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The Guardian Politics12 May 2026

Andy Burnham can save Labour and defeat Reform. He should be the next prime minister | Neal Lawson

Put plainly, the Greater Manchester mayor is electoral gold dust. The Labour party machine must not stand in his way to becoming an MP Neal Lawson is director of the cross-party campaign organisation Compass The madness has to end. The progressive side of politics in the UK faces two crises. The first is the possible decimation of the Labour party after the next election. The second is a prospective Reform-led government – and a Trumpian future for the country. The best-placed figure in Britai

Politics
The Guardian Politics12 May 2026

Farage faces questions over failure to declare use of donor’s helicopter

Reform UK leader has used the helicopter to attend rallies across the country, most recently on Friday Nigel Farage is facing questions about why he did not declare his use of a donor’s helicopter to travel around Britain for rallies. The helicopter, which was used by Farage as recently as Friday after local elections across Britain, is the property of a company owned by Lorenzo Zaccheo, a businessman who gave Reform £25,000 last year. Continue reading...

PoliticsReformHousing
The Guardian Politics12 May 2026

Youth mobility scheme disagreement hampering reset of UK-EU relations

Deal was expected by end of month but talks hit buffers over cap on number of people entering UK and tuition fees UK politics live – latest updates Europe live – latest updates Significant gaps remain in negotiations on the reset in relations between the UK and the EU despite Keir Starmer’s latest pledge to put Britain “at the heart of Europe” after last week’s election drubbing. The UK wants to limit the number of young people from the EU who come into the country as part of a post-Brexit yo

Politics
The Guardian Politics12 May 2026

Starmer tells cabinet he will not quit without leadership challenge

Prime minister says process for challenging a leader has not been triggered and Labour should get on with governing • UK politics live – latest updates • Who are the main threats to Starmer’s leadership? Keir Starmer has told his cabinet he will not resign as prime minister, saying the threshold for a leadership challenge has not been met. In comments that effectively dared the health secretary, Wes Streeting, to launch a challenge against him, Starmer said he intended to get on with governing.

Politics
The Guardian Politics12 May 2026

Labour MP in seat eyed by Burnham allies says she will not stand aside

Exclusive: Marie Rimmer backs Keir Starmer and deals blow to Greater Manchester mayor’s byelection hopes UK politics live – latest updates Andy Burnham’s hopes of returning to Westminster were dealt a blow on Tuesday as the Merseyside MP whose seat had been named by key allies for a potential byelection said she would not stand down and backed Keir Starmer to stay in office. Marie Rimmer, the MP for St Helens South and Whiston, said the mayor of Greater Manchester had not spoken to her “in yea

Politics
The Guardian Politics12 May 2026

Tax cuts and cost of living help proposed by Labour-linked groups allied to Streeting and Burnham

With Starmer under growing pressure to resign, Growth and Tribune groups put forward ideas for policy revamps UK politics live – latest updates Groups connected to the health secretary, Wes Streeting, and the Greater Manchester mayor, Andy Burnham, have proposed large changes to government policy, giving a sense of how the country may change should either one succeed Keir Starmer. The Growth Group, allied to Streeting, and the Tribune group of Labour MPs, allied to Burnham, have published comp

PoliticsEconomyDefence
The Guardian Politics12 May 2026

UK borrowing costs hit highest since 1998 amid Starmer uncertainty

Bond yields soar and pound falls against dollar as investors brace for potential Labour leadership change Business live – latest updates UK politics live – latest updates Long-term UK borrowing costs have soared to the highest level in nearly three decades while the pound and stocks fell, as investors braced for a potential change of leadership, with cabinet ministers urging Keir Starmer to quit. Starmer is consulting colleagues before a crunch cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning that comes af

Politics
The Guardian Politics12 May 2026

Starmer’s on the brink and who knows what will happen next: hope for the best Britain, and prep for the worst | Frances Ryan

As senior cabinet ministers move against the PM, his words of defiance seem moot. I’m planning ahead – which is more than he ever did A news report last week described how growing instability means millions of Britons are building up a stash of cash, tinned food and torches at home. I don’t know about you, but I’ve always thought there is no better litmus test of how things are going for a country than whether the populace is stockpiling emergency rations. Watching Keir Starmer stubbornly cling

Politics
The Guardian Politics12 May 2026

Labour must offer more than ‘better managed decline’ on economy, MPs urge

Soft-left Tribune group issues thinly disguised attack on Keir Starmer, calling for bold policy renewal Business live – latest updates UK politics live – latest updates An influential group of MPs has said that Labour needs an urgent renewal of economic strategy to offer voters “more than better management of decline” before the next general election. With Keir Starmer fighting to ward off a leadership challenge, the leading backbenchers from the soft-left Tribune group published a series of

PoliticsEconomyDefence
The Guardian Politics12 May 2026

Close Starmer ally declines to say if he will lead Labour into next election

Chief secretary, Darren Jones, says PM is ‘listening to colleagues’ but will make own decisions on way forward UK politics live – latest updates One of Keir Starmer’s closest aides has declined to say whether he would lead his party into the next election amid mounting calls for him to resign. The prime minister is “listening to colleagues” who are asking him to set out a timetable for departure but would make his own decisions about the way forward, the prime minister’s chief secretary has sa

PoliticsDefence
The Guardian Politics12 May 2026

Scotland’s elections confirmed that our nation’s leftwing identity is part myth, part reality | Rory Scothorne

There is optimism even after Nigel Farage’s party swept to victory in many postindustrial areas – as radical progressives won more seats than ever James IV, King of Scots, never had to worry about elections. This freed him up to satisfy his voracious curiosity with strange experiments: according to one old tale, in 1493 he trapped two children, and a nurse who couldn’t talk, on Inchkeith Island in the Firth of Forth. James hoped that the children, deprived of modern influences on their speech, w

PoliticsReform
The Guardian Politics12 May 2026

Greens’ Zack Polanski admits failing to pay correct council tax on houseboat

Party says leader has ‘immediately taken steps’ to pay any tax owed after ‘unintentional mistake’ The Green party leader, Zack Polanski, has admitted he may have failed to pay the correct council tax while living on a London houseboat. Polanski had faced mounting questions over whether the houseboat, moored in east London, was his primary residence. Continue reading...

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