News

Original reporting and the latest political headlines from across the UK.

Our Articles

Mainstream Headlines

Filtering by:Source: The Guardian Politics×Clear all

3100 headlines found — Page 1 of 259

The Guardian Politics7 Aug 2026

France stopped 10 small boats crossing Channel since spring, officials say

Disclosure comes after Conservative and Reform claims that French police refusing to intervene in crossings The French authorities have halted small boats at sea in the Channel on 10 occasions since the spring, officials said on Friday. Despite claims from the Conservatives and Reform that the French were refusing to intervene in small boat crossings, Maritime Prefect officers were using “intervention tactics” to board or control vessels at sea and take asylum seekers back to France. Continue r

ImmigrationCrimeRestoreRemigration
The Guardian Politics6 Aug 2026

Is King Charles a ‘white Briton’? Restore Britain leader won’t say

Rupert Lowe questioned on definition in report for rightwing party that both parents need to be born in the UK Rupert Lowe, the leader of Restore Britain, refused to say he believes King Charles can be classified as a “white Briton” in an extraordinary interview on the BBC’s Today programme. Questioning Lowe, MP for Great Yarmouth, over his claims that “white Britons will become a minority by 2063”, the presenter, Nick Robinson, noted that the forecast Lowe referred to defined a “white Briton” a

HousingRestoreRupert Lowe
The Guardian Politics6 Aug 2026

Reform to unveil controversial plan to fine firms and jail bosses who employ illegal workers – UK politics live

Reform say employers would be held responsible even if they were unaware of the worker’s immigration status Hello and welcome to the UK politics live blog. Reform UK says it will fine firms 10% of their global revenues and imprison bosses who employ illegal migrant workers under the party’s latest plans to bring down immigration. Under a Reform government, Britain will have the harshest penalties in the world for employing illegal migrants. Bosses of companies employing illegal migrants will be

PoliticsImmigrationDefenceReformCrimeRestoreRemigration
The Guardian Politics6 Aug 2026

Has the UK government’s strategy on small boat crossings been effective?

As the number of migrants crossing the Channel is down by 43%, have ministers cracked the problem? The headline figures show that small boats crossing the Channel are down by 43% compared with January to mid-July 2025 – from 21,690 last year to 12,469 over the same period this year. Since Andy Burnham came to power on 20 July, however, there has been a small increase on the same period last year. Between 20 July and 2 August 2025 1,962 people crossed the Channel in small boats. Over the same per

ImmigrationRestoreRemigration
The Guardian Politics3 Aug 2026

Rupert Lowe’s ‘olive branch’ to Farage piles more pressure on Reform leader

Restore leader has countered charges he’s splitting the right while showing his party is a very real obstacle for Reform Even by the standards of their rivalry, the speed at which Rupert Lowe’s olive branch to Nigel Farage morphed into fresh recriminations between the two was swift. It began with a softly lit 12-minute video posted on Sunday by the Restore Britain leader, looking straight to camera and referring to “Nigel” as he suggested his party could be willing to cast aside its differences

ReformRestoreRupert Lowe
The Guardian Politics3 Aug 2026

What chaos? Farage tries to distract with immigration plans – podcast

Nigel Farage has promised that Reform UK would call in the navy to tackle small boat Channel crossings. Will this familiar-sounding immigration policy distract from the party’s internal problems? Plus – as we learn more about Andy Burnham’s plans for devolution, is this the biggest rewiring of the UK state since the second world war? Read about Richard Tice being investigated by parliament’s standards watchdog here You can read Alexandra’s report on Andy Burnham’s trip to Dover here and about c

PoliticsImmigrationDefenceReformRestoreRemigration
The Guardian Politics3 Aug 2026

Former navy officer criticises Reform plan to use military to stop small boats

Retired commander says policy lacks substance as party accused of trying to distract from Nigel Farage’s scandals UK politics live – latest updates A Reform UK proposal to use the military to stop small boats bringing migrants to the UK from France lacks substance, a former Royal Navy officer has said, suggesting the UK’s warships would be better used countering actual military threats. Reform’s political opponents have claimed its plans have more to do with distracting from the financial scan

PoliticsImmigrationDefenceReformRestoreRemigration
The Guardian Politics3 Aug 2026

Criticism of Reform UK’s pledge to use Navy to stop small boats – politics live

Labour say plan is a ‘desperate attempt to distract from sleaze’ while a retired commander says it ‘lacks substance’ The leader of Restore Britain, Rupert Lowe, told the Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage, that if he was “prepared to work together around serious policies, serious reform and serious government, then so are we”. In a video posted on X on Sunday, Lowe said: I truly believe there could be sufficient common ground for our two movements to cooperate collectively, destroy the looming leftw

PoliticsDefenceReformRestoreRemigrationRupert Lowe
The Guardian Politics2 Aug 2026

Rupert Lowe urges Nigel Farage to work with Restore Britain

Lowe says the two should put ‘personalities and our past disagreements aside for good of the country’ The leader of Restore Britain, Rupert Lowe, has extended an olive branch to Nigel Farage, saying the two should put “personalities and our past disagreements aside for the good of the country”. Lowe told the Reform UK leader that if he was “prepared to work together around serious policies, serious reform and serious government, then so are we”. Continue reading...

ReformRestoreRupert Lowe
The Guardian Politics28 Jul 2026

Tories’ Philp accuses French navy of firing shots near him in Channel incident

Chris Philp says patrol vessel may have been trying to stop him highlighting the small boats crisis UK politics live – latest updates A Conservative MP has claimed a French warship fired warning shots near a boat he was on in the Channel in an attempt to stop him covering the small boats crisis. Chris Philp, who is his party’s home affairs spokesperson, was being interviewed by the BBC a couple of miles off Boulogne on Tuesday when the warship Flamant passed by. As it did so, a French navy off

PoliticsDefenceRestoreRemigration
The Guardian Politics12 Jul 2026

France and UK to increase staffing at border controls in effort to stave off travel chaos

Disruption at Channel crossings expected to rise amid new fingerprinting and facial recognition checks France and the UK have agreed to increase staffing at border controls in response to warnings of travel chaos caused by new fingerprinting and facial recognition checks. Disruption at Channel crossings is expected to rise sharply next weekend at the start of the summer holiday season, with MPs warning of “utter chaos and miles of tailbacks” unless the EU’s entry/exit system (EES) is fixed or ch

PoliticsImmigrationDefenceRestoreRemigration
The Guardian Politics19 Jun 2026

Facts and figures: the Makerfield byelection result in numbers

From the proportion of votes secured by Restore Britain, to the percentage point difference in Reform UK’s fortunes, here are the takeaways UK politics live – latest updates It was, the consensus opinion states, probably the most politically consequential byelection in recent UK history. But what can we learn from the raw numbers announced overnight in Makerfield? Here are some of them. Continue reading...

PoliticsReformRestoreRupert Lowe