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Burnham gives first Commons address as PM after Starmer quits parliament – UK politics live

1 September 2026 at 17:45

Prime minister starts statement to MPs with tribute to his predecessor, saying he gave Labour a platform ‘and we will use it well’

My colleague Richard Partington, the Guardian’s senior economics correspondent, grew up, like Andy Burnham, in the Warrington suburb of Culcheth. He has been home to find out what people there are saying about the new PM.

Yesterday, Kemi Badenoch announced a reshuffle, replacing Mel Stride with Andrew Griffith as shadow chancellor and Priti Patel with Tom Tugendhat as shadow foreign secretary.

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© Photograph: Isabel Infantes/Reuters

© Photograph: Isabel Infantes/Reuters

© Photograph: Isabel Infantes/Reuters

Iceland’s close ties with EU mean no vote is not a Brexit-style rejection

1 September 2026 at 07:00

A yes to membership would have given Brussels a boost but Icelanders have not voted to isolate themselves

Iceland’s 52.8% to 47.2% vote against reopening EU accession talks is, undeniably, a blow for Brussels. But claiming it as a Brexit-style victory for “national sovereignty” or evidence of broad rejection of the EU misrepresents the reality of the island’s relationship with the bloc.

For the EU, Iceland was a dream candidate: small, stable, prosperous and strategically located in an increasingly contested Arctic. Eager as it is to wield more geopolitical clout and revive flagging momentum around enlargement, a vote in favour would have given Brussels a very welcome boost.

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© Photograph: Marco Di Marco/AP

© Photograph: Marco Di Marco/AP

© Photograph: Marco Di Marco/AP

Iceland’s close ties with EU mean no vote is not a Brexit-style rejection

A yes to membership would have given Brussels a boost but Icelanders have not voted to isolate themselves

Iceland’s 52.8% to 47.2% vote against reopening EU accession talks is, undeniably, a blow for Brussels. But claiming it as a Brexit-style victory for “national sovereignty” or evidence of broad rejection of the EU misrepresents the reality of the island’s relationship with the bloc.

For the EU, Iceland was a dream candidate: small, stable, prosperous and strategically located in an increasingly contested Arctic. Eager as it is to wield more geopolitical clout and revive flagging momentum around enlargement, a vote in favour would have given Brussels a very welcome boost.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Marco Di Marco/AP

© Photograph: Marco Di Marco/AP

© Photograph: Marco Di Marco/AP

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