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The Guardian Politics8 Apr 2026

Londoners may regret protest votes for Reform or Greens in local elections, says Sadiq Khan

Exclusive: Capital’s mayor warns people not to use next month’s elections as a referendum on Labour’s progress UK politics live – latest updates Sadiq Khan has said he can understand why some former Labour voters are “flirting” with other parties in the run-up to May’s elections, but said that they may regret seeing a Green or Reform-led council in their areas. Speaking to the Guardian at a youth centre, where he was announcing new funding for facilities for young people, the London mayor also

PoliticsDefenceEnvironment
The Guardian Politics8 Apr 2026

What has conflict in Iran revealed about the UK’s geopolitical standing and military readiness?

Whatever happens next as US and Iran agree to a temporary ceasefire, some important lessons have been learned Middle East crisis – live updates The world breathed a sigh of relief in the early hours of Wednesday morning as the US and Iran agreed to an 11th hour two-week ceasefire, after diplomatic intervention from Iran. Hours after Donald Trump had threatened widespread bombing of Iran’s power plants and bridges, warning that “a whole civilisation will die tonight”, both countries agreed to a

PoliticsDefence
The Guardian Politics8 Apr 2026

‘We’d all be in the destruction zone!’ Can anything stop today’s nuclear free-for-all?

The Lib Dems’ Sue Miller has spent most of her life trying to reduce the risk of nuclear war. And it’s not going well. Why are so few people talking about non-proliferation, let alone disarmament? Almost the mildest remark that Sue Miller makes about nuclear weapons is also the scariest: “The last people to take a big interest in any of this were Gordon Brown and Margaret Beckett.” Those people seem such a long way away – Brown, of course, still campaigns valiantly against poverty, and Beckett i

Defence
The Guardian Politics8 Apr 2026

Keir Starmer welcomes Iran war ceasefire as he heads to Gulf to meet regional leaders – UK politics live

PM to meet partners in region to discuss effort to ‘support and sustain ceasefire’ and reopening the strait of Hormuz Sarah Jones, the policing minister, has been giving interviews. She has been talking about Keir Starmer’s visit to the Gulf, but hasn’t said anything that really adds to the (rather limited) information about the visit put out by Downing Street. Jones told Times Radio: [Starmer] is going to the Gulf for a number of reasons. Firstly you will have seen last week with the foreign se

PoliticsDefence
The Guardian Politics8 Apr 2026

UK opening new oil and gas fields would imperil global climate goals, experts say

Senior climate figures warn North Sea drilling would encourage fossil fuel exploitation by developing countries Opening new oil and gas fields in the North Sea would “send a shock wave around the world”, imperilling international climate targets, undermining the UK’s climate leadership and encouraging developing countries to exploit their own fossil fuel reserves, experts have warned. The UK government is under stiff pressure from the oil industry, the Conservatives, Nigel Farage’s Reform UK par

DefenceEnvironmentReform
The Guardian Politics7 Apr 2026

Commonwealth leaders vow to keep seeking reparations after Reform UK plan to halt visas

Politicians warn party’s pledge to ‘punish’ countries seeking justice for slavery will harm and isolate Britain Commonwealth politicians say they will not back down from seeking reparations as UK public figures, including a former Reform insider, warn the rightwing party’s pledge to “punish” countries seeking justice for slavery would harm and isolate Britain. This week, Reform UK said they would halt visas for nationals of countries formally demanding reparations from Britain if they took power

ImmigrationDefenceReform
The Guardian Politics7 Apr 2026

Can Starmer maintain ‘defensive strikes’ stance as Trump escalates threats on Iran?

Warnings that US could attack civilian infrastructure draws questions whether it is legally plausible for UK to still claim self-defence • Donald Trump says ‘a whole civilisation will die’ if Iran ignores demands In Downing Street, Keir Starmer has been at pains to emphasise that he will only authorise the use of UK bases by the US for “defensive” strikes on Iranian military targets. In the White House, Donald Trump has threatened to bomb civilian infrastructure – and said on Monday that he was

PoliticsDefence
The Guardian Politics6 Apr 2026

Struggling families like mine don’t talk about the cost of living any more – now it’s the cost of survival | Ella Michalski

Trying to make ends meet is an impossible effort, and things are rapidly getting worse. It’s time the government listened to people like us Ella Michalski is part of Changing Realities, a project working with low-income families In times of war, it is right that we focus on the human suffering of those affected by military action. But its ripple effects have worsened an already dire set of living standards for families like mine, who simply cannot meet the rising costs of the most basic of ess

EconomyDefence
The Guardian Politics5 Apr 2026

NHS urges patients not to put off care as doctors in England prepare for strike

People encouraged to ‘come forward as normal’ when BMA members begin industrial action over pay on Tuesday The NHS is urging patients not to put off seeking the care they need when resident doctors press ahead with strike action from Tuesday, a stoppage that the health secretary has called “disappointing”. Tens of thousands of resident doctors in England are to stage a six-day strike after the government took a key part of its offer off the table. Continue reading...

DefenceHealthcare
The Guardian Politics5 Apr 2026

Starmer attacks Greens, saying vote for Labour rivals puts new workers’ rights at risk

PM also criticises business figures and opponents of changes, many of which come into force on Monday • Workers, pensioners and children: all better off. Ignore the critics – we really are standing up for working people Keir Starmer has used a raft of new workers rights that come into force on Monday to attack the Green party, saying a vote for Labour’s rivals puts such progress on sick pay, parental leave and zero-hours contracts at risk. The prime minister also took a swipe at business figure

DefenceEnvironmentHousing
The Guardian Politics3 Apr 2026

Relationship with Trump may be beyond repair, Keir Starmer told

PM gets widespread backing after president’s mocking impersonation takes US-UK relationship to new low Keir Starmer has been warned his relationship with Donald Trump may be beyond repair after the US president derided the prime minister for consulting his team about military decisions, in a mocking impersonation. In a new low for UK-US relations, Trump appeared to imitate Starmer in a weak voice during an Easter lunch speech at the White House and said the UK was “not our best” as an ally. Con

Defence
The Guardian Politics3 Apr 2026

The Guardian view on the US and Europe: the UK tried to be a bridge, but Trump likes to burn them | Editorial

The president’s outbursts on allies and Nato were further confirmation that Europe cannot wait to bolster security – and Britain must play its part “She had no more surprises for him; the unexpected in her behaviour was the only thing to expect,” Henry James wrote in his novel Daisy Miller. Leaders dealing with Donald Trump surely recognise the sentiment. James’s character was a young American out of her depth in Europe, falling victim to prejudices. Mr Trump is a real-world problem, and this ti

Defence