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The Guardian Politics13 Mar 2026

Survivors of Ireland’s mother and baby homes will not have UK benefits cut

Campaigners welcome Keir Starmer’s backing of ‘Philomena’s law’ to protect payments for those who accept compensation Survivors of Ireland’s mother and baby homes can continue to receive benefits in the UK after Downing Street agreed to protect payments. Keir Starmer bowed to pressure from campaigners to back a bill known as Philomena’s law, which would ringfence survivors’ benefits if they accepted compensation from Dublin. Continue reading...

PoliticsHousing
The Guardian Politics13 Mar 2026

British politics is hooked on flashy fake numbers – and the AI investment debacle proves it | Jonathan Portes

A claim that the UK is attracting billions of pounds in AI investment has been debunked. That’s no surprise when our establishment runs on dubious ‘good news’ One trillion dollars. That’s the amount of financial aid Gordon Brown triumphantly announced at the 2009 London G20 summit. (I contributed my own two cents here.) Except it wasn’t exactly real: the number was a mixture of already promised apples and aspirational future oranges. So it should hardly be a surprise that when ministers proclaim

Politics
The Guardian Politics13 Mar 2026

Miliband unveils plans to speed up nuclear power generation for UK

Ministers face accusations of carrying out ‘irresponsible deregulation’ as they push through ‘clean energy’ proposals Ed Miliband has unveiled plans to cut regulations, costs and bureaucracy by the end of next year to speed up the development of nuclear power generation. The UK government said the changes, to be carried out this year, would deliver a “win-win for building critical infrastructure while protecting nature and the environment”. Continue reading...

Environment
The Guardian Politics13 Mar 2026

Reeves vows to ‘crack down’ on energy and fuel bosses exploiting Britons through ‘rip-off’ prices – UK politics live

The chancellor is set to meet with energy bosses over concerns that companies are profiteering from oil and gas prices Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of UK politics. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has asked the competition watchdog, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), to “crack down” on “rip off” fuel prices as she prepares to meet energy bosses amid concerns companies are profiteering off the US and Israel’s war with Iran. The Conservative party continue to accuse the governme

PoliticsDefence
The Guardian Politics13 Mar 2026

Patients face long journeys for medicines as pharmacies cut weekend hours

More than 20% of weekend availability lost in England since 2022, forcing some to turn to A&E, says national association People who need to obtain medication at the weekend are having to undertake long trips because more pharmacies are cutting their opening hours on Saturdays and Sundays. One in six pharmacies in England have reduced their hours at weekends since 2022, with some shutting altogether, as a result of “unsustainable” pressures on their budgets. Continue reading...

Economy
The Guardian Politics13 Mar 2026

Bleak economic data shows UK plc in trouble well before the Middle East crisis

Zero GDP growth in January will not help Rachel Reeves claim her policies have put UK in a stronger position to weather oil price storm Business live – latest updates UK economy unexpectedly flatlined in January, ONS data shows Even before Donald Trump’s Operation Epic Fury on Iran unleashed higher oil prices, threatening the outlook for growth and inflation, the UK economy was flatlining. That’s the bleak message in the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which showed

Economy
The Guardian Politics13 Mar 2026

So long, hereditary peers – but the Lords is still full of absurd anachronisms | Polly Toynbee

Two-thirds of voters want an elected second chamber. The government needs a radical legacy: it should use its rare majority for this Goodbye (almost) to the hereditary peers, voted out on Tuesday night. But they didn’t go without a vicious tooth-and-nail fight. Labour should be making much more noise about how the Tories blackmailed and threatened to the very last to hold on to the hereditary peerage (almost all Tories), despite 66% of voters wanting a democratically elected second chamber. Tori

Politics
The Guardian Politics13 Mar 2026

UK economy unexpectedly flatlined in January, official figures show

Monthly GDP figure comes as higher energy prices look likely to drive up inflation, dashing hopes of interest rate cut Business live – latest updates The UK economy entered the Middle East crisis after a weak start to the year, according to official figures showing flatlining January output before the US-Israel war on Iran hit global energy prices. Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed zero growth in gross domestic product (GDP), down from an increase of 0.1% in December,

EconomyDefence
The Guardian Politics13 Mar 2026

BBC World Service funding freeze risks ‘opening door to hostile states’, MPs say

Cross-party committee says service is ‘jewel in crown of UK’s soft power’ but is diminished by poor governance Ministers risk “opening the door to propaganda from hostile states” and diminishing international trust in the BBC World Service by allowing its funding to be frozen at a crucial time, parliament’s spending watchdog has said. The cross-party public accounts committee (PAC) said it was deeply troubled by the fact the service was still unclear about its funding just weeks before its curre

Politics
The Guardian Politics12 Mar 2026

Starmer may face more resignations after release of Mandelson WhatsApp messages, say sources

PM has apologised for his handling of Peter Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador, but next tranche of files could contain further damaging details Keir Starmer could suffer further resignations when ministerial WhatsApp messages are published in the next tranche of the Peter Mandelson files, senior government sources have told the Guardian. With officials bracing for the subsequent releases – expected to include informal communications alongside formal messages like those in the first batch

The Guardian Politics12 Mar 2026

In linking Iran to Russia, Healey could be laying ground for hard choices ahead

Defence secretary connects Middle East conflict to plight of Ukraine, sympathy for which remains relatively high After a week or so of wearing media coverage about the deterioration of the Anglo-American relationship and the belated decision to deploy Royal Navy destroyer HMS Dragon to Cyprus, it was time to move the conversation on. On a visit to the UK’s permanent military headquarters in Northwood, north-west London, the defence secretary, John Healey, asked two senior British military office

Defence
The Guardian Politics12 Mar 2026

The Mandelson papers reveal a prime minister who would rather not hear from dissenting voices | Gaby Hinsliff

Warnings were ignored and processes rushed because No 10 had already made up its mind to let Peter Mandelson sail through The arrogance takes your breath away, even to the end. Sacked in disgrace for bringing shame upon those who trusted him, Peter Mandelson’s response, we now know, was to unsuccessfully demand half a million pounds of public money to go quietly, all while haughtily insisting upon his dignity as a servant of the crown. In other words, this week’s disclosures suggest Mandelson be

Defence