Political news

• Bibby Stockholm operator overcharged British customers by £80mn

  28-11-2025 16:41
  Corporate Travel Management suspends head of UK division as it announces KPMG probe
  
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• What is Keir Starmer doing about the cost of living?

  05-01-2026 16:36
  UK prime minister starts 2026 with vow to ease pressures on households and deliver ‘positive change’
  
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• Moment of truth for Britain’s Trump diplomacy

  05-01-2026 10:30
  Keir Starmer hopes for closeness over confrontation with US in the hope it won’t hand Russia a victory in Ukraine
  
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• Taxes will need to rise before next UK election, economists predict

  05-01-2026 06:00
  Majority of respondents in FT’s annual survey say economy will not be strong enough for people to feel better off
  
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• Collapse of ‘zombie’ UK firms forecast to fuel unemployment in 2026

  05-01-2026 01:01 via theguardian.com
  Businesses being hit by rising cost of interest rates, energy costs and wages, says Resolution FoundationThe UK is poised for a rise in unemployment in 2026 fuelled by the collapse of “zombie” companies that have struggled to adapt to a rise in business costs, according to a report.At the start of what could be a pivotal year for the economy, the Resolution Foundation said businesses were grappling with a “triple whammy” of multiyear increases in interest rates, energy pr
  
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• UK’s plans to seize asylum seekers’ phones condemned by campaigners

  04-01-2026 23:30 via theguardian.com
  People who are sent to Manston processing centre will be eligible for searches for electronic devices from MondayHome Office plans to immediately begin seizing asylum seekers’ mobile phones and sim cards without the need for an arrest have been condemned by a solicitor and anti-torture campaigners.People who arrive by small boat and are sent to Manston processing centre in Kent will from Monday be eligible for searches for electronic devices, a minister has said, with technology on site to
  
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• UK ‘not entirely clear’ what it means for US to ‘run’ Venezuela

  04-01-2026 18:36 via theguardian.com
  UK waiting to determine if US breached international law by capturing Nicolás Maduro, PM’s chief secretary saysVenezuela crisis – latest updatesThe UK is “not entirely clear” what it means for the US to be in charge of Venezuela, the chief secretary to the prime minister has said, urging a move towards a peaceful transition of power.Darren Jones said the UK would wait to determine whether there had been a breach of international law after the US attacked the Venezu
  
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• Starmer says closer ties with EU single market preferable to a customs union

  04-01-2026 17:05 via theguardian.com
  Prime minister gives clearest sign yet that government is seeking to further deepen Britain’s links with BrusselsCloser ties with the EU single market are preferable to a customs union, Keir Starmer has said, in his clearest sign yet that the government is seeking to further deepen links with Brussels.The prime minister said the UK should consider “even closer alignment” with the single market. “If it’s in our national interest … then we should consider that,
  
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• European leaders appear torn in face of new world order after Venezuela attack

  04-01-2026 17:00 via theguardian.com
  Leaders try to focus on what comes next, as backing for ejection of Maduro mingles uncomfortably with voicing of support for international lawVenezuela crisis: latest updatesEuropean leaders emerged divided and torn as they tried to welcome the ejection of Venezuela’s authoritarian president, but still uphold the principles of international law that did not appear to allow Donald Trump to seize Nicolás Maduro, let alone declare that the US will run Venezuela and control its oil indu
  
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• UK should seek ‘closer alignment’ with EU single market, Starmer says

  04-01-2026 12:46
  Prime minister vows he will stay in Number 10 even as Labour party sinks in opinion polls
  
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• Leading UK far-right activist spoke at Russian extreme nationalist event

  04-01-2026 11:00 via theguardian.com
  Exclusive: Patriotic Alternative’s Mark Collett addressed forum along with ideologue described as ‘Putin’s brain’The head of a leading British far-right group spoke at a summit of European extreme nationalist groups convened in Russia by an influential oligarch linked to Vladimir Putin, it can be revealed.The revelation has led to renewed concern among MPs over the Kremlin’s links to extremist groups and its attempts to disrupt democracy and sow societal divisions i
  
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• In 2026, remember this: Britain is much better than it was in so many ways. Don’t swallow the right’s lies | John Harris

  04-01-2026 09:00 via theguardian.com
  Populists rewrite the history of this nation because they were complicit in much of its ugliness. The progressive fightback must start nowA couple of the more disruptive boys in the class put red laces in their Dr Martens, because someone had told them that was how you showed your support for the National Front. “Jew” was an everyday insult and the N-word was in regular circulation. There were no more than four or five non-white kids in the whole school: I can recall one Asian girl f
  
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• Ed Davey: ‘Europe is crying out for closer relations with Britain’

  04-01-2026 06:00
  Lib Dem leader says his party is best placed to take on Reform UK
  
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• Reform UK says it would impose whole-life jail terms on child rapists

  03-01-2026 18:29 via theguardian.com
  Zia Yusuf announces plans for mandatory sentences with no parole, as party targets grooming gangsChild rapists would be jailed for life if Reform UK wins the next election, its head of policy has said.Under plans announced by Zia Yusuf on Saturday, the party would introduce mandatory whole-life orders for offenders convicted of the crime, making them ineligible for parole, as part of a crackdown on grooming gangs. Continue reading...
  
