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The Guardian Politics10 Mar 2026

Thousands of lawyers urge Keir Starmer to rethink plans to cut jury trials

Government facing prospect of most serious backbench revolt yet over proposals for England and Wales Plans to curtail the number of jury trials in England and Wales have been described as “unpopular, untested and poorly evidenced” by thousands of lawyers who have written to the prime minister. The letter to Keir Starmer, a former director of public prosecutions, from 3,200 lawyers, including 300 senior barristers, comes as his government faces the prospect of one of its most serious backbench r

The Guardian Politics10 Mar 2026

The blistering speech that tells me Britain’s social care deadlock can finally be broken | Polly Toynbee

If anyone can convince politicians and public of the need to pay for a national care service, it’s Louise Casey. With her involved, I now have hope No government in my lifetime has been dealt a worse hand than Keir Starmer’s. Austerity-broken public services, an empty Treasury, a jittery bond market freaked out by Liz Truss and then stricken by the arrival of Trump 2.0 with his bully-tariffs. Now Britain’s ally is setting the Middle East on fire in a murderous war, exploding oil and gas prices.

EconomyDefenceCrime
The Guardian Politics9 Mar 2026

Definition of anti-Muslim hate will not harm free speech, says Steve Reed

Communities secretary tells MPs that government has to act against record levels of hate crimes A new definition of anti-Muslim hate will not restrict freedom of speech, the communities secretary has pledged, as he said that “clear expectations” will still be set for new arrivals and existing communities in Britain to learn English. MPs were told by Steve Reed that the government had a duty to act against record levels of hate crime against Muslims, but that “you can’t tackle a problem if you ca

PoliticsCrime
The Guardian Politics9 Mar 2026

So Badenoch, Farage and Blair think the Iran war is a great idea? Hmm … | John Crace

Kemi may be all in favour, but at least economic realpolitik is forcing her to take a slightly different tack There have been any number of opportunities for people to decide they wanted no part of America’s war with Iran. The first was after the US had launched its first wave of strikes. To be fair, this was the moment Keir Starmer and most of the UK reckoned enough was enough and that our involvement would be limited to defensive strikes only. You couldn’t really fault the logic. Did the UK re

EconomyDefenceReformHousing
The Guardian Politics9 Mar 2026

HMS Dragon will head to Cyprus in next couple of days, says defence secretary

John Healey tells Commons crews working hard to prepare warship after criticism over slow response to drone attacks HMS Dragon will set sail in “the next couple of days”, the defence secretary has said, meaning the British destroyer may not arrive in the eastern Mediterranean until after the weekend. John Healey told the House of Commons that navy crews were working “tirelessly, 22 hours a day” to prepare the warship, as he faced accusations of not acting fast enough to protect British interests

PoliticsDefence
The Guardian Politics9 Mar 2026

Ministers must act more quickly on deepfakes to protect women and girls, Kendall says

Exclusive: Technology secretary urges tech companies to do more to tackle online misogyny Ministers need to act more quickly to combat fast-changing threats from technology such as deepfakes, the technology secretary has said, as she warned about the risks women and girls face online. Liz Kendall said on Monday that technology was developing at such a pace that it was outstripping the government’s ability to regulate it, even suggesting there could be regular annual reviews of regulations as hap

Defence
The Guardian Politics9 Mar 2026

The Guardian view on cancer survival rates: there is good news about healthcare amid the gloom | Editorial

Treatments continue to improve. The challenge now facing ministers is hugely unequal outcomes New analysis from Cancer Research UK, revealing a 29% drop in the rate of people dying from cancer compared with 40 years ago, is a vital counterpoint to grim health headlines about the UK’s outcomes falling behind those of other countries, and the NHS missing its own cancer targets. Prof Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England, made a related point in a recent lecture. Stand back from the d

Healthcare
The Guardian Politics9 Mar 2026

X suspends 800m accounts in one year amid ‘massive’ scale of manipulation attempts

Social media company tells MPs of continual fight against state-backed attempts, with Russia being most prolific Elon Musk’s X said it has suspended 800m accounts over a 12-month period as it fights the “massive” scale of attempts to manipulate the platform. The social media company told MPs it was continually fighting state-backed attempts to hijack the agenda on its network, with Russia being the most prolific state actor, followed by Iran and China. Continue reading...

Politics
The Guardian Politics9 Mar 2026

Labour lawyers ‘blocked’ from briefing MPs on jury trials overhaul before vote

Leader of rebel group says there is deep concern within Society of Labour Lawyers about courts and tribunals bill Lawyers affiliated to Labour were “blocked” from briefing party MPs to share concerns about plans to cut the number of jury trials in England and Wales, it has been claimed. The allegation was made by Karl Turner, the leader of a backbench rebellion against a flagship government bill that would remove the right to a jury trial in thousands of cases, before the first chance by MPs

PoliticsCrime
The Guardian Politics9 Mar 2026

UK inflation likely to rise because of Middle East war, says Rachel Reeves

British chancellor says she will take steps to help families with cost of living as oil prices surge Middle East crisis – live updates Britain is likely to be hit by rising inflation because of the US war with Iran, the UK chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has said, as she suggested that a “rapid de-escalation” would be the best protection against a jump in energy prices. Both the chancellor and the prime minister, Keir Starmer, suggested the government would be prepared to intervene to protect UK h

EconomyDefence
The Guardian Politics9 Mar 2026

Britons don’t want any part of Trump’s war fixation – the sooner Labour realises that the better | Owen Jones

Kowtowing to US foreign policy in Iraq and Afghanistan had disastrous consequences. Why are leaders making the same mistake all over again? Here is the sort of analysis you’re being served up by our esteemed commentariat. Keir Starmer’s positioning on the Iran war, we are told, reveals a prime minister with no political compass. True, but talk about burying the lede. The story here is not Starmer’s lack of political acumen. British involvement in the Iran war is not a policy question on which re

PoliticsDefence
The Guardian Politics9 Mar 2026

Missing money, shipped chips and a 350,000% profit: key takeaways on AI ‘phantom investments’

A Guardian investigation has put the UK government’s AI plans under the microscope. Here are the key details Revealed: UK’s multibillion AI drive is built on ‘phantom investments’ The Essex ‘supercomputer’ that’s still a scaffolding yard A Guardian investigation has examined a series of massive AI investments announced by the government over the past years, comparing what was promised to what has so far been delivered. The investigation centres on two companies backed by the chipmaker Nvidia