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Keir Starmer to quit parliament, triggering byelection in north London seat – UK politics live

1 September 2026 at 15:25

Former PM announces he will no longer represent Holborn and St Pancras on the day his successor, Andy Burnham, is to give first Commons address as prime minister

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: Getty Images

© Photograph: Getty Images

© Photograph: Getty Images

Burnham chairs cabinet meeting before first statement to MPs as prime minister – UK politics live

1 September 2026 at 13:18

PM will tell Commons he wants to unlock ‘positivity’ after a summer of policy announcements and improved poll ratings

Andy Burnham has vowed to “stamp out antisemitism for good” in a tribute to the victims of the Manchester synagogue terror attack.

In a post on social media, he said:

We send our love and support to the Jewish community in Manchester and beyond who last night gathered to remember Melvin Cravitz and Adrian Daulby, who were killed defending their synagogue last year. My thoughts are with their families and all those who have been affected by the attack.

I know for many Jewish people, the sorrow and fear from that day has not lifted and I know we must do more to protect communities across the country.

Britain is poorer than we often think. We won’t get richer based on higher public spending alone, and we can’t tax billionaires who don’t live here.

We shouldn’t rely on public spending as a route to some romantic version of making Britain great again as we look in the rearview mirror for a great history that is no longer available to us. We must face the future, and I know my colleagues are up to the challenge.

Crucially, we must create the right conditions for a dynamic, thriving market. This includes getting ahead of what artificial intelligence will mean for our services-dominated economy.

Politically, we shouldn’t see conflict between growth and fairness, or business and workers, or the market and the state. These are false choices.

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© Photograph: WPA/Getty Images

© Photograph: WPA/Getty Images

© Photograph: WPA/Getty Images

More public control is the way to grow UK economy, Burnham to tell MPs

Exclusive: Prime minister wants to ‘bring back hope’ by tackling cost of living as MPs call for electoral reform

Andy Burnham will drive home his pledge to bring more essential services back into public control, telling MPs in the Commons on Tuesday that it will be the only way to improve growth across the country.

Burnham will address the house for the first time in 16 years from the frontbench, and six weeks since he became prime minister, after spending the summer recess announcing a slew of policies that will now be put before MPs.

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© Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA

© Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA

© Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA

Can Reform UK recover from its summer horribilis?

Clacton, funding, internal divisions – party prepares for annual conference next week after a season of missteps

Senior Reform UK figures like to boast that the summer time – and parliament’s longest recess – is when the party makes hay.

Supposedly, it is when Nigel Farage and co can muscle in on the news cycle with provocative statements and new policies, painting “establishment” opponents as workshy layabouts.

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© Photograph: Henry Nicholls/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Henry Nicholls/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Henry Nicholls/AFP/Getty Images

Can Reform UK recover from its summer horribilis?

31 August 2026 at 15:22

Clacton, funding, internal divisions – party prepares for annual conference next week after a season of missteps

Senior Reform UK figures like to boast that the summer time – and parliament’s longest recess – is when the party makes hay.

Supposedly, it is when Nigel Farage and co can muscle in on the news cycle with provocative statements and new policies, painting “establishment” opponents as workshy layabouts.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Henry Nicholls/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Henry Nicholls/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Henry Nicholls/AFP/Getty Images

‘GB News wouldn’t touch him’: Milo Yiannopoulos will struggle to fit in with UK right wing

30 August 2026 at 20:50

‘Alt-right’ agitator and former Trump backer deported from US is said also to be too extreme for Reform

As he arrives back in the UK after being deported from the US by the Trump administration, the far-right provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos may be wondering what lies ahead for him in his native country.

The “alt-right” agitator, 41, made his name in the US by promoting Donald Trump and associating with his allies before the 2016 election.