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• Britain not involved in US Venezuela attack, says Keir Starmer

  03-01-2026 17:52 via theguardian.com
  UK prime minister describes situation as fast-moving and is waiting for more details to emergeSir Keir Starmer has said the UK was not involved in the US operation in Venezuela, in which the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife were captured by special forces and the capital, Caracas, hit with airstrikes.Speaking for the first time since Donald Trump launched his extraordinary attack, the prime minister said he had not spoken to the US president, and that the UK was kee
  
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• UK 'not involved in any way' in US strike on Venezuela, Starmer says

  03-01-2026 16:10 via bbc.com
  The PM has not spoken to US President Donald Trump about the US seizure of President Nicolas Maduro.
  
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• Migrants are at the heart of our art, our music, our whole history. That’s what the right won’t admit to you | Rowan Williams

  03-01-2026 11:00 via theguardian.com
  From Britain’s medieval buildings to western pop and contemporary art, these creations showcase our interwoven storiesWe are repeatedly sold a painfully two-dimensional picture of the motivations of those seeking shelter in Britain. According to this picture, migrants are eager to experience the benefits of our society, but they are also out to undermine it, because they come from cultures whose values are dramatically different from our own. Think of the ongoing “grooming gangs&rdqu
  
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• At Zohran Mamdani’s block party, I observed a simple truth: people want more politics, not less | Samuel Earle

  03-01-2026 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Years of scandal and disappointment have left a void in our politics. But New York’s new mayor offers an alternative to more apathy: hope On 1 January, to mark his inauguration as mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani threw a block party. As he was sworn in outside city hall in front of a crowd of a few thousand of us, a nearby street in Manhattan was closed to traffic so that tens of thousands more could gather to watch the historic moment live on enormous screens. The weather – a cloud
  
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• ‘We will grind you down’: how rogue peers became Labour’s toughest opponents

  03-01-2026 07:00 via theguardian.com
  As Labour seeks abolition of hereditary peers, Tory-dominated House of Lords has inflicted near-record number of defeats on No 10Dining in the House of Lords canteen just after Labour came to power, one Labour adviser found themselves sitting opposite two Tory peers.In particular, the pair were fuming about the forthcoming abolition of hereditary peers. Both agreed, the adviser said, that there should be a deliberate strategy to undermine the government on all its legislation, to slow down debat
  
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• Country diary: A wave of relief on the farm with the inheritance tax change | Andrea Meanwell

  03-01-2026 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Tebay, Cumbria: Small farms like ours contribute to society, but we need help to survive. A huge cloud has lifted over our futureJust before Christmas I attended a farmers’ conference near Penrith, which included a presentation on the inheritance tax rules for agricultural land. An accountant worked through an example of a typical hill farm like ours: the bill worked out as £59,000 every year for 10 years.Between the farm and our off‑farm jobs, we can’t generate
  
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• Thousands of new magistrates wanted to help clear backlog

  03-01-2026 06:07 via bbc.com
  Justice Secretary David Lammy says magistrates serve "a vital role" and "we need more people of every age and background to volunteer".
  
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• The messy art of escapism

  03-01-2026 06:00
  Britain’s relationship with alcohol is complicated. It was too simple to heap blame on the young and calculatedly reckless
  
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• The Guardian view on care leavers: responsibility for looked-after children does not end at 18 | Editorial

  02-01-2026 19:05 via theguardian.com
  Free prescriptions and eye tests ought to help these young adults stay healthy. They also signal the state’s ongoing roleThe outcomes for children who grow up in care are shocking. A vital part of the welfare state, which exists to promote the safety and wellbeing of highly vulnerable young people, is falling short in health, education and employment terms. They have a 62% higher chance of dying before the age of 75 than their peers, and are four times as likely to have a criminal convicti
  
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• Ministers cannot go on ignoring the Shamima Begum case, for two important reasons

  02-01-2026 18:10 via theguardian.com
  The fate of the woman who left the UK at 15 in search of Islamic State raises wider questions about citizenshipWhile many aspects of UK political polling have shifted drastically since 2019, the public’s view on Shamima Begum has remained largely fixed: a big majority do not want the now 26-year-old woman back in the UK.In 2019, Sajid Javid, then home secretary, stripped the Londoner of her UK citizenship on the grounds that she was a security threat, having travelled as a schoolgirl with
  
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• Mike Nesbitt to stand down as Ulster Unionist Party leader

  02-01-2026 17:13 via bbc.com
  The current health minister informed assembly members and party officers on Friday morning.
  
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• Martin Rowson on Keir Starmer and Wes Streeting’s start to 2026 – cartoon

  02-01-2026 17:12 via theguardian.com
  Continue reading...
  
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• MP abused by trolls loses 10 stone after taking Mounjaro

  02-01-2026 17:08 via bbc.com
  MP Carolyn Harris has lost nearly 10 stone on Mounjaro, but warns others wanting to slim down.
  
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• A year that will dictate Starmer’s fate as prime minister

  02-01-2026 15:00
  This government behaves as if it is being run as a riposte to Nigel Farage rather than because it believes in anything
  
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• Here’s a pick-me-up for the January blues: this could well be Nigel Farage’s last year on top | Simon Jenkins

  02-01-2026 13:37 via theguardian.com
  There’s no doubting the charisma of its leader, but Reform UK lacks the depth and experience needed to govern – and voters are quickly realising thatI fear for Nigel Farage. This should be his big year, the make-or-break 2026. Last year his Reform party finally began to top the polls and he was feted by Washington as the UK’s Trump and next prime minister. So how now would he turn a sheaf of poll results into a disciplined election-winning machine? Or has he for the past year m
  
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• Politicians have given away too much power to deliver pledges, says PM's ex-aide

  02-01-2026 12:59 via bbc.com
  Paul Ovenden, who left Downing Street in September, says the British state has been "emasculating itself".
  
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