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The Guardian Politics28 May 2026

The Guardian view on energy shocks: winter is coming – and Labour needs a plan | Editorial

Clean power remains essential. But until it arrives, Britain must stop LNG made scarce by the Iran war setting gas and electricity prices The US-Israel war on Iran will drive household energy costs in Britain to their highest level in two years over the summer. This has given fresh impetus to calls for the energy secretary, Ed Miliband, to change course. The cabinet minister is vulnerable because he promised cheaper bills if Britain embraced his clean, green power plan. Critics, including Labou

PoliticsDefenceEnvironment
The Guardian Politics28 May 2026

‘Lost generation’: why can’t young people get jobs? – The Latest

A landmark report has warned that the UK risks a ‘lost generation’ of young people, as new figures show that more than 1 million 16- to 24-year-olds in the UK were not in education, employment or training. The former Labour cabinet minister Alan Milburn said youth disengagement was a mounting economic risk to the country, and urged a fundamental reset of policy covering schools, the health service and the welfare state. Lucy Hough speaks to the Guardian’s senior economics correspondent, Richard

PoliticsEconomyDefenceEducation
The Guardian Politics28 May 2026

The Campaign Diary of Robert Kenyon Aged 41 and Three-Quarters (as imagined by John Crace)

What’s Carol Vorderman moaning about? All I said was how fit she was online … must be going through the menopause Another sweltering sub-Saharan summer’s day in late spring. If this is global warming, I say: “Bring it on.” I go outside to the van, turn on the engine and leave it running. This is the kind of day you want to burn as many fossil fuels as possible. Back indoors, I turn on the radio where Tony Blair is talking. There’s a politician who talks sense. Bollocks to net zero. That’s what

DefenceEnvironment
The Guardian Politics28 May 2026

UK risks £125bn hit a year from youth unemployment, landmark report says

Alan Milburn warns of ‘lost generation’ after number of young people not in work or education rises to more than 1m Britain risks a financial hit worth £125bn a year from a worsening crisis in youth worklessness after a rise in the number of young people not in employment or education to more than 1 million. In a landmark government-backed report, Alan Milburn warned Britain’s economy and the public finances were losing billions of pounds a year amid the growing risk of a “lost generation” of yo

EconomyDefenceEducation
The Guardian Politics28 May 2026

Mitigating Mandelson risks would have been impossible, says former MI6 chief

Vetting of former UK ambassador to Washington warned of ties to senior figures in China, Russia and Israel A former head of MI6 has said it would have been “totally impossible” for the Foreign Office to put in place mitigations to manage Peter Mandelson’s associations with senior figures in China, Russia and Israel when he was the UK’s ambassador to the US. On Wednesday, the Guardian revealed some of the concerns that contributed to security officials recommending that Mandelson be denied develo

Defence
The Guardian Politics28 May 2026

To reverse the ‘greenlash’, Europe’s Green parties should embrace Polanski’s boldness | Tarik Abou-Chadi

Be more strident and ambitious, take on economic inequality, and progressive voters will reward you as they have the UK’s Greens Tarik Abou-Chadi is a professor of European politics at the University of Oxford European Green parties have been through a phase of stagnation and crisis in recent years. Long gone seem the days of the “green wave” across Europe. Back in 2019, Green parties secured their best-ever result in the European parliament elections, with 74 seats. In the same year, Green pa

PoliticsEconomyDefenceEducationEnvironment
The Guardian Politics27 May 2026

‘Stuck in his glory days’: Blunkett and others cast doubt on Blair’s advice to the Labour party

Ex-PM perceived as out of touch and having a credibility problem even if parts of analysis are seen as hard to dispute David Blunkett had a chat with his old boss Tony Blair just a few months ago. “I can have very constructive disagreements with him and still stay friendly – as it should be,” the former Labour cabinet minister said with a chuckle. The current generation of senior Labour figures are perhaps a little less warmly disposed towards Blair after his latest intervention in contemporary

PoliticsDefenceHousing
The Guardian Politics27 May 2026

Revealed: Mandelson vetting warned of ties to China, Russia and Israel – The Latest

Peter Mandelson’s links with senior figures in China, Russia and Israel were among the concerns raised by the UK’s vetting agency when it concluded he should be denied clearance, multiple sources have told the Guardian. It comes after a powerful parliamentary committee said the government was failing to fully comply with a parliamentary motion ordering the release of all papers relating to Mandelson’s appointment. Lucy Hough speaks to the head of investigations Paul Lewis – watch on YouTube Con

PoliticsDefence
The Guardian Politics27 May 2026

Revealed: Mandelson vetting warned of ties to senior figures in China, Russia and Israel

Vetting officials also flagged £1m loan when recommending he should be denied security clearance Key questions: did ‘mitigations’ cover links to China and Russia? Peter Mandelson’s associations with senior figures in China, Russia and Israel were among the concerns raised by the UK’s vetting agency when it concluded he should be denied clearance, multiple sources have told the Guardian. Mandelson’s links to China’s minister of finance, Lan Fo’an, the sanctions-hit Russian oligarch Oleg Deripas

Defence
The Guardian Politics27 May 2026

Energy price cap in Great Britain to rise by 13% from July

Average gas and electricity bill to jump to £1,862 a year from July until end of September, in part because of Iran war Business live – latest updates Households will face the steepest summer rise in energy charges in four years after months of soaring market prices caused the government’s energy price cap for Great Britain to climb by 13%. Under the cap the average gas and electricity bill will increase to the equivalent of £1,862 a year from July until the end of September to take account of

Defence
The Guardian Politics27 May 2026

Labour must put policy first, politics second, Tony Blair says

Former PM urges party to take a step back and ‘analyse the world’ amid speculation over Keir Starmer’s leadership UK politics live – latest updates Tony Blair has continued his attack on the Labour government, saying it should be about “policy first, politics second”. Hours after he published a scathing essay in which he warned that the party’s “almost infinite capacity for self-delusion” meant it was likely to lose the next election, the former prime minister said it should “take a step back,

PoliticsDefence
The Guardian Politics27 May 2026

Minister rejects Blair intervention, accusing ex-PM of retreading old arguments – UK politics live

Tony Blair has accused Starmer, Burnham and Streeting of putting Labour’s future at risk amid leadership speculation Good morning. Labour is in the midst of ‘phoney war’ leadership contest. The formal bit has not started yet, but Andy Burnham and Wes Streeting are already actively engaged, Angela Rayner is taking an interest, and Keir Starmer is defending his legacy with renewed vigour. The last thing anyone expected was for Tony Blair to join in. But he has, sort of, with a 5,700-word essay, pu

PoliticsDefence