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The Guardian Politics17 Aug 2026

Huge number of children would fall into poverty under Reform’s benefits plans, say campaigners

Party wants to cut £50bn from UK welfare bill but charity says proposals would cause ‘horrific levels of destitution’ Hundreds of thousands of children would be tipped into poverty and destitution under plans unveiled by Reform UK to slash £50bn a year from the UK benefits bill, campaigners have warned. The warnings came after Reform published plans to drastically reduce disability payments, ban non-UK citizens from claiming benefits and introduce compulsory 20 hours a week unpaid workfare for

DefenceReform
The Guardian Politics17 Aug 2026

Ministers drop plan to relax affordable housing rules after negative response

Government concedes ‘significant opposition’ requires new approach on quotas for medium-sized development sites Ministers have dropped plans to relax affordable housing rules for developers in England after a backlash from housing experts who warned it could drastically cut the number of cheaper homes available in rural areas. The government said on Monday it would not go ahead with proposals to end affordable housing quotas for private builders on sites containing between 10 and 49 houses after

DefenceHousing
The Guardian Politics17 Aug 2026

Labour MP under investigation by party over Covid loans to his businesses

Southend East & Rochford’s Bayo Alaba has been suspended while inquiry looks at bounceback loans A Labour MP has been suspended after being questioned about government Covid loans taken out by his businesses. Bayo Alaba, the MP for Southend East & Rochford, has referred himself to the Labour party for investigation after the Times asked about a loan given to one of his businesses during the pandemic. Continue reading...

The Guardian Politics17 Aug 2026

Reform’s Tice says people should stop tackling climate crisis and ‘enjoy’ heat

Deputy leader says it is ‘arrogant’ to try to stop global heating, despite UK being left reeling by summer firewave Reform’s deputy leader has dismissed efforts to tackle climate breakdown as futile, as he urged British people to “enjoy” the warmth of the recent heatwaves. Richard Tice told a press conference on Monday he believed it was “arrogant” to try to stop the climate emergency and added that politicians should focus instead on adaptation efforts, while encouraging people to focus on upsi

DefenceEnvironmentReform
The Guardian Politics17 Aug 2026

UK government ‘irresponsible’ for not publishing emergency drought plans

Campaigners demand greater transparency into water companies’ plans not made public due to ‘security reasons’ The UK government has been accused of a lack of transparency and acting “irresponsibly” for refusing to publish the emergency drought plans that are produced by water companies. Water firms are required to publish statutory drought plans every five years to detail the actions needed to ensure public water supply is maintained and the environment is protected during drought. Five key rese

Environment
The Guardian Politics17 Aug 2026

Burnham exchanged messages with individual impersonating Trump chief of staff

PM was in contact with unknown person pretending to be senior White House aide Susie Wiles, it is understood Andy Burnham exchanged messages with someone impersonating Donald Trump’s chief of staff, the Guardian understands. The prime minister was in contact with an unknown individual pretending to be the senior White House aide Susie Wiles before concerns were raised about the incident. No messages of significance were sent and the suspicious activity was quickly reported to the appropriate aut

The Guardian Politics17 Aug 2026

Massive Attack and Paris Paloma join musicians urging Burnham to reject new North Sea drilling

Brian Eno and Olly Alexander also among signatories saying exploitation of Rosebank and Jackdaw fields defies reality More than 200 musicians including Massive Attack and Brian Eno have written to Andy Burnham, urging him to reject plans for more oil and gas drilling in the North Sea. The letter, signed by artists such as Olly Alexander and Paris Paloma, called on the prime minister to reject the Rosebank oilfield, warning the project will fail to lower energy bills or provide energy security as

Defence
The Guardian Politics17 Aug 2026

Housebuilding near train stations to get ‘default yes’ under new planning changes – UK politics live

Thousands more houses could be built near transport hubs including on green belt sites The new national planning policy framework is aimed at providing clearer national policies for plan-making and decision-making, meaning that conflicting local policies will carry less weight when they are inconsistent with national policies. Other changes will include: Stronger support in principle for development, meaning a more explicit presumption in favour of building in sustainable locations. Pubs will ge

PoliticsEnvironmentHousing
The Guardian Politics17 Aug 2026

JP Morgan boss Jamie Dimon warns UK chancellor not to hike taxes on banks

Billionaire CEO of world’s biggest bank says any windfall tax on sector’s bumper profits could harm jobs in the City Jamie Dimon, the boss of the US bank JP Morgan, has urged John Healey not to use his first budget as chancellor to increase taxes on banks’ bumper profits. Speculation has been growing that a windfall tax could be imposed on UK lenders to fund Andy Burnham’s cost of living agenda, with campaigners estimating such a move could raise £19bn. Continue reading...

EconomyDefence
The Guardian Politics17 Aug 2026

My generation had no voice on Brexit – but Burnham gives the young fresh hope on Europe | Ceira Sergeant

Brexit didn’t create all the problems young people now face, but renewing close ties with Europe will give us so many opportunities I was 14 when the UK voted to leave the EU. Too young to vote, but not too young to understand that a decision was being made that would affect the rest of my life. In many ways, Brexit was my political awakening. It taught me that politics matters, because decisions made by people in power can change your future before you’ve even been given a say. Ceira Sergeant i

Politics
The Guardian Politics17 Aug 2026

More women will die if domestic abusers leave prison early, victim’s parents warn

Parents of Michaela Hall, whose partner killed her after he left prison in 2021, say Probation Service cannot cope with mass release More women will die if ministers include domestic abusers in the early prison release scheme, the parents of a woman murdered by her partner shortly after he was freed have warned. Michaela Hall, a 49-year-old charity worker, was killed in her home in Cornwall, by Lee Kendall in 2021 two weeks after he was released from prison, where he had been serving a sentence

DefenceHousingCrime
The Guardian Politics17 Aug 2026

Nothing less than radical whole-system change is required to fix the NHS's maternity services | Julia Sanders

It’s vital that Yvette Cooper’s taskforce acts on the Amos and Ockenden reports – and puts the needs of women and families at the heart of maternity services It is hard to find the words to describe the agony for those who have experienced preventable baby loss, injury or maternal death. Understandably, families who have been through this have campaigned relentlessly for local and national investigations. Every family deserves to know what caused their loss or trauma, but current and past review

HousingHealthcare