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The Guardian Politics9 Aug 2026

‘I was on my honeymoon!’: Hamish Falconer’s surprise call-up to Burnham’s cabinet

New EU negotiator, who previously helped free Taliban hostages, thought it was safe to book holiday during recess When Hamish Falconer left his career as a Foreign Office diplomat for the hostile environment of a Labour party selection process, one of his last acts was a negotiation to free six hostages from the Taliban. When he won the key marginal seat of Lincoln in the 2024 general election, he did not expect to be back in those offices on King Charles Street quite so quickly – he was appoint

PoliticsEnvironment
The Guardian Politics9 Aug 2026

Labour seeking ‘deeper relationship’ with EU under Burnham, new minister says

Exclusive: Hamish Falconer wants ‘sense of renewed pace’ in post-Brexit talks while staying within Labour’s red lines The UK will move faster and be more ambitious on achieving closer ties with Europe under Andy Burnham’s government, his new chief post-Brexit negotiator has said.. Hamish Falconer, the new cabinet minister in charge of the EU reset talks, said there was “room to be ambitious” within Labour’s red lines on Europe, which exclude reopening discussions on the single market and customs

Politics
The Guardian Politics9 Aug 2026

Pilot pulls off Count Binface stunt for Clacton byelection

Plane spends 30 minutes off the Essex coast marking out shape of a bin in apparent tribute to Nigel Farage’s rival A pilot has traced the shape of a bin with their flight path near Clacton before Count Binface challenges Nigel Farage in a byelection on Thursday. The light aircraft spent around half an hour between 2,100ft and 4,150ft above the sea near the Essex coastal town zigzagging to mark out the shape of a bin, according to data from Flightradar24. Continue reading...

PoliticsDefenceReformHousing
The Guardian Politics9 Aug 2026

London mayor orders council to drop plan to ban new pubs and bars in Soho and West End

Exclusive: Sadiq Khan urges Westminster council to adopt ‘positive vision of economic growth’ of nightlife Sadiq Khan has ordered Westminster council to scrap a policy that would ban new pubs and bars from opening in Soho and the West End of London. This comes after the Guardian revealed the council’s new licensing policy asks pubs to stop customers from standing up while consuming beverages, which it calls “vertical drinking”. The policy is under consultation and also asks pubs to have table se

PoliticsEconomy
The Guardian Politics9 Aug 2026

Most X accounts posting about Belfast and Southampton unrest were based outside UK

Exclusive: Analysis shows 55% of accounts were located overseas – and seven of 12 most-read posts came from US More than half the accounts that posted on Elon Musk’s X about the rioting in Belfast and the civil disorder in Southampton in June were based outside the UK, an analysis by the Guardian can reveal. Of the 8,672 accounts whose combined posts about the events exceeded 1,000 views, just 45.3% were shown as from the UK, according to the social media platform’s own location function. Conti

The Guardian Politics9 Aug 2026

Britain is paying the price for failing to invest in its young people | Richard Partington

Alan Milburn has outlined a generation cut adrift by austerity. We must grasp the nettle and rebuild a preventive state Most people think Britain is not working as it should. For young people, the situation is at its most acute: Only one in four believe that everyone in society has a fair crack. Most think the game is rigged. It is clear why the generation who grew up during the post-2008 crash austerity years and in the shadow of the Covid pandemic are downbeat: the level of public service prov

The Guardian Politics9 Aug 2026

Andy Burham to tour Britain in effort to reconnect government with public

PM expected to announce policies to tackle cost of living and indicate intent to help improve country’s high streets Andy Burnham is to undertake a national tour this coming week the aims to improve the government’s connection with the British public during his premiership. The prime minister is expected to announce a set of policies that will help people financially as many struggle with the cost of living, as well as indicate his intent to improve high streets across the country. Continue rea

Economy
The Guardian Politics8 Aug 2026

Nicola Sturgeon ‘has not spoken to’ estranged husband, Peter Murrell, since he was jailed

Scotland’s former first minister says she will not visit Murrell in prison, where he is serving five-year sentence for embezzling SNP funds Nicola Surgeon has said she will not visit her estranged husband, Peter Murrell, in prison, has stopped speaking to him and views herself as a “mug” for worrying about his wellbeing and mental health earlier this year. During a podcast recording at the Edinburgh festival fringe, Scotland’s former first minister said Murrell had lied to her until the day he p

CrimeHealthcare
The Guardian Politics8 Aug 2026

Arron Banks ‘hired private detective’ to look into journalist who investigated Reform UK

Asked whether he targeted reporter who investigated party finances, Brexit campaigner says: ‘When you live by the sword, you die by the sword’ The prominent Reform UK member and Brexit campaigner Arron Banks is said to have set private investigators on a Sunday Times journalist after he broke a series of stories about Nigel Farage. Banks is alleged to have paid for the services of investigators to examine Gabriel Pogrund, editor of the paper’s Insight investigations team. Continue reading...

Reform
The Guardian Politics8 Aug 2026

Sadiq Khan calls on Andy Burnham to commit to climate action as pressure grows over North Sea oil

London mayor points to ‘terrifying scenes’ this summer amid speculation Burnham may back Jackdaw and Rosebank projects Sadiq Khan: This burning summer is the proof: the voices of climate denial aren’t just delusional, they’re deadly Sadiq Khan has called on the government to commit to revamped climate action and to reduce the UK’s reliance on oil and gas, as the UK endures a summer of drought, wildfires and heatwaves. Writing in the Guardian, the mayor of London said that Andy Burnham’s admini

Environment
The Guardian Politics8 Aug 2026

US accused of meddling in British politics with $500,000 grant scheme promoting ‘shared values’

Documents published on US embassy’s website prompt claims of attempt to export Maga propaganda to UK The US embassy in London is offering grants of up to half a million dollars for new “public education” programmes in what has been criticised as interference in British domestic politics. Using language that the pro-Trump Maga movement has sought to appropriate, a funding notice identifies a goal of fostering a “national conversation” about “shared civilizational values” underpinning US-UK ties.

PoliticsEducationReform
The Guardian Politics8 Aug 2026

The night Belfast burned: how the Northern Ireland race riots unfolded

A horrific knife attack on a street in June sparked another summer’s night of racial violence, stoked by loyalist groups. How did the unrest erupt – and why do many fear it will happen again? Shortly after 10.30pm on Monday 8 June, as a summer twilight lingered over Belfast, a horrific scene unfolded on Kinnaird Avenue: a man straddled and repeatedly stabbed a figure lying on the ground in a bloody assault that ended only after onlookers intervened. Others captured the drama on cameraphones and