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The Guardian Politics20 Mar 2026

Reform UK success in local elections could endanger national climate targets, report says – UK politics live

LSE research found some Reform councillors have denied the reality of climate science, and mention of climate has been removed from strategy documents Richard Hermer, the attorney general, has challenged Kemi Badenoch to say whether she would object to Jewish prayer in public, after the Conservative leader backed one of her shadow ministers who said an Islamic prayer event was intimidating and un-British, Peter Walker reports. Iran’s foreign minister has warned the UK it sees its choice to let t

PoliticsDefenceEnvironmentReform
The Guardian Politics20 Mar 2026

This is a key moment in the war on Iran – and Starmer must resist the UK being dragged into it any further | Simon Jenkins

This is not Britain’s war, it’s Trump’s and Netanyahu’s. The prime minister should be wary of becoming ensnared like Blair was with Iraq Is this the turning point? A deranged US president and an Israeli prime minister facing prosecution are seeking to entice the armies of the world into the stupidest war of the 21st century. Israel’s strike this week on Iran’s South Pars gas field was clearly meant to provoke an Iranian retaliation so massive as to ensure a ferocious response from Donald Trump.

DefenceReform
The Guardian Politics20 Mar 2026

Attorney general asks if Kemi Badenoch would object to Jewish public prayer

Exclusive: Richard Hermer, who is Jewish, says Tory leader and shadow minister seem ‘to only have an issue with Muslim events’ Richard Hermer, the attorney general, has challenged Kemi Badenoch to say whether she would object to Jewish prayer in public, after the Conservative leader backed one of her shadow ministers who said an Islamic prayer event was intimidating and un-British. Hermer, one of the UK’s most prominent Jewish politicians, said Badenoch’s decision to support the views of Nick Ti

The Guardian Politics20 Mar 2026

Labour will be decimated in May local elections, Unite leader says

Sharon Graham tells party to ‘wake up and smell the coffee’ after ‘shameful’ handling of Birmingham bin strike Labour will be “decimated” in the upcoming local elections and should “hang their heads in shame” over the handling of the Birmingham bin strike, Unite’s general secretary has said. In a speech to refuse workers near a waste depot in Tyseley on Thursday, Sharon Graham said working people were moving away from Labour in droves and called on the party to “wake up and smell the coffee”. C

Politics
The Guardian Politics20 Mar 2026

It’s always been a fight to get children the early years care they deserve. It’s time to fight again | Polly Toynbee

Labour recognises how crucial education is at the start of life, but still the poorest children are missing out The news is very good (mostly). The cost of full-time childcare in England for children under the age of two has dropped by a phenomenal 39% since last year, thanks to government funding. This stat, from the 25th annual survey of nurseries by the children’s charity Coram, provides a good opportunity to stop and consider how far the country has come in that quarter-century. In 1995, the

Education
The Guardian Politics20 Mar 2026

Rightwing narrative fuelling false belief UK public oppose net zero, study finds

Reform, Tory and some media rhetoric runs contrary to poll showing far more voters for net zero than against it Political elites are out of step with the public appetite for net zero, according to analysis that identifies rightwing media narratives as fuelling a false backlash against climate action. Media coverage of net zero is more than twice as likely to be negative than public attitudes and is driving a false perception that net zero policies are unpopular with voters, the analysis found.

PoliticsEnvironment
The Guardian Politics19 Mar 2026

Nigel Farage condemned over call to ban public prayer for Muslims in the UK

Reform party leader criticised for making comments after event held in London’s Trafalgar Square this week Muslim leaders have condemned Nigel Farage’s call to ban public prayer by Muslims in the UK as bigoted and warned of a “growing tide of hate” after the Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, questioned whether the events fitted “within the norms of British culture”. Farage was speaking at the launch of Reform UK’s manifesto for the forthcoming Scottish parliament elections when he made the rem

PoliticsDefenceReform
The Guardian Politics19 Mar 2026

Tens of thousands of prisoners in England and Wales at risk of cell fires

About a quarter of prison places are unsafe, Ministry of Justice admits The government has reneged on a pledge to make all prison cells fire-safe or take them out of use by the end of next year, meaning tens of thousands of prisoners in England and Wales will remain at risk. The Ministry of Justice has admitted it has known for almost two decades that about a quarter of prison places are unsafe, putting the people housed in affected cells at risk. Continue reading...

ReformCrime
The Guardian Politics19 Mar 2026

The Guardian view on Labour, liberals and the left: they agree on the problem, but not the solution | Editorial

From Brexit to fiscal rules to living costs, diagnoses multiply. Steel policy points to a missing link – the need for a strategy to rebuild The government has raised tariffs to protect the steel industry. It also nationalised the UK’s remaining blast furnaces last year to keep them running. Both moves point to the same conclusion: the current economic model is not working. A series of interventions from Labour’s Sir Sadiq Khan and Angela Rayner as well as the Green party leader, Zack Polanski,

EconomyEnvironmentHousing
The Guardian Politics19 Mar 2026

Famed for authenticity, Farage’s Cameo scandal reveals him for what he is: a performer | Gaby Hinsliff

Taking money from just about anyone is just the latest example of Reform’s leader following the Trump school of self-enrichment Nigel Farage will say pretty much anything for money. Write him a script, stuff a coin in the slot and off he goes: the man who would be prime minister can be your personal mouthpiece for less than £100. Or at least, that’s the obvious explanation for why – as exposed by the Guardian – the Reform leader has been churning out written-to-order video messages on request fo

Reform
The Guardian Politics19 Mar 2026

Kemi Badenoch channels her fantasies as she launches the Tories’ local election campaign | John Crace

This wasn’t just a mean-spirited version of Britain, it was also positively deranged Abandon hope all ye who enter here. You’d have thought this would be the very definition of futility. An act of defiant nihilism. A few weeks ago Kemi Badenoch had declared that the Tory candidate for Gorton and Denton, Charlotte Cadden, had been the real winner despite getting under 2% of the vote and losing her deposit. Now Kemi was to launch the Conservatives’ local election campaign in the certain knowledge

Politics
The Guardian Politics19 Mar 2026

Do the Conservatives have a problem with Muslims? – podcast

At the launch of the Conservative local elections campaign on Thursday, Peter Walker asked Kemi Badenoch about her shadow justice secretary’s claim that Muslims praying in Trafalgar square was an ‘act of domination’. Her answer did not clarify the party’s position. Peter discusses with Lexy Topping the problems this kind of culture war may bring the Conservatives. Plus, are Sadiq Khan’s comments on the EU and Angela Rayner’s return to the spotlight a new headache for Keir Starmer? Continue read

PoliticsDefenceReform