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The Guardian Politics9 Apr 2026

Son of British couple detained in Iran calls on Starmer to press for their release

Joe Bennett says ceasefire presents ‘very opportune moment’ to raise case of his parents, Lindsay and Craig Foreman Middle East crisis – live updates The son of a British couple detained in Tehran on espionage charges has called on Keir Starmer to prioritise their case in the “very opportune moment” of a ceasefire in the Iran conflict. Lindsay and Craig Foreman, from East Sussex, were arrested while on a five-day trip across Iran in January last year and have been held in Evin prison for 15 mo

HousingCrime
The Guardian Politics9 Apr 2026

UK spending on foreign aid hits lowest level since 2008

Government allocated 0.43% of national income to aid in 2025, with total spend down £1bn on previous year The UK government’s spending on foreign aid has hit its lowest level in nearly two decades, figures show, as humanitarian experts warn the cuts are costing lives. Provisional data shows the government allocated 0.43% of national income to official development assistance (ODA) in 2025, a decrease from 0.5% in 2024 and matching the level in 2008. Continue reading...

Defence
The Guardian Politics9 Apr 2026

Zack Polanski calls for UK to withdraw trade agreement with Israel after strikes on Lebanon

Green leader says PM should impose tougher sanctions on Israel and accuses country of acting in ‘completely uncontrolled way’ UK politics live – latest updates Zack Polanski has called on the government to tear up the UK-Israel trade agreement, after the Israeli strikes on Lebanon. Polanski called for Keir Starmer to ban the US using UK airspace and said sanctions should be imposed on Israel, after accusing the nation of “behaving in a completely uncontrolled way”. Continue reading...

PoliticsEnvironment
The Guardian Politics9 Apr 2026

UK navy foiled Russian submarines surveying undersea cables, defence minister says

John Healey says warship and aircraft forced Russia to abandon activity in North Sea in month-long operation A British warship and aircraft tracked and monitored Russian submarines attempting to survey vital undersea infrastructure in the North Atlantic, ensuring they abandoned their mission, the defence secretary, John Healey, has announced. Speaking at a Downing Street press conference, Healey said the UK operation lasted more than a month and saw a Royal Navy warship and P8 marine patrol airc

PoliticsDefence
The Guardian Politics9 Apr 2026

It shouldn’t take a war for Britain to wake up to the need for food security | Tim Lang

Everyone has a part to play in reducing our reliance on imported foods, but ministers must provide incentives Tim Lang is professor emeritus of food policy at the Centre for Food Policy, City St George’s, University of London The British state has form on food security. It ignores it until there’s a crisis – and then it’s forced to do rapidly what could have been done better, if only food had been taken more seriously in the first place. We’re revisiting this truth today as the food system’s o

DefenceEducation
The Guardian Politics9 Apr 2026

‘They will not get my vote this year’: Birmingham focus group shows shift from Labour support

Previous Labour voters in Yardley discuss issues including cost of living, public services and the Iran war Almost two years into Keir Starmer’s government, the polls suggest that many swing voters, including some of those who voted Labour, are unimpressed with how the country is being run. In the constituency of Birmingham Yardley, a focus group of eight previous Labour voters last week found support was now splintering in different directions, with one person considering going to Reform and se

EconomyDefenceHousing
The Guardian Politics9 Apr 2026

Iran cannot ‘hijack’ strait of Hormuz with shipping tolls, says Yvette Cooper – UK politics live

As Keir Starmer continues his Gulf visit, foreign secretary says laws of the sea prevent Tehran from charging for passage of ‘international transit route’ Good morning. Keir Starmer is still in the Gulf, and Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, has been doing a round of interviews this morning, ahead of delivering a speech on foreign policy this evening. As Jamie Grierson reports, Cooper has been arguing forcefully that Lebanon must be included in the US-Iran ceasefire. The starting point here

Politics
The Guardian Politics9 Apr 2026

Ed Miliband hold firm! North sea oil and gas drilling won’t help anyone other than Nigel Farage | Zoe Williams

It’s worrying to watch Labour entertain Reform’s fantasies about fossil fuels. Only renewables will bring lower bills and higher energy security Ed Miliband is facing a dilemma, apparently. Reform UK is suggesting new oil and gas licences in the North Sea as a way to cut fuel bills and they’re steadily gaining cheerleaders – not just in the media, but also in some trade unions. Labour – having swept into power on a green-friendly manifesto, much of which has already been abandoned, but the kerne

EnvironmentReformHousing
The Guardian Politics9 Apr 2026

Lebanon must be included in US-Iran ceasefire deal, Yvette Cooper to say

Foreign secretary to address City leaders in London as Israel intensifies bombing and Vance says Lebanon is not part of deal Middle East crisis – live updates Lebanon must be included in the ceasefire agreement between the US and Iran, the British foreign secretary will say, as a two-week pause in the conflict hangs in the balance. Addressing an event at the Mansion House in London, Yvette Cooper is expected to say there “must be no return to conflict” after the ceasefire announced by the US p

The Guardian Politics9 Apr 2026

Ten years after Brexit, this is the UK: a divided nation frozen in time | Aditya Chakrabortty

Tribalism has not faded over the past decade. Instead, new research reveals our politics has become ever-more polarised and fractious On 23 June 2016, the British voter changed. Before that day, they picked a party, usually red or blue. By that morning, only two tribes mattered: remain or leave. And they kept mattering long, long after the result was declared. Rather than bin those short-lived and now stale allegiances, voters made them their personas. No longer a “Labour man” or a “Conservative

Politics
The Guardian Politics8 Apr 2026

Ministers unveil ‘right to try’ plan to help disabled people find work

Threat of losing benefits will be lifted but campaigners say more help needed to tackle hostile workplaces The government has unveiled its plan to allow disabled people to try work without fear of losing their benefits, but campaigners warn the policy does not go far enough to tackle hostile workplaces. Legislation laid before parliament on Thursday will mean that people who start work or volunteering no longer automatically face a benefit reassessment, a prospect disabled people said was holdi

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The Guardian Politics8 Apr 2026

US ignoring evidence Russia is helping Iran because it trusts Putin, says Zelenskyy

Ukraine’s president tells podcast he has tried to draw White House’s attention to collaboration between Moscow and Tehran over strikes on US bases How the Ukraine and Iran wars are starting to overlap The US has ignored compelling evidence that Russia has been helping Iran to target US bases in the Middle East because it “trusts” Vladimir Putin, according to the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Speaking in an interview with Alastair Campbell on The Rest is Politics podcast, Zelenskyy

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