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The Guardian Politics15 May 2026

Ban private jets and cut speed limits to avert UK fuel crisis, say campaigners

Climate and transport organisations warn ministers not to ‘sleepwalk into crisis’ amid Iran war oil and gas shortages Private jets should be banned and the speed limit on UK motorways reduced to 60mph as part of a pre-emptive effort to ease the looming fuel supply crisis, according to leading climate and transport organisations. The group – including Greenpeace and Transport and Environment – are calling on ministers not to “sleepwalk into a crisis” that could lead to severe shortages of jet

DefenceEnvironment
The Guardian Politics15 May 2026

Starmer ally admits prime minister is ‘unpopular’ but warns of ‘chaos’ if leadership contest triggered – UK politics live

Pressure is intensifying on Keir Starmer after Andy Burnham was given a route back to parliament Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of UK politics. Housing secretary Steve Reed has been on the media round this morning urging Labour colleagues to put the “country first, party second”, even as he admits Keir Starmer is “unpopular”. Continue reading...

PoliticsDefenceHousing
The Guardian Politics15 May 2026

Starmer loyalist warns against ‘copying Tories’ but admits PM is unpopular

Housing secretary Steve Reed says no one has numbers for challenge and Labour should row in behind prime minister One of Keir Starmer’s closest allies in the cabinet has conceded that the prime minister is “unpopular” but has insisted Labour should not repeat the same pattern of changing leaders that damaged the Conservatives. The housing secretary, Steve Reed, one of Starmer’s most loyal ministers and staunch defenders, told broadcasters on Friday that no one had the numbers to challenge him an

PoliticsDefenceHousing
The Guardian Politics14 May 2026

Nigel Farage now says £5m from crypto billionaire was ‘reward’ for Brexit push

Reform UK leader offers new explanation for gift, which is under investigation, having first said it was for his security UK politics live – latest updates Nigel Farage has provided a new explanation for why he accepted a £5m gift from a Reform UK donor in the weeks before he announced he would stand in the last general election. In an interview on Thursday, Farage said the money was a “reward” for campaigning for Brexit. Previously, he had said the gift was given for security purposes, to kee

PoliticsDefenceReform
The Guardian Politics14 May 2026

Labour winds are blowing towards Burnham – and Streeting knows it

Now former health secretary and Manchester mayor could be about to make an unlikely deal to oust Keir Starmer Who said the Labour party needs “a battle of ideas, not of personalities or petty factionalism … It needs to be broad, and it needs the best possible field of candidates”? Until this morning, almost everyone would have attributed those words to Andy Burnham, the mayor or Greater Manchester. But those were the closing paragraphs of the former health secretary Wes Streeting’s resignation l

Defence
The Guardian Politics14 May 2026

Leadership rules should ‘not be tweaked’ to let Burnham run for PM, Labour NEC member says

Burnham’s backers understood to be lobbying Labour’s NEC who warn against Wes Streeting ‘coronation’ UK politics live – latest updates The rules governing Labour party leadership contests should “not be tweaked” to allow Andy Burnham to run, a member of the party’s National Executive Committee has said. With the health secretary preparing to launch a leadership challenge against Keir Starmer on Thursday, if he can secure the support of enough MPs to trigger a contest, allies of Burnham have wa

PoliticsDefence
The Guardian Politics14 May 2026

Reeves says ‘if economy ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ - as fight to keep her job goes on

Whoever wins the Labour leadership tussle, the chancellor’s prospects for staying inpost have risen given the surprise GDP boost Business live – latest updates UK economy records surprise 0.3% growth despite Iran war The message from Rachel Reeves is clear. After Britain’s economy defied the predictions for a slump in March, despite the fallout from the Iran war, why put things at risk with a roll of the dice in domestic politics? Responding to bumper growth of 0.3% in March – much stronge

PoliticsEconomyDefence
The Guardian Politics14 May 2026

UK economy records surprise 0.3% growth in first month of the Iran war

GDP reading ties in with some surveys suggesting UK plc has kept up momentum despite rising fuel costs The UK economy unexpectedly grew during the first full month of the Iran war, according to official figures, suggesting the Middle East conflict has not yet affected growth as much as feared. Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed growth of 0.3% in gross domestic product (GDP) in March, from a revised 0.4% rise in February and 0% growth in January. The ONS had originally e

EconomyDefence
The Guardian Politics14 May 2026

‘There’s a risk of another Liz Truss moment’: City raises spectre of bond market meltdown again

As Keir Starmer’s leadership totters, investors warn a Labour leadership contest ignoring public finances and market realpolitik could be disastrous A rise in borrowing costs and warnings to avoid a “Liz Truss moment”. As Keir Starmer faces a potential leadership challenge, the spectre of the bond market looms large. Amid febrile conditions in Westminster, the prospect of Britain switching prime ministers for a sixth time in seven years has fuelled a sharp sell-off in the market for UK governmen

PoliticsDefence
The Guardian Politics13 May 2026

As Westminster rages, and Labour sinks into civil war: what about the people? | Aditya Chakrabortty

Voters are desperate for a turnaround in living standards. The runners and riders for the Labour leadership must address this “Westminster is a cocoon. Lots of people in lovely jobs, so it becomes easy to forget the world outside.” Catherine West should know. She’s been an MP for 11 years, even if you hadn’t heard of her until this weekend when the Labour backbencher threatened Keir Starmer for the leadership, firing the first shots in the civil war that now engulfs the government. Before Wes St

PoliticsDefence
The Guardian Politics13 May 2026

‘It’s more incrementalism’: Starmer’s safe king’s speech fails to quell mutiny

One of PM’s expanding cohort of critics in Labour party says policy programme ‘sums up where we have gone wrong’ For Keir Starmer’s Labour critics, his second king’s speech, in which the government set out what it would do in parliament over the next 12 to 18 months, was a crystallisation of everything that was wrong with the prime minister’s strategy. Over 34 bills and three draft ones, Starmer set out a programme he said would “make this country stronger and fairer”. But the package, which inc

PoliticsDefence
The Guardian Politics13 May 2026

Easy as ABC: voters in England tend to pick names nearer top of ballot, data suggests

Exclusive: Where parties fielded multiple candidates in last week’s vote, those at top of list were more likely to be picked Fancy your chances in politics? Then perhaps you should change your name to Aaron Aaronson or Aaliyah Aardvark, figures from last week’s local elections in England suggest. A Guardian analysis of election results compiled by the website Democracy Club points to a striking alphabet effect. In wards where a party fielded three candidates, those listed nearer the top of the b

PoliticsDefence