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The Guardian Politics31 Jul 2026

The Guardian view on the Lovell telescope: budget cuts to physics are bad science and worse politics | Editorial

Funders have picked a damaging fight with scientists and the public. They should reconsider their plans The iconic Lovell telescope, housed at the Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire, has always expanded our view of the universe – from tracking the Sputnik launch in 1957 to its current contributions to the study of dark matter. It is now threatened with closure after it was announced that government funding will not continue past March 2028. The projected savings are just £2.8m a year. This is

PoliticsEconomyHousing
The Guardian Politics31 Jul 2026

Healey sets budget for late October, promising to ‘spread money and power’ around UK

Chancellor will have to find money for Burnham’s policies while sticking to fiscal rules as borrowing costs rise Andy Burnham’s government has set a date for a late October budget to “spread money and power” out of Westminster as the new prime minister pushes forward his tax and spending plans. Announcing an autumn budget for 28 October, the chancellor, John Healey, said Labour would stick to its fiscal rules with its agenda to give businesses and households stability for the future. Continue r

PoliticsEconomyDefence
The Guardian Politics31 Jul 2026

Andy Burnham signals he will scrap plans to curb jury trials

Prime minister says he has ‘concerns’ about one of most significant overhauls of Keir Starmer’s government UK politics live – latest updates Andy Burnham has indicated he will scrap plans to curtail jury trials in England and Wales, abandoning one of the most significant overhauls of Keir Starmer’s government. The prime minister said he had “concerns” about the proposals and that his “instincts” were to keep juries at the heart of the justice system. Continue reading...

PoliticsReform
The Guardian Politics31 Jul 2026

Can Andy Burnham turn a flying start into sustained success?

Labour has regained the lead in polling but the new PM will need to widen his appeal further to win a general election Andy Burnham has spent his first two weeks as prime minister in a blitz of hyperactivity. Bus fares, business rates, energy bill cuts, defence, Ukraine and devolution – he has been everywhere. But at his speech on Wednesday at Jewish Care in north London, there was a stark reminder of how much even the most energetic prime minister can cut through. Continue reading...

PoliticsDefence
The Guardian Politics31 Jul 2026

Will Burnham fix our barbaric prisons – or cave to rightwing populism? The answer is a tragedy | Simon Jenkins

England and Wales’s prisons are overcrowded, drug-infested and barbaric. Labour has halted a once-in-a-generation effort to change that sorry state Andy Burnham’s “pausing” of the Starmer government’s prisoner release scheme and the resignation of its architect, James Timpson, are disasters. They indicate a Downing Street that puts populism ahead of policy. England and Wales’s prisons are a total disgrace. Timpson was the first justice minister in 15 years prepared to handle them. Now he has gon

PoliticsReformCrime
The Guardian Politics31 Jul 2026

Andy Burnham to set out devolution plan amid criticism it won’t benefit regions equally – UK politics live

Plan set to transform funding so English regions no longer rely on Whitehall handouts for projects Under a new “local first” principle, Andy Burnham will instruct ministers to justify why powers should remain in Whitehall rather than be devolved. As well as greater control over technical education for teenagers, announced by the government this week, some of those close to the prime minister have called for mayors to oversee schools, GPs and childcare providers through health and education commi

PoliticsEducation
The Guardian Politics31 Jul 2026

The Burnham bounce is eclipsing the Green surge – and Zack Polanski’s radical hope is being tested | Gaby Hinsliff

The new PM is enjoying a honeymoon period but, longer-term, the Greens have the freedom to say whatever Labour won’t Cackling happily into their pints, the two most powerful men in the country scoff their way through a selection of pub snacks. Pork scratchings or scampi fries? Or maybe old-school peanuts? It’s hardly the toughest choice currently facing Andy Burnham and the chancellor, John Healey, so some may find this week’s made-to-go-viral Instagram reel of them gleefully ranking crisps a b

PoliticsEnvironmentHousing
The Guardian Politics30 Jul 2026

Diane Abbott and Joani Reid readmitted as Labour MPs

Both MPs have had the parliamentary whip restored following separate independent disciplinary processes MPs Diane Abbott and Joani Reid have been readmitted into Labour and had the parliamentary whip restored, just under two weeks into Andy Burnham’s premiership. The party confirmed that this followed separate independent disciplinary processes, although Labour said the leadership played no role in either decision. Continue reading...

Politics
The Guardian Politics30 Jul 2026

Even GB News cringes as Reform turns dementia patients into a political football

Honest Bob was rattled at the idea of joining cross-party talks on social care. Why bother behaving as a serious opposition? When you’ve lost the trust of GB News, when you’re too deranged, too extreme and too outright mendacious for your biggest fan, then you know you are in trouble. You can almost sense the panic beginning to set in at Reform HQ. No longer topping the opinion polls. A new prime minister resetting the dial, the public increasingly choosing optimism over grievance. A party mired

Politics
The Guardian Politics30 Jul 2026

Reform UK to hold press conference after Met rules out investigating Polanski over anti-Farage message – UK politics live

Green party said it was ‘obvious from the start’ that Polanski had not committed an offence Good morning. Reform UK are holding a press conference this morning. It is going to feature Robert Jenrick, the party’s Treasury spokesperson, and he wants to talk about Andy Burnham’s speech yesterday about social care reform. But we already know what Jenrick thinks about that, and there are plenty of other stories that reporters might want to ask about. For a start, there is Anna Isaac’s latest Guardia

PoliticsEconomyEnvironmentReform
The Guardian Politics30 Jul 2026

Polls open in Greater Manchester mayoral byelection overshadowed by new PM and Farage’s antics

Labour’s Bev Craig expected to win contest that lost column inches to Andy Burnham’s ascent and Reform UK leader’s self-imposed Clacton vote Voting has begun in the biggest byelection in British political history, with more than 2 million people eligible to choose Andy Burnham’s successor as Greater Manchester mayor. In normal times, such a large and politically significant byelection would have dominated the headlines for weeks, particularly as senior Labour figures only weeks ago feared losing

PoliticsReform
The Guardian Politics30 Jul 2026

I’ve seen what can confound Farage on his home turf: optimism. People need a politics that offers them that | Owen Jones

You can’t blame his constituents in Clacton for their pessimism – because they have been let down for years Under battered England flags, cynicism, pessimism and exhaustion stalk the streets of Clacton. As the byelection called by Nigel Farage approaches, one young couple do not know which candidates are standing. Neither has ever voted. Living in Britain is “depressing”, says the woman in a black floral dress. “The cost of living these days is stupid,” says her partner, wearing a black and grey

PoliticsEconomyReform