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The Guardian Politics21 May 2026

Manchester Messiah Burnham anointed to fix Westminster politics

King of the North searches for the hero inside himself to an Oasis backing track to change politics for the better It must be exhausting being the King of the North. Just watching Andy Burnham’s four-minute campaign video released earlier this week leaves you in need of a lie down. Andy can’t step outside his front door without people throwing themselves at his feet. Men throw palm leaves across the pavement and openly weep with joy. They can’t imagine a life without him and insist on buying hi

Politics
The Guardian Politics21 May 2026

Reeves cuts VAT on summer days out to 5% as part of cost of living support

Chancellor says she will raise tax on global oil giants to help meet costs of plans and confirms freeze on fuel duty increases Business live – latest updates Rachel Reeves will cut VAT to 5% on summer attractions such as theme parks and softplay centres during the school holidays, as she aims to ease the impact of the war in Iran on cash-strapped households. The chancellor told MPs on Thursday she would also raise more tax from global oil firms operating in the UK, to help meet the costs of he

PoliticsEconomyDefence
The Guardian Politics21 May 2026

No evidence of formal security vetting when Andrew became UK trade envoy, minister says

Documents released by government also show late queen was ‘very keen’ for her son to have prominent role UK politics live – latest updates Formal security vetting and due diligence appears not to have been carried out before the appointment of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor as a trade envoy, the government has said, as it emerged that the late queen was “very keen” for her son to take up a prominent role in promoting Britain’s interests. The first batch of documents relating to the appointment of

Politics
The Guardian Politics21 May 2026

Andy Burnham to back electoral reform if he becomes prime minister

Labour’s Makerfield byelection candidate wants to make politics ‘less point-scoring, more problem-solving’ UK politics live – latest updates Andy Burnham has said he will back sweeping changes to the electoral system to make politics “less point-scoring, more problem-solving” if he becomes prime minister. The Greater Manchester mayor has previously called for the introduction of proportional representations for UK general elections, handing more power to minority parties like the Greens. Cont

PoliticsEnvironment
The Guardian Politics21 May 2026

London mayor Sadiq Khan blocks £50m Met police deal with Palantir

Exclusive: Scotland Yard had been in talks to use Palantir’s AI technology to automate intelligence analysis A £50m Met police deal with the controversial US tech company Palantir has been blocked by the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, with City Hall citing a “clear and serious breach” of procurement rules. Scotland Yard had been in talks, revealed by the Guardian last month, to use Palantir’s AI technology to automate intelligence analysis in criminal investigations. But Khan intervened on Thursday t

Crime
The Guardian Politics21 May 2026

Greens select nurse and ‘committed local campaigner’ as Makerfield byelection candidate

Chris Kennedy chosen amid reports Greens do not want to be blamed for splitting progressive vote and allowing Reform to win UK politics live – latest updates The Green party has chosen “a committed local campaigner” as its candidate in the Makerfield byelection which is due to take place on 18 June. Chris Kennedy, a nurse and children’s safeguarding specialist, was chosen after a hustings on Wednesday amid reports that the party was proposing to hold back from investing significant resources i

PoliticsEnvironment
The Guardian Politics21 May 2026

Streeting calls for equal tax on income and capital gains in Labour leadership pitch

MP says current system is unfair and his idea would result in a ‘wealth tax that works’ UK politics live – latest updates Former health secretary Wes Streeting has set out plans for a “wealth tax that works”, by equalising tax on assets and income. Streeting said the current system – in which capital gains tax is generally much lower than income tax – was not fair and penalised work, arguing the taxes should be equalised. Continue reading...

PoliticsEconomyHousing
The Guardian Politics21 May 2026

Rachel Reeves tells foul-mouthed Reform UK heckler good manners matter

Chancellor wins support from Conservative Mel Stride, while Farage says he’d ‘like to buy man a pint’ UK politics live – latest updates Rachel Reeves surprised onlookers when she gave a stern rebuke to a foul-mouthed heckler who shouted at her from his van as she conducted a broadcast interview. However, the chancellor has won support from unlikely sources as Conservative politicians have leapt to her defence. Continue reading...

PoliticsDefenceReform
The Guardian Politics21 May 2026

Rich already being taxed properly, says minister, as Streeting calls for ‘wealth tax that works’– UK politics live

Treasury’s Lucy Rigby says Rachel Reeves introduced measures in her first budget as Streeting calls for capital gains rates to be aligned with income tax Good morning. It’s a big day for Rachel Reeves, the chancellor. In a Commons statement, she is announcing a series of measures to help people with the cost of living. She wants people to enjoy a “Great British summer”, she says. Reeves’s plan for what makes for a good summer is not quite the same as Samantha Niblett’s; the chancellor is talking

PoliticsEconomy
The Guardian Politics21 May 2026

All this talk about ‘difficult’ cuts, yet the largest part of Britain’s welfare bill is never mentioned. Why? | Zoe Williams

Pensioners vote and young people don’t, so the truism goes. That’s no longer any reason to avoid dealing with the triple lock Nothing makes you feel more like a de-developing nation than being reprimanded by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Rachel Reeves can take solace in trace amounts from the fact that the IMF advised her only to “stay the course” on spending limits – whatever energy or inflation crises are down the line, she shouldn’t cave to demands for government support. Basically,

Economy
The Guardian Politics21 May 2026

Schools are ‘pipeline’ to joblessness for many people, says ex-Labour adviser

Ban social media and reform education to tackle scandal of young people not in work or study, says Peter Hyman Schools have become a “pipeline” to worklessness for a large cohort of young people in the UK, according to an influential former Labour adviser who has called for urgent action to help a “lost generation”. Peter Hyman, a former adviser to Tony Blair and Keir Starmer, told the Guardian the government should ban social media and enact radical education reform to tackle the “national scan

Education
The Guardian Politics21 May 2026

Have no doubt: the campaign to sack Misan Harriman is part of an assault on black figures in public life | Afua Hirsch

The move against the boss of London’s Southbank Centre sends a forbidding message about who is and isn’t seen as fit to lead in UK culture I met Tommy Robinson once. It was 10 years ago exactly, during one of his many failed attempts to mainstream Islamophobia in British politics with a new “movement” called Pegida – a copycat of Germany’s far-right Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West. There was little memorable about this “launch”, which as a social affairs editor for Sky N

Politics