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© Photograph: Julio Cortez/AP

© Photograph: Julio Cortez/AP

© Photograph: Julio Cortez/AP

‘GB News wouldn’t touch him’: Milo Yiannopoulos will struggle to fit in with UK right wing

30 August 2026 at 20:50

‘Alt-right’ agitator and former Trump backer deported from US is said also to be too extreme for Reform

As he arrives back in the UK after being deported from the US by the Trump administration, the far-right provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos may be wondering what lies ahead for him in his native country.

The “alt-right” agitator, 41, made his name in the US by promoting Donald Trump and associating with his allies before the 2016 election.

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© Photograph: Julio Cortez/AP

© Photograph: Julio Cortez/AP

© Photograph: Julio Cortez/AP

Arms and the £5m man: Farage megadonor Christopher Harborne’s military empire

30 August 2026 at 08:00

Reform UK denies donor and crypto-billionaire’s global interests in arms and military could present a conflict of interest over its defence spending policy

As he struggles with questions about the millions he has received from the billionaire Christopher Harborne, Nigel Farage has made no secret of his enthusiastic support for the industry that made part of his benefactor’s fortune – cryptocurrency. The Reform UK leader even urged the governor of the Bank of England to drop a crypto policy that may be costly for Harborne.

But another element of Harborne’s business interests could prove still more consequential if it shapes Farage’s positions. There appears to be no precedent for a major UK donor who is so entwined with the military.

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© Composite: Guardian Design/Shutterstock/ South Korean Defence Ministry/AFP/Getty Images/LNP

© Composite: Guardian Design/Shutterstock/ South Korean Defence Ministry/AFP/Getty Images/LNP

© Composite: Guardian Design/Shutterstock/ South Korean Defence Ministry/AFP/Getty Images/LNP

Giorgia on their minds: Farage and Badenoch scrap to be mates with Meloni

30 August 2026 at 07:00

Tories accuse Reform of ‘peddling conspiracy theories’ as row erupts in wake of Conservative leader’s trip to Rome

Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch have spent years trading barbs and fighting for the rightwing vote. But now the party leaders find themselves in a much more bizarre struggle – for the affections of the rightwing Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni.

The row began on Monday when the Times published an article claiming that during a meeting in Rome, Meloni had advised the Conservative leader against doing a deal with Farage to unite the right. After complaints from Reform – and, reportedly, Meloni’s team – the article was amended to remove that claim.

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© Photograph: Christine Quarmyne/CCHQ

© Photograph: Christine Quarmyne/CCHQ

© Photograph: Christine Quarmyne/CCHQ

Giorgia on their minds: Farage and Badenoch scrap to be mates with Meloni

30 August 2026 at 07:00

Tories accuse Reform of ‘peddling conspiracy theories’ as row erupts in wake of Conservative leader’s trip to Rome

Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch have spent years trading barbs and fighting for the rightwing vote. But now the party leaders find themselves in a much more bizarre struggle – for the affections of the rightwing Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni.

The row began on Monday when the Times published an article claiming that during a meeting in Rome, Meloni had advised the Conservative leader against doing a deal with Farage to unite the right. After complaints from Reform – and, reportedly, Meloni’s team – the article was amended to remove that claim.

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© Photograph: Christine Quarmyne/CCHQ

© Photograph: Christine Quarmyne/CCHQ

© Photograph: Christine Quarmyne/CCHQ

French far-right leader Jordan Bardella to address Reform UK party conference

28 August 2026 at 16:57

Speech part of effort to strengthen National Rally party’s international ties before Marine Le Pen’s presidential bid

The French far-right leader Jordan Bardella is to give a speech at Reform UK’s party conference in Birmingham next week as he attempts to boost international ties before Marine Le Pen’s bid for the French presidency next spring.

Le Pen’s far-right, anti-immigration National Rally (RN) is high in the polls and she is predicted to reach the final round of the French presidential race in May.

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© Photograph: Chesnot/Getty Images

© Photograph: Chesnot/Getty Images

© Photograph: Chesnot/Getty Images

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