  
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• Starmer needs to act to stop separatists running Wales, first minister says

  22-01-2026 17:57 via bbc.com
  The first minister said the threat of a UK break up will become real if pro-independence parties are in power in Wales and Scotland.
  
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• UK civil servant in charge of Ajax armoured vehicles sacked from role

  22-01-2026 16:53 via ft.com
  Chris Bowbrick ‘no longer’ responsible for delivery of troubled Ministry of Defence programme
  
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• UK holds off joining Trump's Board of Peace over Putin concerns

  22-01-2026 16:40 via bbc.com
  Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper says the Russian president has shown no commitment to peace in Ukraine.
  
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• Along comes Trump and our emperors have no clothes | John Crace

  22-01-2026 16:11 via theguardian.com
  There’s no shame in not knowing what he’ll say next: neither does he. But that didn’t stop many claiming to make sense of itIn weeks like this, the mask slips somewhat. Politicians love the illusion of control. It’s the special power that differentiates them from us lower orders. They are the ones pulling all the levers. Nothing ever happens that takes them unawares. They are the ones with answers to everything. They need it to be this way. Not just for their own psyches
  
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• Wes Streeting answers questions about healthcare in Oxfordshire

  22-01-2026 15:40 via bbc.com
  The Health Secretary admitted the NHS is "falling short" on meeting demand for adult autism and ADHD diagnosis.
  
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• Danish PM thanks Starmer for support over Greenland

  22-01-2026 15:21 via bbc.com
  Mette Frederiksen says it's good to know "Europeans stand together", after President Trump's climbdown.
  
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• Andy Burnham’s road back to parliament would be a bumpy one

  22-01-2026 15:01 via theguardian.com
  Greater Manchester mayor said to have ‘zero’ chance of NEC selection, but public fuss may just embarrass No 10 enoughIf Andy Burnham has a road back to parliament to challenge Keir Starmer as Labour leader, it is a road with 6ft-deep potholes. With the right vehicle, it may be possible – but there are points at which any brave traveller might think about turning back.For Burnham to run in Andrew Gwynne’s seat of Gorton and Denton, he would first have to stand down as mayo
  
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• ‘Thank you Tony’: Blair’s ‘Board of Peace’ role prompts Trump praise and Westminster anger

  22-01-2026 14:12 via ft.com
  Many countries, including the UK, have turned their backs on the project after Putin was asked to join
  
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• Burnham set for Westminster comeback as MP agrees to retire

  22-01-2026 13:36 via ft.com
  Andrew Gwynne’s decision to stand down offers by-election opening for Labour rival to Keir Starmer
  
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• Farage’s tactical mastery and strategic gaps

  22-01-2026 13:18 via ft.com
  Though riding high, he still faces a dilemma over what kind of party Reform intends to be
  
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• ‘I don’t like banks very much’: Farage defends plan to end BoE payments on reserves

  22-01-2026 12:56 via ft.com
  Reform leader cites ‘debanking’ episode in comments at Davos
  
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• Wake up, Westminster:after May, the Scottish and Welsh parliaments will likely be for independence | Will Hayward

  22-01-2026 12:54 via theguardian.com
  With Plaid Cymru and the SNP leading polls in their respective nations, can the United Kingdom continue in this – or any – form?If you were the leader of a democracy, you would hope that the people you govern would, at the very least, want the state itself to exist. It shouldn’t be too much to ask. And yet, if the polls are to be believed, the United Kingdom is in a very interesting position. By the end of May, it is likely that the largest party in three of the four constituen
  
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• 'Manchesterism' is building a better politics and a strong economy. The whole country should be inspired | Andy Burnham

  22-01-2026 11:00 via theguardian.com
  We are the fastest-growing city-region economy in the UK, proof that it is possible to use public funds effectively while reducing crisis spendingAndy Burnham is the mayor of Greater ManchesterAt the weekend, Zia Yusuf posted: “After 7 May 2026, Reform will accept no more Tories.” In other words: all you failed MPs and councillors have a full three and a half months to decide at your leisure whether or not to leave the sinking ship.Taking on politicians from the party that governed B
  
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• Trump’s Davos rant should alarm Starmer

  22-01-2026 10:30 via ft.com
  It remains unclear how PM and European leaders can keep Trump on track, let alone stop him from aggressive acts
  
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• UK government borrowing lower than expected in December

  22-01-2026 09:20 via ft.com
  The £11.6bn shortfall is a boost for chancellor Rachel Reeves’ efforts to keep a lid on the public finances
  
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• What happens when the taps run dry? England is about to find out | Aditya Chakrabortty

  22-01-2026 07:00 via theguardian.com
  It’s not just Tunbridge Wells – a country famous around the world for its rain is in danger of self-imposed droughtYou get up and go to the loo, only to find the flush doesn’t work. You try the shower, except nothing comes out. You want a glass of water, but on turning the tap there is not a drop. Your day stumbles on, stripped of its essentials: no washing hands, no cleaning up the baby, neither tea nor coffee, no easy way to do the dishes or the laundry. Dirt accumulates; tem
  
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• Starmer warned of Labour rebellion if leasehold reforms watered down

  22-01-2026 01:57 via bbc.com
  Former minister Justin Madders tells the BBC Labour must stick to its pledge to cap ground rents.
  
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• Latest twist in Trump diplomacy brings relief for Starmer

  22-01-2026 00:01 via bbc.com
  The row over Greenland risked uprooting the PM's carefully cultivated relationship with the US president.
  
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• Chris Mason: Latest twist in Trump diplomacy brings relief for Starmer

  22-01-2026 00:01 via bbc.com
  The row over Greenland risked uprooting the PM's carefully cultivated relationship with the US president.
  
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