News

Original reporting and the latest political headlines from across the UK.

Our Articles

Mainstream Headlines

Filtering by:Tag: defence×Source: The Guardian Politics×Clear all

605 headlines found — Page 16 of 51

The Guardian Politics13 May 2026

Labour-supporting unions predict Starmer will not lead party into next election

Exclusive: Leaked draft statement says party ‘cannot continue on its current path’ under PM Keir Starmer will not lead his party into the next general election, Labour-supporting unions have predicted, in an intervention that threatens to further destabilise the prime minister after a damaging few days. The 11 Labour-affiliated unions – which include Unite, Unison and the GMB – are expected to issue a joint statement on Wednesday saying “at some stage” the party will have to put a plan in place

PoliticsDefenceHousing
The Guardian Politics13 May 2026

Labour needs a battle of ideas now, not a scramble to snatch the keys to No 10 | Rafael Behr

Removing Starmer solves the problem of an unpopular leader, but without a coherent alternative agenda his successor won’t fare much better Labour has spent much of the past year paralysed by competing fears. MPs’ dread of facing voters with Keir Starmer as prime minister has been kept in check by their recoil from the process of replacing him. They know the prime minister is an electoral liability; they know that the electorate takes a dim view of chaotic, regicidal parties that showcase disunit

PoliticsDefenceHousing
The Guardian Politics12 May 2026

Labour must fulfil promise to introduce clean air act, charities urge

Party held out prospect of act while in opposition but plan did not make it into election manifesto Ministers should bring forward a new clean air act that would ban wood burning, clear diesel vehicles from the roads and force councils to cut pollution, a group of more than 60 charities have urged before the king’s speech on Wednesday. Labour held out the prospect of a clean air act while in opposition in 2023, but this was dropped from the final election manifesto, and the government has made n

PoliticsDefenceEnvironment
The Guardian Politics12 May 2026

Starmer hopes to regain momentum with unveiling of dozens of bills in king’s speech

Planned legislation includes housing, immigration and energy measures, and comes amid awkwardness with the palace over Charles’s role Keir Starmer will attempt to regain the political initiative on Wednesday as his government announces a package of 35 bills for the next parliamentary session, covering everything from housing to immigration. The embattled prime minister will release details of dozens of bills that he intends to pass over the next 12 months, even as his own MPs line up to demand h

PoliticsImmigrationDefenceHousing
The Guardian Politics12 May 2026

Jamie Dimon: JP Morgan could scrap new £3bn HQ if Starmer is replaced by PM ‘hostile to banks’

Bank greenlit construction of the Canary Wharf tower last November after Rachel Reeves’ budget spared lenders tax hikes The boss of JP Morgan, Jamie Dimon, has warned he could scrap plans to build a new £3bn UK headquarters in London if Keir Starmer is replaced by a new Labour prime minister who is hostile to banks. JP Morgan revealed plans last November to build the tower in Canary Wharf, hours after lenders were spared tax hikes in Rachel Reeves’s autumn budget, after strong lobbying by the b

EconomyDefenceEnvironment
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

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

Will Starmer’s old Labour tribute strategy rescue him from the abyss? Probably not, but there’s a logic to it | Gaby Hinsliff

Gordon Brown and Harriet Harman offer experience and political craft, but to reap the benefits, the PM himself will have to change There comes a time, in the dying days of a relationship, when you start to become irritated merely by the sound of your partner’s breathing. It’s not kind, and it’s not necessarily rational, but it is what it is. Nothing they can do is going to fix it, and nothing they say makes it better – even if they suddenly start promising to do all the things you’ve been beggi

PoliticsDefence
The Guardian Politics11 May 2026

Newly elected Reform councillor resigns after social media claims

Stuart Prior, who was elected in Essex last week, allegedly celebrated the rape of Sikh woman and called Muslim people ‘rats’ A Reform UK councillor has resigned days after being elected, after he allegedly celebrated on social media the rape of a Sikh woman in the Midlands, declared white people the “master race” and called Muslim people “rats”. Stuart Prior was elected as a councillor for Essex county council last Thursday, winning 2,404 votes, the highest total of any candidate in the ward.

DefenceReform
The Guardian Politics11 May 2026

Keir Starmer vows to prove doubters wrong in make-or-break leadership speech

PM makes series of policy pledges including seeking new deal with EU and says he will fight any challenge Who are the main threats to Keir Starmer’s Labour leadership? UK politics live – latest updates Keir Starmer has said he will prove his doubters wrong as he warned Labour was facing “very dangerous opponents” in a make-or-break speech, with leadership rivals on the brink of a challenge. Starmer said he would fight any leadership challenge and would not “walk away” from his responsibilitie

PoliticsDefence
The Guardian Politics11 May 2026

Wales has been hit by a political earthquake – and the UK government is in a very tricky position | Will Hayward

If Starmer’s Labour refuses to concede more powers to Plaid Cymru, the triumphant independence party, it will only accelerate its own decline On Saturday, I stood on the steps outside the Senedd, listening to the leader of Plaid Cymru, Rhun ap Iorwerth, take questions from the media. It was one of those rare moments of almost feeling history being made. As one of the other journalists said to me: “I have never seen a political event like this in Wales.” A crowd of Plaid supporters had gathered t

PoliticsDefence